Tinnitus from a Very Loud 3-Hour Concert

[Supersix]

Hi, everyone; I'm new to tinnitus. About 9 days ago, I attended a concert where the noise level reached over 110 dB. A few days after the concert, I had an audiology test, and it showed mild hearing loss in my left ear (the side closest to the stage), along with tinnitus. It's really driving me crazy.

I'm hopeful it will go away with time because, even after just 9 days, one of the two tones seems to have disappeared, and the feeling of fullness in my ear is starting to subside. However, I'm concerned because I've been reading online — I really need to stay off these forums — that a temporary threshold shift usually resolves within a few days, but it's already been 9 days for me.

I need to find a way to adapt to this. Otherwise, I will lose my mind.

Adjusting takes time, so in the meantime, try to find sleep aids that help you get 6-7 hours of rest, as this is crucial. Also, consider reducing your sodium intake and cutting back on caffeine a bit—no need to give it up entirely.

You might also want to download an app for meditation and breathing exercises, which can be useful when you're feeling anxious and before going to bed.

Lastly, think about getting a Swedish massage, which can stimulate the central nervous system. If daytime noise bothers you, using rain sounds might help mask it enough to drown out the ringing. You can listen for 10, 15, or 20 minutes, or however long you prefer.

This could help you mentally and may even reduce the ringing slightly. Take care!

 

[LondonEars]

Hi all,

I'm 34F. I attended a rock concert in an enclosed venue on 22 July 2023. The muffled hearing and tinnitus after that never went away, and it is 4.5 weeks post event now. I had no awareness of dangerous sound levels or what could happen. I wore no hearing protection.

I realised after the fact that my watch had a decibel meter. The concert was between 80-110 dB and I was there for 3 hours. There was once a peak of 118 dB that I think would have been less than a minute.

I did a 7 day course of Prednisolone (still tapering), and 7 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. My hearing is less muffled now but I have clearly lost hearing despite being told my hearing is perfect on tests. I have oderate tinnitus in both ears plus hyperacusis. I have a 2-year-old - timing could not be worse!

Thanks for reading, glad to be able to read everyone's stories and advice.

It's strange, isn't it, that we can experience significant hearing impairment without it showing up on tests?

 

[NormySan]

It's strange, isn't it, that we can experience significant hearing impairment without it showing up on tests?

I think this is mostly because hearing tests usually stop at 8 kHz, and a lot of tinnitus likely occurs above that range.

 

[trevl]

It's strange, isn't it, that we can experience significant hearing impairment without it showing up on tests?

No, it's not strange.

Hearing tests done by audiologists who sell hearing aids do not record enough data points or cover a wide enough frequency range to give accurate information about your hearing loss.

You need at least four data points per 1000 Hz, and you also need to extend the test to include higher frequencies.

Audiologists often generate audiograms using the dB HL algorithm, which downweights high and low frequency responses to make the chart appear more linear, supposedly so that the patient is less alarmed.

It is a common observation among many people on Tinnitus Talk that their hearing tests show no hearing problems.

I have commented about this in the following links:

Maybe I've Had Hyperacusis This Whole Time?

Hello everyone! After experiencing acoustic trauma from a concert over three months ago, I've been dealing with various symptoms. I wasn't sure exactly what to call it, but it might be a mild form of hyperacusis. Here are my current symptoms: Slight burning in my ears, sometimes triggered by...

www.tinnitustalk.com

Sudden Onset of Severe Nighttime Tinnitus with No Hearing Loss

Hello everyone, A bit about me… I’m an electrical engineer, and I don’t work in a noisy environment. I work from home. I never go to concerts. I do use headphones when I work out, but they’re pretty cheap and don’t get very loud. I’ve never had tinnitus last for more than 10 seconds, and only...

www.tinnitustalk.com

This is what my audiogram looks like.

It includes data from several audiologists, along with my own measurements for comparison (see link below).

Note the position on the frequency scale where my tinnitus occurs. Also note my symmetrical hearing loss around 4250 Hz, which the audiograms from audiologists completely missed.

You can see that my symmetrical hearing loss at approximately 4250 Hz follows a sine wave pattern. This can only be observed when using higher frequency, lower interval hearing test measurements.

Accuracy of Hearing Test (Audiogram)?

Hi, My question is how accurate are hearing tests? The reason I ask is because I made a stupid decision to not wear earplugs when a bar was playing loud music for a few hours. I went to the audiologist almost 3 weeks after because my tinnitus is louder and I can’t hear as well. She said that...

www.tinnitustalk.com