25-Year Tinnitus Anniversary and I'm Spiking Again After Attending a Concert
- Thread starter Sven
- Start date
Member
delta784
Member
- Sep 29, 2024
- 55
- Tinnitus Since
- 2020, 2024
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Gunshot, MethylPrednisolone
How do you endure this for so long? I've had it for three months, and I'm losing my mind. I also have noxacusis—pain from sounds. I'm only 29, and I just want to go back to the time before I took that Methylprednisolone. It has affected my brain.
Hi,
At this point in my life, about 60% of my years are behind me. Having far fewer years ahead than behind is, oddly enough, a small relief. I haven't attended concerts in over 20 years—not even quiet classical performances—let alone events reaching 90 dB.
There's a significant difference between dBA, dBC, and dBZ. You've probably been measuring dBA. While 70 dBA might seem harmless, the danger lies in low-frequency and subsonic components that you can barely hear. These frequencies can make a space feel quiet, and your cell phone won't measure them accurately, so you think you're safe—but you're not. Modern concerts with speakers and subwoofers wreak havoc on your hair cells. There's no effective way to protect yourself from low-frequency sound. If you can feel the thumping of a subwoofer in your chest, leave immediately. A quick online search will confirm what I'm saying.
Low-frequency sound carries extremely high energy and is incredibly dangerous. It isn't measured on the dBA scale, so you might not realize the risk unless you specifically research it. dBA is adjusted to reflect human hearing sensitivity, just as light intensity for plants is measured in PAR instead of lumens. For example, ultraviolet light, which you can't see, can severely damage your retina and cause cataracts quickly. Subsonic sound is similar—it operates at frequencies below what you can hear (below 20 Hz), but it can still cause devastating hearing damage. Explosions and bass drums often produce sound waves that go down to zero Hz.
This is why people often misunderstand the risks, saying, "It's only 70 dB." That's because they're measuring on the A scale instead of the C or Z scale. I'm shocked that this topic isn't more widely discussed in forums for patients dealing with hearing damage and tinnitus.
I speak as someone who has suffered extensively. I'm a tinnitus cripple. Please, learn from my experience—avoid these environments. The same goes for movie theaters and clubs, which are loaded with subwoofers. Don't risk it. Just don't go.
At this point in my life, about 60% of my years are behind me. Having far fewer years ahead than behind is, oddly enough, a small relief. I haven't attended concerts in over 20 years—not even quiet classical performances—let alone events reaching 90 dB.
There's a significant difference between dBA, dBC, and dBZ. You've probably been measuring dBA. While 70 dBA might seem harmless, the danger lies in low-frequency and subsonic components that you can barely hear. These frequencies can make a space feel quiet, and your cell phone won't measure them accurately, so you think you're safe—but you're not. Modern concerts with speakers and subwoofers wreak havoc on your hair cells. There's no effective way to protect yourself from low-frequency sound. If you can feel the thumping of a subwoofer in your chest, leave immediately. A quick online search will confirm what I'm saying.
Low-frequency sound carries extremely high energy and is incredibly dangerous. It isn't measured on the dBA scale, so you might not realize the risk unless you specifically research it. dBA is adjusted to reflect human hearing sensitivity, just as light intensity for plants is measured in PAR instead of lumens. For example, ultraviolet light, which you can't see, can severely damage your retina and cause cataracts quickly. Subsonic sound is similar—it operates at frequencies below what you can hear (below 20 Hz), but it can still cause devastating hearing damage. Explosions and bass drums often produce sound waves that go down to zero Hz.
This is why people often misunderstand the risks, saying, "It's only 70 dB." That's because they're measuring on the A scale instead of the C or Z scale. I'm shocked that this topic isn't more widely discussed in forums for patients dealing with hearing damage and tinnitus.
I speak as someone who has suffered extensively. I'm a tinnitus cripple. Please, learn from my experience—avoid these environments. The same goes for movie theaters and clubs, which are loaded with subwoofers. Don't risk it. Just don't go.
Thank you. I am aware of the risks. Concerts are definitely a no for me now, and the one I recently attended was my last. I no longer go to movies or nightclubs, which makes sense now that I am 51, but I still attend football and ice hockey matches. I always use earplugs for protection.
That said, I used to go to clubs regularly when I was in my thirties, and I never had any problems. I actually feel that the music in those clubs was louder than the seats I had at this recent concert. Not that it matters now—I understand it was still a risk.
I was under the impression that bass sounds are not as harmful as treble sounds. After all, it is the higher-pitched sounds that irritate my ears the most.
I am not familiar with Methylprednisolone, but I first developed noticeable tinnitus when I was 25 (I am 51 now). I had minor symptoms before that without realizing what they were, but when it truly started, it was horrible in the beginning.
