Extremely Loud Thunder Clap — Like an Explosion > Tinnitus Spike

[Rust]

Yesterday I was outside and heard the loudest thunder clap I've ever heard. It wasn't your usual rumbling thunder, it was an extremely loud 1 second long bang. I actually thought it was an explosion gone off. I live in the UK, and have never heard thunder this loud before here. I have never even heard thunder this loud in tropical climates!

It really took me by surprise, and I wasn't wearing ear protection.

I don't know how loud it was, though some internet articles state loud thunder to be around 120db – which sounds about right to me based on how it sounded.

Both ears have spiked significantly, and I didn't really get much sleep last night because of it.

Usually, when I hear a loud noise (100db car horn etc) I know my spike will usually subside in around a week based on my experience. However, I feel that this thunder clap is the single loudest sound I have been exposed to since getting tinnitus 3.5 years ago. I am therefore anxious as to if this spike will subside or if it is permanent (due to me having no experience post tinnitus to this level of noise).

I'd just like to know if any of you have experienced this extreme level of thunder noise whilst having tinnitus and it causing a spike that subsided? Or did it result in a permanent increase?

Any info/advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you, as always,
R

 

[Nonna]

Yesterday I was outside and heard the loudest thunder clap I've ever heard. It wasn't your usual rumbling thunder, it was an extremely loud 1 second long bang. I actually thought it was an explosion gone off. I live in the UK, and have never heard thunder this loud before here. I have never even heard thunder this loud in tropical climates!

It really took me by surprise, and I wasn't wearing ear protection.

I don't know how loud it was, though some internet articles state loud thunder to be around 120db – which sounds about right to me based on how it sounded.

Both ears have spiked significantly, and I didn't really get much sleep last night because of it.

Usually, when I hear a loud noise (100db car horn etc) I know my spike will usually subside in around a week based on my experience. However, I feel that this thunder clap is the single loudest sound I have been exposed to since getting tinnitus 3.5 years ago. I am therefore anxious as to if this spike will subside or if it is permanent (due to me having no experience post tinnitus to this level of noise).

I'd just like to know if any of you have experienced this extreme level of thunder noise whilst having tinnitus and it causing a spike that subsided? Or did it result in a permanent increase?

Any info/advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you, as always,
R

thunder got me off gaurd yesterday too

ive been in a spike even before the thunder,

im sure it will go down
i think about cities like NY
all the people there w tinnitus
and there is no cure?
it must almost always go down

 

[Gman]

Yesterday I was outside and heard the loudest thunder clap I've ever heard. It wasn't your usual rumbling thunder, it was an extremely loud 1 second long bang. I actually thought it was an explosion gone off. I live in the UK, and have never heard thunder this loud before here. I have never even heard thunder this loud in tropical climates!

It really took me by surprise, and I wasn't wearing ear protection.

I don't know how loud it was, though some internet articles state loud thunder to be around 120db – which sounds about right to me based on how it sounded.

Both ears have spiked significantly, and I didn't really get much sleep last night because of it.

Usually, when I hear a loud noise (100db car horn etc) I know my spike will usually subside in around a week based on my experience. However, I feel that this thunder clap is the single loudest sound I have been exposed to since getting tinnitus 3.5 years ago. I am therefore anxious as to if this spike will subside or if it is permanent (due to me having no experience post tinnitus to this level of noise).

I'd just like to know if any of you have experienced this extreme level of thunder noise whilst having tinnitus and it causing a spike that subsided? Or did it result in a permanent increase?

Any info/advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you, as always,
R

Yes, tropical thunder that set off car alarms down the road.
It was grim. Luckily the spike subsided after a week. It caused unstable T and a relapse in hyperacusis and TTTS.

If you are that worried, and haven't already, maybe consider some supplements that may help protect against oxidative damage. NAC, L-carnitine, nicotinamide riboside, vitamin e, melatonin, magnesium, b12.

Read this
http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2012/5/Strategies-Protect-Preserve-Your-Hearing/Page-02

 

[dingaling]

We're having unusual electrical storms here in the UK. But the dB is relative, where was the measurement taken for it to be 120dB? Halve the distance and the sound pressure reduces fourfold (I think!)

