For People with Young Kids: What Kind of Activities Do You Do to Get Out of the House?

[jeas]

Hi Everyone!

I have two young kids, and I am having trouble finding activities that are okay to do with them, while having tinnitus. They still go to dinners, movies, etc. and I usually end up staying home. I even had to miss my daughters dance recital, as earplugs hurt my ears.

I never try to hold them back, but I know it is affecting my family. I feel that they deserve more, I guess. So I am wondering what type of activities other people do, to get out of the house!?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Elliott.S]

Basically any outdoor activity that doesn't involve loud noises. There are many: hiking, riding bikes, walking in parks/near the beach, rollerskating, frisbee, badminton, tennis...

 

[jeas]

@Elliott.S Thank you for your response! I live in a cold climate. So we are only able to be outside for a few months out of the year. But I will definitely make the most of being outside when we can!

Thanks, again.

 

[Elliott.S]

@Elliott.S Thank you for your response! I live in a cold climate. So we are only able to be outside for a few months out of the year. But I will definitely make the most of being outside when we can!

Thanks, again.

Oh I didn't know that ^^ Sorry.
Then there is museums, animal parks, board games, escape games, exhibitions.

 

[jeas]

@Elliott.S
All great ideas, thank you!

 

[linearb]

Our kid is still pretty young, but I am planning on doing all the normal birthday parties and concerts and movies, using earplugs, because I do not want to let my disability control my kids life or the amount of time I spend with them. Yeah, the tinnitus does affect the quality of that time in many cases, but, so do all kinds of horrible things that people live with, I know plenty of other parents (including my wife) who have to just grin and bear it through all sorts of horrible pain/etc. It is what it is.

Earplugs hurt my ears, too, in the physical sense (tend to expand and create pressure). Such is life. I've got trees to fell, I like riding motorcycles, those things require earplugs, so, again, I grin and bear it.

I'd say I grin more and bear it less than a decade ago, but a lot has changed since then and I'm medicated now, so it's a little hard to say what did what.

 

[jeas]

@linearb

I like your mentality. I'd love for that to be my case. I never want to hold my kids back, so they go on without me. But I want to be apart of all of the memories, as well.

Have you ever tried the ear erasers? I've been doing some research, looks like they don't expand, so less ear pain?

And I completely agree that everyone has something that they have to grin and bear through. I am part of a family that carries a genetic cancer mutation. I continue to watch my family suffer every day. Most lose the battle. Some have tinnitus, as well. It reminds me how much worse things could truly be.

Thank you for your response!

 

[linearb]

Have you ever tried the ear erasers? I've been doing some research, looks like they don't expand, so less ear pain?

Nope, haven't heard of them, even. My "go bag" that I keep in the car always, contains:
33 db orange foam plugs
20 db silicone plus
12 db overpriced "Dubs" brand filters/plugs

For driving, restaurants, sleeping, practicing (electric) guitar, I am pretty much fine with some combination of the Dubs and the silicone. The silicone plugs are much more comfortable, they do not go all the way into the ear canal (and this is why I am able to sleep with them and not wake up in pain).

The foam plugs are pretty much reserved for "really loud shit", which for me is: chainsaws, motorcycles, mowers, snowblowers, guns, concerts (which I barely do, maybe 2-3 a year). So in those situations I just accept that my ears are going to hurt a little but I'm protecting my hearing and getting the lawn cut, or whatever.

It reminds me how much worse things could truly be.

I feel the same way for myself personally at this moment in time, but I also acknowledge that if my tinnitus suddenly got 300% worse, I have no idea how I'd react to that, or if I'd be able to hold my shit together at all, or not. So, I try to keep that stuff in mind personally, but push it out of mind when I am reading about the difficulties of others. Like, if I am "handling" my tinnitus better than some other person, my first thought is "that person's tinnitus might be a lot worse than mine", not "what are they doing wrong?"

 

[jeas]

@linearb Absolutely. I feel the same way. I am able to cope now, but know that if it were to get any worse, I would probably lose it. Which is why I am overcareful about what I do, hoping to not make it any worse. So I guess I am just looking for a happy medium.

