Just Need Some Guidance on Protecting My Ears

[Mia211]

So I have tinnitus since 6 weeks and it has not been the best time of my life; I am at my lowest point.

I went to GP and ENT and ER.

My ENT said I had no hearing loss.

I was using my headphones a couple days before I got tinnitus and they were pretty loud but nothing happened and then a few days later I got tinnitus.

But my GP says it's from my previous stress and anxiety and my ENT says it's due to ETD.

So I could only hope and pray it goes away.

But my question is that my hearing is good, why do I still have to protect my ears?

I have gone to bars, and I drive with my radio on and my windows open, I vacuum my house, dry my hair and my tinnitus does get a bit louder but by the end of the night it goes back down and in the mornings it's pretty quiet.

Is protecting your ears only for the ones with hearing loss?

All help will be appreciated.

 

[Ambassador]

As far as I'm concerned all these things you describe, gone to bars, and I drive with my radio on and my windows open, I vacuum my house, dry my hair, etc. don't require protection. Well maybe if there's a live band in the bar, I would stay away from the amps, and might consider plugging the ears but then again, at my age my days of bars with live bands are over.

Ears should be protected to prevent hearing loss and not because of it. For me that means, running lawn mower, or and small engine devices, powered construction equipment, saws, hammer drills, etc..

 

[Bill Bauer]

So I have tinnitus since 6 weeks and it has not been the best time of my life; I am at my lowest point.

I went to GP and ENT and ER.

My ENT said I had no hearing loss.

I was using my headphones a couple days before I got tinnitus and they were pretty loud but nothing happened and then a few days later I got tinnitus.

But my GP says it's from my previous stress and anxiety and my ENT says it's due to ETD.

So I could only hope and pray it goes away.

But my question is that my hearing is good, why do I still have to protect my ears?

I have gone to bars, and I drive with my radio on and my windows open, I vacuum my house, dry my hair and my tinnitus does get a bit louder but by the end of the night it goes back down and in the mornings it's pretty quiet.

Is protecting your ears only for the ones with hearing loss?

All help will be appreciated.

This forum is full of stories of people getting spikes (that are sometimes permanent) after being exposed to noises that clearly wouldn't have any impact on hearing (e.g., visiting bars), noises that people with healthy ears wouldn't even notice.

I protect my ears when I drive, and I will not be vacuuming for at least a year (to give my body a chance to heal). I don't think I will ever use a blow dryer again.

 

[Mia211]

This forum is full of stories of people getting spikes (that are sometimes permanent) after being exposed to noises that clearly wouldn't have any impact on hearing (e.g., visiting bars), noises that people with healthy ears wouldn't even notice.

I protect my ears when I drive, and I will not be vacuuming for at least a year (to give my body a chance to heal). I don't think I will ever use a blow dryer again.

But I don't have hereing lost did a hereing test so does that mean like only the people with hereing lost ?

 

[EddieMar]

I was told by an audiologist at UCSF that even though I have tinnitus, and even though they can't for sure say what caused it, having tinnitus does not mean your ears are easier prone to getting damaged. Thoughts on this?

Ear protection is recommended but only as a safe measure and not because the next balloon that pops is going to further cause damage to our ears. I wish she was right but I will not take the risk. I use musicians ear plugs when I dry my hair, at the movies, noisy restaurants and when I drive long distances. I just hope I never crash, airbags deploy at around 170 dbs! Can't imagine what that can do to our ears and tinnitus.

 

[Mia211]

I was told by an audiologist at UCSF that even though I have tinnitus, and even though they can't for sure say what caused it, having tinnitus does not mean your ears are easier prone to getting damaged. Thoughts on this?

Ear protection is recommended but only as a safe measure and not because the next balloon that pops is going to further cause damage to our ears. I wish she was right but I will not take the risk. I use musicians ear plugs when I dry my hair, at the movies, noisy restaurants and when I drive long distances. I just hope I never crash, airbags deploy at around 170 dbs! Can't imagine what that can do to our ears and tinnitus.

