Tinnitus Spike with Ear Plugs?

We have to remember everyone's view is important but at the end of the day it is up to the person reading the post what they decided to do with the advice.
Spikes can happen for other reasons so we are all without risks of ear infections and so on...
Just have to be careful .
love glynis

 

We mitigate the risk by wearing earplugs and avoiding places that are ‘too loud’. What else is there? Shelter ourselves from society never to be seen again?

You are too extreme, and your rules are nearly impossible to follow. A lot of the time your advice contradicts itself. You often say that 60db is too loud but then tell people to watch TV, as loud as they can, to avoid getting hyperacusis? The limits you set are so low that people can’t really be expected to follow them without it having an affect on their mental health, or by causing them unnecessary anxiety.

I know this will go on forever and I feel like this is the thousandth time we’ve debated this. I think everybody gets the point now.

It’s cool to disagree. The main objective is that people find some happiness again.

 

The above proves that you haven't read my posts about this topic.

I think you are to extreme, as you advocate reckless behaviour.

I don't say that "often." What I say is that if someone gets a spike after a noise that one estimates to be 60 dB, or feels like it is too loud, one ought to listen to one's body and to not be exposed to that noise. As for TV, my advice was to find the loudest volume that one can comfortably listen to a program for, for many hours. So - no contradiction.

I guess your comment might explain why you disagree with me - there is a chance that you didn't read my posts carefully/ignored my clarifying posts.

 

What reckless behaviour do I advocate?

 

Would you consider clanking a metal pot-lit as modest noise?

 

Hi Jiri, it’s tough to answer as something like that could be anywhere from quiet to really loud, but not necessarily dangerously loud.

Most everyday noises are modest, unless you happen to wander into a workshop/factory or live in a very noisy city, etc. There will always be some degree of subjectivity involved when it comes to noise. I only see it being a problem, personally, if worrying over sound takes over someone’s life to the point they become mentally unstable, and there are many people on this forum who are in this position.

 

I think it depends on many factors, including does the person who heard the noise have hyperacusis? And/or does the person who heard the noise have sound anxiety?

 

I advocate against reckless behaviour. You advocate against my posts.

Ensuring that one doesn't get louder T Is Important, so it makes sense to act accordingly.

 

Correction: I debate and argue against your posts. Saying I advocate against your posts suggests I’m some sort of dictator who is against free speech. I think debating is healthy and I have said this many times before.

Just because I completely disagree with you doesn’t mean I don’t think you have the right to post.

 

I think you should prepare for the worst case scenario of being in a very loud situation with the best (strongest) earprotection available and always have those with you. I think if you really really enjoy going to a noisy placy or have to work there then the strongest protection you can find will be the most easy thing to prepare in advance and then apply.
If you notice a slow progressively getting worse trend while wearing the best protection then avoidance would be good.

 

Dating might help against T, I would still do that and not go to such an event btw:þ.

 

I agree.

 

Thanks for answering, Ed. I'm trying to find balance between what's still 'ok loud' and what isn't anymore. Especially now when I'm still having that t. spike since Mon.

I guess I am a member of that club, then.

True. I do have hyperacusis and my t. is spiking since Mon (as it was explained to me in another thread it wasn't likely due to excessive exposure to noise but rather my response to it (scared to death).

Isn't phonophobia and sound anxiety the same thing?

 

Yea.

 

I'm not really interested in coming down on any side of a debate here, but thought I'd mention I'm probably one of those anomalies mentioned above. My severe tinnitus/hyperacusis started on Feb. 3 with a single dose of an anti-nausea medication called Promethazine (also known as Phenergen). When I told the hospital that gave it to me all the "side effects" I experienced afterwards, they said that was not possible--even though every one of them is listed as potential side effects for this drug. They just didn't believe a person could have so many of them.

To get to closer to the core of this discussion however, I'll just share a bit of my experiences since Feb. 3. One relief I had at the very beginning was that I noticed when I drove down the highway, the sound would overpower my t, and I would feel a sense of relief. It was the same with taking a shower, running water, a fan, listening to a creek, the wind, etc. Even a hair dryer and vacuum cleaner didn't overly bother me. Louder sudden, clunky noises would however, make me cringe--a lot.

So here's the anomaly part: After I'd say a few weeks, I started noticing that all those things that would normally give me a t respite, like driving, shower, etc., began to set off my t. I began to notice this more and more, until I had to start doing various things to mitigate it. And it kept getting worse. I found peeing was making my t take off like a siren; soaking my feet in a creek for 30 minutes left me with a spike for a couple days; I just noticed yesterday the sound of the wind is setting off my t (much to my chagrin).

Here's an interesting part of this: The louder noises, like a clanking pan or plate or silverware that used to make me cringe now really don't bother me much at all. In fact, they're almost like a balm. It seems that--perhaps psychologically--I get to hear a "normal" sound without my system wildly overreacting to it. So where does this all leave me, and where do I fit into the spectrum of the various patterns people with t and/or h experience? That's what I'm in the process of trying to find out. I really don't know at this point. I'm feeling kind of alone in my own anomalous world.

I sometimes wonder if I had for some reason become "overly fearful" of sounds at the very beginning of this odyssey--and taken perhaps extreme precautions for sound avoidance/protection--whether I would have developed a worsening of my extreme sensitivities to softer sounds. In this regard, I would tend to side with Bill in this debate. But if I had taken all those avoidance/protection steps, I might never have known I was as susceptible as I turned out to be. -- I'm left with a lingering thought however, that my becoming more vulnerable to softer sounds as time went by may have been caused by exposure to EMFs. I even decided to disconnect my Wifi, and did seem to notice using an ethernet cord for my laptop helped mitigate things--a bit. If I were to become more convinced of EMFs worsening t or h in the beginning, I might just become an advocate for others to consider it as well, and to consider some remedial measures.