Of course, I cannot speak to how loud or severe your tinnitus is, but over time, you do adapt and sort of get used to it. Even though it is still annoying at times, I think the brain learns to ignore it as best as it can.
@Sven, high-frequency sounds, like chalk on a chalkboard, can be incredibly irritating. It is not just subjective; it is how our ears are likely tuned to prioritize hearing frequencies essential for speech. Sound is a compression wave, and even frequencies below 20 Hz, down to 1 Hz, are still sound. You cannot hear them, but you can feel them, like the thud of a bomb blast in war. The energy force in these low frequencies is enormous, but our ears are not designed to handle it. That is where the dBZ scale comes in.
Another important aspect is impulsivity, or how quickly the peak amplitude of a sound is reached. Our ears have protective muscles, and a gradual, steady increase in sound allows them to invoke a short-term protective response. However, sudden noises like a gunshot, firecracker, explosion, airbag deployment, or a plate shattering on a tile floor can catch the ears by surprise. These sounds do not give the ear enough time to react and protect itself.
While high frequencies can be irritating, low frequencies can carry enormous amounts of energy. They might not sound loud subjectively, so you may not even realize the damage they are causing. Low frequencies can also feel thrilling and enjoyable. For example, when a massive subwoofer shakes the house, it can seem fun, but two days later, you could find yourself with severe, delayed, and permanent tinnitus, which is what happened to me.
Dental work is another example. The high-frequency sound of a dental drill seems manageable at the moment, but you do not realize its intensity until later when you are lying in bed crying for months. This also happened to me. Sudden slamming noises are dangerous because your ears cannot react quickly enough to protect themselves.
It is more complex than just looking at the dBA scale. Factors like intensity, time, frequency, and impulsivity all play significant roles in how sound affects the ears.
Another important aspect is impulsivity, or how quickly the peak amplitude of a sound is reached. Our ears have protective muscles, and a gradual, steady increase in sound allows them to invoke a short-term protective response. However, sudden noises like a gunshot, firecracker, explosion, airbag deployment, or a plate shattering on a tile floor can catch the ears by surprise. These sounds do not give the ear enough time to react and protect itself.
While high frequencies can be irritating, low frequencies can carry enormous amounts of energy. They might not sound loud subjectively, so you may not even realize the damage they are causing. Low frequencies can also feel thrilling and enjoyable. For example, when a massive subwoofer shakes the house, it can seem fun, but two days later, you could find yourself with severe, delayed, and permanent tinnitus, which is what happened to me.
Dental work is another example. The high-frequency sound of a dental drill seems manageable at the moment, but you do not realize its intensity until later when you are lying in bed crying for months. This also happened to me. Sudden slamming noises are dangerous because your ears cannot react quickly enough to protect themselves.
It is more complex than just looking at the dBA scale. Factors like intensity, time, frequency, and impulsivity all play significant roles in how sound affects the ears.
That's interesting. I thought people said wearing earplugs at the dentist was a bad idea because of the occlusion effect, so I didn't wear them for any of the appointments I had; and there were quite a few. Are you saying I might have caused more damage to my ears because of that?
Well... damn. I guess I need to be more careful in the future. Thanks for the heads-up.
Did your initial spike from the "party" go down? Your phone must have been showing incorrect decibel levels if you experienced a permanent spike from 65 dB.
The concert, you mean? I'm not sure. It's so strange—it feels the same every time, and I can't tell if it's actually worse or if my brain is just playing tricks on me. I do notice it more when everything is quiet, but not as much during the day. When I put my fingers in my ears to block out sound, I can't be 100% sure if it's actually worse than before or not, but I suspect it might have gotten slightly worse in my left ear.
That said, I've come to this same conclusion before, and after some time, it seems like it's "always" been the same again.
It's almost kind of funny:
I'm lying wide awake in a hotel room right now, and in my despair, I've turned to this forum (yet again). The first thing I read is a thread title that almost perfectly describes my situation.
My tinnitus will turn 27 this March, though it only became really bothersome in 2016. Today, I attended my first concert since around 2013. It was a performance by a singer-songwriter who primarily plays piano. I wore earplugs the entire time (of course) and chose a seat way in the back.
I was a bit anxious but not overly so, since I've attended musicals before and been completely fine. I figured this kind of music wouldn't be as loud as a rock concert and that I'd be okay. After all, I could leave anytime if it felt too loud.
The concert itself was wonderful, and I genuinely enjoyed it. Of course, I couldn't help but check the decibel levels frequently to reassure myself. I use the Decibel X app on my iPhone (z-weighted to account for all frequencies). While I know it's not perfectly accurate, it has served as a reliable indicator for me over the years.
