Why Is It So Uncommon to See People with Tinnitus Protecting Their Ears

@serendipity1996
Before I acquired hyperacusis, I though tinnitus was the worse. Now that I have hyperacusis it is honestly worse. I have friend who has both and she agrees if she had a choice to get rid of one it would hyperacusis. Hyperacusis is unpredictable and moody. It’s interesting how we all have our own annoyance, unique to us. One day walking on leaves bothers me next day it fine. I do not know why and the leading clinician sure cannot tell you, so some newbie like sure does not have the answers. You hit the nail on the head it is psychological. Bingo. This is the ultimate head game. The mind is a beast that needs to be tamed. Right now it’s out of control with it little friend hyperacusis riding shotgun. But I can tell you this, keep trying and keep learning what works for you. I applaud you for getting out for yoga. See you are better than I thought. Keep it going. Stay in the present. God Bless You. Peace

 

one thing at least that makes me feel better about my guilt / self blame regarding my carelessness or foolishness after getting it and not taking the necessary precautions etc is that it seems common. so many people have stories of having it mild / moderate and then carrying on with potentially risky behavior and making it worse somehow - which kind of helps take away some of the blame from yourself. none of us are stupid, we’re human and fallible, and only knew what we knew at the time, and can’t blame ourselves for it. obviously in hindsight we wish we’d acted differently, but it is what it is. at least we can help others from making the same mistakes if we communicate and raise awareness.

 

I see a lot of practical problems (the private mansion party for one). We don't need laws that can't be enforced. Where I live there are dB laws for venues. People still get hearing damage. The rules and dB levels are just guidelines, too. Then there's personal susceptibility and exposure times. Make it into a law, and people will be externally motivated. There will always be the cool factor of going against the governments advice, like with smoking.
If you educate people and raise awareness, people will be internally motivated. In my opinion that's better.

 

I see a problem with that too. Most people won't care and will assume it will never happen to them.

Anyway, there are no laws that can be enforced 100% of the time. How many speeding cars do you see every day?
Crime and violations of the law will always be around, but punishments/fines are somewhat of a deterrent if you get caught. People and places being fined for damaging sound levels would raise a lot of awareness of the issue. It will never happen anyway. Real treatments or a cure is the only way. The world is only going to get noisier.

 

I talked about my experience of guilt with @Jack Straw on episode 3 of the Tinnitus Talk podcast. In fact, we talked about all of the things that are being discussed in this thread including regulating bars and educating kids about the dangers of noise.

The feeling of guilt can totally overwhelm you and it feels horrible. You can’t help but ruminate and wish you could go back and change things, but you can’t. I started to realise that I was wasting a lot of time and energy fighting these emotions and it doesn’t help you at all, it holds you back. At some point, you have to just cut the cord and focus entirely on your future as that’s all you can control.

 

I would say play it by ear (no pun intended). My entire philosophy nowadays is that I don’t really avoid stuff unless I know in advance that it’s going to be something obnoxiously loud. This is pretty rare, though. The idea of having full control over my life so that it isn’t entirely governed by sound works really well for me. If I was invited to a wedding, for example, I no longer think about how loud it might be. I would say yes if I could genuinely go, and then I’d take my custom plugs and foam plugs with me. If I deemed the environment to be too loud for foam plugs (which I use at my upper limit) then I’d excuse myself and go for a drink outside with a few people. If that wasn’t an option then I’d excuse myself and leave altogether. However, I haven’t come across a wedding or party yet that I’ve felt is too loud (for me), so I’ve never had to leave one, yet. However, I still take breaks and I stay away from speakers.

There have been times when I’ve walked out of a place, though. On one occasion I remember there being a live band in a room that wasn’t acoustically great. I walked in and then walked straight back out. This for me is taking back control of my life and it gives me a sense that I have a say in my destiny rather than my destiny being dictated to me by my inner predictions of how loud something might be and then missing out on some of life’s best moments.

We are all different, though, and we all have our own ways of dealing with our tinnitus which is unique to us.

 

I think most people know, they just choose to ignore it and live their lives. Also most of them won't have tinnitus, and the ones that do have won't even notice it.