I'm so confuse because the daily noise don't seem to bother me actually I went to my brothers house a few nights ago cause I was feeling depressed and he was blasting the music and they made dinner to make me feel better and that night I slept and my t was low I'm confused

 

[EddieMar]

I'm so confuse because the daily noise don't seem to bother me actually I went to my brothers house a few nights ago cause I was feeling depressed and he was blasting the music and they made dinner to make me feel better and that night I slept and my t was low I'm confused

Daily noise doesn't bother me either, well, sometimes after driving home from work, if the radio is a bit loud, after I get home, my tinnitus is louder too for an hour or so.

Last year I went to a wedding, I wore earplugs, they had DJ, I was dancing next to the speakers. The next four days, my tinnitus wasn't louder but it was more persistent and constant. Eventually it leveled out.

I had an audiogram scheduled for the Wednesday after the wedding, my test came back 'normal,' and similar to the audiogram I had gotten 3 months prior.

I have a friend who has sensorineural hearing loss and she never takes care of her ears; she's had it for 6 years. She does say that for a few days after a concert or play etc, her tinnitus does get louder but it eventually goes back to it's normal volume. Except for last December. She went to a boxing fight and about a week later, she got a Meniere's attack (she had not been diagnosed with Meniere's) and this time, her tinnitus did not got back to normal. It stayed at the higher volume.

*edit. Also, my friend's mom started developing tinnitus symptoms. Minor thought, not enough to bother her but the doctor did change her medication in case that was the cause of her T. One day, the fire alarm went off in her house, her T got louder and hasn't let down.

I disabled the fire alarm in my room.

 

[Mia211]

Daily noise doesn't bother me either, well, sometimes after driving home from work, if the radio is a bit loud, after I get home, my tinnitus is louder too for an hour or so.

Last year I went to a wedding, I wore earplugs, they had DJ, I was dancing next to the speakers. The next four days, my tinnitus wasn't louder but it was more persistent and constant. Eventually it leveled out.

I had an audiogram scheduled for the Wednesday after the wedding, my test came back 'normal,' and similar to the audiogram I had gotten 3 months prior.

I have a friend who has sensorineural hearing loss and she never takes care of her ears; she's had it for 6 years. She does say that for a few days after a concert or play etc, her tinnitus does get louder but it eventually goes back to it's normal volume. Except for last December. She went to a boxing fight and about a week later, she got a Meniere's attack (she had not been diagnosed with Meniere's) and this time, her tinnitus did not got back to normal. It stayed at the higher volume.

*edit. Also, my friend's mom started developing tinnitus symptoms. Minor thought, not enough to bother her but the doctor did change her medication in case that was the cause of her T. One day, the fire alarm went off in her house, her T got louder and hasn't let down.

I disabled the fire alarm in my room.

Good to know I guess but my ent says I don't need to worry about the daily life and that only wear ear plugs at a concert and clubs. But I went to a movie theater last week without plugs and it seem loud for like about 5 mins then went back to after the movie

 

[EddieMar]

Good to know I guess but my ent says I don't need to worry about the daily life and that only wear ear plugs at a concert and clubs. But I went to a movie theater last week without plugs and it seem loud for like about 5 mins then went back to after the movie

So your ENT thinks your T is due to ETD? What did he prescribe? How long did he say you'll have T?

 

[TuneOut]

Good to know I guess but my ent says I don't need to worry about the daily life and that only wear ear plugs at a concert and clubs. But I went to a movie theater last week without plugs and it seem loud for like about 5 mins then went back to after the movie

Mia, I would consider wearing earplugs when going to a movie. This is one of those louder situations. I don't even go to movies anymore.

 

[Mia211]

So your ENT thinks your T is due to ETD? What did he prescribe? How long did he say you'll have T?

Yes she said she seen my tubes with the camera that goes up the nose and said both my tubes are very inflamed she told me it will take while for them to be cleared i am using dymista nasal spray could take months I'm also almost to months in and praying everyday for it to go away hoping she's right what you think ?

 

[Mia211]

Mia, I would consider wearing earplugs when going to a movie. This is one of those louder situations. I don't even go to movies anymore.