My tinnitus is TMJD induced and fluctuates from a 1 to an 8 depending on the day, so I am not sure what I can and cannot handle in terms of actual noise.

I think I am going to look into some silicone earplugs. Seems like they would be a good fit for me.

Thank you for your response!

 

[linearb]

My tinnitus is TMJD induced and fluctuates from a 1 to an 8 depending on the day, so I am not sure what I can and cannot handle in terms of actual noise.

How are you managing your TMJD?

Two things that made a difference for me are this inexpensive book, and sleeping with a very expensive ($1700 USD lol) bite guard. I definitely notice a difference in my tinnitus if I mess up and fail to sleep with it for several days.

 

[jeas]

@linearb

I will look into the book, thank you!

My TMJD is okay some days and very bad on others. I have a bite guard as well...you're right, SO expensive. My TMJD is from a surgery I had. They dislocated my jaw when they intubated me. So both sides are completely dislocated and my right side is locked, and collecting fluid, etc. I need surgery according to the Oral Surgeon, but I am trying everything else before going that route. I do a lot of physical therapy, but I have got the best results with steroid injections into my TMJ. Now we are just seeing how long they last for and if I will still need the surgery.

 

[Candy]

Farms
Picnics in the park
Pottery cafes
Museum
Boat trip

 

[jeas]

@Candy As far as boat trips, what kind of boating do you do with you family? We do a lot of pontooning, but I haven't had tinnitus for a summer yet, and I am not sure if this is okay to do, or not?

 

[Candy]

Rowing, pedalos... you could measure the volume of the motor boat and wear plugs? Water has always helped me, so walks on the beach, by the lake etc.

 

[jeas]

@Candy
Agreed. I grew up spending every weekend or nice day on the water. So it's been a pretty big bummer that it might not be the norm anymore. The pontoon is pretty quiet..but I wasn't sure if you could get the bone conduction hearing issues while wearing plugs on a boat?

Either way, thank you for your response!

 

[Daniel Lion]

The tinnitus and hearing loss have tried to destroy my life, and I can't forget hypercusis. My kids are performing in a school show now, I am not there, I am up the street at a quiet pizza place waiting.

I wear my earmuffs at home when my little one is yelling and being rowdy.
My kids are great. They understand. Dad is disabled. We still manage to go swimming and have fun, but of course everything is different now.

I love my kids, so I try hard. I, like everybody on this thread, am forced to go to quiet places and avoid normality as my ears have been compromised and are abnormal in terms of what they can be exposed to.

Sorry I can't be more cheery.

It is what it is.

 

[jeas]

@Daniel Lion

I'm sorry, I truly understand. I was mostly looking for just quiet activities, as I know we can't be exposed to anything loud. And anything extremely loud, I will have to continue to miss out on. It's a real bummer.

Do you wear ear plugs while swimming with them? Or is it in an outdoor environment? I've taken my girls to a couple indoor pools, but have had to wear ear plugs.

 

[Daniel Lion]

@Daniel Lion

I'm sorry, I truly understand. I was mostly looking for just quiet activities, as I know we can't be exposed to anything loud. And anything extremely loud, I will have to continue to miss out on. It's a real bummer.

Do you wear ear plugs while swimming with them? Or is it in an outdoor environment? I've taken my girls to a couple indoor pools, but have had to wear ear plugs.

Hello, No earplugs for me and the kids. We go to outdoor pools because we live in a hot country. We go in the mornings often, and that is quiet on certain days. My kids and I have no problems with water in the ears, and the staff are not playing really loud music in the mornings.
Having fun in nature is awesome. Museums are a great thing to do with kids. Making art. Reading. Researching together with the kids on anything of the child's interest. Exercise.

 

[jeas]

@Daniel Lion Oh, perfect! That would be nice if there were some outdoor pools around here. Everything where I live is lakes and boating.

Would you use plugs in a pontoon boat around 60db?

We do a lot of art stuff! For my oldest child's birthday this year we went to a pottery shop with a friend instead of a big party. She actually loved it.