Before tinnitus, I had a period of my life where I was going 3 times a week to nightclubs, where of course the music was loud. But even if it was loud, it didn't feel too loud. And guess what, in the end it wasn't. I had ear fullness, like ears blocked, couldn't hear fully, but no tinnitus, and the next day everything back to normal. My audiogram was normal weeks after going back home (I was in ERASMUS exchange = abroad), my hearing was perfect. Weeks before my tinnitus appeared, I had trouble to sleep and I experienced total silence, and I can tell you I was "hearing" complete silence.

So while I can understand your question, you have to understand that not everyone has the same sensitivity to sound. And that most people will be ok at a party not exceeding 80-90 dB for more than one or two hours. The majority won't have a problem; neither tinnitus nor hearing loss.

Also, people with tinnitus will have a really high sensitivity to noise. That is something I learnt, after getting my tinnitus (not from sound exposure actually): I went to some outdoor party, 30 meters from speakers, not loud at all, and it gave me a whistle in my ear for 24 hours which I never had before from that level of noise, which was not high.
Same happened again like 2 months later, party outside, wearing earplug, also got a whistle, I was amazed because I could not hear much of the music. So my sensitivity to noise, weirdly, without any noise trauma, went to super high.

So I understand you are worried for others but you shouldn't be. You should let them live, maybe warn them, but most of the time, if it's not a big concert with big speakers screaming 120dB, they will be ok.

 

This is a good way to be. I’m still regretting that wedding in October where I forgot my custom plugs (not having my keys on me!) and knew the band was too loud / the room was not good and didn’t listen to my instincts that were telling me to leave - it would’ve been easy to pop outside and buy some plugs at a pharmacy. Very dumb. But I think if you’re prepared with protection and can trust your instincts about what is good for you and bad for you, you’ll be fine. I don’t regret going to the thing, I regret not trusting my instincts that were saying it was too loud (and this was before my T got worse, when the past 6 months prior I still went to events, but had protection, so I didn’t realize the seriousness of it) and giving in to the social pressure of being with friends etc over my own worry and concern.

I also now know I can check the dB meter app on my iphone - I know it’s likely inaccurate, but it’s better than nothing and a pretty good general indicator.

So I think that living in fear months in advance isn’t a good way to go about things, but carrying protection and trusting yourself and knowing it’s okay to leave if you have to will be enough - and that way you can be safe without living in total fear. Knowing now what I know, I still would have attended the wedding, but if I forgot my plugs like I did I would leave and do what I needed to to keep myself safe. But, to each their own.

 

I also seem to be the only one using earplugs.

My friend who recently acquired tinnitus had no idea about protection and no idea about the possibility of it getting worse.

My colleague who has tinnitus, but who has never had problematic tinnitus, does not protect - again she didn’t know it could get worse... we’ve mentioned this in the NICE UK guidelines.

 

Believe me, I’ve been there. My increase happened in an environment that I knew at the time was too loud. I remember looking around the room thinking I should leave as my ears feel as if they’re being damaged, but seeing other people nodding their heads and smiling stupidly reassured me that I was being unnecessarily anxious.

I never thought I’d forgive myself and I ruminated on that for a loooooonng time. In the end, you just have to realise that the guilt and blaming yourself gets you nowhere.

 

Yeah, totally. I’ve been on that guilt and rumination stage for the last few months, since it got way worse in October - and I can remember vividly how I was like uh oh, I forgot my earplugs and this is really loud. And a few times I left the room to let my ears get a break, but I still went back in and stood with my friends for not wanting to be alone. I kept kicking myself for not even thinking of asking the hotel staff for earplugs or just stepping out to a pharmacy. I can see vividly the moment where I felt a sharp spike in my left ear and was like uh oh, that’s definitely not good. But I didn’t even realize it truly spiked my T way worse until many days later.

And as I said, I had custom molded plugs for years before I even got chronic tinnitus. I generally knew about protecting my ears. So even I, as someone who ostensibly knew better - and who had already had chronic tinnitus for 6 months - didn’t listen to my instincts and worries, and I paid the price. Just shows how fallible humans are.

it’s very helpful to hear from you and others though, because it makes me feel a lot less stupid and guilty about it.

 

This is so strikingly similar to my story. It’s those memories of realisation where you knew it was damaging and did nothing that destroys your soul a piece at a time. The thing is, what’s done is done and nothing we can do will ever turn back the clock.

