Airhorn Blown Next to Ear: Hyperacusis, Ear Fullness, Sound Sensitivity — Tips?

[Relatz]

On June 30th an acquaintance decided it would be funny to blow an airhorn next to my left ear.

I have since had fullness and sensitivity to sound. My sensitivity seems to be more fullness that comes to my ears when outside or at work. Dishes clanking and things to that degree are annoying but not painful in a way that would bring me to my knees.

I have not worn ear plugs or ear protection in fear it could make it worse.

I have gone to the doctor who stated that he doesn't believe this is permanent...

I am just worried due to my anxiety and stress levels spiking since the event. I know it hasn't been that long in theory, it's just annoying. I do not have tinnitus with this, just mainly fullness and annoyance to sounds.

Is there still hope for this to go away? And what are some tips to help with recovering?

 

[GSC]

Wow. Beat that guy's ass for one thing. Also though - Protect your ears and handle them delicately. I would not go into any too loud places up to a month or three. Be cautious of door slams, sirens, vacuuming, garbage disposals and sirens. Lawn mowers, screaming. Too loud restaurants, club, concerts, movie cinema. Things of that like. The best thing for hyperacusis - since it has a variety of different subtypes is to determine the one you have and make sure you don't suffer another acoustic trauma, so the pain from sound type doesn't come on.

The best tip for any damage to one's ear is to be vigilant in protecting it, but also avoiding loud noise for the time being. Time is the best potential healer.

 

[Relatz]

Is it bad to put myself in those situations? For instance would it make it last longer or possibly make it worse? My ears feel like they constantly need to be popped but they never clear. Also, pain from dogs barking and stuff of that nature. I'm just wondering if I should avoid almost all public situations in the coming months or go out for as long as I can handle? I already debated quitting one of my jobs due to dishes.

On a side note. I was in active band for years and never wore ear protection and never suffered any hearing issues after. Could this have also contributed to my hyperacusis? When I went to the doctor they said my hearing was excellent almost better in the one that is messed up. But yet that ear feels full/clogged/needs to be popped. With pain coming from dogs barking or the phone continuously ringing. Like I said it's still been less than 2 weeks. It's just such a weird feeling and looking for help.

What are recommendations on when to try different therapy options? As you said this is acoustic trauma. I do hope this goes away and I hope sooner than later. Is it smart to wear earplugs in certain situations or is it better to just take the noise?

 

[BrStan@]

It will get better. Give it some time. Trust me on that. Now you need to be careful around loud noise, wear earplugs if you are on this kind of situation. Try magnesium, it may speed the recovery process and help with the ear discomfort you are having.

 

[Contrast]

On June 30th an acquaintance decided it would be funny to blow an airhorn next to my left ear.

I have since had fullness and sensitivity to sound. My sensitivity seems to be more fullness that comes to my ears when outside or at work. Dishes clanking and things to that degree are annoying but not painful in a way that would bring me to my knees.

I have not worn ear plugs or ear protection in fear it could make it worse.

I have gone to the doctor who stated that he doesn't believe this is permanent...

I am just worried due to my anxiety and stress levels spiking since the event. I know it hasn't been that long in theory, it's just annoying. I do not have tinnitus with this, just mainly fullness and annoyance to sounds.

Is there still hope for this to go away? And what are some tips to help with recovering?

Resting your ears and avoiding noise that causes discomfort until you get better is your best option.

 

[Contrast]

On a side note. I was in active band for years and never wore ear protection and never suffered any hearing issues after. Could this have also conbritbuted to my hyperacusis?

 

[JohnAdams]

Beat that guy's ass for one thing.

I can't disagree.

 

[Juan]

View attachment 30908

So true!

 

[Juan]

Is it bad to put myself in those situations? For instance would it make it last longer or possibly make it worse? My ears feel like they constantly need to be popped but they never clear. Also, pain from dogs barking and stuff of that nature. I'm just wondering if I should avoid almost all public situations in the coming months or go out for as long as I can handle? I already debated quitting one of my jobs due to dishes.

On a side note. I was in active band for years and never wore ear protection and never suffered any hearing issues after. Could this have also contributed to my hyperacusis? When I went to the doctor they said my hearing was excellent almost better in the one that is messed up. But yet that ear feels full/clogged/needs to be popped. With pain coming from dogs barking or the phone continuously ringing. Like I said it's still been less than 2 weeks. It's just such a weird feeling and looking for help.