During most songs, the decibel levels were slightly below 85 dB, so I felt completely safe. Only a few songs spiked to around 95 dB, with occasional peaks up to 100 dB, but those sections only lasted 2–3 minutes. Since I was wearing earplugs, I didn't find that particularly concerning.
After the concert, my wife and I returned to the hotel, and I felt alright overall—just a little tired, with a slight headache. I attributed that to being in a closed space with hundreds of other people for an extended period. I even said to my wife, "I'm glad we did this. I really enjoyed it."
To be cautious, I took 600 mg of NAC (something I regularly do if I feel I've been exposed to a bit too much noise) and went to bed.
Fast forward three hours, and I woke up to a really bad spike. My ears are hissing horribly. While it's technically my "normal" sound, it's much, much louder than usual. It feels like I've been thrown back to square one again.
I know, logically, that my ears shouldn't have sustained any actual damage from those decibel levels. I hope this spike is just my mind reacting. Time will tell.
Goodbye, sleep... again.
I'm lying wide awake in a hotel room right now, and in my despair, I've turned to this forum (yet again). The first thing I read is a thread title that almost perfectly describes my situation.
My tinnitus will turn 27 this March, though it only became really bothersome in 2016. Today, I attended my first concert since around 2013. It was a performance by a singer-songwriter who primarily plays piano. I wore earplugs the entire time (of course) and chose a seat way in the back.
I was a bit anxious but not overly so, since I've attended musicals before and been completely fine. I figured this kind of music wouldn't be as loud as a rock concert and that I'd be okay. After all, I could leave anytime if it felt too loud.
The concert itself was wonderful, and I genuinely enjoyed it. Of course, I couldn't help but check the decibel levels frequently to reassure myself. I use the Decibel X app on my iPhone (z-weighted to account for all frequencies). While I know it's not perfectly accurate, it has served as a reliable indicator for me over the years.
During most songs, the decibel levels were slightly below 85 dB, so I felt completely safe. Only a few songs spiked to around 95 dB, with occasional peaks up to 100 dB, but those sections only lasted 2–3 minutes. Since I was wearing earplugs, I didn't find that particularly concerning.
After the concert, my wife and I returned to the hotel, and I felt alright overall—just a little tired, with a slight headache. I attributed that to being in a closed space with hundreds of other people for an extended period. I even said to my wife, "I'm glad we did this. I really enjoyed it."
To be cautious, I took 600 mg of NAC (something I regularly do if I feel I've been exposed to a bit too much noise) and went to bed.
Fast forward three hours, and I woke up to a really bad spike. My ears are hissing horribly. While it's technically my "normal" sound, it's much, much louder than usual. It feels like I've been thrown back to square one again.
I know, logically, that my ears shouldn't have sustained any actual damage from those decibel levels. I hope this spike is just my mind reacting. Time will tell.
Goodbye, sleep... again.
Based on my own experience, and without claiming this applies to everyone, I'd say you're probably OK and it's your mind that does this to you. Even with that knowledge it can be hard to battle, though, but give it time.
I hope you return to your "baseline" soon.
Thanks, I hope you're right. Even though I've dealt with tinnitus for more than 25 years, it still affects me every time something out of the ordinary happens.
P.S. Bist du Deutscher?
I understand what you mean. I also experience that feeling of, "Oh no, is it worse now after this happened or not?" Then you start listening for it for a few weeks, and you cannot decide if it is actually worse or not.
It feels like you lose your habituation, and after a certain amount of time, everything seems to go back to how it was before—but you are still unsure if it really got worse or not. Right?
My spike is worsening, despite not being exposed to loud music or noise. Perhaps it's the usual "think about it and it spikes" sort of thing, perhaps it's something else, but it's been very present for weeks now, and extra much so the last week.
I'm thinking that a never ending light cold can be behind this and/or the air moisturizer my wife uses that has a humming noise quite close to my tinnitus' frequency. Can either of that be the culprit, so to speak?
I've tried ignoring it and living as usual, but it is really intrusive at times.
I'm thinking that a never ending light cold can be behind this and/or the air moisturizer my wife uses that has a humming noise quite close to my tinnitus' frequency. Can either of that be the culprit, so to speak?
I've tried ignoring it and living as usual, but it is really intrusive at times.
I feel for you all. I am in the middle of a horrible spike right now, and it has been four days. I took my mom's car to a shop to get looked at and forgot my earplugs. A tech was banging on some brakes, and it was incredibly loud, probably around 80 to 90 dB. It did not last too long, but now I am really scared this might be my new permanent baseline.
What makes it even scarier is that I was not wearing any protection like some of you at least do. However, the exposure was not very long, maybe about three minutes, so I am hoping that I will be okay despite the situation.
What makes it even scarier is that I was not wearing any protection like some of you at least do. However, the exposure was not very long, maybe about three minutes, so I am hoping that I will be okay despite the situation.