I don't nobody can't explain to me why do I have to use them if I don't have hereing lost can u explain please

 

[TuneOut]

I don't nobody can't explain to me why do I have to use them if I don't have hereing lost can u explain please

This is a matter of some contention. Many who actually have tinnitus, or at least more severe tinnitus, feel that once the auditory system has been damaged that it is then more susceptible to further damage from levels of sound that would be OK for people with healthy ears. I happen to concur, based on experience.

 

[Mia211]

This is a matter of some contention. Many who actually have tinnitus, or at least more severe tinnitus, feel that once the auditory system has been damaged that it is then more susceptible to further damage from levels of sound that would be OK for people with healthy ears. I happen to concur, based on experience.

Make sense but my ent told me different so now I'm confused

 

[TuneOut]

Make sense but my ent told me different so now I'm confused

It's better to err on the side of caution. Tinnitus is a serious matter.

 

[Bill Bauer]

But I don't have hereing lost did a hereing test so does that mean like only the people with hereing lost ?

Most people suffering from tinnitus are told that their hearing test does NOT reveal hearing loss.

It is possible that the reason for this is that the test is not sensitive enough. It is possible that one has lost the ability to make out sounds one wants to hear (your friend's voice) in a place where one is exposed to many other noises (a crowded place) - the hearing test would not pick up on this.

And many of THOSE people (with no hearing loss) write here about serious spikes following exposure to noise that most people would not mind.

 

[Mia211]

Most people suffering from tinnitus are told that their hearing test does NOT reveal hearing loss.

It is possible that the reason for this is that the test is not sensitive enough. It is possible that one has lost the ability to make out sounds one wants to hear (your friend's voice) in a place where one is exposed to many other noises (a crowded place) - the hearing test would not pick up on this.

And many of THOSE people (with no hearing loss) write here about serious spikes following exposure to noise that most people would not mind.

Hi bill thank you for your reply I had spoke with my grand mom on this situation who I just found out last week that she had tinnitus since 30 years and I have never noticed her with ear plugs so I called her earlier and asked her and she had this to say. She said people go to a loud place and that the thought and the panic and the constant thinking that your gonna spike or raise your volume and then your brain automatically does it and the spike continues because your constantly thinking about that moment. So I said grand ma I read on the internet that everybody protects there ears that's when she said which I thought was funny she said back when she got it there was no such thing of the internet and she went about life normally which I know this because I seen her everywhere so I'm confused and to top it off my ent said that I shouldn't wear them.

 

[Mia211]

Hi bill thank you for your reply I had spoke with my grand mom on this situation who I just found out last week that she had tinnitus since 30 years and I have never noticed her with ear plugs so I called her earlier and asked her and she had this to say. She said people go to a loud place and that the thought and the panic and the constant thinking that your gonna spike or raise your volume and then your brain automatically does it and the spike continues because your constantly thinking about that moment. So I said grand ma I read on the internet that everybody protects there ears that's when she said which I thought was funny she said back when she got it there was no such thing of the internet and she went about life normally which I know this because I seen her everywhere so I'm confused and to top it off my ent said that I shouldn't wear them.

 

[TuneOut]

If you go to a nightclub, concert, loud bar, sports game with screaming fans, etc - you NEED to use earplugs. You cannot play around with your ears. This is really important!

 

[Tinker Bell]

If you go to a nightclub, concert, loud bar, sports game with screaming fans, etc - you NEED to use earplugs. You cannot play around with your ears. This is really important!

And really that's advice everyone should follow regardless of whether they have tinnitus.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Hi bill thank you for your reply I had spoke with my grand mom on this situation who I just found out last week that she had tinnitus since 30 years and I have never noticed her with ear plugs so I called her earlier and asked her and she had this to say. She said people go to a loud place and that the thought and the panic and the constant thinking that your gonna spike or raise your volume and then your brain automatically does it and the spike continues because your constantly thinking about that moment. So I said grand ma I read on the internet that everybody protects there ears that's when she said which I thought was funny she said back when she got it there was no such thing of the internet and she went about life normally which I know this because I seen her everywhere so I'm confused and to top it off my ent said that I shouldn't wear them.

