Tinnitus Got Worse from Driving a Car with Double Hearing Protection

Dear Friends,

I don't know how to protect myself anymore from noise.

I had my musician earplugs and earmuffs on the top while driving but still my tinnitus got worse.

And it looks like I had further damage done to my ears.

The car at its loudest is 75 dB and this is when the car is stopped and you step on it all the way down. While driving I don't think you can go that loud.

So how is that possible the car noise level is at worst 75 dB, I have earmuffs with 35 dB protection and then I have earplugs in my ears and I have hearing damage done?

My tinnitus got worse 3 weeks ago from MRI and since then it's been really bad. It is spiking from everything. I don't know how will I go to work and take care of my family.

I just wish to be dead, that is all.

 

My T/H increases by air pressure while driving at times, not just from sound. For instance, on a 4-lane hwy two huge semi-trucks passed on either side of my vehicle causing some form of pressurization change to my ears like a vacuum-seal. Very, very unpleasant.

 

After habituating after a year 4 years ago I also feel I'm at braking point after a (hopefully) spike that started 6 days ago after stupidly driving a beach buggy without ear protection.

I genuinely feel your pain and hope we can help get each other through this. My ears are screaming at a level I'm sure makes it impossible to habituate too. And I hate myself for being so stupid. My tinnitus is now about 20 percent louder and it was already louder than most people report on here.

Good luck and we must stay as strong as possible.

 

Tinnitus is a subjective condition which interacts in unpredictable ways with audio input, conscious thought, somatic tension, etc.

Driving a 75 dB car without any hearing protection will not damage your hearing. On the other hand, driving routinely causes me to carry muscle tension in my neck which can lead to pain, trigger points and... temporary increases in tinnitus.

I use 12 dB filters when I'm driving if I'm driving on snow tires with metal studs; otherwise I only use hearing protection for long (3+ hr) highway drives, and I use 20 dB silicone filters only. For me, this has been fine for years.

 

I know it is hard to believe. It is hard to believe for me too but I woke up this morning tinnitus still louder. I can't think of anything else, the noise somehow got me even with double protection. Earplugs + earmuffs provided no protection for me.

 

Some ears are very vulnerable to certain frequencies of noise. Try a stronger earplug next time.

 

How do you know that is what caused a spike? Do you live in the city or country?

It's difficult to avoid loud noises/sounds all the time.

 

I used to drive a 350Z but after tinnitus it was too loud for me so I sold it and got a EV instead. Made a huge difference and now driving is not an issue at all. You might wanna give one a try. Even a used Leaf are really cheap and a regular power outlet works just fine for charging.

 

I would still attribute it more to the MRI than driving. Road noise can vary a lot depending on the vehicle you are driving, the tires, and the condition of the road. If it's a really coarse rough road that you are driving on at high speeds with a compact car it can get pretty loud. (I have very reactive tinnitus and drive a lot of rental cars when on travel).

I have found noise cancelling headphones are actually very good at eliminating road noise (better than earmuffs). If I'm on a long drive I'll often wear them over earplugs.

 

You just need to give your ears a rest for 6-12 months. You ought to become more resilient (stop experiencing spikes after being exposed to regular noises) after that...

 

Or at least the spikes will be shorter and not as loud.

 

Hi BobDigi, how are you doing? Did your tinnitus settle a bit?

 

Well in the last couple of days I've had spells where it's more like baseline compared to spike level. But after an hour or so it goes back to spike level. So not great. Right now it's so high pitched and loud that it almost hurts. Thanks for asking though.

 

I'm sorry for this trouble you are having.

We have two cars, and my wife's is maybe 75db on the highway, but mine used to 85db, and I was able to quiet it down to 78-82 on asphalt by putting in better weatherstripping.

Like someone said above 75db shouldn't really be damaging (in general). I agree with the posters about protection for long drives.

P.s. I go to many starbucks louder than that too. Life bombards us, so please take what precautions you think you need.

 

I was driving yesterday and today again. Yesterday was a long trip. I took my brother-in-law's car as it is very silent. I have used my mobile phone as a GPS and also for sound meter app. I was watching not to drive over 65 dB and used foam earplugs 32 dB NRR and earmuffs 35 dB NRR.

My ears got damaged again. I am not talking about a temporary spike. I am talking about permanent damage done.

 

This is pure hell. Everyday sounds spike my tinnitus.

 

Thanks for this. I've been trying to figure out what to do in the car, as the decibels tend to hover anywhere from 75-80 dB. I had also begun wearing light protection on long drives only (which I was going to define as 1+ hour of at-speed highway driving). Pretty close to what you're doing...good to know, as I'm struggling to balance over-/proper-/under-protection.

 

@BrStan@ hey, I am just wondering how you dealt with driving in the end? I have just started a new job which (post lockdown) requires me to be in the office which is an hour drive away. Previously driving didn’t bother me but the last week My ears have gone mental from driving and are really loud. Would appreciate if you could share what you did in the end - I am really considering quitting the job.

 

How are you now? I have the same thing and bought a Lexus so it's not the sound. I think it might be the vibration.

 

Re: double hearing protection -- it doesn't always work the way you'd think. I discovered this at the shooting range. Thought I'd double up and wear earplugs plus ear muffs designed for shooting. I discovered that while wearing one or the other was effective, wearing both seemed to have a very strange effect and didn't mute the noise nearly as effectively as wearing just one.

Almost seemed like the space inside the earmuffs turned into an echo chamber.

 

I believe earmuffs amplify the low frequency components because of their shape. Overall it probably cuts sound but the low frequencies I doubt would be cut much.

 

I have wondered about this. When someone mows a lawn close to me I put them on on and right when they go on, the sound almost seems to go up. Doubling up you just add 5 dB to the other. I've heard, however, that earplugs don't do much below 1000 Hz. My plan was to use noise-canceling headphones with earplugs underneath to protect from the noise-cancelling effect which is supposed to be bad for us. My car driving is 50 dBA and max 90 dBC, the latter is of most concern.