 

[RingerBell]

But the dB is relative, where was the measurement taken for it to be 120dB? Halve the distance and the sound pressure reduces fourfold (I think!)

Yes, dB, or sound pressure level is relative to distance, and possibly to location due to sound reflections. I think the rule of thumb goes: Doubling the distance will reduce the sound pressure level by roughly 6dB.

 

[Rust]

thunder got me off gaurd yesterday too

ive been in a spike even before the thunder,

im sure it will go down
i think about cities like NY
all the people there w tinnitus
and there is no cure?
it must almost always go down

Thank you @Nonna

 

[Rust]

It caused unstable T and a relapse in hyperacusis and TTTS.

When you state "It caused unstable T and a relapse in hyperacusis and TTTS." do you mean it only caused that temporarily for a week, or those things were permanent?

Thanks @Gman, that's an interesting read. I do already take NAC and magnesium actually. I may look into melatonin and B12. However I need to read about them first. Unfortunately, on that particular morning I didn't have any magnesium.

 

[Rust]

We're having unusual electrical storms here in the UK. But the dB is relative, where was the measurement taken for it to be 120dB? Halve the distance and the sound pressure reduces fourfold (I think!)

I read about the 120db thing online. It did state that the reading is from the ground level. I presume that the db is much much higher at the source (i.e in the cloud!)

 

[Rust]

Yes, dB, or sound pressure level is relative to distance, and possibly to location due to sound reflections. I think the rule of thumb goes: Doubling the distance will reduce the sound pressure level by roughly 6dB.

Yes, this is what I use as a general rule. The 120db thunder however is the perceived noise level from street level I believe.

 

[RingerBell]

Yes, this is what I use as a general rule. The 120db thunder however is the perceived noise level from street level I believe.

Yes, this is what the most sources seem to say. If you think on the bright side, as the lightning seemed to struck somewhere nearby, it didn't hit you, or for example a tree trunk nearby badly enough to make it explode. Hope your spike subsides soon.

 

[Gman]

When you state "It caused unstable T and a relapse in hyperacusis and TTTS." do you mean it only caused that temporarily for a week, or those things were permanent?

Thanks @Gman, that's an interesting read. I do already take NAC and magnesium actually. I may look into melatonin and B12. However I need to read about them first. Unfortunately, on that particular morning I didn't have any magnesium.

The T spike reduced suddenly after a week. It changed frequencies actually. Different, less of them. In some ways good. It's almost like it shocked my ears and turned off some T frequencies. I've experienced some of the lowest T since it happened but some of the worst during the spike.
But my T became unstable in that it was more reactive to sound and things sounded louder (H). The TTTS calmed down, but middle ear muscles still tense a bit with certain sounds.

By the way, I didn't take all of those supplements, just nac, vit c, b12, mag and melatonin.

How are you doing now, anyway?

 

[Bill Bauer]

If you are that worried, and haven't already, maybe consider some supplements

You might also consider asking your doctor for Prednisone.

 

[Gman]

You might also consider asking your doctor for Prednisone.

If there is muffled hearing, or your hearing seems different, I would agree with that. But even then it can turn out to be temporary conductive hearing loss due to overly sensitive tensor tympani muscles, as I experienced in the past with acoustic shock. Then pred isn't needed.
Anyway, the link I posted above states melatonin has been shown to be more effective than pred. Of course, I'm not an expert. Steroids are a last resort, in my view, knowing what I know now.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Read this
http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2012/5/Strategies-Protect-Preserve-Your-Hearing/Page-02

Thanks! It was informative.

 

[SugarMagnolia]

I just heard the BOOM of a thunderstorm. My nerves have been extra bad lately, so of course I now have anxiety about my ear, especially after reading that thunder is 120 db. I was sitting next to a closed window. My DH commented that it sounded especially loud. My ear discomfort still hasn't completely subsided since the recent door slam incident.

