Blender Noise

[Ludvik]

Hey guys,

Had a lot of fun at a friend's house for new years. It was a really small gathering and so I felt safe without ear plugs. A friend then used a blender with ice nearby, I'm not sure how loud it was but definitely loud enough to make the whole room unable to hear each other. After about 30 seconds of it I got my earplugs in and enjoyed the rest of the night. (Unfortunately it was in my jacket near the blender so I had to go near it)

Its the next morning, I woke up after getting a good amount of sleep to a spike and a new tone, feeling pretty distressed and anxious. Its like I can't even feel safe in small gatherings anymore? Even at the common area at work I feel the coffee machine is too loud. I guess looking for support and wondering if anyone's gotten a permanent spike from blenders/general household stuffs before. I've already stopped using vacuums and hair dryers.

 

[MikeL1972]

Hey Ludvik,

Sounds like a spike to me.

My left ear has been ringing a little louder than usual the past few days as well, but I haven't been exposed to any noisy environments either. Only thing I did on Friday night was blow my nose and I heard my ear pop slightly.

I've had tinnitus since March 2016 and its been like a yo-yo since then... from at times barely audible to a 5/10.

 

[Rubenslash]

The fight against noise, it really sucks indeed..No place besides your own room is really safe anymore.

But why didn't you use your fingers as ear protectors? In these situations, I think that's better than first wasting 30 secs searching for your plugs and inserting them.

Based on what I've read here most of the spikes tend to go away after couple of days/months/weeks which seems logical as we would otherwise all have a screaming T by now. In fact I've had a major spike 3 weeks ago due to my own stupidity but it has been improving gradually as time passes. I've been taking magnesium, NAC and vitamin b complex since then, not sure if it helps as I don't have anything to compare.

 

[Ludvik]

@Rubenslash I really should've. I'm still pretty new to T I guess (It's been 5 weeks since onset) and figuring out my threshold and whatnot. I was mid conversation when it happened and felt rude if I were to plug my ears. I was with new people so there was also self consciousness, but I need to start looking after myself more.

I really hope it settles down eventually, unfortunately after every spike so far for me it's been lasting.

I feel like all my spikes are from stupidity, most days I can keep my emotions kinda in check but I have days where I just really regret my decisions.

@MikeL1972 when my T first started it was around 2 or 3/10.. I wish I could go back to that now. Currently I would consider a 5/10 a good day for me, most of the time its above that.

 

[Zorro!]

I always wear headphones when using a blender. Same with vacuuming. I even would wear ear plugs when I used my old electric razor each day. (Got a new, whisper quiet electric razor now so ear plugs for shaving are a thing of the past.)

As for encountering loud things like blenders in small gatherings, I simply plug my ears with my fingers until the noise stops and/or I can insert my ear plugs. I don't give two shits how it looks or what people think when I do this. And to be honest my friends have never once questioned me about it or looked at me askance when I do this.

Quite frankly, spikes in tinnitus seem to be a mental thing more than anything in my estimation. After learning to relax (breathing exercises, etc.) my spikes and hyperaccusis has been drastically reduced. It took me forever to figure out that I was worrying too much about this shit. Once I got clear on that fact of reality everything got better.