Alright guys, today, April 13, 2025, marks one year since I got tinnitus from an incident where I fired 13 rounds from a 9mm without hearing protection. Before this happened, I had done a lot of shooting without ear protection. I went hunting, shot with friends, and celebrated New Year's by shooting. It always went away until the day it didn't.
Do I still regret it? Absolutely. But life goes on. I cannot live in constant dread over something I cannot control. What I can control is protecting my ears from this point forward.
This past year has been a long journey with plenty of ups and downs. I remember feeling so low, stuck in constant fight or flight. It was terrible. But I believe I have adjusted and gotten used to it over time. I still have spikes and moments where it gets louder, but it is usually because of congestion, sinus problems, allergies, changes in air pressure, or other similar things.
I work in construction, so avoiding loud equipment is impossible. I am a rebar worker, so I am around clanking metal, chipping concrete with a jackhammer, hammering nails, using a nail gun, and many other loud tools.
I just want to share my journey to encourage all of you. I am doing much better than I was when this first started. It was very loud in the beginning, but over the course of a year, it has calmed down a lot. I still have it, but it does not bother me very much at all.
Hold on to hope and faith. Never lose that. Protect your ears whenever you are around loud noise. I usually wear earplugs when the noise is above 85 decibels, and if I am dealing with 110 decibels or more, I use earplugs together with earmuffs.
I still hunt, I still shoot, I still drag race my car. I am not going to let tinnitus control my life. Life goes on. I hope all of you find relief from this difficult thing called tinnitus.
Do I still regret it? Absolutely. But life goes on. I cannot live in constant dread over something I cannot control. What I can control is protecting my ears from this point forward.
This past year has been a long journey with plenty of ups and downs. I remember feeling so low, stuck in constant fight or flight. It was terrible. But I believe I have adjusted and gotten used to it over time. I still have spikes and moments where it gets louder, but it is usually because of congestion, sinus problems, allergies, changes in air pressure, or other similar things.
I work in construction, so avoiding loud equipment is impossible. I am a rebar worker, so I am around clanking metal, chipping concrete with a jackhammer, hammering nails, using a nail gun, and many other loud tools.
I just want to share my journey to encourage all of you. I am doing much better than I was when this first started. It was very loud in the beginning, but over the course of a year, it has calmed down a lot. I still have it, but it does not bother me very much at all.
Hold on to hope and faith. Never lose that. Protect your ears whenever you are around loud noise. I usually wear earplugs when the noise is above 85 decibels, and if I am dealing with 110 decibels or more, I use earplugs together with earmuffs.
I still hunt, I still shoot, I still drag race my car. I am not going to let tinnitus control my life. Life goes on. I hope all of you find relief from this difficult thing called tinnitus.
