Tinnitus Spike After Phone Call?

[Rosewater]

Hi ! I'm Elizabeth, 16 and have had tinnitus for a couple months.

After finally getting somewhat over it, it has spiked. I volunteer at a hospital, and my supervisor called me while I was working.

Not realizing how loud the phone was, I put it right up to my hear and of course she had to yell out "hey Elizabeth!!" My ear immediately hurt and although I kept it a bit away from my ears, a person standing 5ft away could still hear it.

My tinnitus in that ear is sooo bad now and I'm afraid it's permanent.

Is it possible that an extremely loud 2 min phone call could have caused a permanent spike?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Is it possible that an extremely loud 2 min phone call could have caused a permanent spike?

I had the exact same thing happen to me too. I pressed an old landline phone (that had its volume stuck at "maximum") to my bad ear and the person on the other end raised her voice. I moved the phone away from my ear, but it was too late. Just before that phone call, my T was a hiss. It changed back to a loud high pitch tone. It turned out to be one of the most serious T spikes that I had experienced during the past year. It lasted for well over three months (although it had been gradually fading throughout those months; having said this, it was still seriously worse than my before-the-incident baseline two months after the incident).

You are younger than me, so your body is more resilient. There is a reasonable chance that this spike will turn out to not be permanent, but it might take a long time for it to fade. I recommend that you try to stay away from moderate noises like that of a vacuum cleaner and a blender, for a while.