Car Alarm Went Off without Protection

[Hex]

A car alarm went off right in front of me yesterday and I was less than a meter away. I didn't have my earplugs on at the time because I was walking to the park and trying to get used to the sounds. I have tinnitus & hyperacusis and the alarm rang a good 4 times before I got far enough.

The whole left side of my face, ear, and even some teeth started to hurt. This happened almost 12 hours ago and I slept it off and I woke up with a bit of a blocked ear (I could definitely hear more on my right than my left).

Should I go to the ER and get some prednisone? Or should I just wait it off and hopefully it wasn't permanent damage?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Should I go to the ER and get some prednisone?

I would do that, if I were you. You might want to lie to them that you had to stop a screaming fire alarm. That was the story I used two times, and both times it worked and they gave 5 pills to me.

 

[kelpiemsp]

You know that the pain and aural fullness caused by this is in no way possible an acoustic trauma right? Prednisone would absolutely do more harm than good. What your feeling is more than likely the Tensor Tympani and the Stapedius. Anxiety can cause these muscles to tighten up.

 

[Bill Bauer]

pain and aural fullness caused by this is in no way possible an acoustic trauma right

I got aural fullness right after my acoustic trauma... I think that whenever a one-time event (as opposed to a lifetime of abuse) causes problems with the ear it is referred to as an acoustic trauma.

 

[kelpiemsp]

I got aural fullness right after my acoustic trauma... I think that whenever a one-time event (as opposed to a lifetime of abuse) causes problems with the ear it is referred to as an acoustic trauma.

Aye but for that to be the case your acoustic trauma would have had to kill cells which takes time. Immediate indicates ear muscle spasm.

 

[Striveon]

Did your car alarm spike subside?

 

[MattR]

You know that the pain and aural fullness caused by this is in no way possible an acoustic trauma right? Prednisone would absolutely do more harm than good. What your feeling is more than likely the Tensor Tympani and the Stapedius. Anxiety can cause these muscles to tighten up.

Yeah, a car alarm sounds more like an acoustic shock then an acoustic trauma. Shock is from a sound not loud enough to do actual damage (hypothetically at least), but your body reacts in a way that causes these issues. I'm dealing with acoustic shock right now, Prednisone did nothing for me.

 

[Tamara]

What I find absurd and inadmissible is the fact that people are always asking the same questions, for years, and the scientific community and professionals involved in the treatment and research of tinnitus, hyperacusis and other related problems have no answer for anything yet. People who have these problems have to solve them by themselves or ask other people with the same problem to know their opinion and experiencies. In what other illness does this happen? This is not how an illness is treated.

 

[MattR]

What I find absurd and inadmissible is the fact that people are always asking the same questions, for years, and the scientific community and professionals involved in the treatment and research of tinnitus, hyperacusis and other related problems have no answer for anything yet. People who have these problems have to solve them by themselves or ask other people with the same problem to know their opinion and experiencies. In what other illness does this happen? This is not how an illness is treated.

100% agree. The lack of research on something that can be as debilitating as hyperacusis is a joke.

 

[Juan]

Aye but for that to be the case your acoustic trauma would have had to kill cells which takes time. Immediate indicates ear muscle spasm.

That is exactly the kind of sound that damages hearing permanently. Not a one off episode maybe but if a person is exposed to these sort of sounds on and off, sirens, car alarms, car horns, motorbikes, power tools, there is obviously permanent hearing damage and sensorineural hearing loss.

 

[kelpiemsp]

That is exactly the kind of sound that damages hearing permanently. Not a one off episode maybe but if a person is exposed to these sort of sounds on and off, sirens, car alarms, car horns, motorbikes, power tools, there is obviously permanent hearing damage and sensorineural hearing loss.

No... only if you put your head next to horn and laid on it for about 15 minutes... minimum.

 

[Juan]

No... only if you put your head next to horn and laid on it for about 15 minutes... minimum.

Very loud sounds can make inmediate harm. If you wanna try it yourself go shooting without hearing protection and you will see.

Also, an alarm is a high-pitched sound, and if heard inside an underground parking lot, for instance, you have to add the reverberation. It is very loud, and some of them can make lasting harm.