I read a book many years ago called "The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You". It seems about 1 in 10 people fall into this category of being highly sensitive. I've come to strongly suspect that those on this forum having the hardest time habituating or coming to terms with their new life's circumstances fall into that category. I know I do. And I've come to believe this "trait" can also make people more vulnerable to developing t and/or h to begin with. I believe that's the case for me.

For me, I have a lot of concern (not fear) about what I should expose my ears to these days. Given how vulnerable I feel at times, I sometimes feel a tad reckless because of what I do actually expose myself to. I'm actually considering whether to use a lawnmower for 10-15 minutes (using ear muffs and ear plugs, etc.). There's something kind of calming about mowing the lawn for me, and my naturally fairly adventurous spirit is encouraging me to go for it. Should I listen to that nudge? I don't think I will at this time, even though I don't think it would be even a bit unpleasant. Maybe after I've learned more about what I'm all dealing with. As much as I prefer not to, I'm going to be proceeding forward with a very high degree of caution.

All the Best...​

 

teeheehee.

 

It mostly ranged between 80-92 max but wasn't consistent, and my earplugs were -33db, which is why I assumed I'd be ok.

 

Quick question: are you sure that you correctly inserted the earplugs? If the seal was good, and they were fully inserted, you should have attained the full - lab tested - reduction. The misuse of earplugs is so common that a standardised reduction system was introduced for occupational health to account for all the incorrect use.

If you had them correctly inserted, and didn’t remove them at ANY point, the noise you would have been exposed to would have been between, approximately, 50-62dB. However, that’s assuming your measurement was accurate in the first place.

 

You really should just put them in the second the music starts. Humans aren't very good at judging how loud is too loud and damaged ears have a lower tolerance I reckon. Your spike will most likely go down if you barely had them out. Go grab some N-acetyl cisteine and magnesium from a supplement shop they've been scientifically proven to prevent hearing damage in soldiers and club goers and take them for a week or any time you might be going to a place that could get a bit loud, start taking those supplements 3 days before and a week after. Also get a good pair of musicians earplugs with at least -20db and make sure they are in good and proper.

That being said give your ears a rest and I think your spike will go down in the next week or two. I've had a couple that lasted a week or two that went back to baseline. One was a yelling argument for 20 minutes in a car and one was a bagpiper playing in a bar for 10 minutes and I didn't leave although I did stick my fingers in my ear when he started walking towards us. It taught me to never not have my earplugs in my pocket. But those 2 spikes went away in 5-8 days.

 

Thats a bit mysterious then.
Perhaps your earplugs have a plastic tip on the back. If you reach for the earplugs and your nail taps the plastic that could cause a bang and perhaps give a spike.
I had this happen a lot with different earplugs like the Alpine Partyplug. It caused a 3 second spike for me on multiple occasions. The earplugs worked but my nail hitting the back was just not calculated in. I like the Earpeace plugs because they are fully made of soft plastic and that can not happen with those.

 

Thanks John!! : )

 

Your welcome, hope you found the cause of the spike!

 

Sorry to hear about your spike Lilith, has it subsided by now? I've had many spikes even while wearing ear plugs and it's always disappointing if not surprising. Also have had the same social experiences and loss of a creative passion. I still have to be careful about what events I go to, and I do turn down some, but I still try to get out and enjoy myself when possible. I always carry ear plugs in my pocket and rarely do not or am not able to put them in when things get loud/noisy but I am less self-conscious about using them in front of others. I gave up playing in bands years ago (which broke my heart) and have rarely played a few live shows over the years. Trying to play more often and thankfully can with a friend who doesn't play loudly. Can't stop completely, it's a part of me.

It's fairly ridiculous how life is really quite loud and people don't notice. I went for a hearing test the other week and the audiologist acknowledged that what they thought was age-related hearing loss is actually just noise induced hearing loss over one's lifetime.

Hope you're playing at least a bit of music again and finding enjoyment when possible.

 

it's an open mic acoustic event it sucks you had a small spike but you by no means were not reckless.

I may have gotten to 100 db peak but the average db was probably 92 db. You would know if your plugs didn't have a good seal. If everything felt comfortable you were protected.

 

It may just be me - but the physical act of wearing earplugs actually spikes my tinnitus much worse than any noise does. I finally realized this a few months ago when I spent a couple of days swimming in an in-laws pool. Water getting in my ears spiked my tinnitus badly for a couple of days, so a couple of weeks later, I wore swimming earplugs while in the pool, and the canal of my ears again got irritated and my tinnitus went way up for a couple of days. Riding my bike fast and getting a lot of wind in my ears irritates then as well and sometimes mildly spikes my tinnitus.
Prior to my tinnitus starting in January due to a severe inner ear infection, I wore earplugs all the time to sleep (spouse snores). At the time the tinnitus started, I had severe hyperacussis as well. On advice from my ENT, I didn't try to hide from everyday sound, so used no ear plugs or muffs in everyday situations. The hyperacussis eventually faded away completely, and the tinnitus has lessened somewhat, but by no means gone away. I can't use my phone on my worst ear without pain, but otherwise, no sound protection at all unless it is something warranted for a normal person (e.g. using a lawn mower) - including flights in loud turboprop floatplanes, riding my bike in noisy city traffic, etc. I feel this approach has helped has helped me habituate much better than always using ear protection would have.
Anyways, my point was to not discount that the physical discomfort/irritation to the ear canal caused by the earplugs themselves contributed to the spike.