Is Going to a Beyonce Concert with Tinnitus Safe or Stupid?

[Strawberryblonde]

Did you wear earplugs, or could you handle the 75 dB without?

No decent Wetherspoons by me unfortunately haha. I can handle that noise just fine, it was just the worry in case anything happened to my tinnitus. I would not even have batted an eyelid years ago in a pub like that and even louder with more people (there were like 6 people in my local).

 

[Tom Cnyc]

What would be your definition here of hyperacusis (noxacusis and loudness hyperacusis), and sound reactive tinnitus?

I don't have the first two, but my tinnitus is incredibly sound reactive and variable. I'm trying to get back out there. I have been to bars, bars with live singers and even a nightclub for 2 hours - all with custom molded earplugs. But four weeks ago took a worsening (either from nightclub 10 days prior or 6 hour work calls that same day) and IT hasn't really gone down since and it has become highly variable once again.

Also, I wanted to say, your success story kept me motivated in my early days. I saw a lot of similarities, how you pushed through and even returned to playing music again. It helped.

If it's too painful to enjoy, don't go. My first live music experience, believe it or not, I performed at. It was at a bar with an open setup - front wall was a gate that goes up on the beach. When it wasn't my hour, I stayed outside, but it was still kinda loud. Much louder "inside".

Point is, dip your toe in, but don't dive in the deep end.

 

[ZFire]

DO NOT SKIP CONCERTS UNLESS YOU HAVE HYPERACUSIS. And get REAL earplugs. Customs, with good filters. Not for more protection, so you enjoy the show more. I go to like 20 shows a year. It is safe.

20 shows a year might be a bit too excessive for compromised and vulnerable ears IMO, but you do you. No one understands your tinnitus behavior better than you.

Which customs are you using anyhow? The custom earplugs I've recently acquired (1of1 customs) are absolute trash. Looking for other options.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

20 shows a year might be a bit too excessive for compromised and vulnerable ears IMO, but you do you. No one understands your tinnitus behavior better than you.

Which customs are you using anyhow? The custom earplugs I've recently acquired (1of1 customs) are absolute trash. Looking for other options.

Thanks for your permission. LOL.

Jokes aside, I never once had a spike from a show. My ears predictably ring a little louder during the winter months, and then quiet down to a mild hiss for the other 8 months of the year.

If I get sick, they'll be loud for 2 weeks.

I have Westones, from the audiologist. Etymotic makes the filters. I use ER25s for shows, and ER15s for playing music (guitar) with others because I need to be able to hear more in the upper register. If I play drums, I just wear 3M 27 dB over-ears. I have 33s also and they're just not comfortable.

 

[Strawberryblonde]

The custom earplugs I've recently acquired (1of1 customs) are absolute trash.

Why are they no good?

 

[ZFire]

Why are they no good?

To be fair, the sound quality and noise reduction capabilities are pretty good, but the occlusion effect from my custom earplugs (Pro 26) are beyond horrible. This is an absolute deal breaker for me. I can't walk with them on without having to hearing mini explosions go off. Every footstep I take, I hear a loud boom coursing through my body. Extremely bothersome. Don't even get me started with having to talk with them on. A disaster beyond belief.

Customer service left a lot to be desired as well. They won't refund me too and they were giving me some attitude. They told me "oh, the occlusion effect is normal when you block your ears". I was like yeah I expect to have some level of occlusion, but not this level of abomination. I think they got butt hurt when I told them foam earplugs were way better with the occlusion effect than these customs. I haven't received a reply back from them yet.

 

[DT_N_DA_CLUB]

Unfortunately the reality is no one knows - although I totally understand why you have asked the question. We all do the same thing.

It does depend on how bad the tinnitus is, whether it's sound reactive, or if anything tends to make it worse.

I had mild to moderate tinnitus for 45 years and went to every concert and festival you could think of without any earplugs, and it never made the slightest bit of difference. I could listen to music and watch TV. Noise didn't seem to impact it.

Now, I have severe sound reactive tinnitus because of microsuction. I can't listen to the TV, can't listen to music - and miss nightclubs, festivals, travelling and music so very much - even though I have tried at times with up to 39 dB reducing custom molded earplugs.

