Deciding Whether to Quit My Gym and Opt for a Quieter One Because of Tinnitus

[lillieg]

Hi all,

Since developing unilateral tinnitus in my right ear, which I believe resulted from a series of unfortunate events involving a water irrigation procedure, a PE tube falling out, and surgery to place a new tube on December 5th that left me waking up with even louder tinnitus, I am trying to decide what to do about my workout routine.

Currently, I attend a boutique fitness studio six times a week for about an hour each session. They play music quite loudly, so I wear foam earplugs during class to reduce the noise. However, I have read on here that damage can still occur even with ear protection. Lately, I have been debating whether to end my membership there and join a larger gym, such as Equinox, where the music is played at a much lower volume compared to my current gym.

Even though I do not believe my tinnitus is noise-induced, I still think it is wise to avoid loud environments. I have already accepted that I may need to avoid concerts, live sports events, and similar activities, which are relatively easy to skip. However, I am torn about whether my current gym environment might be causing further damage and if switching to a quieter gym would be the better choice.

I understand that no one here will have the definitive answer, but I would really appreciate any input or personal experiences you can share.

Please keep responses constructive, as I have been dealing with anxiety since this started, and some overly negative posts can make it worse. I am seeing my ENT, who has conducted clinical trials for tinnitus, and my audiologist on January 6th, and I plan to ask them about this as well. I will be happy to share anything I learn during that appointment about my new tinnitus.

Thanks so much!

 

[marqualler]

Hi all,

Since developing unilateral tinnitus in my right ear, which I believe resulted from a series of unfortunate events involving a water irrigation procedure, a PE tube falling out, and surgery to place a new tube on December 5th that left me waking up with even louder tinnitus, I am trying to decide what to do about my workout routine.

Currently, I attend a boutique fitness studio six times a week for about an hour each session. They play music quite loudly, so I wear foam earplugs during class to reduce the noise. However, I have read on here that damage can still occur even with ear protection. Lately, I have been debating whether to end my membership there and join a larger gym, such as Equinox, where the music is played at a much lower volume compared to my current gym.

Even though I do not believe my tinnitus is noise-induced, I still think it is wise to avoid loud environments. I have already accepted that I may need to avoid concerts, live sports events, and similar activities, which are relatively easy to skip. However, I am torn about whether my current gym environment might be causing further damage and if switching to a quieter gym would be the better choice.

I understand that no one here will have the definitive answer, but I would really appreciate any input or personal experiences you can share.

Please keep responses constructive, as I have been dealing with anxiety since this started, and some overly negative posts can make it worse. I am seeing my ENT, who has conducted clinical trials for tinnitus, and my audiologist on January 6th, and I plan to ask them about this as well. I will be happy to share anything I learn during that appointment about my new tinnitus.

Thanks so much!

Hi @lillieg, I hope you are doing well!

I read your other post about your symptoms, and ultimately, I think you should do what you feel most comfortable with. Personally, if you can tolerate going to your boutique fitness studio and you get a lot out of it, I'd keep going, especially if it sounds like you don't have a reactive component to your tinnitus. I'm only speaking from experience where when I've had tinnitus flare-ups, it has been reactive around the time of the flare-up but gradually went back to a "regular" baseline. I think staying with your regular routines if they are not making your tinnitus worse is important. Everybody is different and everybody has different experiences with tinnitus, but that would be my take.

I was really concerned I'd miss out on sporting events and my kid's ballet performances, but as my reactivity has died down and I got new earplugs, I've been able to attend all of those events again this Fall, which has been a godsend.

Take care!

 

[Robster]

You could explain your situation to the gym management and politely ask if they could lower the music volume a bit. The worst that can happen is they say no.

 

[lillieg]

Hi @lillieg, I hope you are doing well!

I read your other post about your symptoms, and ultimately, I think you should do what you feel most comfortable with. Personally, if you can tolerate going to your boutique fitness studio and you get a lot out of it, I'd keep going, especially if it sounds like you don't have a reactive component to your tinnitus. I'm only speaking from experience where when I've had tinnitus flare-ups, it has been reactive around the time of the flare-up but gradually went back to a "regular" baseline. I think staying with your regular routines if they are not making your tinnitus worse is important. Everybody is different and everybody has different experiences with tinnitus, but that would be my take.

I was really concerned I'd miss out on sporting events and my kid's ballet performances, but as my reactivity has died down and I got new earplugs, I've been able to attend all of those events again this Fall, which has been a godsend.

Take care!

That's amazing that you've been able to attend your children's events! That's been a concern of mine too. Even at 23, I've thought about what my ability to show up for my future children would look like. It's really refreshing to see your posts about being such an involved parent with your little ones.

I went back to my ENT yesterday—who is fabulous, by the way. I've read so many horror stories on here, but this guy is truly the best! I honestly don't know where I'd be without him. He spent two hours with me just running tests, discussing alternatives, and answering my page full of questions. He's done tinnitus research in the past and actually suffers from it himself. He was born deaf and now uses cochlear implants. It's reassuring to know that not the entire medical field is useless when it comes to dealing with tinnitus.

At the appointment, I had three different audiogram tests done, along with the tuning fork test. These showed moderate to severe hearing loss in my affected ear. I'm going back on Thursday for a hearing aid consultation. The great thing is I'll get to try the hearing aids for six weeks before deciding whether to purchase them or pursue a different plan.

The ENT also suggested that, if the hearing aids don't help, we could consider exploratory surgery in six weeks. Since I've already had multiple reconstruction surgeries on my ear, he thinks something might be off by just a millimeter, which could be affecting my hearing. It's refreshing that he isn't rushing to suggest surgery immediately and is giving me time to think things through. A lot of doctors are quick to push surgery because it benefits them financially.

Anyway, long story short, I think I'm going to freeze my membership while I adjust to using the hearing aids and this new "situation," as I call it. I'll be sure to share updates on the hearing aids along the way.

I'm attaching the audiogram results as well, in case anyone wants to take a look: