Those Who Wear Earmuffs Everyday

I use Peltor earmuffs for the Metro (subway) everyday for just under an hour going to/from work. Having tinnitus isolated in your ear/brain from external sounds seems unbelievably loud and I'm finding it difficult to focus on other things while wearing the muffs. This has a negative impact on my overall mood and I'm looking for help from the veterans here...

My question is - what are you guys doing to occupy your time and mind away from tinnitus while using muffs?

 

Wearing earmuff, the T will be louder. Try to ignore and habituate it.
You can check iPhone or read a book or doing other different things
keep your mind busy.

 

@housemzk
The overuse of hearing protection can lower the loudness threshold of the auditory system and make tinnitus and hyperacusis more intrusive. If a person is not careful other conditions can develop: Phonophobia and Misophonia. Please click on the links below and read my posts.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-complexities-of-tinnitus-and-hyperacusis.25733/

 

You are isolating your brain from sounds, that it hears on a daily basis. That type of isolation can lead to negative results. Over protection from noise is not recommended and it can build up OCDs, negativity, fear, paranoia and it can possibly lead to hyperacusis.

I'd wear them in loud places, but it's not meant to be used all the time...

Also, it can be EXTREMELY difficult to take your mind off the sound, while having ear plugs/ear muffs on. To me they feel uncomfortable and you cannot hear any outside noise, just your ringing of the ears. I never wear such things and I'll pass on it in the future as well. This is my view on it. Others can wear it, that's their choice...

 

I would say that traveling with public transit is loud, I personally use in ear plugs when going to work and going around the city because of all the intense sounds.

But I can see what other people are saying regarding the ears becoming more sensitive and there might be something to that.

 

I agree.
Metro (subway) in NY is very noisy.
Ear protection is needed.

 

To give an idea of how loud the subway is everyday, I used the sound level meter app NIOSH SLM to measure my Metro ride into work today.

LAeq (equivalent continuous level) was 78.9 dB for 28 minutes this morning

Max level was 94.8 dB

I'm a bit shocked that I rode metro for 5 years straight without giving much thought to how loud it is. Now that my left ear is compromised, sound is all I think about.

@fishbone and @Michael Leigh - Appreciate your feedback on overuse. I only use the muffs for public transportation, as I hate wearing the things. I immediately take them off after I've left the station and walk around the city without protection.

@robHing - Thank you, finding distractions are key with the muffs on. I'm reading the daily paper but when I lose focus on the commentary the tinnitus immediately takes over.

@NormySan - I used earplugs in the past and they obviously worked, but I don't like the thought of pushing my ear wax further into my ear. And the plugs are slightly uncomfortable after using for a week.

Thank you all for your feedback!

 

You are a great T warrior.
Good luck and best wishes.
God bless you !

 

94db or a little higher shouldn't cause a problem if a person doesn't have hyperacusis? Once hyperacusis is treated or a person habituates to tinnitus, sound levels of 100db should be easy to cope with when commuting on public transport. If this wasn't the case then people all over the world that travel on noisy trains, buses and walk during rush hours would have tinnitus and hyperacusis. It is fear, negative thinking and the overuse of hearing protection that causes problems as I've mentioned in my posts above: Hyperacusis, as I see it, and The complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis.

Michael

 

Here is a safety guideline I found online (it's not a one size fits all):


I personally like to use an additional safety margin, so you won't see min in 90 dB environments for very long, but I won't worry if a truck/an alarm/a plane makes the environment sound spike to 100 dB for a "short period of time" (i.e. "until I can stick my fingers in my ears and leave the area if it doesn't stop on its own").

 

Here is another CHART

 

I picked up some electronic peltor sport tactical 500 ear muffs for this same reason. You can adjust the level of attenuation (how many dbs are reduced) and even have an active gain on things like voice. The muffs limit at 85 db however, where it will kick in an attenuation average of 26. They also allow you to play music through, listen to phone calls, etc. They come with a built in dosimeter that will automatically increase protection if you are being over exposed through the day. Also the music DB output is maxed at 85. They are a little bit spendy, but I love them!

So small quiet sounds like people talking, ambient noise, etc are all let in, it effectively works to simultaneously mask my T and protect my hearing!

 

Do you base your guidelines on peak or average levels? Just curious what others do.

I focus on the average. I have seen very high LC peaks on my app meter, but I think those are only very brief. I’m unsure if those even last longer than a second.

 

The only error in this chart is that it fails to account for exposure length. 85dB falls within hazardous, but a second or even one minute exposure to 85dB is no where near as damaging as 8 hours at that volume.

 

But I should add that I do like this chart and reference it occasionally because it’s nice to see references to where everyday or typical sounds fall.

 

To be honest I don't really decide based on a reading on a device. I do it based on my comfort level. I went to a restaurant last night and I had to get out because I felt it was "too noisy". It's pretty rare for me to do that (I've only done it 3 times in 2 years). My app was registering around 85 dB as an average, but I didn't feel comfortable staying in that environment so I left. I also didn't sweat the few minutes I stayed there before I decided that it wasn't for me. Even if my ears "could take it", I didn't feel like it was an enjoyable environment as you had to raise your voice in other for others at the table to hear you.

But to the meat of your question: I don't really worry too much about spikes and use "averages" as my reading.

 

I'm now wondering about the cumulative effect of everyday exposure as well. Found these quotes from an article on subway noise in NYC:

"What you're essentially doing is stressing out your ears," said Dr. Chris Herget, an audiologist who practices at New York City Hearing and Balance in midtown.

"You're not going to get hearing damage immediately," he said. "It's going to be a process of possible years and decades."

This reminds me of the link between IT/Data Center workers and the higher probability to get tinnitus as well. Our data center comes in around 65 dB... Not enough to cause damage right away, but that cumulative effect...

 

What kind of places would you call loud? I'm trying to develop a realistic idea of when I should protect and when it's unnecessary.

I wore my new ear muffs for the first time today to vacuum. I don't know if it was necessary. (The ear muffs I mean. Not the vacuuming ~ which was extremely necesssary.)

 

I feel the same way.

 

I use earmuffs but only at work. Don’t use it any other unless I going to be around loud noise. I would say my 8 hrs work day I have it on at lest 4 hrs. The noise I am around can go from 80 to a 100 average 85 dB . But I have to wear it because my ears tell me put it on too loud. Listen to your ears .