 

[Luman]

I just heard the BOOM of a thunderstorm. My nerves have been extra bad lately, so of course I now have anxiety about my ear, especially after reading that thunder is 120 db. I was sitting next to a closed window. My DH commented that it sounded especially loud. My ear discomfort still hasn't completely subsided since the recent door slam incident.

@SugarMagnolia I also heard a very loud thunderclap, it sounded like an explosion. I live in Brooklyn.

 

[Terrier]

I'm in the UK too and a couple of weeks back we had a thunderclap here that for a brief moment I thought was a gun going off right next to my window. I've been in some mad storms abroad but I've never heard thunder anywhere near as loud.

It didn't seem to affect my tinnitus/hearing loss thankfully. I'd already been having a rough time with them recently before that! It did make me nearly jump off the couch though.

 

[Deamon22]

Daaaamn today the same happend to me, slept with open window, out of nothing a lightning probably struck somwhere near us, because it felt really like an explosion. I hope that wasn't to loud. I couldn't sleep after that....

Do you think that could cause problems?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Do you think that could cause problems?

If your T is not spiking, and if you are not experiencing any ear fullness, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Deamon22]

If your T is not spiking, and if you are not experiencing any ear fullness, I wouldn't worry about it.

No, no fullness as far as i can tell (never experienced it). Also no spike.

I'll take some NR since i still have a bottle.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I'll take some NR since i still have a bottle.

Makes sense.

no fullness as far as i can tell (never experienced it until now).

If you ever experience it, you will know that you are experiencing it right away. So you are definitely not experiencing it right now. Good.

 

[Deamon22]

If you ever experience it, you will know that you are experiencing it right away. So you are definitely not experiencing it right now. Good.

Thanks Bill as always. Damn, outside i have my earplugs on most of the time, but i never thought i would need them im the bedroom...

 

[Robert18]

Last night I heard the boom of a thunderstorm at around 9 pm and luckily I was inside the bedroom and windows are closed and my t spiked for a couple of hours and it settled down a bit but I still have the annoying sound right now.

 

[rtlewis88]

Sucks... me too all of it (a mix of the worst of you all's experiences) - since last night. It followed 4 days of blissful baseline - following a two-weeker of moderate T levels. The new thunder-spike is the thing that's lingering the worst, though.

On a good note, I was able to mow at a time other than dawn - without even a hint of the war-zone sh*t going on any where I could detect. Of course, I was wearing my plugs (just the 26db extra-comfy silicon plugs though - no Peltor X5s or anything), with my virtually silent reel-mower. I'm like that, for some dumb reason... after a bad indecent - like with the super-loud, house shaking, almost-breaking-windows thunder from last night. Some retarded side of my thought process say "you already f**cked-up your T & H - for maybe forever - so, why not be semi-normal and expose myself to potentially even more unacceptable nightmare levels."

Well, that made me feel a little better lol ... thanks!

 

[Croaker]

I decided to resurrect an old thread rather than devote a whole new one to my petty complaints...

I just got blasted by thunder through an open window. I took a brief peek to see if something in my front yard had blown over and lightning struck across the street or perhaps on the other side of the house opposite mine.

It was loud enough to set off my neighbor's car alarm which I am still stuck listening too! Just when my noise sensitivity was doing well... I'm trying to be hopeful, no T spike but I'm getting the cooling sensation from H.

That 120 db figure is frightening, I wonder how far from the strike at ground level that applies. I guess it was probably 100-110 db for me. Not enough for true damage but plenty for setting off H. It's hard to have broken ears.

 

[whatdidyousay]

Sheesh, these are damn loud. I was outside for a moment earlier and a really loud thunder "boom" happened. I'd just run inside for a moment as I forgot something or I would've at least been in my car by that point. The NIOSH sound chart says unprotected ears can generally withstand up to around 7 seconds of 121 dB sound. So hopefully something like this wouldn't cause permanent damage. Thunder's so unpredictable that it's tough to even be able to try to measure yourself. These are unlikely to do any audible harm, right? I'm not sure how accurate the claim of 120 dB is but it's quoted a lot.