Is This Spike Caused by a Metal Plate Dropping on Concrete Floor Permanent?

[sven1987]

So, 2 days ago someone at work dropped a metal plate in a concrete floor from about 10 feet from where I was standing. It made a very loud metallic reverberating clang when it hit the floor and I was not wearing plugs. The plate was about 15 by 6 inches and maybe a tenth of an inch thick. How loud is something like this?

My tinnitus has been spiking since this incident becoming louder and higher pitched. I've experienced spikes before, but now it just feels different.

Please tell me something like this can't cause permanent damage. I was doing so well up to this point, but now I feel I have start all over again.

 

[GregCA]

Please tell me something like this can't cause permanent damage.

It probably hasn't.

 

[JurgenG]

I doubt it would be a permanent increase, more likely a heavy spike. I know what you mean, the uncertainty can be unnerving, also it probably sounded louder than it was due to the suprise..

 

[sven1987]

I doubt it would be a permanent increase, more likely a heavy spike. I know what you mean, the uncertainty can be unnerving, also it probably sounded louder than it was due to the suprise..

I assume you've also experienced loud noise-induced spikes. Have you ever had an permanent increase from them?

The only consolation I've had so far is that the somatic component of my T hasn't increased, so I'm praying that this is just something temporary. If there would have been damage this probably would have increased too, right? But when I yawn my T doesn't sound louder then when I yawned before this incident 2 days ago.

 

[JurgenG]

I assume you've also experienced loud noise-induced spikes. Have you ever had an permanent increase from them?

The only consolation I've had so far is that the somatic component of my T hasn't increased, so I'm praying that this is just something temporary. If there would have been damage this probably would have increased too, right? But when I yawn my T doesn't sound louder then when I yawned before this incident 2 days ago.

I never had a permanent spike from things like that, dropping bottles, smashing doors, etc etc.
I did, and do stress every time something like that happens though, but I forget after a day or two or once the next "loud" thing happens.

 

[Julien87]

I agree, I believe it can cause temporary spikes, but that no permanent damage is done.

 

[Cheza]

Spikes can last for hours, for days, even a couple of weeks or more. I had a toddler scream twice behind me in a cafe with bad acoustics (everything sounded louder). I left after the second scream.

That spike went on for at least 10 days, but then it subsided. Take NAC regularly if you think you're going to be exposed to unexpected loud noises. First, it really is a helpful supplement. Second, you won't have as much anxiety if you know that you've got something to protect against acoustic damage. (It won't help a lot for something like a gunshot or explosion nearby, but just everyday unexpected loud noises, or even dentist drills.)

 

[h-m-1994]

@Cheza Would NAC help with sudden spikes? I just had a spike last night from being around drunk family members, I'm hoping it won't be around for too long.

 

[Cheza]

@Cheza Would NAC help with sudden spikes? I just had a spike last night from being around drunk family members, I'm hoping it won't be around for too long.

Go to this thread on TT about NAC. On the 14th page, one of the members recommends a daily dose of 1,000 mg. If he gets a spike caused by a loud noise, he ups it to 2,000 mg, two doses, then back to 1,000 mg daily.

I don't have my NAC info in front of me now, but I think it might hurt and wouldn't help if you took 2,000 mg now and then another 2,000 tomorrow.

I did see some comments on that thread about NAC possibly being ototoxic, but I took it for over a year at 1,000 mg per day and never had any worsening of tinnitus. If anything, I think it helped. The brand I used was Jarrow's timed-release formula.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Please tell me something like this can't cause permanent damage.

The damage Can be permanent (especially after these shocks happen a number of times)(this is the reason I wear an earplug in my bad ear whenever I am outside of my home), but there is a high chance that it will be temporary. Keep in mind that a temporary spike can last longer than a week or even a month. One of my spikes had lasted for over three months.

 

[Julien87]

You think one of your ears is more likely to have permanent damage than the other? Is it possible?

