Tinnitus from Metallica Concert — Got Worse from Ear Wax Removal

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm 20 years old and I first got tinnitus after a Metallica concert 2 years ago. It was pretty quiet back then, I couldn't really hear it during the day, only when going to sleep and I could ignore it quite easily. I kept listening to music on headphones at a medium volume as I didn't think it would make it worse, and I went to a few other (not as loud) concerts since then.

The tinnitus volume was constant until my right ear got clogged and I went to an ENT to get the wax removed by water syringing.

A few days after the tinnitus more than doubled in volume, I think it might have been due to the water because it was really uncomfortable.

I can now hear it pretty much everywhere (although I mostly don't hear it outside, only if paying attention to it) and I need white noise to fall asleep.

It's now been 4 months since it got worse and while I'm not anxious about it 24/7 anymore, I still think about it any time I can hear it and I've been pretty depressed about it. I've only been using headphones on very low volumes (can't really avoid them because of online classes and group work).

The real question is can people really habituate to tinnitus this loud? Because I'm starting to feel like I can't...

 

We make it worse, like blasting our ears with the shower head etc. I'm being extra careful from now on

 

Well, at least you fucked your ears up to a great band.

 

Next time let the ENT use a manual tool to remove the ear wax. I cannot believe ENTs still use water syringing and microsuction for this where a 5 minute Google search shows these techniques are dangerous for the ear. Also don't let the ENT perform the tympanometry test on you.

Probably now you want to start wearing more hearing protection and may be take some Magnesium.

 

You mean showering is damaging my ears? People on this forum say up to 80dB is fine, my shower is not that loud.

Yeah, unfortunately that was the only time I saw them live and probably the last. Not sure if I'm ever gonna risk going to any more concerts, even with hearing protection. I have a ticket to Iron Maiden next year that I'm considering selling...

Yea, I'm thinking of buying some of those musician's earplugs from Amazon just in case. Does Magnesium really help?

 

Did you get a hearing test? Also, it would be helpful if you could tell us the results.

 

More the water blasting into your ear hole, I used to do this all the time.

 

This depends on how compromised your ears already are. The more damaged they are the easier it is to inflict further damage upon them. I think many on here use ear plugs in the shower but if the noise level is fine for you than this may not be necessary.

There are several studies that show Magnesium is good for ear health, so I am taking it daily.

 

I haven't, it's pretty much impossible to get an appointment because of the pandemic and I can't afford to go to a private clinic. As far as I can tell my hearing is fine, but I know there might be some hearing loss I didn't notice.

I'm usually pretty careful about that as I hate having water in my ears. I even use those silicon plugs when I go swimming.

I thought this was for hyperacusis, which I don't have. The sound of the shower doesn't bother me at all and doesn't seem to spike my tinnitus even after long showers.

 

Oh goodness! If only we knew how delicate our ears actually are.