Tinnitus from Gunshot

Hello I'm gaby, 17 years old and I've been experiencing tinnitus for about 6 days now. I went out to shoot a hand gun with my dad for the first time. I did pretty good actually for my first time. I love to shoot rifles and shot guns, I'm actually in a sport called trap and we shoot. I always wear ear protection but when I went out with my dad I complete forgot. I took the first shot and once I shot I heard a super loud ring and it felt like something popped. Ever since I've had this buzzing and ringing in my ear and it doesn't seem to be getting any better? Can anyone tell me if what's going on, will it go away?

 

You should definitely get yourself checked out by a doctor. I'm not 100% sure where my T came from but I believe shooting had at least a part in it.

 

That ringing you hear from your ear is the only warning your body is giving you that something is very wrong. You have proably caused damage in you inner ear, but I think it's only temporary. (given the fact that this was your first time). Your tinnitus will most likely fade away. I can't tell when. It can weeks, and sometimes even many months before it actually goes away. Time and patience is the key.

In the meantime, make sure you keep your ears away from loud places and don't use headphones when listening to music. Your ears need reliefs so your body can heal itself.

And always remember to use hearing protection next time you go the range. Good luck!

 

Gaby,

Go see an ENT quickly, check if you have any hearing loss? If so ask for a tapered course of Prednisone and wait to see if it resolves itself. Might be temporary damage, like going to a loud concert.

 

@Gaby, maybe you should go to urgent care or ER. Time could be of the essence in your situation, if you can't see a ENT right away. No potential ototoxic eardrops though. Prednisone like @Sailboardman said may be a good idea.

 

I agree with the other members here. Go to an ENT or to the ER and get on a course of Prednisone. Do not mess around. There are other Tinnitus Talk members who have tinnitus from exposure to gunshots, and it can be a very serious acoustical trauma. It only takes one time to do the damage.

Good luck, and please let us know how you're doing in the next few days.

 

Does your dad use hearing protection when shooting?

Why didn't he tell you NOT to shoot without hearing protection? Didn't he see you weren't protected?

 

I forgot to put put some on. He didn't know until after I shot and I told him. After that he just told me to stop because he didn't want to keep exposing me to the noise.

 

My dad did take me to the doctor (walk in clinic) the day after and she just told me it looked red and that I needed to see a specialist or something like that. She gave me drops for the redness but that's it she didn't really tell me anything else. Do you think that if I go to the ER or urgent care they'll actually tell me what's wrong? And also thank you very much, I'll let you all know what happens.

 

Going to the ER would be the fastest way to get a script for a course of Prednisone if the Dr. agrees to prescribe it. And also get another opinion of your situation.

 

That doctor probably doesn't know anything about tinnitus, how serious it can be, and that gunshots are a common cause of tinnitus. Go to the ER, make it very clear to them that you have tinnitus that started right after shooting a gun when you weren't wearing ear protection.

We all want you to do whatever it takes to get this situation under control as soon as possible. Good thing your dad put a stop to the shooting immediately. Show him these messages on this thread and ask him to please get you to a specialist as soon as possible, and an ER right away for prednisone. Some people say you have to take pred within 48 hours, but there's a member on this forum who waited longer and said it helped to reduce the volume, even though he still ended up with permanent tinnitus.

I don't mean to alarm you. I just want you to do whatever you can without delay, and that will give you the best chance that you won't end up with chronic tinnitus.

 

Thank you all. I did go to the ER last night and they gave me prednisone. Hope it helps.

 

Ive read thats best to take after just getting T