Can a Pressure Washer Cause Auditory Damage?

[Kara77]

Hi all,

I have been doing so well lately, my T has really improved from a ringing to a soft hiss. My T is from inflammation btw. However, while I was jogging in my neighborhood, someone was pressure washing their driveway. I was only exposed maybe 5s to it. However, I feel like I can still hear the "echo" of the pressure washer.

I am a super anxious person and ever since getting T, I am very cautious with my ears, I hope I didn't cause any damage to them. I possibly feel it could be all in my head.

Is there any possible way I could have permanently damage my ears? My regular T is super low I am just weirded about this echo sound (and I swear it gets louder when a fan is on!)

I really appreciate you listening to me. It's nice just to vent.

 

[Sailboardman]

Kara,

I seriously doubt 5 seconds of hearing a pressure washer, could cause any significant damage. I suspect you're stressing yourself over everyday noises and are overprotective of your ears. If you were standing there for 30 minutes, right next to the machine and not wearing hearing protection, maybe you'd cause yourself some additional trauma.

 

[Kara77]

@Sailboardman

Thanks for the reply.

It's pretty stressful getting anxious over everyday sounds. The last thing I want to do is cause any damage. Thank you, I just needed the reassurance that I can jog in my neighborhood without feeling stressed.

 

[mohamad-m]

5 seconds with the washing machine ??! No it will not cause damage ! I use to shoot guns even with tinnitus with no protection it spiked for few days and went back to normal tinnitus but now in the Long I'm with severe tinnitus and hyperacus

 

[Kara77]

@mohamad-m

I think its more paranoia since I didn't have any plugs with me and I was caught off guard! Those pressure washer thingys seemed loud but I think my anxiety makes it 10x louder than it really is. Thanks for your response!

 

[glynis]

Hi Kara 77
You will be fine and no further damadge done..If it does not settle have your ears checked for wax .
Enjoy your jogging.....lots of love glynis

 

[Kara77]

Hi @glynis!

I've enjoyed running so much since getting T. It keeps my mind occupied and I get my endorphins going! I can't believe I almost wanted to stopped because of what happened yesterday. Thank you so much for the reassurance!

 

[Richard zurowski]

Hi kara 77. Do try and not stress over every day noises and enjoy you running.

 

[Kara77]

Thanks @Richard zurowski

I hope one day I'll get to a point where I don't shriek when I hear a loud ambulance/motorcycle/lawn mower. I'm not the person who I used to be before T, but I'm getting there. Even with my ringing low, I'm still so cautious because of the "what ifs!"

Love your avatar, have four kitties of my own! :)

 

[Falconfox]

@Kara77
I'm right there with ya. Thought I was getting better about my fear of noises and then I got caught off guard a bit by a guy using a nail gun right by me. Don't even think it caused a spike but I can't help but worry. I think it probably has more to do with how we handle anxiety rather then the noises themselves. I just tell myself that if it didn't actually damage my ears then it didn't increase the tinnitus and I'm just worrying. and If our ears were so weak as to be damaged by sounds like that then we'd all probably be deaf by now.

 

[Richard zurowski]

I understand your meaning. Post yout kitties on your pets love to see them.

 

[Kara77]

@Falconfox You are so right about the anxiety part and just doing normal day things. Ive always struggled with anxiety so T made everything worse. It's hard I don't think I can talk to my family about it anymore. I am just SO thankful there is forum like this. Thank you for talking to me!

@Richard zurowski I will! One of my kitties is a main coon, 20 lb of pure orange fluff!

 

[Weswhat]

Hey @Kara77
Ive viewed some of your posts and was wondering how TMJ treatment has helped you in the long run? I just had many tests done at my ENT and she is almost certain my T and muscle spasms in my ear are being caused by my misaligned jaw.
Im worried Ive waited to long to get this fix and the ringing wont go down in volume. How much improvement have you seen?

 

[Kara77]

Hi @Weswhat,

It's never too late. My T was caused by my wisdom teeth removal close to 3 years ago, but I didnt have T till last year. The only symptom I had was a clicking jaw. And it took a very long time for doctors to even diagnose me. All I knew back then is that steroids took it away. However, you need to get rid of the inflammation without taking serious meds. There a couple things I did that drastically made my T super low.

First thing I did was see a jaw suegeon to get a splint for my teeth. I was a 247 clencher! That helped a lot. I don't clench anymore and that helped relieve stress on my jaw.

Secondly, I saw a chiropractor to realign my neck. With TMJ, it screwed up my neck, back and I was experience severe facial pressure. It took about 6 months for that to go away.

Lastly, I saw a physical therapist who treated tmj. I still go every other week. The therapist uses a technique to relax the jaw and to help release the swelling. THIS is what helped the most. The swelling is almost gone, it was actually visible on me and my jaw no longer clicks! The T has stayed low ever since. Sometimes I'll take some ibuprofen and that will make my T go to nothing!

Also, if you have allergies, it could be making it worse and adding inflammation. I started to do immunotherapy and that also helped decrease the T.

Feel free to message me if you want me to go into more detail.

 

[Kara77]

@glynis

The loud echo I had turned out be an ear infection, I did indeed have a ton of wax. My reg T hasn't been so bad at all (gone really!) and this echo is unbelieable. I had my ears syringed to get rid of the wax but the noise is still there. They gave me ear drops and steroids. I am hoping once the infection clears so will the noise. I'm just scared.

 

[glynis]

Hi ,
Im glad you got checked out and
Im sure your sound will settle as your ears do.
Try stay calm and be kind to yourself with nice treats ....lots of love glynis

 

[Kara77]

Thanks @glynis ,

My ear is also in a lot of pain. I knew something was wrong, this sound is very different from my low level hiss. Just took two steroids, I hope it will settle down too. Thank you for reassuring me.