In time, you will move on and you’ll forgive yourself. Guilt can be such a hideous emotion.

 

I think a lot of people are too concerned with the opinions of others.

I took a drum lesson yesterday and when I walked in I explained to the teacher that I have tinnitus and to please not play at all if my ear muffs weren't on. He told me he has it also, and that he always wears protection except for when he is teaching because it makes it harder to converse.

I told him not to be silly, and once I put mine on, he did the same. We just spoke loudly through the lesson. But this is a great example of people putting perception of others over their own well being.

Side note - despite exposing himself to loud sound during lessons he told me that once he started to protect his hearing, his tinnitus started to improve.

 

This is very true. People really do care more about appearances than their own health in many situations. I honestly couldn’t care less about the opinions of others and it seems you’re the same. If something is loud I put my earplugs in in front of everyone because it’s no big deal. If it seems a big deal I can promise you that it’s all in your head. In reality, nobody cares what you put in your ears and most don’t even notice. I’ve done this for long enough to know that nobody is bothered.

I get the impression sometimes that people are embarrassed to use earplugs because they’ll seem like the odd one out, or maybe they’ll look weak or pathetic. None of that is true. The reality is that it shows strength of character and demonstrates a complete lack of “giving a shit” about what others may think, even though as I said above, other people couldn’t care less.

 

I think about this a lot as well.

I was talking to someone who was telling me an old mutual friend had bad tinnitus and had to sleep with a fan running at night. I then saw them at a rock concert on social media a week later with no ear plugs.

I feel it is a combination of ignorance and not taking it seriously.

Interestingly, while watching the 49ers and Packers game this past Sunday the decibel level that they showed at the stadium was 103 db. I was blown away at how loud it is and how many people are there for longer then the recommended healthy ear 7.5 min. Definitely some hearing damage going on. Then all of a sudden they cut to the head coach of the 49er and he is wearing bright orange ear plugs. The only smart person in the whole stadium to protect their ears is the coach of the team. You never see people protecting their ears at this thing so it was crazy to see the coach doing it. He even left them in during the award acceptance speech.

I think once people understand and see how bad tinnitus can really get, that they take it seriously. If they are ignorant about how bad it can get it isn’t really an issue for them.

 

I don't care either who sees me wearing them. But I feel like I can't talk with my musician plugs in due to occlusion. Anyone else with that?

 

I definitely do not care. Most of my circle of friends are musicians or are married to a musician. We all wear earplugs because we all know better. I was the one of the first to end up with these issues, but about half my friends have it to varying degrees. Once it became more common in the group everyone got more cautious.

I wear them at work functions also, and I'm commonly one of two people that to do it. Yes, the other guy has tinnitus also. We're friends because of this - I noticed he wore them when this first hit me and he was nice enough to spend some time talking to me about adjusting to my new scenario.

Most people don't notice or don't care enough to mention it - but occasionaly someone will ask about it. More often than not they think they're hearing aids because they're customs and not foam filters. Once I explain why I'm wearing them people usually ask where I got them and comment that its too loud for them also.

 

My work environment is a steady 75-80 dB. Wearing earplugs makes it difficult to understand instructions.
I have one earplug barely in... my musicians earplugs have a 10 dB filter... I need a 5... maybe a 2 to hear someone speaking... too much protection and all I hear is the tinnitus covering the speech.

I have to forgo more protection to do my job, oh well. I already gave up music... but can’t give up the day job.

 

Which musician's earplugs do you have? You should be able to to hear ppl talking. I have a pair that are 15 db and I can always hear ppl fine. I have a custom pair of 25 db and I can usually hear ppl with those too, but definitely easier with the 15's.

I had to give music up too after I acquired hyperacusis :/. And I am positive my H had nothing to do with the music, which is the most frustrating part.

 

Well... I don’t have your ears do I? You aren’t 50 with the associated hearing loss for that age, are you? Lol

My tinnitus is severe enough that any covering over the ear and I’m overwhelmed with the sound. Even barely inserting an earplug and I hear the tinnitus louder than speech.

Musician earplugs attenuate flat across the spectrum, that’s all... nothing magical, but a little easier to hear speech frequencies with than foams. That being said, foam earplugs cut in half are easier to push/pull for more or less sound insulation. (This isn’t for the stage, I would never go without IEMs for the stage, but that ship has sailed.)

I use EarPeace, 10 dB filters... and they are fine for movies but not on the job (for me).

 

There are also industrial filters that filter out machine noise but speech much less. Maybe look into those. They should fit your existing earplugs if it's the same brand like Etymotic Research

 

Could you send a link for these industrial filters? Mine isn’t machine noise per se, it’s flying noise at 80 dB... a flat filter is a flat filter. You probably have better hearing to start with than I do. I have seen shooter earplugs that allegedly will turn anything over 85 dB into heat (no electronics), I wouldn’t trust those.

 

I’m still so salty tbh though that my tinnitus came from barotrauma and medicine on top of previous noise damage

Because I was wearing concert earplugs to concerts regularly since 2016, kept them on my keychain. Had customs made in Jan 2018. Barotrauma incident was mid 2017. Got the T from meds in early 2019.
So protecting for years, and then bad luck, and a few slip ups where I forgot my plugs. I had no shame in wearing earplugs, I took pride in it. They made me feel smart. I even wished I had them back in 2009, back when I first got plugs.

So then it really sucks and messes with my brain that I, someone who prided myself in protecting my ears, got screwed over with T, and my peers are fine.

 

I'm not sure about Etymotic now I look it up. There's Elacin RC filters. "When speech perception is important". They seem like they're also as flat as possible for attenuation although they are marketed towards the industry instead of musicians. I honestly don't know what difference there is. Like you say, a flat filter is a flat filter... I can't think of anything else really. Do the colleagues not wear plugs of muffs? In such noise levels protection would be advised I presume?

 

I didn't know I was supposed to protect my damaged ears from noise until reading the horror stories on Tinnitus Talk about tinnitus getting permanently worse after repeated noise exposure. So I think it's due to lack of education and pure ignorance.

 

Here in the US my coworkers are not covered by OSHA, so while earplugs are offered, most do not wear them.

 

The strange thing with my tinnitus is that, even though I don't hear as well, I'm more affected by loud and sudden sounds. I have a lower tolerance, if that makes sense. And maybe, just maybe, people with Tinnitus are those that were actually blessed with great hearing -- that went bad.

 

Its good you still are able to socialise as many can't or don't want to take the risk. Perception of loudness is somewhat subjective but just wondered what kind of sensations do you get when you realise its too loud ? Do you constantly measure the decibel count on an app.

I can handle the loud loud Tinnitus but the Hyperacusis means anything greater than 70 Decibels is non starter (used to be 90 decibels). Both ears at always different times (not together) just feel hot / burning and so sensitive all the time (no pain as yet though)

I have tried to be sensible and gone out to selective loud venues in the past (maybe three or four times in a year) but its got worse each time. Now its got to the point - DJ, festivals/nightclubs, headphones cinemas and football matches are all out. I was hoping my ears could cope with going out once or twice a year but thats not going to be possible with H.

 

Ed, I do the same, carry earplugs on my key ring, so they are always with me .

I don’t really ask people if they have tinnitus but I was shocked to find out only a few days ago that one of my nieces has tinnitus since she was 16 now she is 27. She did have it through high school college, now she's a nurse practitioner. Got her Masters.

But I told her about earplugs and dangers of loud noise, to never go to a party or a loud place without them. To never think your tinnitus can’t get worse.

 

There was this tweet going around a few days ago, thought I’d share!

I think some smart people DO protect their hearing, we just don’t notice it.
It’s kind of like before I got my tinnitus, I never noticed people’s hearing aids out in the public - ever. Now every time I go to the store or something it’s amazing how many people have them on.

I think we as humans tend to worry about what others think of us when in reality we’re all caught up with our own personal struggles and care about others WAAAY less than we think. Being 26 I’ve struggled with being embarrassed of wearing ear plugs. I have hardly gone out and seen friends over these last few months but I’m starting to realize that my friends who love me really won’t care or be bothered by it. It might seem weird at first, yeah, and most probably will think I’m overreacting or being overly cautious but at the end of the day it’s ME who has to deal with the anxiety, pain, and sleepless nights that tinnitus brings me. So I could care less.