About 5 to 7 Second Exposure to Kitchen Loud Speaker Surprise

[Andrew Larson]

Hello all,

I am 31 year old man, who is very sensitive to loud noises. I wear ear protection whenever I go outside. I wear ear plugs and the 3m Peltor X5 series, very frequently.

I thought, with these tools, I would be noise-free and be ready to put them on at any hint of amplified sound. Today, our class was visiting the kitchen to gain reconnaissance for vegetables and herbs that they needed to be supplemented with. I was standing near a loud speaker. It was the kitchen speaker. I didn't know this.

It went off; some lady started talking and mumbling non-sense through it. It had to have been a prank because I didn't hear anything substantial go through it, other than the loud noise. It went on for about 5 to 7 seconds, maybe a little more, as it cut in and out with her voice.

It startled me and afterward, I voiced my frustration because of it. I thought to myself, that women purposefully blared the speaker because she knew people were up there. I also thought, my hearing is screwed. In the past, I have had some loud noise encounters and I hope this one in the kitchen wasn't the, " straw that broke the camel's back," so to speak.

Has anyone ever encountered a surprise experience like this one where they were surprised by a loud noise and they had no time to react?

As I write this, my hearing is remarkably quiet. I am hearing a low ring, but I am wearing my Peltor earmuffs and without them I don't hear any ring. I just hope the slight ring subsides and I can go back to baseline and count this experience as a learning one. Always wear ear protection to the kitchen. I don't think we will go back there, but I will be ready if we do.

I will report back to this forum in a few days to report how my ears are doing. Thanks to all who read this and have a good day.

 

[Red]

Yes, absolutely. Just yesterday I was walking home with my ear muffs on. Thought a firetruck was pulling up so I looked around very quickly and it was two men drilling into the building.

 

[Marc22]

Hi:

You do not specify how loud the sounds were from the speaker. If it was just average, you should be OK. If you have not worsened considerably by now, you should also be OK, in my opinion.

I have had hyperacusis for 23 years, and such things have happened to me frequently. It just cannot be avoided, especially if one lives in a big city. Lawnmowers around where I lived and now live, for instance, start suddenly very regularly. One hopes that the sudden sound is not to loud to cause temporary or permanent damage. I my case, it has never caused permanent damage, but temporary, yes, often.

I can give two other examples:

- about 6 weeks ago, I was talking to someone on the phone in a hotel room on the ground floor. Suddenly, this loud drilling sound starts , and I had to get off the phone quickly, and leave the room. What I found out from the owners was that a workman was drilling through some bricks and/or the mortar around the brick. I found out it was to last about one half hour. I was not warned because they did not know sufficiently about my condition to warn me (it was not their fault). By the way, my ears got worse for a couple of weeks but I recovered OK. After this, talking to the janitor, I asked him to warn me if he ever started to mow the lawn while I was there, something I could predict, and he did so, which was nice. So many people just don't care, so I have to put up with that indifference also.

- about 15 years ago, I was in a library doing some photocopying , when a loud alarm just above me went off. That really freaked me out, since I was only 4 feet away. Naturally, the only person probably with h. in the library near the alarm, and probably in that whole neighborhood. I survived that quite well, but was quite distraught as to possible repercussions during the hours after. I was so upset that I actually made a long distance call to another person with hyperacusis so I could express my distress and get reassurance. This call could have made things worse of course, because of talking on the phone, but I decided to chance it, but also I can't think things through when I am panicky.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Marco

 

[Juan]

It startled me and afterward, I voiced my frustration because of it. I thought to myself, that women purposefully blared the speaker because she knew people were up there. I also thought, my hearing is screwed. In the past, I have had some loud noise encounters and I hope this one in the kitchen wasn't the, " straw that broke the camel's back," so to speak.

It all depends on the volume on the speaker, but talking from experience, sounds that go up very fast in volume or sounds that are a lot louder than the background sound are the worst to deal with, and some can cause damage. It is impossible to foresee a situation like the one you experienced, it is just bad luck, but this happens to all of us sooner or later.

 

[coffee_girl]

Be aware that every one's T is different, and nobody is the same. I was in a dentist's chair for an hour with a drill going in and out of my mouth and a dentist's assistant who was still "training"...and didn't know when to take the super loud water spray thing out of my mouth. I was fine and no spikes, whereas some people would be posting about a permanent spike. Everyone is different, yours I feel will be ok...but then again a spike will show up in 2 weeks..or 2 days...or not at all. It's different for everyone.

I've dropped plates, cats, had people yelling at me, etc...no problems. If you wear plugs all the time you will have worse problems than T.

 

[Marc22]

To Juan:

My answer to your inquiry about any personal hearing loss on my part is on another thread , where you questionned me. Sorry I could not get back to you earlier.