 

[sven1987]

Does anybody know of a list of decibel levels of short duration noises like a balloon popping, firecrackers, hammer hitting metal, etc. All I can find are lists of decibel levels for longer exposure times, such as concerts, jack hammers, etc.

 

[Julien87]

130-140 dB for balloon popping or firecrackers (a bit less for them though) i have read. So in theory it can create immediate damage. However, i would say the event you described was less noisy than these very loud impulsive noises.

 

[GregCA]

130-140 dB for balloon popping or firecrackers (a bit less for them though) i have read.

Please remember that quoting a dB level without a distance has very little value. 140 dB for a firecracker at... 1m? 10m? 100m?
Please mention dB levels with an associated distance. It's the only way to derive proper information from it, so people can compute their exposure based on their distance to the source. This page does it for you if you enter the values appropriately.

 

[Cheza]

I don't have my NAC info in front of me now, but I think it might hurt and wouldn't help if you took 2,000 mg now and then another 2,000 tomorrow.

Uh-oh, I got it backwards! I meant to say, "I think it wouldn't hurt and it might help if you took 2,000 mg now ..." My apologies if I misled anyone.

 

[Alue]

Please remember that quoting a dB level without a distance has very little value. 140 dB for a firecracker at... 1m? 10m? 100m?
Please mention dB levels with an associated distance. It's the only way to derive proper information from it, so people can compute their exposure based on their distance to the source. This page does it for you if you enter the values appropriately.

The area in which the noise event occurs has an influence as well. If it's in a small room with few sound absorbing objects it's not going to dissipate nearly as much as it would in an open area.

 

[GregCA]

The area in which the noise event occurs has an influence as well. If it's in a small room with few sound absorbing objects it's not going to dissipate nearly as much as it would in an open area.

True, but it's much harder to express and model the shape of the area unless it's extremely simple, so we tend to use simple models in order to get the high order value as useful as possible.

I think people tend to understand intuitively when the dB level gets "worse" with the area, for example: if I claim that a balloon popped at 1m is 120 dB, it is quite intuitive to think that a balloon popping inside a car with windows closed is going to be worse. It's not obvious to quantify how much worse, but it's certainly pretty intuitive to understand it is worse due to the reflections back from sound waves that should have escaped out.

 

[sven1987]

Is it normal for tinnitus to spike this long? It's been four days since the incident and it has shown no signs of diminishing. I've noticed that my right ear is ringing a lot louder then it did before. My tinnitus was mostly white noise but for the last four days they have been ringing again.
Is there anything I can do to diminish this spike?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Is it normal for tinnitus to spike this long?

Temporary spikes can last a surprisingly long time:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/head-movement-spikes-tinnitus.25179/#post-290614
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-do-your-tinnitus-spikes-usually-last.23110/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-was-your-longest-spike.22099/

When you get a spike, it is natural to panic and assume the worst. My advice is to wait three months or so. If the spike is still there, as loud as ever, at that point you might start worrying about this spike being permanent.

Is there anything I can do to diminish this spike?

You just need to wait, while making sure to protect your ears from further trauma. Protecting my ears even from moderate noises like that of a vacuum cleaner seems to have worked for me.

You could try taking supplements like NAC, Magnesium bis glycinate, Vinpocetine, ALCAR (N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine), Ginkgo Gold (Tebonin), and Zinc.

 

[JurgenG]

Go to this thread on TT about NAC. On the 14th page, one of the members recommends a daily dose of 1,000 mg. If he gets a spike caused by a loud noise, he ups it to 2,000 mg, two doses, then back to 1,000 mg daily.

I don't have my NAC info in front of me now, but I think it might hurt and wouldn't help if you took 2,000 mg now and then another 2,000 tomorrow.

I did see some comments on that thread about NAC possibly being ototoxic, but I took it for over a year at 1,000 mg per day and never had any worsening of tinnitus. If anything, I think it helped. The brand I used was Jarrow's timed-release formula.

I've never heard of NAC being ototoxic, can you show where you read this?
I guess even water can be ototoxic if you look for it though..