As you know, some people recover from tinnitus, some get worse, and some have to habituate. After reading the posts on this forum, I started to believe that people who are able to protect their ears until the time they recover (+ years afterwards) are more likely to recover than people who can't or won't protect their ears. Of course, this is all based on anecdotal evidence (posts on this forum). In my own case, my T kept improving while I was able to protect my ears. Then I picked up a phone with the volume set to max and accidentally held it to my bad (T) ear. The noise I was exposed to lasted a fraction of a second. It erased a lot of the recovery I experienced over the past 3 months, and now my T is bad again. Of course this is a sample of size one, so it means nothing.

The lesson I learned (the hard way) is to protect my ears.

 

[Zug]

@Mia211 if you find yourself in a situation that you have to scream to be heard by another person, you should protect your ears (and so should everyone else in this situation), if not, live your life.

I just got back from the movies. I carry earplugs if it gets loud, regular stuff don't bother me anymore.

Best,
Zug

 

[bSiDeQuiEtWaTeRS]

Hi @Mia211, the reason to protect your ears is so that you can keep from gaining any hearing loss, or tinnitus, or hyperacusis....whether you already have any of those conditions or not. Even if your ears are perfect now it is still a good thing to do for yourself. Protect them around any loud stuff...what loud stuff you choose to protect around is up to you. Some obvious places would be a loud concert, using a jackhammer...junk like that. But there are many places or things to protect your ears from that are not as obvious (like maybe a hair dryer, a vacuum, a hawk swooping down at you and screeching, etc.) ...really you just have to determine what is too loud for you- which will take time and experience. Now if you don't have any hearing damage it may not seem like you need protection in certain instances but to someone with hearing damage it would be a clear spot where they need protection. You may choose to see an audiologist to discuss your questions and concerns. I wish I had seen an audiologist in the beginning of my tinnitus journey. Either way, I hope you learn all you need to learn and will have good ears in the end. Also I hope you don't have overwhelming fear about what to do and what not to do.

 

[EddieMar]

Hi bill thank you for your reply I had spoke with my grand mom on this situation who I just found out last week that she had tinnitus since 30 years and I have never noticed her with ear plugs so I called her earlier and asked her and she had this to say. She said people go to a loud place and that the thought and the panic and the constant thinking that your gonna spike or raise your volume and then your brain automatically does it and the spike continues because your constantly thinking about that moment. So I said grand ma I read on the internet that everybody protects there ears that's when she said which I thought was funny she said back when she got it there was no such thing of the internet and she went about life normally which I know this because I seen her everywhere so I'm confused and to top it off my ent said that I shouldn't wear them.

Just curious. Do you know what caused your grandmas' T? Has the thought crossed your mind that your T might be hereditary?

 

[EddieMar]

As far as I'm concerned all these things you describe, gone to bars, and I drive with my radio on and my windows open, I vacuum my house, dry my hair, etc. don't require protection. Well maybe if there's a live band in the bar, I would stay away from the amps, and might consider plugging the ears but then again, at my age my days of bars with live bands are over.

Ears should be protected to prevent hearing loss and not because of it. For me that means, running lawn mower, or and small engine devices, powered construction equipment, saws, hammer drills, etc..

Can you explain how you have tinnitus due to high frequency hearing loss? What frequencies?

I have T on my left ear. On my right ear, I can hear up to 20k and on my left only up to 16k. I was told that humans aren't supposed to hear at those high frequencies at my age, 38, so that high frequency hearing loss was not the cause of my tinnitus.

Any thoughts on that?

 

[Bill Bauer]

so that high frequency hearing loss was not the cause of my tinnitus.

Any thoughts on that?

"It is possible that the reason for this is that the test is not sensitive enough. It is possible that one has lost the ability to make out sounds one wants to hear (your friend's voice) in a place where one is exposed to many other noises (a crowded place) - the hearing test would not pick up on this."

 

[EddieMar]

"It is possible that the reason for this is that the test is not sensitive enough. It is possible that one has lost the ability to make out sounds one wants to hear (your friend's voice) in a place where one is exposed to many other noises (a crowded place) - the hearing test would not pick up on this."

This is what my audiologist responded to some of my questions:

Based on my audiogram, (250 kHz – 8,000 kHz), would your professional opinion be that there is no reason to conclude that my tinnitus is hearing related?
Your tinnitus is likely hearing related. We discussed sub-clinical hearing loss and your tinnitus could be related to that.

