Tinnitus Is Getting Louder?

Not sure if I'm posting this in the right thread but, I've had tinnitus for about 5 months now and had habituated after the first two weeks. but now after 4 and a half months I've noticed that my tinnitus is louder, especially at night. During the day it doesn't bother me as much but at night its louder than the two fans I have set up in my room.

I started work as a janitor in the evenings last month, I run a vacuum every night for about an hour and a half. The vacuum runs at 66 decibels but I wear foam earplugs with a 33 dB noise reduction rating as well as firing range earmuffs also rated 33d NNR. I guess I'm wondering If despite all the ear protection the vacuum is actually causing my tinnitus to get worse or if my tinnitus is actually the same and I've just un-habituated somehow and am noticing it again?


Thoughts?

 

So the vacuum is 66 db and you are wearing ear plugs and ear muffs at the same time? That sounds like overkill if that's the case. The goal shouldn't be to block out the vacuum completely. You could very well be making yourself more sensitive to sound by overcompensating with protective measures.

 

Some people can find they are better with noise reduction plugs and letting the safe level of sound through our ears.
I found foam plugs made my tinnitus worse and a rush of sound when took them out and a block feeling.
Love glynis x

 

"How does NRR change decibels of exposure?
When hearing protection is worn, your level of exposure to noise is based on the NRR rating of the protection device being used. Keep in mind, however, that while the NRR is measured in decibels, the hearing protector being used does not reduce the surrounding decibel level by the exact number of decibels associated with that protector’s NRR. For example, if you are at a rock concert where the level of noise exposure is 100 dB and you are wearing earplugs with an NRR 33dB, your level of exposure would not be reduced to 67 dB. Instead, to determine the actual amount of decibel deduction applied (when decibels are measured dBA which is the most common), you take the NRR number (in dB), subtract seven, and then divide by two. Given the previous example, your noise reduction equation would look like the following: (33-7)/2 = 13. This means that if you are at a rock concert with a level of noise exposure at 100 dB and you are wearing a hearing protector with an NRR 33 dB, your new level of noise exposure is 87 dB. If you are wearing a product with an NRR of 27 it would deduct 10 decibels (27-7/2=10).

*To maximize noise reduction, hearing protectors must be worn properly.

How does wearing dual hearing protectors change NRR?
When hearing protectors are worn in combination (i.e. earplugs AND earmuffs), rather than adding the two NRR numbers together, you simply add five more decibels of protection to the device with the higher NRR."
https://www.coopersafety.com/earplugs-noise-reduction

So based on the above, the real noise reduction you have been getting is [(33-7)/2]+5 = 18 db

Are you sure that vacuum cleaner is only 66 dB?

You might consider listening to your body, which seems to be telling you that that vacuum cleaner is Not ok...