Went Into Town Shopping Today

was a nice day today and though as I was feeling good I should take the mrs and our daughter shopping as we would usually do before T.

I realised today how broken I am.

All the shops have loud music, restaurant for lunch was a loud experience. Plugs used.

Most noise didn't go above 80-85db was I was monitoring on my phone.

One one occasion a dj had setup in the shopping centre. Walking towards this I was instantly alerted to the massive noise and had to stop. The phone said 95db and I was a good distance away.

People walking past the massive speakers like it was nothing and the dj was right beside the speakers with no protection.

I am sure a few months ago I would have thought nothing of it but the speakers must have been pushing over 110db in close range.

This really made me aware of how ruined I am really, I was literally the only one with an issue over the noise.

Not a good day really. This trying to live as a normal person just won't work. Seen some really nice jeans n shoes and nice tops, I bought them, then wondered where am I going to wear them as I can't really go out and have a social life now.

On my grave stone I will have engraved "That fucking alarm"

 

Jeez. I don't think most places are that loud. Mall and restaurants aren't usually over 50-60 db. I would avoid concerts and bars but not everywhere. You're making yourself a prisoner. It's really not necessary.

 

With that kind of response you really must have very very mild T or you do not have T at all!

They really are. Well to me they are anyway.

For example. In my bed at night my phone says 35-40bd (the T loves to screem at night)

Standing by the road the noise is 85+

A busy restaurant is 85+

A dl in a shopping centre is 100db+

In my car driving and most cars actually the noise is 80db +

It seems my ears can't deal with noise 85db+

My T is noise induced via a very loud burgler alarm. 10+ mins at 120db + I don't think it's like normal noise induced t from the likes of a concert etc, this is more like blast damage, the kind military experience. Right now the T is loud and sounds like a smashed up battery and both inner ears feel like they have been kicked in. I used my plugs when things got too loud but didn't seem to help.

 

I would look at it as how aware you are of your surroundings! Continue doing things you did before T but with a degree of caution...and ear protection.

 

That is exactly what I did today but didn't help.

 

The same thing happened to my today, motorcycle with no exhaust very close to me no time for cover my ears and my head gone to explode, I have the most horrific tinnitus and hyperacussy in the world and now this, I can't even get into my house, going crazy, 4 different sounds, very metallics jets engines and power transfer in to my head, I think I have something else beside tinnitus this is not normal.

 

The worst part NO CURE no NOTHING, this condition really comes from the bottom of the heart of the devil. That's why nobody can find the cure.

 

Ha ha. I'm deaf on one ear. My T is in the other. I can assure it is no little noise and the t is the least that is wrong with my ears. Idk maybe yours is worse. That really isn't the point. I'm just trying to help you. I don't get those readings on my phone. Maybe there is something wrong with my app or maybe yours. Seems odd that a quiet bedroom would be 35-40db, unless you live in a big city maybe. Idk I would download another app just to check. Which one are you using?

I'm not suggesting that you expose yourself to 85 db. I'm just saying that you should be able to leave you house without injuring your ears.

 

Jason, if at first you don't succeed...do it again, do it again, do it again. Reclaim your life Jason, I don't know you but I know you can do it. I was diagnosed with severe tinnitus 5 years ago and I still have it as bad, if not worse. Each day I tell myself that I'm going to do one thing that I enjoy doing. If I succeed, I feel good about myself. If not...well I don't.

 

Or as the real saying goes, If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Unfortunately in life many people thought the saying was " If at first you don't succeed, cry cry again"! Keep plugging away everyone. Don't let this crap break you!

 

I am using "DBMeter"
dB Sound Level Meter - Noise Volume Measure (Decibels) Free by kasra Meshkin
https://appsto.re/gb/KuxY0.i

My T is mostly in the left ear and it feels kicked in all the time. The right ear feels ok and very little t when I put my right ear to the pillow.
My hearing loss is considered mild and I am sure it would be when compared to yours and you being deaf in one ear

With my hearing loss I have balance problems, everything is too loud (hyperacusis) T is loud in my opinion I would put it at a 4-5/10 in the left ear.

 

If it was a case of just keep exposing yourself to noise and it will get better then I would, no problem but this is different, things are so loud I can't go any further

A restaurant at 80-85 is just about doable, add in music and I'm off.

Music is just a scrambled mess now anyway.

 

Carry around ear plugs my friend. Try to avoid noisy places whenever possible but once in awhile things will pop up, like a firetruck or motorcycle. Don't let it stress you. That's the biggest trigger for spikes..... STRESS!

Good luck buddy. We hope you find some relief and can better cope with this crap.

 

I can do thie things mentioned in the OP no proble. I am guessing this is a hyperacausis issue?

 

I know how you feel with everything being too loud. Your post pretty much sums up my experiences with going out.
That being said the db meter on most phones runs high. I have a calibrated db meter and tested it against several phone apps and all the phone apps ran high.

 

Yeah they are bad; according to my iphone my beeroom is 35db in silence.

 

Yes I know the DBMeter can run high but it gives me an idea of how loud an environment is. Not that I need it as my ears tell me they can't deal with it right away.

 

From the bottom of the Devil really. No hearts harmed in the making of this disease.

 

No man, you're not ruined. You're just aware of the human stupidity about noise (and other things). You were not the only one suffering from those high decibels. It's just that you were the only one aware of it (the DJ knows it too, but won't talk about it, he'd lose his job).

 

Yea I know what you mean but everything is too loud, even the restaurant for lunch

 

I spent a nice week end driving - in one of my louder car - and walking around the city with my GF, having drinks out etc..

I usually wear my earmuffs unless its very quiet and even then I keep the muffs in my hands ready to put on if there is some loud sounds.