My DPOAEs showed near normal right ear outer hair cell function but a reduction at ~1.5, ~4 and ~10 KHz. What exactly do these dips tell us?

Are my right ear DPOAE readings dipping in 3 frequencies considered absent OAEs?
This tells us that the response of your outer hair cells at those frequencies are not as strong and do not meet the "95th percentile passing criteria." They are not, however, absent.

Could right ear inner ear damage cause tinnitus on the other ear?
Hearing loss in the right ear could cause you to perceive tinnitus in one ear or both ears.

Were both bone- and air- conducted sounds used for my audiogram? If not, what was used and how does what was used compare to having used the other method?
I only performed air conduction because your hearing levels were stable compared to your most recent audiogram.

 

[Ed209]

Make sense but my ent told me different so now I'm confused

I agree with your ENT. It's the advice I was given by two ENTs and two audiologists. Everyday sounds are not worth worrying about; protect your ears when your environment is loud. The internet leans very heavily on the negative aspect of tinnitus because there is a certain amount of bias involved. You are only hearing the opinions of people who are not coping very well, and not the millions who do. Before I get jumped on, I will add that catastrophic T is an evil thing to live with, but it's also the most statistically unlikely. If you are sensible, and you are protecting your ears (or avoiding extremely noisy places), you should be fine.

A lot of the problems I see online are also driven by anxiety and depression. If you're not careful you will become obsessed with it, and forever stuck in a negative feedback loop. A lot of my spikes were brought on by my own neuroticism, fuelled in most respects by this forum and others. There were many situations that would have gone over my head, but instead because of what I'd read, I went completely out of my mind. All because I had read some threads saying, such and such is wrong; never do this; never do that!

I came to realise that the vast majority of my spikes were brought on by ME! I had probably gone just a little bit insane at this point, so I stopped reading about T online for a few months (including this forum). I focused on my life again, and everything changed. I ditched the earplugs in the car nonsense, along with a few other stupid things I was doing, and I never looked back. Everything changed after this. I started to feel way better then when I was living in my 'tinnitus bubble', when all activities were checked against my T, religiously. Our beliefs (and behaviour) make a significant difference in how we cope, and ultimately how T affects us. If you believe that clapping is dangerous (because you have read it online) and then someone claps nearby, that belief is going to send your brain into overdrive. You will begin to monitor your T vigilantly, and in the mean time you'll be releasing stress hormones into your system, making you hyper aware of it. It's a self fulfilling prophecy, but it's based on a lie. You will then believe the spike is proof that you have damaged your ears, and so you will worry even more; further fuelling your anxiety. It becomes a life of pure hell, and I lived it for over a year.

As I come here now, I see many people behaving exactly as I was, and they aren't getting anywhere. To improve, you have to change your behaviour, and to some extent, your beliefs.

I've spent countless hours researching this condition, and the overprotective behaviours you often find here, are not recommended by any of the worlds experts. In fact, the only person I've seen recommend this behaviour is Dr Wilden, but he seems more interested in selling his unproven LLLT devices.

I will finish by saying: protect your ears when it's necessary. When it's loud, or when moderately loud noise is sustained for hours at a time (occupational noise for example). But, don't let the thought of protection take over your life, because you'll likely end up worse!

 

[EddieMar]

I agree with your ENT. It's the advice I was given by two ENTs and two audiologists. Everyday sounds are not worth worrying about; protect your ears when your environment is loud. The internet leans very heavily on the negative aspect of tinnitus because there is a certain amount of bias involved. You are only hearing the opinions of people who are not coping well, and not the millions who do. Before I get jumped on, I will add that catastrophic T is an evil thing to live with, but it's also the most statistically unlikely. If you are sensible, and you are protecting your ears (or avoiding extremely noisy places), you should be fine.

A lot of the problems I see online are also driven by anxiety and depression. If you're not careful you will become obsessed with it, and forever stuck in a negative feedback loop. A lot of my spikes were brought on by my own neuroticism, fuelled in most respects by this forum and others. There were many situations that would have gone over my head, but instead because of what I'd read, I went completely out of my mind. All because I had read some threads saying, such and such is wrong; never do this; never do that!

