HootOwl
Member
You would be surprised what can damage an already inflamed cochlea. 3 years ago when I had my first worsening I was in the hospital and someone shouted down the hall to a nurse while I was a good 100 feet away. Couldn't have been more than a split second of 60 decibels or so. It should be impossible for something like that to cause additional damage. But my ear popped and boom, new tinnitus tone.Taking a shower or having an ambulance drive by while staying inside and hearing the sound through walls isn't going to damage your hearing. That's just scientifically impossible.
Another time I had a worsening from calling out to my mom from the kitchen - it wasn't loud at all. Nothing that should ever theoretically be possible, and yet, it happened.
But it's true that yours could be an entirely separate issue. Have you done any work ups regarding TMJ or gotten any blood panels for autoimmune diseases? It could potentially be viral as well. Viruses love the inner ear and even without any exposure to sound, they can devastate the structures, resulting in worse tinnitus or hyperacusis. It's why people can wake up deaf in one ear out of the blue.