What are recommendations on when to try different therapy options? As you said this is acoustic trauma. I do hope this goes away and I hope sooner than later. Is it smart to wear earplugs in certain situations or is it better to just take the noise?

This is maybe the "first strike" so you should be fine. Just be careful with loud noise and follow a healthy diet (antioxidants, it does make a difference, stuff like fruit, dry fruits, garlic, onion, vegetables, ginger, green tea, curcumin…) Try to exercise a bit and to keep you mind off the muffled hearing. Also, do not pop your ears.

 

[Relatz]

This is maybe the "first strike" so you should be fine. Just be careful with loud noise and follow a healthy diet (antioxidants, it does make a difference, stuff like fruit, dry fruits, garlic, onion, vegetables, ginger, green tea, curcumin…) Try to exercise a bit and to keep you mind off the muffled hearing. Also, do not pop your ears.

What is the benefit to not popping my ears? It feels like i should be Popping them as its a slight second relief

 

[Bill Bauer]

I have not worn ear plugs or ear protection in fear it could make it worse.

How? Why? Many of us found that protecting our ears ended up helping our ears, whereas denying our ears that protection ended up making things worse.

What is the benefit to not popping my ears?

Some people here got their T as a result of doing Valsalva manuever (i.e., popping their ears).

If you are experiencing ear fullness as a result of an acoustic trauma, then you won't be able to pop your ears, as the sensation is a symptom of damage that was done to your inner ear.

Your doctor is right - within 3-24 months your sensitivity will likely be gone. However, chances are that your ears have been compromised and it will now take less for you to begin experiencing ear fullness, hyperacusis and even tinnitus. So you will want to be easy on your ears while you have hyperacusis and ear fullness, and even after this symptom is gone you will still want to be more careful than the healthy people around you.

For tips about what you might want to watch out for, in order for this nightmare to not come back, check out the tips on
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

[JohnAdams]

What is the benefit to not popping my ears? It feels like i should be Popping them as its a slight second relief

Unless you're going absolutely crazy without popping them I wouldnt.

 

[MattR]

On June 30th an acquaintance decided it would be funny to blow an airhorn next to my left ear.

I have since had fullness and sensitivity to sound. My sensitivity seems to be more fullness that comes to my ears when outside or at work. Dishes clanking and things to that degree are annoying but not painful in a way that would bring me to my knees.

I have not worn ear plugs or ear protection in fear it could make it worse.

I have gone to the doctor who stated that he doesn't believe this is permanent...

I am just worried due to my anxiety and stress levels spiking since the event. I know it hasn't been that long in theory, it's just annoying. I do not have tinnitus with this, just mainly fullness and annoyance to sounds.

Is there still hope for this to go away? And what are some tips to help with recovering?

You have acoustic shock, which can sometimes turn in to acoustic shock disorder. It took me awhile after my incident to actually figure out what the issue was, you can Google it to find more info. If it makes you feel better, acoustic shock symptoms usually resolve themselves within days or weeks, but some people have issues with it persisting for months or longer. It's been about 4 months for me and symptoms have pretty much stayed the same since it happened so far.

 

[GSC]

Is it bad to put myself in those situations? For instance would it make it last longer or possibly make it worse? My ears feel like they constantly need to be popped but they never clear. Also, pain from dogs barking and stuff of that nature. I'm just wondering if I should avoid almost all public situations in the coming months or go out for as long as I can handle? I already debated quitting one of my jobs due to dishes.

On a side note. I was in active band for years and never wore ear protection and never suffered any hearing issues after. Could this have also contributed to my hyperacusis? When I went to the doctor they said my hearing was excellent almost better in the one that is messed up. But yet that ear feels full/clogged/needs to be popped. With pain coming from dogs barking or the phone continuously ringing. Like I said it's still been less than 2 weeks. It's just such a weird feeling and looking for help.

What are recommendations on when to try different therapy options? As you said this is acoustic trauma. I do hope this goes away and I hope sooner than later. Is it smart to wear earplugs in certain situations or is it better to just take the noise?

