Tinnitus Got Worse After Attending a Live Performance

That was me Karen!! I've been to the theatre loads before T so didnt think it would be a problem. I got another hearing test after it as well and it hadnt got worse. But there's something about noisiness (normal levels) that makes mine worse and it stays worse, not a spike. I went to a restaurant before xmas and that did it. Just people talking and being noisy on the next table made my T worse. I cant do anything now for fear of that.

Yes, I have hearing loss nothing I notice or noticed in daily life but its measurable (25db at 6k and 40db at 4k in the worst ear). I got some NHS hearing aids and I now use those to watch TV so there's no stress on my ears trying to discern conversation.

Strange what the TV does to you. Its not an old TV is it? Is it worse on certain programmes? If you're watching a pgm that's just talking and no other noise are you ok then?

 

Yes Karen I used to love theatre and eating out. I wont eat out now unless its a quiet place and even then I find myself asking them to turn down the background music even though its not really loud or I put earplugs in for a big chunk of the time. I just cant cope with it getting any louder and wont take any risks! I wouldnt dream of going to the theatre now either.
For the first 9 weeks I had it (before the theatre) I never even thought about it getting louder, I thought that was it, it would stay as it eas and gradually get better Now its been made louder twice I find myself checking it a lot. Its the very last thing you are supposed to do I know that.

Im glad your T is a bit better lately. Hope mine goes that way too, as you say, in time. I just read another post of yours on another thread, so, like me you got yours originally from standing too close to a speaker.

Yours isnt a CRT TV is it? They do give off a high pitched noise I find. Sure you've thought of everything around the Tv problem anyway

 

When I first got Tinnitus the idea of falling asleep in silence was a nightmare. However now that I have had it quite a long time it's not so bad for me now. Hopefully someone will find something long before you have it as long as me though!

 

It sounds like time makes things easier then. I doubt theyll find anything soon, they seem to be in the Dark Ages with this thing

 

So we did the same thing then Karen, too close to a speaker
Mine was only in one ear for months now its started in the other ear too. Its so frightening.
If you end up in a noisy situation (just a busy restaurant type level of noise) does your T spike and come back down or does it get louder and stay louder like mine?
You were unlucky with those meds Is the T now back down to the level it was before the meds?

 

I hope the meds havent done anything permanent for you Karen. Its getting better so that's a good sign something is reversing itself.
That pulsating must be awful. I wonder why it latches onto the heartbeat? Or is it that you can hear the blood flow?

There shouldnt be any such thing as tinnitus!! And we shouldnt have to be digging around for answers

Oh, sorry for suggesting you might have a very old TV yesterday

 

Do you think its possible it will get better with time for me when all its done so far over the last 6 months is get worse?

There's a popular 'theory' that the noises we hear are normal inner ear activities that we would normally not be aware of and have become aware because the brain has intensified our hearing because of hearing loss or stress. Hearing is heightened when we are on 'red alert'. I can understand that thinking. Do you think that would apply to yourself?

Oh, I've seen the ad for the Les Mes film on TV and thought it "looks marvellous", quickly followed by the thought that "I cant do that"
Could you hear it ok through the plugs? What sort of plugs did you use? My heavy duty plugs are 35db foam ones, then I have some musicians earplugs that are smarter with what they block out, they let you hear more without letting in anything damaging. The trouble is its a much lower level of noise than 'damaging' that makes my T worse (and stay worse).

I saw The Phantom in Leeds in August when it changed the T for the worse. Its was a fantastic production, the only thing it lacked was the chandalier crashing down. I'd already seen it twice in London and was blown away. I have the film on DVD which stars Gerard Butler as the Phantom. Its smashing!! I saw Les Mis in London too a lot of years ago.

I will wait for this Les Mis film to come out on dvd then and sit with the volume down (I bought my sister the Royal Albert Hall performance of it last year for xmas and she says its amazing and has watched it many, many times).

I really wanted to see the new production of Jesus Christ Superstar but that's out now

Do you think there might be a correlation between tinnitus women and a love of theatre as Click also loves Phantom

 

Louise, by all means go see Les Mis. Don't let T dictate what you can or cannot do. You can do anything you want. If there is any doubt to whether an event or place might be too loud bring ear plugs. I carry some everywhere I go just in case but very rarely use them including at the cinema except for louder action movies. I saw Les Mes, The Hobbit and Django Unchained. If T gets louder after movie its usually because of your reaction or fear that it would, so it does. But it is temporary. Once you get over the fear that something like a movie will make your T louder than it doesn't ear plugs or not. So use ear plugs if it seems to loud. A good gauge of loudness is if it is so loud that you have to raise your voice to speak then it probably is too loud for your ears. Otherwise, fear not and enjoy yourself at the cinema or theater.

 

Very wise words from both Erik and Karen!

Do not let tinnitus control your life. If you want to do something, just do it! We are not disabled in any way, all we need is taking care of our hearing and make sure we have earplugs.

Karen is right about tinnitus personality I am very anxious myself, I worry about everything, about the family, job, school etc. When I attended a live concert early this month even though I had strong earplugs, I worried about doing damage to my hearing all the time. I did pull out my earplugs when I went outside the venue for a moment and oh boy it indeed was LOUD. And guess what, my tinnitus did spike later that evening. I am sure it was just stress and anxiety like Erik said. The next day it was back to the baseline level.

 

The thing is that I've had the T get worse and stay worse now twice through being in normal type noise and I was definitely not worried about it beforehand. Both times I'd had a few glasses of wine beforehand and was very relaxed and not thinking about T (which is very rare). It something the sound has done, just too much for my ears as they are now. If it was a spike that would be ok but it hasnt been. I wont risk it again. But in future if this thing ever settles down then I expect to be able to.

Karen, when you wear the plugs can you not hear the T louder and more annoying? I've been in places where I will put them in put the T noise is then louder and I find it too annoying. Doesnt anyone else have that?

I think there's a definite correlation between being a sensitive/anxious person and T.

 

It's hard to find a common thread. At first I journaled my T to figure out what to avoid and after 2 months I quit doing that because I can have good days for no reason and bad days for no reason. I do find concerts or the movies or noisy restaurants make it spike. Even sometimes any shrill noise like a baby crying or the beep you get when you lock your car door. It's a mystery. Then if you use earplugs you hear the T more and you don't have the distraction of what is going on around you.