You guys should start making better use of ear muffs - the latest Peltor series have come a long way in terms of noise reduction and comfort and even looks - I paint it over with a black marker or spray paint any weird colors and it looks like some fancy wireless headphone and no one cares really..
Don't buy the cheap ones off, ebay those have inflated NRR figures and are not really comfortable

 

@Jason C Sadly yes. I'm in the same boat. But what is too loud for you now might be ok soon (like nice & cosy small restaurants), as long as it's not *stupidly* loud.

@Bobby B I admire you for being able to wear a X5A most of the time. I still feel stupid sometimes with the X4A (which I have to paint in black).

 

Well it's been almost 5 months and while things have improved with the hyperacusis slightly things are still crazy loud.

I have looked at ear muffs but I am really struggling to live with myself at the mo.

 

those x5a really saved me all these months - muffs cut bass well so T isn't as screaming as with plugs and its so easy to put it on and off - I can pretty have the same life as I had before, go out enjoy life , drive , eat out in loud restaurants ,go to malls and drive my loud convertible car etc..
I tried with plugs but after a while those hurt the ear canal and don' cut bass very well and its a pain to insert those each time
I don' plan on doing this all my life apart from the loud subways/commute perhaps and so maybe 2 more years of muffing around town.... since a lot of people reported and studies show that T can improve up to 3 years after trauma.

 

I think it depends on the trauma.

I can't even listen to music as the t just rides and buzzes all over whatever I try to listen too. Then he balance issues, stuffed ears, hyperacusis etc

Can't see this improving.

 

Hi @Jason C ,
I have experienced what you describe. It makes you feel like a freak somehow when everyone else is smiling and laughing and talking over the sounds while you are just overwhelmed by the noise. You look normal to everyone else but you don't feel normal at all. You feel afraid and you feel broken.
For me, it helped to ease back into some of these situations. I did not go out real often during my first year with this, and I chose to go to the quietest stores and restaurants at the quietest times and with protection. It might help to avoid the mall on weekends or to get up early and go as soon as it opens (while other people still sleep). I got so I could tolerate being in department stores without protection before I could tolerate being in the loud grocery stores without it.

 

@Jason C

There are loud places out there for sure, but some of your measurements suggest a typical inaccurate phone app meter. I've repeated myself over and over on the issue of using phone apps to measure noise. Most of them over-calculate by quite a significant amount and should not be relied upon at all.

A dead give away is the fact it says 35-40 db in a quiet room. Anything above 80db is pretty damn loud. I believe there are misconceptions about decibel levels, judging from what I've seen on here, and it's mainly driven by phone app usage.

Anything over 100db for a shopping mall is pretty insane, but certainly not something that can be ruled out. Don't forget that the dBa scale is relative and is based on human hearing. It is also logarithmic, so for every increase of 3db there is a doubling of power. It is generally acknowledged that there is a perceptible doubling in volume somewhere between 6db to 10db.

To put that into perspective: i'd say 80db is pretty loud. 100db is over 6 and a half times more powerful, and perceptibly 3 times louder than 80db. You're more likely to get these figures if there's live music in the mall, but it's far less likely in most other situations. Not impossible mind, but it would be a very rare unlikely occurance if it were to happen.

Restaurants generally don't go too loud. 60's and 70's seems to be the norm for me, although you may get the odd one that will tickle around 80. Nowadays, if I were to approach a restaurant and it's literally a rave in there, I just wouldn't go in. Fortunately I haven't found one yet that's been like that.

I was at an international Rugby game on Saturday and they were blasting music, so I put ear plugs in. I measured it at around 80-82db. I'm pretty sure some people here would have believed it to be in the realm of 100 db because of how perceptibly loud it was. In fact many of the phone apps I've used in the past did rate situations like that at well over 100db.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say I was most likely safe in the environment I was in without ear plugs, but I just don't take risks anymore. As soon as something hits 80 my ear plugs go in.

A problem that can develop is a fear of sound which is what you may be experiencing. The sudden feeling of panic when something is relatively loud nearby, accompanied by feelings of intense fear then immediately thinking about ear damage is not normal. It's a learned behaviour we have picked up because of our condition. The problem is when we take it too far and start over protecting or unnecessarily worrying when there is actually no cause for concern. In essence we overcompensate which causes all other kinds of social problems, such as anxiety, chronic stress, panic attacks and depression.

If you have ear pain because of hyperacusis then you may have to take other actions, but if your main problem is intrusive tinnitus then I'd say go about your usual business but take ear plugs with you on the off chance that something stupidly loud catches you off guard.

In the first 6 months of this hell I was terrified of malls, cinemas, bars. Everything basically. This for me was excasabated by my use of a phone app which was very inaccurate. It just made me afraid to go anywhere. It was at this point where I realised that my behaviour had drastically changed for the worse and I knew I needed to sort it out. My problem was purely and simply 'fear'. The fear of making it worse was actually worse than the condition itself at this point for me. So, I just started to try and live as normally as possible again, just using earplugs when things were dangerously loud.

Now I get about and function again. There's a fine line between rational and irrational behaviour, and whenever we suffer a trauma it can be hard to find where that line is again.

 

I will add to the post above that I have yet to start playing live music again which is my absolute life passion. It's something that I'm hoping I will be able to do again. I need to give myself more time. At this point it's a step too far.

 

Thanks for that.
Yea I do know the phone apps are not reliable but they do give me an idea on how loud things are apart from actually feeling how loud they are.
It really is depressing.

 

Best app that I've come across Jason is called SPLnFFT. It's £3 but in the ballpark of being fairly accurate and does give a good indication of when things are dangerously loud.