Damaging noise is bad to endure and 'stand' with compromised ears. If you have pain from dogs barking - then avoid dogs barking, plug your ears. The pain of your ear reacting to sound is a warning from them, them telling you; hey, this is too much, let's go away from here. It's a balancing act, only you can determine what is best for your ears, or not - but I will advise you to not go to too overly loud public situations overall.

Also, as far the better hearing, since your hyperacusis onslaught - have things been sounding too loud for you as of late? Abnormally loud? If so, that's the loudness type of hyperacusis - it could be a reason why your hearing seems superhuman or good.

It's definitely smart to wear earplugs in certain situations - best to leave if stuff causes pain to your ear or burns them. Never just take the noise.

 

[Relatz]

Damaging noise is bad to endure and 'stand' with compromised ears. If you have pain from dogs barking - then avoid dogs barking, plug your ears. The pain of your ear reacting to sound is a warning from them, them telling you; hey, this is too much, let's go away from here. It's a balancing act, only you can determine what is best for your ears, or not - but I will advise you to not go to too overly loud public situations overall.

Also, as far the better hearing, since your hyperacusis onslaught - have things been sounding too loud for you as of late? Abnormally loud? If so, that's the loudness type of hyperacusis - it could be a reason why your hearing seems superhuman or good.

It's definitely smart to wear earplugs in certain situations - best to leave if stuff causes pain to your ear or burns them. Never just take the noise.

My ear has had the fullness feeling since the event. I do not feel as if i have superhuman hearing or anything like that. I feel as if i have less hearing in the ear affected. Its feels like we just changed elavation and my ears need to pop. Loud noises tend to give me a sort of stabbing pain or making want to wince and throb minutes after. My whole left my face feels messed up including behind my ear, above my ear, even my jaw. It seems if its almost a throbbing pain that comes and goes depending on the sound.

Ive read instances were people have said that ear plugs and such has made their hyperactusis worse. That was my worry about the earplugs.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Ive read instances were people have said that ear plugs and such has made their hyperactusis worse.

Wearing earplugs 24/7 or for even the very minor noises might eventually result in hyperacusis getting worse. If you are reasonable, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[Allan1967]

On June 30th an acquaintance decided it would be funny to blow an airhorn next to my left ear.

I have since had fullness and sensitivity to sound. My sensitivity seems to be more fullness that comes to my ears when outside or at work. Dishes clanking and things to that degree are annoying but not painful in a way that would bring me to my knees.

I have not worn ear plugs or ear protection in fear it could make it worse.

I have gone to the doctor who stated that he doesn't believe this is permanent...

I am just worried due to my anxiety and stress levels spiking since the event. I know it hasn't been that long in theory, it's just annoying. I do not have tinnitus with this, just mainly fullness and annoyance to sounds.

Is there still hope for this to go away? And what are some tips to help with recovering?

I would have knocked his fcukin head off his shoulders. I hate people like that.

I would say give it time; let your ear heal and don't expose it to further loud noise. Not loud noise for you but noise that anyone would consider loud and be mindful of where you go when it does recover.

 

[Relatz]

Wearing earplugs 24/7 or for even the very minor noises might eventually result in hyperacusis getting worse. If you are reasonable, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I would have knocked his fcukin head off his shoulders. I hate people like that.

I would say give it time; let your ear heal and don't expose it to further loud noise. Not loud noise for you but noise that anyone would consider loud and be mindful of where you go when it does recover.

Thank you guys! My stress and anxiety levels are at an all time... you guys have put my mind at ease a littler bit.

I started carrying earplugs with me as of today lol! What kind would you recommend?

I hope time will heal

 

[Juan]

My ear has had the fullness feeling since the event. I do not feel as if i have superhuman hearing or anything like that. I feel as if i have less hearing in the ear affected. Its feels like we just changed elavation and my ears need to pop. Loud noises tend to give me a sort of stabbing pain or making want to wince and throb minutes after. My whole left my face feels messed up including behind my ear, above my ear, even my jaw. It seems if its almost a throbbing pain that comes and goes depending on the sound.

Ive read instances were people have said that ear plugs and such has made their hyperactusis worse. That was my worry about the earplugs.