I came to realise that the vast majority of my spikes were brought on by ME! I had probably gone just a little bit insane at this point, so I stopped reading about T online for a few months (including this forum). I focused on my life again, and everything changed. I ditched the earplugs in the car nonsense, along with a few other stupid things I was doing, and I never looked back. Everything changed after this. I started to feel way better then when I was living in my 'tinnitus bubble', where all activities were checked against my T, religiously. Our beliefs (and behaviour) make a significant difference in how we cope, and ultimately how T affects us. If you believe that clapping is dangerous (because you have read it online) and then someone claps nearby, that belief is going to send your brain into overdrive. You will begin to monitor your T vigilantly, and in the mean time you'll be releasing stress hormones into your system, making you hyper aware of your T. It's a self fulfilling prophecy, but it's based on a lie. You then believe the spike is proof that you have damaged your ears, and so you worry even more; further fuelling your anxiety. It becomes a life of pure hell, and I lived it for over a year.

As I come here now, I see many people behaving exactly as I was, and they aren't getting anywhere. To improve, you have to change your behaviour, and to some extent, your beliefs.

I've spent many hours researching this condition, and the overprotective behaviours you often find on here, are not recommended by any of the worlds experts. In fact, the only person I've seen recommend this behaviour is Dr Wilden, but he seems more interested in selling his unproven LLLT devices.

I will finish by saying: protect your ears when it's necessary. When it's loud, or when moderately loud noise is sustained for hours at a time (occupational noise for example). But, don't let the thought of protection take over your life, because you'll likely end up worse!

Thank you for this.

 

[TuneOut]

I agree with your ENT. It's the advice I was given by two ENTs and two audiologists. Everyday sounds are not worth worrying about; protect your ears when your environment is loud. The internet leans very heavily on the negative aspect of tinnitus because there is a certain amount of bias involved. You are only hearing the opinions of people who are not coping very well, and not the millions who do. Before I get jumped on, I will add that catastrophic T is an evil thing to live with, but it's also the most statistically unlikely. If you are sensible, and you are protecting your ears (or avoiding extremely noisy places), you should be fine.

A lot of the problems I see online are also driven by anxiety and depression. If you're not careful you will become obsessed with it, and forever stuck in a negative feedback loop. A lot of my spikes were brought on by my own neuroticism, fuelled in most respects by this forum and others. There were many situations that would have gone over my head, but instead because of what I'd read, I went completely out of my mind. All because I had read some threads saying, such and such is wrong; never do this; never do that!

I came to realise that the vast majority of my spikes were brought on by ME! I had probably gone just a little bit insane at this point, so I stopped reading about T online for a few months (including this forum). I focused on my life again, and everything changed. I ditched the earplugs in the car nonsense, along with a few other stupid things I was doing, and I never looked back. Everything changed after this. I started to feel way better then when I was living in my 'tinnitus bubble', when all activities were checked against my T, religiously. Our beliefs (and behaviour) make a significant difference in how we cope, and ultimately how T affects us. If you believe that clapping is dangerous (because you have read it online) and then someone claps nearby, that belief is going to send your brain into overdrive. You will begin to monitor your T vigilantly, and in the mean time you'll be releasing stress hormones into your system, making you hyper aware of it. It's a self fulfilling prophecy, but it's based on a lie. You will then believe the spike is proof that you have damaged your ears, and so you will worry even more; further fuelling your anxiety. It becomes a life of pure hell, and I lived it for over a year.

As I come here now, I see many people behaving exactly as I was, and they aren't getting anywhere. To improve, you have to change your behaviour, and to some extent, your beliefs.

I've spent countless hours researching this condition, and the overprotective behaviours you often find here, are not recommended by any of the worlds experts. In fact, the only person I've seen recommend this behaviour is Dr Wilden, but he seems more interested in selling his unproven LLLT devices.

I will finish by saying: protect your ears when it's necessary. When it's loud, or when moderately loud noise is sustained for hours at a time (occupational noise for example). But, don't let the thought of protection take over your life, because you'll likely end up worse!

Ed, what is your view on the theory that people with tinnitus are more susceptible to injury from sound levels that would not do apparent harm to normal people?