Advice Needed — Another Exposure to Loud Noise — Should I See the ENT Again?

[Nathalie]

Hey everyone. I had another unfortunate thing happen to me. I was playing around with my little brother and he accidentally shouted loudly into my left ear several times thinking it would be funny or something. He was also screaming and talking really loudly next to me for some 5 minutes in total or so. Also plus the several shouts.

I am quite worried because my left ear since then has felt full again and like there was something inside of it, cannot really explain. I just had an appointment with an ENT on Friday and now this again. Everything seemed alright then and now I am so worried my hearing is ruined for good after this recent incident.

What do you guys think? Should I get my hearing tested again and look like an utter idiot as if I was simulating it all?

 

[Jason C]

I am sure you will be fine. I have a 7yo daughter and she is a wee noise box when I play with her. She loves to scream really loud.
Thankfully I haven't had a problem with her screaming and my ears are a real mess.

 

[Nathalie]

I also talked on my phone with my brother beforehand and he spoke really loudly at times surprising me. It felt somewhat very loud but I hope it wasn't enough to cause damage.

 

[Jason C]

You'll be fine.

You might want too have a chat with your gp regarding anxiety though.

 

[Jacob83]

I think you should try and explain your hearing concerns with your little brother so he doesn't do that again

 

[Nathalie]

My left ear is ringing in a weird way as well..a new hissing and ringing sound. It is rather a quiet sound but it has not been there before. Did I really damage my hearing or is it just a spike? My ear feels like a broken speaker somewhat too, hears in a weird crisp way and muffled a bit at the same time.

 

[Samantha R]

I'm sure all is fine with your ears Nathalie. I understand why you are worried, but if you keep giving your ears so much attention, you won't break the cycle of anxiety.
I have a 2 year old and 6 month old twins. The noise is crazy at times- but realistically, it's not going to harm my ears.

 

[Nathalie]

I checked my phone and the phone calls with my brother were about 6 minutes in total. Not all at once but divided into like a 2 min call and then 47sec, 30 and 35sec and then like a minute and half. He talked like really loud and my phone was turned up higher in volume. There were many louder burts of noise when he spoke real loudly and I couldn't predict it. Then when he came home later on he did the screams and stuff. I really hope it wasn't as loud as over 100 decibels. It troubles me that my ear feels partially deaf and ringing.

 

[Jacob83]

Well, now you know that when you see you have a phone call from your brother, you should play it safe and put him on speaker phone instantly

 

[Nathalie]

Does anyone know what I should do?

 

[Jkph75]

Can you test your hearing on your phone before calling?

 

[Jacob83]

Yeah, take a deep breath and take a minute to think that your anxiety might be getting the best of you. get some sleep. Life is full of incidents like this.

 

[Nathalie]

Can you test your hearing on your phone before calling?

What do you mean?

 

[Nathalie]

The ringing is getting louder and is high-pitched. It really has me worried because they usually say that a new ringing or increases in ringing means damage to cochlea.

 

[Jkph75]

Can you download a hearing test app on your phone and use it with headphones to test your hearing? It isn't exact unless you have an iPhone but it will give you an idea if there has been any major damage done. I'm guessing that it would ok and help you feel better.

 

[SilverSpiral]

@Nathalie @Vinnitus ASD TTD ?
@Bobby B (I th's you who knows about stuff like this and ASD)
sounds like you may have some tensor tympani or stapedial stuff going on, Does your eardrum vibratre or flutter? Does your T change if you press or rub on ares around the ear and upper neck and side of face??

 

[Vinnitus]

Yes @Nathalie

What you encounter might be a classic case of Acoustic Shock. I say "classic", because such incidents are fairly common among call-center employees who take calls all day with various clients and their voices of various volumes. Phones themselves are able to produce loud unexpected sounds as well.

The thing with Acoustic Shock is a neurophysiological response to a former sound event, causing muscles in the middle ear to contract involuntarily in anticipation of further loud sounds. You have no direct control over this response, but the muscle contractions can cause all kinds of weird symptoms. Aural fullness, tinnitus, tympanic fluttering, hyperacusis, ear canal "burning", jaw pains, ear pains and eustachian tube issues to name a few.

Acoustic Shock can go WITHOUT serious inner-ear damage (it usually does), but is a disturbance of the middle ear protective mechanism controlled by the autonomous nervous system. It can be experienced similarly to a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the sense that the brain subconsciously relates incoming sounds to a former traumatizing event. This causes the muscle contractions in the middle ear when hearing sounds or even just thinking about sounds. Getting anxiety under control is important here I think, as this might potentially sustain symptoms. When these symptoms are persisting it's referred to as Acoustic Shock Disorder (ASD) and this can be with you for the long term.

