Hearing Damage without Ringing?

[Globulus]

I was photographing an event (celebration in a park) a few days ago where I found that I had wandered next to one of the speaker stacks. There had been various announcements, but now they suddenly started blaring out music while I had my left ear a couple of feet away from the stack. I immediately covered my left ear (camera in right hand) and walked away, but I did receive a short blast which I could feel in my bones.

No immediate discomfort or ringing, as far as I could tell, but I was still wondering if it had had an adverse effect on anything.

I am 50 years old and have for years heard a faint, high-pitched sound (as in what you would hear from an old CRT TV) in my left ear. I had chalked it up to coming from my desktop PC, which happens to be sitting on the left, but have to admit that it would not quite go completely away when I was watching TV in another room or whatever.

I guess the incident forced me to realize that I have a mild case of tinnitus - something that only happens to others, of course - but now I don't know if the incident made it worse or if it just sounds louder these days because I am so completely obsessed with it. Yes, I know: Don't!

My question is: Would I normally have experienced discomfort or ringing if the short exposure had caused any damage?

As I did not pay much attention to it before the incident I cannot really tell if it has actually become louder or if that is just my newfound attention to it. It has to be said that it is really faint and probably the kind of tinnitus that most people on this forum would swap theirs for in a heartbeat.

 

[Globulus]

I should add: I don't normally go to pubs or clubs or any places with lots of noise but I have been using headphones to listen to podcasts a couple of hours per day for more than 10 years.

I took some online hearing tests which all suggested that I have hearing loss and should consult an audiologist.

I don't really feel as if there are any problems, except understanding conversations in a crowded room, but that has been a problem for at least 15 years. I can hear frequencies up to 14 KHz or so (perhaps a little less on the left ear) and music sounds the same to me as it always has - though I guess one just gets used to a gradual decline in some areas of the spectrum.

Question is: Are any of those online or app hearing tests any good or are they hampered by PC hardware limitations or simply paint a bleaker picture in order to get you to spend $$$ on whatever hearing aids they are selling?

 

[DimitarIV]

Do an audio test (ask for full range test up to 20kHz).

 

[Tinker Bell]

Do an audio test (ask for full range test up to 20kHz).

But if the author does, be aware that some loss is normal by age 50. Especially in the higher frequencies.

@Globulus it may be difficult to identify if the loss is recent unless you have a previous audiogram, severe loss beyond what is considered normal by age 50, or greater loss in one ear versus another.

 

[Globulus]

But if the author does, be aware that some loss is normal by age 50. Especially in the higher frequencies.

@Globulus it may be difficult to identify if the loss is recent unless you have a previous audiogram, severe loss beyond what is considered normal by age 50, or greater loss in one ear versus another.

I have taken a bunch of "hearing tests" in the form of iOS and Android apps (with Sennheiser HD650 headphones) and they more or less confirm that I can hear frequencies up to 14 KHz (when cranking up the volume) and that I have mild hearing loss in the 6-8 KHz range, consistent with my age.

Still, very unscientific given the hardware limitations and lack of calibration, but they all paint roughly the same picture.
https://www.hearingally.com/articles/hearing-test-apps-accurate/

Yes, I should get a real test.

 

[Globulus]

6th day update: The original quality of the T was "electrical noise" + a tone - both very faint, but present if I listened for them.

Both appear to have faded somewhat, esp. the tone part is barely detectable, but the electrical noise is certainly making itself heard when I wake up in the morning, though it fairly quickly subsides once I get up.

Still concerned because it hasn't gone away after a couple of days and still feeling stupid for possibly bringing this on myself due to a moment's lack of attention, but hopeful that I will soon be able to at least completely ignore it if it does not go away by itself. First thing I need to do is to stop doing the "how bad is it now?" checks where I go into a quiet room and cup my ears in an attempt to figure out what noises are coming from my head vs. the noise I usually hear from my computer equipment.

One thing I am debating with myself: As mentioned in my second post, I enjoy listening to podcasts with cheap (no bass to speak of) on-ear headphones at low volume. While I have gotten a little scared of headphones in general this past week, the question is whether it is not overall better to keep listening to podcasts in this manner as part of distracting myself rather than spending my downtime (cleaning, preparing meals, etc) in absolute silence?