Marco

 

[Andrew Larson]

Thank you all for responding to my message. I really appreciate it as it helps me to cope with sudden spikes in my tinnitus. Tinnitus is universal, like love and the inevitability of hunger and thirst, though the emotions and feelings associated with it are negative. It makes humans feel better if we can associate around something, commiserate, positive or negative, around a common denominator like a thought or circumstance. In my family, tinnitus is not known by me; I am still discovering who, in my family, has it.

Fortunately for me, I don't have tinnitus that bad, you know? It is only faint when I put in my ear plugs and when I put on my ear muffs. I am thankful for that, although the anxiety still comes in waves when loud noises intrude. Thank you Coffee Girl for your reassurance amidst ambivalence. It feels good. I have read that tinnitus effects men more than women. I cannot scientifically affirm this, but I have read it. This could relate to why your tinnitus didn't spike when you were at the dentist. I hear you, Juan Marc and Red. I really appreciate your sober words of reason and empathy.

Hello Marc, I understand that the way we respond to tinnitus spikes is very important. In my situation, I was sure there was a conspiracy against me, or the class, to catch us unaware of the loud noise. My thought process proceeded to get darker when I was very angry afterwards because of it. When something bad happens to be, my initial thought is that there is a conspiracy against me. After I have cooled down and removed myself from the situation and time has passed by, in more instances than not, I think rationally about it and the conclusion usually is that it was a random accident that I could not control and there was no conspiracy- ET TU, BRUTE? Then again, I am a very paranoid person lol, who thinks everything and everyone is out to get him lol, but okay, I cannot get upset at what I cannot control. Yes, I believe in the fervent indifference of mankind, as their empathic reservoirs have all but dried up to the like of lazy viticulturists- It doesn't matter to whom to place blame, it matters to learn from the event and curtail it in the future with the knowledge that you now have. For me, in this instance, another part of a building has been added to my list of places to wear hearing protection. This is my gemstone. Mark, my friend, and to all who it may concern, there is a youtuber named, Liam Boehm. Search him, please. He helps people get over there tinnitus and believes it can be healed through various ways. Cochlear hair cells can be replenished by fasting, water fasting, relaxing techniques and through health and nutrition to stimulate stem cells in this area. The reason, Liam says, that doctors say there is no cure, is because they don't want to be held liable for lawsuit if they say something can help and it doesn't. He takes an ayervedic approach to regenerating stem cells and I believe him. Take a look yourself and don't let my opinion cloud over you. My tinnitus is quiet now, and over the past few days, it has been louder than normal. I think it is tapering off I will be positive and I will post about how it is going in a few days. Thank you for reading this and I hope you all have a fantastic day

 

[Marc22]

Dear Andrew:

I understand your minor paranoid reaction to events which seem to happen to us specifically. I react that way often, but I know that some events are just random. For instance, today, I was invited to have lunch with a friend and her husband, and what happens: some guy is mowing the lawn at the entrance of their apartment building at the time I arrive. My first reaction was: of course! just at the time I arrive, the lawnmower noise bars me (only for 10 minutes). No, it could not have happenned at some other time over the last 3 weeks, it HAD to happen when I , the only person with h probably within 10 square miles was coming around! I know this is paranoid, and not a sign that Satan is out to get me. But I still react like that often.

I might add that today was an unusually hot early autumn day, and there was so much construction , truck noise, lawnmowers, etc.. everywhere ! And then I have to visit these people and ask them to turn off their air conditioner, fans, close the windows..which is a drag . Most people are understanding most of the time, but it's either that or no social life.

Best regards.

Marco

 

[Juan]

My first reaction was: of course! just at the time I arrive, the lawnmower noise bars me (only for 10 minutes).

LOL, that does happen!!! Going to the doctor and finding someone with a jackhammer at the very entrance, I can totally relate.

 

[Marc22]

I had another paranoid reaction yesterday.

As a new thread today by me here explains, I listened to some music from cheap speakers yesterday, and I am in the midst of a bad setback as a result. Every sound in torturing me today. And why? Because I attempted one of the few things that gives me pleasure: listen to some fine music. And instead of pleasure, I mainly got pain and panic. I asked myself, an atheist, is SATAN doing this to me? Deliberately and indirectly torturing me by means of something I love (besides women!)? OK, I know that this is bunk, but still, I feel so victimised!


Marco

 

[Egg]

Fire alarm at my house from my house mate cooking the other night!

I just sprinted out because I didn't have enough time to think to put my ear muffs in?

I feel like that did give me a spike though briefly. But I'm on the same boat as you, I don't really hear my T outside of quiet rooms and when I'm wearing my muffs (and I kinda hate them because of that).