Pressure inside your ears can be way greater than you imagine. If you pop your ears you will alter the pressure and it can be really painful.. only that you will not know it until it happens to you for the first time. ENTs usually recommend not to pop ears.

 

[MSF]

Thank you guys! My stress and anxiety levels are at an all time... you guys have put my mind at ease a littler bit.

I started carrying earplugs with me as of today lol! What kind would you recommend?

I hope time will heal

Whatever is comfortable really--some are softer, some are harder. And get acquainted with the right way to insert and remove them--they are actually supposed to go in MUCH further than most people realize to offer the protection level they claim. But the downside to this is that you can create damaging suction if you don't take them out correctly (i.e., pull your ear up and take your time to "roll" the earplug out, rather than pull straight out).

But honestly, even if you don't put them in that far they will help reduce the day to day annoyances, e.g., dogs, clinking glasses, car horns, etc.

Also, I think your airhorn "friend" needs some educating on how damaging this is--airhorns are like 130 dB at very close range; instant hearing damage can happen at >120-125 dB

 

[Bill Bauer]

Not loud noise for you but noise that anyone would consider loud and be mindful of where you go when it does recover.

I couldn't disagree more! I have been reading this forum for over 29 months, and one big lesson I learned is that it doesn't matter whether the noise would be not be considered loud by the healthy people. What matters is whether it feels loud to you. Listen to your own body, and not to the others. Here is a small sample of the countless posts that caused me to come up with the above:

I also got told no ear plugs during normal day sounds by my ENT. He said walking next to traffic and in trains is fine. So I followed his advice. My tinnitues spiked majorly and still hasnt gone down four months later. They then realised my ears were more sensitive then they realized and decided on a process to gradually ween me off them. They screwed big time and soon realized the damage they had done because i became more panicked, more anxious, protecting more and now its a harder time to ween me off them.

My T faded a lot suddenly almost 3 years ago. I had total remission of some trebly sounds in my head. It became only audible in quiet rooms.

Now its back in full force cause Im stupid. Some ENT told me ear plugs are safe. Wrong! T is with me again.

I didn't think listening to headphones would affect my ears since I never exceeded 25% of max volume (usually stayed between 10%-15%). I would use them at the gym to help mask my T and they offered some protection against loud noises at the gym. After about 3 months my T was so bothersome and I couldn't pinpoint the cause since I also work with kids and it can get loud at times. I stopped using the headphones and now use earplugs at the gym and the T did subside. I wouldn't recommend using headphones for more than 20 mins a day and no more than 3 times a week. I used to be at the gym for 2 hours 4-5 times a week so it took a toll on my ears.

I was told not to wear hearing protection for normal everyday situations but look where it's got me. I had my plugs in my pocket too. Getting on with a normal life hasn't helped for me.

Yes, you are correct. Not only that, but I have experienced firsthand already how avoidance is so much more helpful. Yes, even using earplugs and earmuffs is not a suitable replacement for avoidance.

In the third or fourth week of November I bought earmuffs and started wearing them on the bus, which I would take daily for work. At some point earlier on in this month (December) there was a new bus driver who not only had the bus intercom system turned on, but had the volume incredibly loud. I wore my ear protection and kept shuffling seats in an attempt to not be near one of the speakers. I suppose I must have not seen one of the speakers and ended up getting blasted. Even with ear protection on, it made my tinnitus arguably at its worse and gave me a new tone. Ever since then, I have opted for ridesharing services despite how expensive they are. I have sworn off using the bus.

Now, to my amazement, and in less than a month, not only has my new tone vanished, but my tinnitus has gone from moderate to mild. It is amazing to think that just cutting out a 15 minute bus drive with ear protection could have such benefits.

While I agree some people here go overboard with hearing protection, this increase in noise sensitivity after wearing hearing protection is only a temporary one. It is not the same thing as the brain turning up the auditory gain when there is a permanent loss in hearing.

With regards to noise exposure that isn't dangerous to most people, I developed a new tone in my right ear after a noise exposure at work back in October. I spent about half an hour in an area that I would estimate was at most 90db, but it was probably less than that. I had deeply inserted large foam earplugs at the time, but apparently that was not enough protection. That tone has not gone away, and it's not some psychosomatic spike. Spikes in volume are somewhat relative in my opinion, they can be attributed to stress, lack of sleep, noise exposure, diet, etc., but completely new tones that do not go away are something different.

What is safe for you may not be safe for me. And the fact is there has been no good study done assessing the vulnerability of already damaged auditory systems. The gold standard for dangerous noise levels is based on old data from OSHA where they looked for permanent threshold shifts of 10db or more at 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hz. As we know now, you can have fairly significant auditory damage without having a permanent threshold shift in those three ranges. There is also a lot of industry push-back when OSHA tries to make safety guidelines more strict (I haven't seen this with noise levels, but I have seen it with chemical safety guidelines). Moreover, it's very likely that some people are more genetically predisposed to hearing damage than others.

What I'm getting at here is I agree with you that some people really do go overboard with hearing protection, and obsessing about noise is not healthy, but it irritates me when people adopt this attitude of "well it works for me therefore it must work for you" or "it's safe for me therefore it's safe for you". No one can say that.

the noise has actually got worse - a lot worse just lately as I've been exposed to a noisy office environment. Normal for everyone else but too noisy for my ears. I now have a noise like a jet engine, a rushing wind with a high-pitched whine in it.

Yeah. I am going through the same thing. Got my T to improve and go back to mild and went to a restaurant I have eaten safely at twice post T and have had the loudest spike that has, after a week, not improved at all. And my H got worse too.

Oh go you'll be fine they said. Wear earplugs they said.

So I went to the event with ear plugs. Was there for only a few minutes. Big mistake. Gave me low drone/hum that's worst than the high pitch hiss/eeeee, tea kettle sounds. Never went away. sigh
3 1/2 years ago.

Everyone is different. Every situation is different.
You have to make a decision and live with it.

I can't take it anymore. I don't want to die but at this stage the urge to stop suffering is stronger. Ps. To all members in this forum advising against so called "overprotection". I never exposed myself to sounds even remotely considered as being potentially harmful to healthy people but because of your advice I was exposed to sounds uncomfortable for me which eventually proved to be damaging.

At initial stages i was very weary about sound levels around me and used protection everytime I felt uncomfortable.

Only by reading TRT literature or some posts here I started to expose my self to sounds loud but never louder than 75-80 dB.

Whenever I was feeling like something is not right I was stupid enough to believe you these changes were part of "the natural process of healing".

Is this your healing? Every time you feel like giving this sort of advice have my case in mind.

Also, check out the advice in

I didn't read all the above comments, but did peruse a fair amount of it, and ran across many good points on both sides of the argument. What strikes me is there seems to be an underlying assumption (of course I may be wrong on this) that all brains and neurological systems are created equal. The way I see it, that's simply not the case, so everybody's way of dealing with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is going to have to be highly individualized.

I read a book many years ago called "Adrenal Syndrome". A lot of the book touched on the residual resiliency of people's adrenal glands as they respond to life's stresses. Very low resiliency often resulted in months/years of chronic debilitating exhaustion following a stressful event(s) in their lives. Very high resiliency indicated essentially the opposite. The author broke this down into some rough numbers:

25% of people have low resiliency, meaning normal life stressors will often send them into some degree of a tailspin.
25% of people have high resiliency, meaning that no matter how severe a stressor comes into their lives, they will be able to cope without becoming debilitated to any degree.
50% of people fall somewhere inbetween.

I believe there are some kind of corresponding numbers for a person's brain and neurological resiliency as well, which can greatly affect the ability to cope with tinnitus. (I believe adrenal resiliency also plays a major role in our ability to cope). -- Based on these assumptions, it's pretty easy for me to conclude that what may be overprotection for one person will be underprotection for another, and vice versa.

I think the main point to understand for someone new to tinnitus is that their path forward is going to be a lot of "testing the waters". Generally, IMHO, it's going to take a few weeks or months to get important insights that will help us achieve a healthy balance. In all likelihood, most people are going to learn from experience when their over-protecting or under-protecting.

I've come to believe however, that in those early months, if one is going to err in either direction, it should be toward overprotection. It just seems to me the consequences of underprotection (which could result in permanent injury) in those early times are much more dire than the consequences of overprotection--which as I understand, generally results in temporary setbacks.

