Electric Drill in a Nuthouse

[Jiri]

So this just happened:

While having lunch a bunch of workers came in the reception and started drilling holes in the reception wall, using an electric drill!!

I was about 49 - 32 feet (15 m - 10 m) away from the loud drilling noise. Wearing still my cheap safety earmuffs (-27 dB).

When I confronted the nurses that I have a hearing problem(tinnitus + hyperacusis) they became super bitchy that I won't be ordering anyone around!

Omg, can't believe they put a couple of holes in the walls in before my health problem for which I'm exactly being treated here!

Anyone has any experience with electric drills and the loudness as explained above??

I'm shitting my pants of having another bad spike later today

 

[illegalmonkey77]

Well you had protection on so I don't see why you should be that worried. I doubt the drill noise was loud enough to make -27 dB protection useless. Just try not to stress about what MIGHT happen.

 

[3ri0w]

Lol. I went to therapy because of hyperacusis. The practice was located next to a construction site lol. Well I went to another therapist. It was located on a busy street that had a street band playing right outside the window.

You're still treated in there? Kinda ironic and silly that they have so much noise there not nice!!

 

[Tinker Bell]

Sorry this happened, it is frustrating to be in an environment you cannot control. Psychiatric hospitals treat anxiety not tinnitus, so I am sure they did not give a second thought to making noise. Especially since most people with tinnitus do not have it increase to short exposures to loud noise. And it was in a common area, not your individual room? Do they monitor your movements? I'm unsure they would have known you were there when the workers needed to work.

Your hearing should be fine given it was a brief exposure with ear muffs.

How is your anxiety? You will think your tinnitus has increased if you fixate on it and worry.

 

[Vincent R]

... my cheap safety earmuffs (-27 dB) ...

You'll be fine.

 

[Jiri]

Well you had protection on so I don't see why you should be that worried.

There was a post somewhere on here of a guy who went to the cinema even with some good protection on. It was later explained to him when he complained about having a spike that the bass sound waves resonate right through your skull and thus have a negative impact on your inner ear structure. Idk, nothing seems to be a good enough protection. Is why I'm worried now. Don't know what to trust and what not anymore. Just want to avoid the pain again. I'm sure you understand.

You're still treated in there? Kinda ironic and silly that they have so much noise there not nice!!

Precisely.

Sorry this happened, it is frustrating to be in an environment you cannot control. Psychiatric hospitals treat anxiety not tinnitus, so I am sure they did not give a second thought to making noise. Especially since most people with tinnitus do not have it increase to short exposures to loud noise. And it was in a common area, not your individual room? Do they monitor your movements? I'm unsure they would have known you were there when the workers needed to work.

Your hearing should be fine given it was a brief exposure with ear muffs.

How is your anxiety? You will think your tinnitus has increased if you fixate on it and worry.

My anxiety is going though the roof atm even on being given 15 pills a day.
Where I come from the first place to go to when you have tinnitus is to see your ENT(obviously). If it gets really unbearable, then my GP decided that I need to be admitted to a psychiatry hospital. To treat the anxiety and panic attacks first. I'm literally scared of every sudden noise impact(clanking of dishes e.g.). Ironically enough I just had a control check up with the hospitals ENT in the morning and he gave me some hope(that was a first) that in his experience my tinnitus might decrease in volume by some 30% given enough time and rest). Then I return back to the psychiatry canteen and then this happens. It made me so mad, like those retarded pranks you see on youtube. They did know I was there, they are very well aware of my problem and if nothing less I think its a common courtesy to come and say. "hey, listen. There will be some construction work going on for like 20 mins. Would mind staying in your room for a little bit?" Then when I say it wasn't very nice what the did I get told off on top of that. Had it not been for my ears I'd return fire full force and folded that construction asshole like a lawn chair. See what I mean? It's called manners and treat other people the way you'd like to be treated yourself. A golden rule to live by. I just pray you're right and I won't wake up 2 am with my ears screaming like the last time.
My anxiety is not good. The drill is all I can think of the whole day.

You'll be fine.

Well, I hope you're correct.

 

[linearb]

I routinely operate electric drills with earmuffs on, so that puts me a lot closer than 50'. I would not be worried about this.

 

[Jiri]

I routinely operate electric drills with earmuffs on, so that puts me a lot closer than 50'. I would not be worried about this.

I cannot possibly imagine someone with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis doing this type of a job. Still, I'm pretty new to all this so mebie with time you just habituate and are like 'meh' let's just get this done. Do you get spikes? Has your T or H got better or worse over time? & I don't mean just ' habituation ' , I mean proper fade away style.

