Bad Spike from Loud Noise. Be Extra Careful with Headphones :(

cruzmisl

Member
Author
Benefactor
Oct 9, 2016
3
Tinnitus Since
10/2016
Cause of Tinnitus
Machinery
My T recently started a few weeks ago. I had the general fuzz acrn site open and was testing the 16 khz single tone for a few seconds. The output volume on my computer was louder than I thought it was previously (why didn't I double check??? I forgot about the dual volume levels) and my ringing got worse after I slowly increased the volume on the page. This was just a moment of complete stupidity and carelessness. They weren't in-ear buds which probably would have been much worse but in retrospect, what a stupid, stupid thing to do. Regardless, my T has spiked from this and I feel like an idiot for even using headphones and messing around with something that I shouldn't have. I tested the same volume at lower HZ and it seemed kind of loud, much louder than I'd listen to anything. I just didn't know it was that loud.

I appreciate the site and I'm certainly not blaming it for my moment of stupidity, but please be careful with these sounds.

My wife even told me to earlier stop dwelling on things and reading stuff. I didn't listen and just made it worse. My old (but new) T could be easily drown out but this is much more trying. She also says I'm probably also focusing on it more which is also making it much louder, and increasing my anxiety that makes it even louder, but it does seem louder. I'm feeling further down than I did before. :(

I guess this was just another lesson to learn from. I'm staying away from headphones now.
 
When you say it sounds louder, it probably is! Mine certainly is. I'm not anxious about it, just fed up. Mine is truly off the scale (is there one?) today. I agree reading stuff can make us dwell on it, I also try only to read positive things. However, not much positive happens to a lot of folk. We live with a monster, but we have to adapt.
 
If there is a signature contribution to this forum, it is Michael's advice about not using headphones. Myself like many here...I used to take his advice with a grain of salt. In spite of suggesting that headphones not be used...I am a music fanatic..I continued to listen to headphones at lower volume...exlusively when road cycling...Ipod shuffle + ear buds. Then I thought about it some more and his consistent advice including how external ambient sound level influences perception of low volume level listening. Its the aggregation of noise that matters. Also, its been reported on this forum anecdotally, that noise cancelling headphones aren't good for tinnitus either...how blockage of frequencies negatively influences our condition.

My comment is, the people on this forum are not typical. We are special cases with impaired hearing as much as we are in denial including me. My hearings isn't bad for example...however I have H and T. But what I personally decided is...moving forward within certain guidelines I will treat my hearing as gentley as possible, without taking extreme measures. This includes no longer listening to music through headphones. Reason is...I don't want needless spikes in my tinnitus or acceleration of worsening of my hearing. My tinnitus fluctuates too much as it is as does others. Its a tolerable 2 today but it can ramp up out of nowhere for unknown reasons.
So, I don't want to tempt fate.
My 2 cents.
 
I miss headphones sometimes. I know I could probably listen safely, but I don't trust myself with the volume slider :) too easy to turn up.
 
I just had a bad experience a couple of day's ago, I did a really stupid thing that I still can't believe I did. I was going to watch a you tube and I forgot to check the volume on my Computer PC before I started it, ( something that I ALWAYS do ) and sure enough it turns out that this you tube had a very loud intro on it, and all the sudden I got blasted. I immediately shut it off. But it scared the heck out of me. I was at my Computer PC with regular speakers NO headphone's I never use them. I do have my speakers 2 or 3 feet away and turned towards the wall, so I guess that should help. But I got hit with a few loud high pitched tones, or note's I would not even call it music, just some dumb ass sound's. It was an obnoxious sound, I was exposed for about 2 or 3 seconds and sure enough the next day I had a horrible spike in both ears. I went back and measured it with on my phone DB meter, with ear plugs and gun muffs on of course, and I got about 75 DB. The volume on my Computer was on about 1/3 as it was set before. Anyway, it's day 3 now and I still have the spike it seems a touch less on and off but it's just freaking me out. I hope this is temporary. I have always recovered in the past from spikes with no problem in a few days or less. I just feel so stupid for not checking the volume on my Computer before I did this, I never forget to check it. I'm so mad at myself.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar thing like this happen to them, and what was your outcome.


Please let me know I would like to heard your story.



Thank You

Louie


Quietatnight

 

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