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.
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.
