I Don't Know Who to Believe on Protecting Hearing — Help Me!

[Apocalypse77]

My doctor said that I cannot use earplugs anywhere (even at the school canteen). He also said that I have to go to the trip where I have a 10 hour flight.

I have MRI tomorrow. I don't know if he will let me use earplugs.

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

 

[Tinker Bell]

My doctor said that I cannot use earplugs anywhere (even at the school canteen). He also said that I have to go to the trip where I have a 10 hour flight.

I have MRI tomorrow. I don't know if he will let me use earplugs.

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

Why would he not let you use earplugs in the MRI? Is he physically going to be there at your MRI? MRIs are administered by MRI techs not ENTs. And ear protection is advised for anyone getting a head MRI. I've had multiple MRIs over the last ten years and was always given earplugs without me even asking.

 

[Zug]

My doctor said that I cannot use earplugs anywhere (even at the school canteen). He also said that I have to go to the trip where I have a 10 hour flight.

I have MRI tomorrow. I don't know if he will let me use earplugs.

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

There's a balance: If you overdo protection, you can cause Hyperacusis which is not fun. You don't need plugs on normal situations. On planes, it's not a good idea to completely block your ears because of the pressure changes (I personally wear noise canceling phones on trips and they're great). You should carry earplugs to loud venues, the kind of places people need to scream at each other to be heard, but try not to wear them all the time.

Also, if you don't trust your doctor, it's a good idea to look for a second opinion. Everything you find online, including this, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Best,
Zug

 

[glynis]

That is totally wrong of your doctor to say that.
Ring action on hearing loss or the BTA for better advice or hospital audiology.
You do only need them above 84db.
Love glynis

 

[Fabrikat]

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

Your doctor wouldn't have a clue about the misery tinnitus brings to body and soul. Nobody can tell you when you can and when you can't protect yourself from needless suffering. You are the one after all, who has to carry on with life long after everyone has left the 'party'.

MRI is loud. In my country, ear plugs are always provided for patients to use if they wish. Take some of your own (non metal) plugs just in case. With damaged tinnitus ears, plugs are a no brainer.

You choose the time and place you want to expose your ears to comfortable volume. No one else!

 

[Apocalypse77]

Thank you for answers . Today my teachers voice did not hurt my ears and when we had group works I could listen to other people without plugging my ears. I still was a little careful and kept 10 minute breaks from plugging my ears.

So if any voice doesn't hurt my ears is it safe to just ignore them and not plug ears?

 

[Michael Leigh]

My doctor said that I cannot use earplugs anywhere (even at the school canteen). He also said that I have to go to the trip where I have a 10 hour flight.

I have MRI tomorrow. I don't know if he will let me use earplugs.

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

You can use "noise reducing" earplugs that have filters in. These will allow you to hear outside sounds but at a reduced level. I don't recommend them for continuous use. You need treatment as I've recommended.

Michael

 

[Fabrikat]

So if any voice doesn't hurt my ears is it safe to just ignore them and not plug ears?

Yes.

 

[Sean]

My doctor said that I cannot use earplugs anywhere (even at the school canteen). He also said that I have to go to the trip where I have a 10 hour flight.

I have MRI tomorrow. I don't know if he will let me use earplugs.

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

Make sure you use plugs while getting MRI ..atleast one person here got T because of MRI .
If possible ..use plugs and ear muffs .

As far as using plugs in regular loud environment..opinions differes so much here . My T had increased because a very very loud car was about 50 feet away and it accelerated.if I was wearing plugs I know my T has been mild from past 7 years .

 

[LadyDi]

Hi, @Apocalypse77

Agree with @Zug's post and others. You need to protect your ears in very loud environments. An MRI probably would be one. Your doctor won't be there, wear plugs.

But you also need to be cautious about overprotecting. Maybe that's what your doc was worried about. Normal human voices should cause you no problem.
Also, as @Michael Leigh suggested: custom molded filtered ear plugs are a great investment. I have them and take them everywhere. They block some noise but not all, so you still can hear people. The filters are graded, so you can use different filters for louder situations.