The reality is you'll get a different answer depending on how severe someone is, how much that person can get on with their daily lives with a steady tone rather than one fluctuating to every little noise, and how risk adverse someone is.

I had a dream to see someone in concert for 25 years. The last person on my list I wanted to see live. I manage to achieve this dream just 4 weeks before I went for microsuction and got worse. I know I'd feel the same as you if I hadn't ticked this off my list, and how desperate I would feel for a 'one last time'.

I know you've had tinnitus since 2018 but is there a chance you can rest your ears for a couple more years and tick off this Beyonce concert in 2025 or 2026 maybe, and see where you are then?

There are a lot of people that got tinnitus from microsuction. Too bad they don't do any new studies on procedures like that.

My annual hearing tests prove I have not experienced any hearing loss in the past three years, yet I developed tinnitus two years ago. There is a randomness to this condition.

YESSSSS! I saw them at the Mann and followed 'em up to NYC! I'll be at SPAC in two weeks!

My friend went on the last Friday and Saturday show. I listened to it and it must have been so fun.

I caught a couple shows when they did the Baker's Dozen. It's good to see some Phans here.

I didn't get tinnitus from Phish shows. Mine was from an antibiotic or a virus.

 

[Strawberryblonde]

To be fair, the sound quality and noise reduction capabilities are pretty good, but the occlusion effect from my custom earplugs (Pro 26) are beyond horrible. This is an absolute deal breaker for me. I can't walk with them on without having to hearing mini explosions go off. Every footstep I take, I hear a loud boom coursing through my body. Extremely bothersome. Don't even get me started with having to talk with them on. A disaster beyond belief.

Customer service left a lot to be desired as well. They won't refund me too and they were giving me some attitude. They told me "oh, the occlusion effect is normal when you block your ears". I was like yeah I expect to have some level of occlusion, but not this level of abomination. I think they got butt hurt when I told them foam earplugs were way better with the occlusion effect than these customs. I haven't received a reply back from them yet.

I'd be well pissed off especially if it cost quite a bit to get them made! And it's a shame you can't try before you buy with these things.

What are you going to do next? Wait to see what happens with customer service or try and get some more made?

I think the occlusion effect is something that'll always be there with earplugs that aren't foam. I don't know what others you could try to bridge the gap for now.

 

[Mister Muso]

Jokes aside, I never once had a spike from a show. My ears predictably ring a little louder during the winter months, and then quiet down to a mild hiss for the other 8 months of the year.

Your tinnitus is obviously mild then. Like mine was for years, until the concert that made it severe and gave me hyperacusis. I hope you stay safe.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

Your tinnitus is obviously mild then. Like mine was for years, until the concert that made it severe and gave me hyperacusis. I hope you stay safe.

My tinnitus was anything but mild. I sat in a small apt with a washer dryer/tv/dishwasher, and AC unit running and it screamed over all of it. I wore earplugs to talk to my wife because my hyperacusis was awful.

It's very mild now. I'm in a quiet office and I can only hear it if I cover my ear canals with my thumbs. My ears will ring when the baseboard heating dries out my sinuses for a few months. I'm over it though. Half my friends have this condition. This is the life we chose. I'm going to a music festival tomorrow. I'll be fine after too.

 

[Utdmad89]

Your tinnitus is obviously mild then. Like mine was for years, until the concert that made it severe and gave me hyperacusis. I hope you stay safe.

I honestly think it's very toxic telling someone they have mild tinnitus just because you don't agree with how they live their lives.

You don't know what they are living with and you could have mild tinnitus compared to someone else. It's all subjective.

 

[ZFire]

What are you going to do next? Wait to see what happens with customer service or try and get some more made?

Hey @Strawberryblonde.

So customer service told me that I should continue wearing them, that the earplugs will eventually 'break in' and my ears will adjust to the fit, whatever that means. They compared it to like wearing a new pair of shoes, so there's a chance the occlusion effect could ease up.

If I'm still not satisfied, they said they're willing to remake my earplugs, adjusting the modeling of the earplugs to extend more deeper in my ear canal. It may or may not help with occlusion according to them however. I think they'll be charging a small fee for that which is unfortunate... Going to keep testing these current earplugs for a week or two more and see what happens. Then I'll decide if I want them remade.

