This Has Got Me Thinking... (About Loud Sounds Causing Tinnitus)

So, I went to my neighbor's 40th surprise birthday party two days ago, and it was pretty fun. There was a lot of alcohol, a lot of sentimentality, and, you guessed it, a lot of very loud music in a very small, stone space.

Despite being pretty drunk and being within 20 ft of these speaker stacks for FIVE HOURS, it has been two days now and I notice no change in my tinnitus. I haven't posted here in a few days, but this situation sort of begs this question:

If this extreme volume over that long period of time didn't hurt me at all or even cause a temporary spike, and since people here seem to insist that loud noise is the main cause of T, then what ear-splitting, explosively loud sounds could I possibly have exposed myself to that caused me to originally get T? It would have had to have been louder than the music at that event. Where's the logic behind it?.

 

Hearing damage is cumulative, if you did that twice a week for a year you would probably notice a change in your T.

 

I've not been to a club for about 18 years (didn't go that often anyway). Hardly listen to music as always find it too emotional, have no detectable hearing loss yet have developed this? It confuses me...

 

Yeah. It is cumulative. However, while I did listen to music fairly often, it was always at a safe volume (a volume that most other people listen at, usually around 50-60%) and I never noticed significant T at any point up until I was in college, when it suddenly came out of the woodwork. Of course, I had the "normal" background sound that most people have before this (an inaudible buzz unless in a dead silent room) but I just... woke up one day with screaming T and facial numbness.

 

All those cases of "woke one with T and vestibular problems / facial numbness / visual issues".
I'd go as far as calling them ischemic episodes during sleep, possibly due to sleep apnea or some other unidentifiable issue. A small stroke if you will, that hits where the body is weakest...
Of course I have no evidence to support that but I believe I'm one of these cases.

 

That's an interesting thought. Some medications can cause ischemia in other parts of the body.

 

Since someone changed the title of the post against my will, I want to state that yes, I know that loud noise causes tinnitus. I'm not pretending that this isn't the truth. Veterans can get it from a single 160dB+ bomb blast.

The question I am posing in this post is: Just HOW MUCH noise does one have to expose themselves to to get T? It seems to be an INSANE amount. It seems like if even that much (95-115dB at its peak peak) noise isn't enough to cause any spike or discomfort at all, then how, in the past 10 years, did does anyone accumulate that much damage, without being concerned for their health? People with T must have exposed ourselves to hours upon hours of 85dB plus sound for 8 hours or more a day, or lit of fireworks in our homes weekly. That's crazy.

 

I read in a study that you can damage your SGN which is a major reason for T, with sustained noise of only 70 db for about 10 hours a day. Thats only 5db above conversation level and less than a busy road. So hearing damage can occur at much quieter sound levels than you might think.

Also some people are more vulnerable to tinnitus as a result of not being able to recover as well from loud noise exposure- genetic. So your ears may just be particularly weak.

 

The genetic-hereditary factor is also a big player, I believe that.

 

There is no serious answer to that.

 

I am sure you have seen something similar before. Hearing damage is cumulative, which has lead to my T. I used to go to bars and clubs when I was younger and my ears would ring, which I just ignored rather to take it as a big warning that my hears are getting beaten real bad. Going to a concert last year, it became the last drop and T was here to stay. But some people have genes that allows them to withstand longer exposure than showed below without getting NIHL, while other people are very sensitive to loud noises. Each person is different and the chart is only a general recommendation.

 

I walk past loud building sites everyday and since I’ve had T I block my ears to the noise as I’m quite sensitive to it and I don’t want to have a spike in the T. I also find listening to podcasts with headphones helps with general city noise.

 

I know guys who go to loud gigs, without any hearing protection, 5-6 times a week and have no tinnitus issues. No doubt their hearing is suffering in other ways, though.