 

[linearb]

I cannot possibly imagine someone with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis doing this type of a job. Still, I'm pretty new to all this so mebie with time you just habituate and are like 'meh' let's just get this done. Do you get spikes? Has your T or H got better or worse over time? & I don't mean just ' habituation ' , I mean proper fade away style.

oh, I don't do it for a job, but the house we have required some setup, maintenance, etc. Really loud, constant stuff is handled by my spouse -- no mowing or chainsaws for me My day job is using a computer in my private office at home, so, very quiet.

I don't have H anymore, though I can still catch glimpses of it when I'm overstimulated and in a high anxiety state. I don't really know if my tinnitus is any worse now than it was a couple months after my trauma; if so, it's happened at a gradual rate behind the usual ebb and flow of it getting better and worse. Sometimes I think it's actually gotten better, but it's very hard to say: the more time I spend wondering and thinking about it, the more significant it seems, so I... try to... not do that.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Wearing still my cheap safety earmuffs (-27 dB).

Good for you that you were wearing your muffs. As a result of the precautions you have taken, you are most likely going to be ok.

 

[Jiri]

I don't really know if my tinnitus is any worse now than it was a couple months after my trauma

That's a little strange for me to hear. I have a diary where I note every progress or worsening of my T. on a daily basis. It sounds to me as if you almost don't care about it anymore.

the more time I spend wondering and thinking about it, the more significant it seems, so I... try to... not do that.

Yes, that makes sense. You're kind of lucky in that respect. Because I think of my tinnitus 24/7 and how it changed things for me.

 

[Bill Bauer]

It sounds to me as if you almost don't care about it anymore.

Who are you talking about/to?

 

[linearb]

That's a little strange for me to hear. I have a diary where I note every progress or worsening of my T. on a daily basis. It sounds to me as if you almost don't care about it anymore.
Yes, that makes sense.

I keep diaries like that on and off, if I'm doing things and want to see if they have a beneficial effect, but, again, this kind of stuff can be counterproductive: your brain rewires itself constantly based, among other things, on what you're actively paying attention to. This doesn't mean that your tinnitus will cease if you can stop thinking about it, or that "stopping thinking about it" is necessarily possible. But, we do have some amount of control over the direction of our thoughts, and leveraging that to the best possible advantage is one of the only real tools we have at our disposal in this. That's also the basis of many meditative practices. I'd also suggest that keeping track of your reaction and distress is probably a better use of time than trying to track volume/intensity/etc. Sometimes my tinnitus seems to pierce through everything and is borderline painful rather than noise... but any time I plug my ears, the actual sound is pretty much the same. So, the things which are variable for me have less to do with volume than with other, mostly ineffable mental constructs and limitations.

I would say that on a bad day I feel like I think about my tinnitus 90% of the time, and on a good day, 10%. I would not say that the tinnitus itself changes to nearly the same degree. I don't know how applicable that is to other people; I understand a little bit about how this works for me, and not anyone else.

You're kind of lucky in that respect. Because I think of my tinnitus 24/7 and how it changed things for me.

I don't think luck has much to do with it; it's just time. You're only a month into this; I doubt if I had any days where it was a less-than-50% thing until I was a few years in. I do remember one day where I realized I was thinking about it around 3pm, and that was the first time I'd actively thought about it, on a day where I'd ridden a motorcycle which means that I had somehow spent an hour wearing earplugs without thinking about it at all. That was sort of an a-ha moment for me.

 

[Jiri]

Who are you talking about/to?

I was just quoting and referring to something linearb said.

 

[Jiri]

until I was a few years in.

I'm really sorry to hear you've had it for such a long time. I don't even want to begin to imagine what it must be like living with all those tones, oscillating frequencies and the like for years. That's torture.

 

[Jiri]

Anyway thank you peeps, for all the advice, pointers, and the kind words.

I feel a little calmer now. (taking now 15 pills of antidepressants, Betaserc and one antipsychotic, + some vitamins.. so that may play a role in it too 'lol')

Tomorrow I'll be allowed to go home for Christmas. Then right back again here on Mon till Fri and theeen, hopefully, I'll feel better. Good knows. Stupid tinnitus! Never had to spend a night in the hospital before.

Point is, first thing I do I'll go to our study library and get some journals on tinnitus. With some luck I might be able to find some positive news for all of us.

Second thing, I'll type a detailed update on what it's like to be admitted in a psychiatry hosp with T & H.

Cheers,

Jiri signing out