Worried New Tinnitus Spike from Attending a Live Show Could Be Permanent

Hi, first time posting here. I’m 27 and I’ve had my baseline tinnitus in both ears since March 2019. I’ve long since habituated to it and it doesn’t really bother me 98% of the time. Sorry for the very long post. I’m posting here because of a recent spike due to loud acoustic exposure that I’m feeling very discouraged about.

About three weeks ago in mid-April I went to see a live show of a D&D podcast I listen to. Usually I keep earplugs in my car for my long work commute and if I knew the show was going to be so loud I would’ve brought my earplugs in with me. The venue was a pretty small theater, but they were blasting loud pop music for 30+ minutes before the show started, and the show itself was also extremely loud. I didn’t think a show that was literally just people talking to each other needed to be that loud, especially for a theater that small. I didn’t go get my earplugs from my car because my car was parked in a parking garage 2 blocks away and I didn’t feel comfortable walking back there by myself at night. I did my best to cover my ears most of the time but it was still super loud. My ears physically hurt at some points. The show was about an hour and a half long.

Right after the show and for most of the next day, my ears were fine and I didn’t notice a different from my baseline tinnitus. However, I went to the gym after work the day after the show and there I experienced a sudden full feeling in my left ear and a constant but irregular ringing that was louder and different from my baseline tinnitus. For the next couple of days the new ringing really bothered me, but then it started to taper off a bit and got much quieter so I thought it was going away. There was no noticeable hearing loss that I could perceive and I didn’t have any balance issues or vertigo.

Then almost a week after the show, the ringing in my left ear got much worse and there was a louder, higher-pitched long tone on top of the new irregular ringing. It bothered me so much I couldn’t wait to go to sleep every night for some peace and the hope that my tinnitus would be less the next day. I made an appointment with my ENT on May 3. They did a hearing test and also tested my eardrums and said everything looked fine and I did not have a significant drop in hearing from my last appoint in February 2021. ENT said I’m still in the normal range of hearing and said since I didn’t experience any acute acoustic trauma (like a gun going off next to my ear) accompanied by hearing loss, that I was fine.

The new tinnitus still hasn’t gone away, though in the last couple of days it seemed to be dropping somewhat. The tone was still high pitched but fainter and didn’t feel as grating or intolerable as it had over the last week or so. Yesterday it was overall much quieter and I thought this spike was finally going away. I felt like a person again. My left ear has also lost some of the full feeling I initially had. In the morning yesterday the high pitched tone was gone completely for about 4 hours. Today it was also gone for a bit in the morning. Then today I showered and after the shower my tinnitus in my left ear felt piercing again.

I admit I’ve cried several times over this new tinnitus and I thought I was making progress but the tinnitus level after my shower has brought me back to square one. It’s gone down a bit in the hours since but is still higher than it was yesterday. I just putzed around the house all weekend because I’m afraid of doing anything that might make it worse.

Since it’s been almost three weeks (the spike started on April 20th), I’m worried this “spike” isn’t a spike at all, but my new normal. I don’t feel like I can live with this level. I want my baseline tinnitus back so badly and I wish I had never gone to that stupid show in the first place. Tomorrow I’m going to make an appointment with a different ENT to get a second opinion, though I know there’s no cure. I’ve also made an appointment with an audiologist who specializes in tinnitus and hyperacusis (I have slight sound sensitivity but don’t think I have hyperacusis) but that’s not until late June and I’m hoping my tinnitus will have receded by then. I’m grateful the new tinnitus only seems to be in my left ear, at least.

Could Prednisone help at all in my case?

 

If I were you I’d be worried too and I totally understand. Hell, I worry even when I have one bad day! But from the outside, I’d say you are probably going to get back to baseline.

 

It doesn't matter how long you habituate to noise-induced tinnitus, if you are exposed to sounds that are too loud or you listen to audio through any type of headphones even at low volume, then you risk a spike in your tinnitus. This includes earbuds, AirPods, headsets, noise-cancelling and bone conduction headphones. If you are fortunate the spike will reduce to baseline in time or it could increase the tinnitus to a new permanent level. Sorry to sound so sobering but I think it's best that you are aware of certain things about noise induced tinnitus.

Even wearing the best hearing protection, if external sounds are too loud they will pass through your head and be transferred to your inner ear by bone conduction. This can also spike the tinnitus which might reduce to baseline or increase the tinnitus to a new permanent level.

Try not to become too dependent on wearing earplugs because you risk making your ears more sensitive to sound, by lowering the loudness threshold of your auditory system. It can also result in you developing hyperacusis.

You don't need to see another ENT doctor for a second opinion because noise induced tinnitus, is not their area of expertise. ENT doctors treat underlying medical conditions within the auditory system that cause tinnitus but they don't treat tinnitus. The correct health professional to see, is an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

Before seeing an audiologist you could try and self help. Start using low level sound enrichment particularly at night. Place a sound machine by your bedside and set to play throughout the night until morning.

Please go to my started read the posts: New to Tinnitus, What to Do? Hyperacusis, As I See It.

Click on the links below and read my posts: Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? These posts give advice on how to prevent tinnitus increasing after habituation. If the tinnitus increases after habituation due to headphones use or exposure to loud sounds, it could change to variable tinnitus. Information is given on coping methods and treatment.

Some people have had success with Prednisone and some don't. I have never tried it.

All the best,
Michael

Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

So sorry to hear that this happened to you.

Prednisone helps if you start it within days of the the event and you suspect true hearing loss.

How are you doing now? Any improvement?