 

[Mister Muso]

I honestly think it's very toxic telling someone they have mild tinnitus just because you don't agree with how they live their lives.

You don't know what they are living with and you could have mild tinnitus compared to someone else. It's all subjective.

I stand by what I've said.

Personally I think it's pretty reckless to go telling people on a tinnitus forum that it's safe to go to 20 concerts a year.

But maybe that's just me.

 

[Strawberryblonde]

If I'm still not satisfied, they said they're willing to remake my earplugs, adjusting the modeling of the earplugs to extend more deeper in my ear canal. It may or may not help with occlusion according to them however.

I guess that's not too bad. Better than leaving you high and dry I suppose. I hope they end up working for you in the end

 

[jecamp1]

I had a hearing test three years ago when I had mild tinnitus, and took one after I developed severe tinnitus, and the two are identical. Lots of similar stories on here.

People do talk about hidden hearing loss in the upper frequencies, but the reality is I have had tinnitus since birth and my hearing has deteriorated heavily (quite bad now) but it didn't change my tinnitus. Microsuction and bam, now severe.

I believe some tinnitus is brought about by lost signals at certain frequencies, but not all.

Perhaps, but I've had conductive hearing loss since I was a teenager (I am 30 now). The deafness in my left ear, which is the one that rings, is not related to inner ear issues. Bone conductive testing proves that I can hear those high frequencies you are talking about. That said, all of this is subjective to the individual. What I do know is that I will never subjective myself to these microsuction things that set back so many people on this forum.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

I stand by what I've said.

Personally I think it's pretty reckless to go telling people on a tinnitus forum that it's safe to go to 20 concerts a year.

But maybe that's just me.

Personally, I spent years terrified to live my life because I spent too much time here with people telling me how dangerous the world was, which only made my mental state, and ironically, my tinnitus worse as it's absolutely related to the body's fight or flight system.

Honestly, I don't give a shit what you do. I only come back here because there will be a person in the state I was that needs some of the doom and gloom balanced out.

It took me YEARS to get back to what I do now, and as a musician I thought I had lost my passion. I have since taken online friendships with multiple people with tinnitus and watched them progress from terrified to leave the house to living normal lives again over time. People that told me my tinnitus was mild and theirs was severe. They're fine now.

I'm not lying when I tell you that like 30% of my friends have tinnitus. I was by far the most impacted of any of them I know, but it was rough for them too. They're all fine.

My advice to anyone that cares. DON'T skip out on life. Get some good earplugs with multiple filter levels and use them when it's appropriate to.

DO skip out on doing absolutely crazy stuff like sleeping with screeching noises in your Koss headphones because someone on the internet told you it's good for your hearing.

DON'T turn into a full blown alcoholic to cope with tinnitus like I did for ~3 years.

DO recognize that your body can heal, neuroplasticity is real, and that you can rewire your vestibular system. Look into your posture - it greatly affects vestibular system. Look up PRI (Postural Restoration). It's not gobble-de-gook. I saw a practitioner that helped me a lot and also treated many Broadway musicians with hearing issues.

Go for a weekly _medical_ massage if you have the coin. You're gonna be surprised when they tell you others come to them for the same issues. They'll talk to you for an hour a week about what ails you. It's cheaper than therapy and they're qualified like most bartenders are AND have what is basically a medical degree.

Most important - Get the hell out of the house. It's good for you. My turning point was a bachelor party at a 2 day jam band run where the groom had recently decided he didn't care about his tinnitus anymore and was ready to live life. I was terrified. Both of us were still on the vitamin protocols you read about on this site. It was fresh. After 2 days of concerts in a row, and I wasn't any worse a week later, I was ready to move on with my life.

 

[Jupiterman]

Personally, I spent years terrified to live my life because I spent too much time here with people telling me how dangerous the world was, which only made my mental state, and ironically, my tinnitus worse as it's absolutely related to the body's fight or flight system.

Honestly, I don't give a shit what you do. I only come back here because there will be a person in the state I was that needs some of the doom and gloom balanced out.

