Live Singing at a Silent Disco: Unsure Whether My Hearing or Tinnitus Has Worsened

Last night, I attended a silent disco. I was wearing musician earplugs, and everything was going well. I kept the volume low while listening to the music.

After a while, I took a break outside to escape the noise. The musician earplugs (it was my first time using them) physically irritated my ears, so I switched to foam earplugs.

My friends kept asking where I was, so I returned inside wearing the foam earplugs. Everyone suddenly started singing out loud, and I used my iPhone to measure the noise level. It reached 99 dB, and I completely freaked out. I left within a minute (practically running out). My tinnitus spiked a little, and I wasn’t as calm as I had been earlier.

I spent the rest of the night sitting in silence, feeling anxious and disappointed in myself.

Since then, my tinnitus has been mostly fine, with maybe a slight spike. It didn't help that I read a post on a tinnitus forum about someone with catastrophic tinnitus (10+ tones) who felt hopeless. I’ve never been exposed to such high decibels before! Now it's morning, and I feel like my tinnitus may have changed a little.

So, do you think I'll be okay? I’m worried I might have done some damage, but I left as soon as things felt unsafe and was trying to protect my hearing. I was using Sennheiser musician earplugs and typical orange foam earplugs.

I was just trying to have a normal night. I was doing so well after taking the break—I shouldn’t have gone back in! Silly me! But I can't tell if my hearing has changed or if the tinnitus is slightly louder. I was just shocked to see 99 dB, even with hearing protection.

What do you all think, based on your personal experience? Is a few minutes of noise exposure going to worsen my hearing or tinnitus? Other than the incident, I reckon the noise for most of the night was around 85-95 dB.

 

Since you were wearing earplugs and exposed to the loud noise for only a short time, I'd hazard a guess the experience won't have a long-lasting effect on your hearing & tinnitus. You will be fine.

 

From an outside perspective, it seems like the way you're speaking reflects classic anxiety. Your thought process is driven by fear, which is understandable. However, it's likely that nothing has changed, and you'll be fine. I have many friends with tinnitus who are exposed to 110 dB multiple times a week for hours (though I don't recommend that, haha). As long as your ears aren’t already severely damaged, proper protection usually helps a lot. Also, there's a big difference between people singing for a short time and a club system blasting music at 100 dB.