I'm not saying this is what you are experiencing, as I am not in the position to do so. Just letting you know that there is a thing like ASD out there and that it doesn't have to indicate inner-ear damage. Just take that into consideration. Maybe it will reduce your anxiety a little.

Read more here: http://www.hyperacusis.net/other-factors/acoustic-shock-disorder/

 

[Nathalie]

Yes @Nathalie

What you encounter might be a classic case of Acoustic Shock. I say "classic", because such incidents are fairly common among call-center employees who take calls all day with various clients and their voices of various volumes. Phones themselves are able to produce loud unexpected sounds as well.

The thing with Acoustic Shock is a neurophysiological response to a former sound event, causing muscles in the middle ear to contract involuntarily in anticipation of further loud sounds. You have no direct control over this response, but the muscle contractions can cause all kinds of weird symptoms. Aural fullness, tinnitus, tympanic fluttering, hyperacusis, ear canal "burning", jaw pains, ear pains and eustachian tube issues to name a few.

Acoustic Shock can go WITHOUT serious inner-ear damage (it usually does), but is a disturbance of the middle ear protective mechanism controlled by the autonomous nervous system. It can be experienced similarly to a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the sense that the brain subconsciously relates incoming sounds to a former traumatizing event. This causes the muscle contractions in the middle ear when hearing sounds or even just thinking about sounds. Getting anxiety under control is important here I think, as this might potentially sustain symptoms. When these symptoms are persisting it's referred to as Acoustic Shock Disorder (ASD) and this can be with you for the long term.

I'm not saying this is what you are experiencing, as I am not in the position to do so. Just letting you know that there is a thing like ASD out there and that it doesn't have to indicate inner-ear damage. Just take that into consideration. Maybe it will reduce your anxiety a little.

Read more here: http://www.hyperacusis.net/other-factors/acoustic-shock-disorder/

Does it mean it will eventually settle?

 

[Themoon]

because my left ear since then has felt full again

Hi Nathalie,

From what you're saying, your symptoms seem to be hyperacusis. I would advise you, to protect your ears from loud sounds, and screaming in the ears. You ears are still freshly traumatized, you have to let them some time to recover.

I would also advise you to talk on speaker when you're on the phone, and cut all internet most of the time (waves are not good for the ears).

If you protect geniuinely your ears, you will recover, but stay careful, the time you learn how your ears react.

 

[Vinnitus]

Does it mean it will eventually settle?

Assuming you are indeed experiencing Acoustic Shock (AS) and when referring to the article (link) I included, it might disappear. The article says that call-center employees should not go back to work until symptoms have completely disappeared, so this implies symptoms CAN indeed disappear. However, Acoustic Shock Disorder (ASD) might also follow and that might be more long term. My thinking is that anxiety induced by an event might play a role in this, as the brain has the tendency to "remember" important events by making more synaptic connections. It works similarly when learning new things; emotional impact and repetition will make sure the brain values the newly learned information more highly, making more synaptic connections to it in the process. This is what you at least have some control over, so reducing the anxiety might be beneficial and hopefully more easily relieve the subconsciously induced symptoms.

 

[Nathalie]

Assuming you are indeed experiencing Acoustic Shock (AS) and when referring to the article (link) I included, it might disappear. The article says that call-center employees should not go back to work until symptoms have completely disappeared, so this implies symptoms CAN indeed disappear. However, Acoustic Shock Disorder (ASD) might also follow and that might be more long term. My thinking is that anxiety induced by an event might play a role in this, as the brain has the tendency to "remember" important events by making more synaptic connections. It works similarly when learning new things; emotional impact and repetition will make sure the brain values the newly learned information more highly, making more synaptic connections to it in the process. This is what you at least have some control over, so reducing the anxiety might be beneficial and hopefully more easily relieve the subconsciously induced symptoms.

Thanks for the advice. As I understand ASD doesn't necessarily mean hair cell damage? If it was a few seconds of very loud noise coming as a surprise.

 

[Vinnitus]

Thanks for the advice. As I understand ASD doesn't necessarily mean hair cell damage? If it was a few seconds of very loud noise coming as a surprise.

You got that right. The duration of exposure is also important for hair cell damage. Acoustic Shock can go without hair cell damage after a sudden impulse sound.