It took me YEARS to get back to what I do now, and as a musician I thought I had lost my passion. I have since taken online friendships with multiple people with tinnitus and watched them progress from terrified to leave the house to living normal lives again over time. People that told me my tinnitus was mild and theirs was severe. They're fine now.

I'm not lying when I tell you that like 30% of my friends have tinnitus. I was by far the most impacted of any of them I know, but it was rough for them too. They're all fine.

My advice to anyone that cares. DON'T skip out on life. Get some good earplugs with multiple filter levels and use them when it's appropriate to.

DO skip out on doing absolutely crazy stuff like sleeping with screeching noises in your Koss headphones because someone on the internet told you it's good for your hearing.

DON'T turn into a full blown alcoholic to cope with tinnitus like I did for ~3 years.

DO recognize that your body can heal, neuroplasticity is real, and that you can rewire your vestibular system. Look into your posture - it greatly affects vestibular system. Look up PRI (Postural Restoration). It's not gobble-de-gook. I saw a practitioner that helped me a lot and also treated many Broadway musicians with hearing issues.

Go for a weekly _medical_ massage if you have the coin. You're gonna be surprised when they tell you others come to them for the same issues. They'll talk to you for an hour a week about what ails you. It's cheaper than therapy and they're qualified like most bartenders are AND have what is basically a medical degree.

Most important - Get the hell out of the house. It's good for you. My turning point was a bachelor party at a 2 day jam band run where the groom had recently decided he didn't care about his tinnitus anymore and was ready to live life. I was terrified. Both of us were still on the vitamin protocols you read about on this site. It was fresh. After 2 days of concerts in a row, and I wasn't any worse a week later, I was ready to move on with my life.

You clearly feel quite strongly about this; that sufferers should take a leap of faith with the reward of getting their life back.

I've read some of your previous postings. It is difficult to try and piece your story together as its bits of telling on one thread and more on another and so on.

Would you be willing to write a full account of your tinnitus experience from beginning to now?

It would certainly help and give others some faith perhaps?

 

[BuzzyBee]

DO NOT SKIP CONCERTS UNLESS YOU HAVE HYPERACUSIS. And get REAL earplugs. Customs, with good filters. Not for more protection, so you enjoy the show more. I go to like 20 shows a year. It is safe.

Yeah, this. Beyonce concert is probably okay if you keep safe and use earplugs. For those of us with reactive tinnitus or hyperacusis, concerts are a big NO. That is, unless you don't mind pain or constant loud tinnitus after or if you've reached a state where your tinnitus/hyperacusis reacts briefly and then goes back to baseline.

I alternate between tinnitus and reactive tinnitus (hyperacusis for lack of better diagnosis, but basically tinnitus triggered by certain noise frequencies) and I can see how a concert would be wonderful to mask tinnitus or nothing short of torture to trigger loud tinnitus and hissing for days or worse.

It's so$#@(%TU complicated. I'm so sick of dealing with both for the past 7 years and would love to go to any concert. I can't even go to church. Not that I miss church so much but I liked the music back in the day.

I almost feel like if you have to ask this question you should just go to the concert.

 

[RunningMan]

I agree with others. You definitely should NOT go to the concert. It could be something you regret for the rest of your life.

 

[tpj]

I went to 2 concerts when my tinnitus was mild. Although it didn't get any worse at the time, I think it was a reckless thing to do. You may get away with going to a concert but it is definitely not safe.

 

[RocketJSquirrel]

Are we still arguing about voting on this? Here's my vote: with tinnitus, live rock concerts are out. Done. Forget it.

Without earplugs, your hearing will be toast, possibly forever. With even good earplugs, you won't be enjoying the music to the fullest. And don't forget the noisy fans all around you doing their best to out-sing the band.

Wait for the concert to come out on Blu-ray or CD or nugs.net and enjoy it at home where the sound is under your control.

 

[gameover]

You clearly feel quite strongly about this; that sufferers should take a leap of faith with the reward of getting their life back.

I've read some of your previous postings. It is difficult to try and piece your story together as its bits of telling on one thread and more on another and so on.

Would you be willing to write a full account of your tinnitus experience from beginning to now?

It would certainly help and give others some faith perhaps?

@Tom Cnyc, this was my thought, too, can you write up your (success) story?