In super noisy environments (like movies), I put ear muffs on over my filtered plugs.

 

[walkthroughwalls]

My doctor said that I cannot use earplugs anywhere (even at the school canteen). He also said that I have to go to the trip where I have a 10 hour flight.

I have MRI tomorrow. I don't know if he will let me use earplugs.

Everyone (almost) here have told me to use earplugs in loud environments, which I have followed. Now my doctor says something like this? Is he out of her mind, or should I really just stop protecting my hearing and expose myself to loud sounds?

I've also gotten different opinions from different ENT's, GP's, psychiatrists and others regarding when to wear earplugs and if I still could go to concerts, etc. Most of them happily said that I should do anything (use the blender, vacuum cleaner, long car rides) without earplugs, except going to concerts, which should be absolutely fine with earplugs. It was nice to hear at first, but I knew it was too good to be true. I'm not sure if some of these people are actually knowledgeable on tinnitus or live music.

The tinnitus specialists from the hospital, which I consider to be the most knowledgeable, said not to use earplugs for everyday sounds (which indeed can lead to hyperacusis), but that going to concerts is a "maybe, you'd have to try it". This is what I found to be true. In other words, some situations may require you to wear earplugs or aren't safe even with earplugs.


Just use earplugs if you think it's necessary. There's no point in hearing uncomfortably loud sounds because someone told you that you should. As long as you don't wear earplugs 24/7 and do get to hear sounds in the 0 to 80 dB range (just about) regularly, you should be fine. There's certainly no harm in wearing earplugs for an MRI scan you'll only do once or twice. I doubt if wearing earplugs in the canteen for one or two hours a day can do any harm.
Canteens can be quite loud too! A couple of voices at normal speaking volume shouldn't be harmful, but a hundred of them all trying to be heard in the same room definitely can be.

If I'm not mistaken, if you do notice that you're getting hyperacusis from overprotection, this can be reversed. Hearing damage cannot be reversed. So even from this perspective, you'll be on the safer side wearing earplugs.

 

[Apocalypse77]

@walkthroughwalls a really good answer, thank you for this my friend.

 

[walkthroughwalls]

You're welcome. I hope it helps! Hopefully someone else can chime in on whether hyperacusis is always reversible. I'm curious too!


By the way, don't let your doctor (or anyone else) just tell you something you (may) disagree with or you're not sure about. Just politely start asking questions if you see contradictions or gaps. Reading through this thread you can find plenty of arguments in favor of wearing earplugs. Just see how he responds and then you'll have some way to attach weight to their opinion.

Some will not back up their claims ("it's just not good"), or come up with a word salad that doesn't include an answer. Stop asking questions in this case
Others may explain their position more carefully and you'll find that it's not as black and white as first presented. Others may actually carefully explain their well reasoned positions and you'll have some new insight which you can consider

 

[Tom Cnyc]

I personally subscribe to the ideology that wearing plugs will not make your tinnitus worse. I have my customs with me all the time, wear them when walking around the city, on the train, in bars, and when my neighbors at work are talking too much.

I do believe that if you're going down the panic spiral - it'd be easy to think that you need to wear them when you don't, and you can almost develop an unhealthy mind state - similar to the way an agoraphobic person treats their front door being closed and locked. Sitting in your house with the door closed wont make you agoraphobic - but if you ARE agoraphobic - it's healthy to take small strides towards going back outside.

 

[Zinnia]

Your doctor is not all powerful and all knowing. He is one person with his own individual opinion. And you know what they say about about opinions... they're like assholes, everybody's got one.

It's ludicrous (and irresponsible) for him to tell you to never wear earplugs. If you have noise induced tinnitus, then your ear(s) have suffered damage. Use your judgement and common sense. Wear protection around loud sounds even at school if needed. Speaking of school, I would strongly suggest being very wary of any big school wide event in a closed space like a gym where there is clapping by hundreds of people. (my asshole opinion)