Doing a number of things to better support the brain and neurological system and the body's stress response (adrenal glands) is quite high on my list of recommendations I would make to anybody with tinnitus. Doing so might even prevent phonophobia or OCD, etc., as we go through our learning curves -- Just my 2 cents worth.

Relative newbies to tinnitus are likely to find all the information/opinions above quite confusing. So here are a few common-sense rules to follow:

1. The best protection of all is avoidance. Even the best earplugs can't guarantee complete hearing protection so those relatively new to tinnitus are best advised to avoid prolonged loud noise exposure - especially amplified sound at for example live concerts and sports events. This may involve lifestyle changes.

2. When in doubt, use hearing protection. In the many tasks we all do through the week, some will inevitably involve exposure to noise - which may be at higher levels than we at first realise - so using hearing protection for many of these is only sensible.

3. Build quiet into your day. It's not a good idea to be wearing hearing protection all the time - so you need to give your ears a break by ensuring that there will be quieter times during your day when hearing protection isn't necessary.This may involve changing your routine. Use soft masking noise and light music (not using headphones) to avoid "silence" where tinnitus is most noticeable.

4. Don't stress about stress. Tinnitus newbies are forever being told that the thing which makes tinnitus worse is stress. But while it's true that how you are feeling at a particular moment can make tinnitus temporarily louder, it won't have a lasting effect. But prolonged loud noise exposure can make tinnitus permanently louder. So don't stress about stress - but do be concerned about noise.

What kind would you recommend?

My plugs of choice are 3M 1100 foam plugs.

 

[TnH]

On June 30th an acquaintance decided it would be funny to blow an airhorn next to my left ear.

I have since had fullness and sensitivity to sound. My sensitivity seems to be more fullness that comes to my ears when outside or at work. Dishes clanking and things to that degree are annoying but not painful in a way that would bring me to my knees.

I have not worn ear plugs or ear protection in fear it could make it worse.

I have gone to the doctor who stated that he doesn't believe this is permanent...

I am just worried due to my anxiety and stress levels spiking since the event. I know it hasn't been that long in theory, it's just annoying. I do not have tinnitus with this, just mainly fullness and annoyance to sounds.

Is there still hope for this to go away? And what are some tips to help with recovering?

Similar thing happened to me ... about 2 years ago.

Still got tinnitus, still can't pop my ears, still sensitive to dishes and all that crap.

Was also told by GP it could go away but ENT told the truth that there's no cure and they have no idea what will happen. They advised therapy and that was it.

 

[Flyingsheep]

I feel what I'm about to say is going to be highly controversial to many here. Recently I moved to Hong Kong, which is an extremely noisy place, and I have hyperacusis. Since being here I've had way less sensitivity and fullness than I did sitting in a rather quiet house being reactive to lawn mowers and other random loud sounds. I've been wearing earplugs way less often here with very few exceptions. Unless I coincidentally experienced some healing at the same time, it almost seems like being distracted and busy and wearing earplugs less often actually helped my hyperacusis. That's all I have to say.

 

[Relatz]

I couldn't disagree more! I have been reading this forum for over 29 months, and one big lesson I learned is that it doesn't matter whether the noise would be not be considered loud by the healthy people. What matters is whether it feels loud to you. Listen to your own body, and not to the others. Here is a small sample of the countless posts that caused me to come up with the above:










Also, check out the advice in





My plugs of choice are 3M 1100 foam plugs.

Should i be wearing earplugs in both ears or just the one affected. I only tried to wear mine yesterday in certain situations at work and when we ate out for dinner.

And do others seem to get pain in the neck and behind the head from this? Does this also cause clenching of the jaw on that side as well?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Should i be wearing earplugs in both ears or just the one affected.

That's a tough one. Two years ago, I had an acoustic trauma in only one ear. I ended up getting T and ear fullness in that ear. I wore an earplug only in that ear. Nine months later T spread to the other ear. I know that it often spreads to the second ear for other people here. I have no idea whether those for whom it happened have been protecting both of their ears.

If I were you, I would wear only one earplug when there is a chance that you will have to socialize (as good earplugs can make it hard to hear the other people speak). I would wear earplugs in both ears otherwise.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Unless I coincidentally experienced some healing at the same time

It is possible that you healed Despite the noise.