MemberHi,
I'm doing some metalwork as a home hobby. I don't normally use the rotary grinder, but I decided to measure the noise afterwards, and it registered at 105 dB.
I was wearing the Soundcore Q45 noise cancelling headset, which is rated to provide 20 dB of protection. I worked on and off for about 10 minutes, using the grinder for a minute and then stopping for a minute. For the first three minutes or so, I used just the noise cancelling headset. Then I decided to play it safer and added my musician's in ear hearing protection, which provides another 20 dB of protection. That means I spent about five minutes at an estimated 85 dB exposure.
The problem is that I already have very bad reactive tinnitus, along with 40 dB of hearing loss to start with. The noise did not seem overly loud to me, but that is likely because of my hearing loss. My subjective experience is not a reliable measure of the actual sound level.
After I finished working, nothing seemed wrong. I went to bed as usual with some quiet music playing. However, I woke up about five hours later with a tinnitus spike. It is not the worst spike I have ever had, but it is upsetting. Normally, I experience just one pitch of tinnitus, but now I have two, and the new one is more intrusive.
I keep Clonazepam on hand for spikes. I have already taken two, and I will likely take 3.75 mg of Imovane (Zopiclone) as well to help suppress the spike and get back to sleep.
I know I should be more cautious since I already have tinnitus, but I had not used the Dremel tool in years. This job required a bit of grinding, and because of my hearing loss, it did not seem overly loud at the time. Still, my intuition told me to wear extra protection after a few minutes.
I am 68 now, and I can feel my mind starting to deteriorate. My memory is slipping. I forget where I leave things, and I struggle to tolerate sedatives because they leave me feeling spaced out. I still work, so I can take a day off if needed, but long term, concentrating is becoming harder. That makes this even more upsetting. Ten years ago, if I had a spike, I would have been scared but reassured myself that it would settle down in time.
Now I am left wondering: did I do permanent damage? Do hair cells recover after bending, or do they stay damaged once they are affected?
This whole experience has left me so afraid. I went to where my wife sleeps and cried because I felt so upset with myself. Later, we used the dB meter to check, and it confirmed the noise level was 105 dBA.
I'm doing some metalwork as a home hobby. I don't normally use the rotary grinder, but I decided to measure the noise afterwards, and it registered at 105 dB.
I was wearing the Soundcore Q45 noise cancelling headset, which is rated to provide 20 dB of protection. I worked on and off for about 10 minutes, using the grinder for a minute and then stopping for a minute. For the first three minutes or so, I used just the noise cancelling headset. Then I decided to play it safer and added my musician's in ear hearing protection, which provides another 20 dB of protection. That means I spent about five minutes at an estimated 85 dB exposure.
The problem is that I already have very bad reactive tinnitus, along with 40 dB of hearing loss to start with. The noise did not seem overly loud to me, but that is likely because of my hearing loss. My subjective experience is not a reliable measure of the actual sound level.
After I finished working, nothing seemed wrong. I went to bed as usual with some quiet music playing. However, I woke up about five hours later with a tinnitus spike. It is not the worst spike I have ever had, but it is upsetting. Normally, I experience just one pitch of tinnitus, but now I have two, and the new one is more intrusive.
I keep Clonazepam on hand for spikes. I have already taken two, and I will likely take 3.75 mg of Imovane (Zopiclone) as well to help suppress the spike and get back to sleep.
I know I should be more cautious since I already have tinnitus, but I had not used the Dremel tool in years. This job required a bit of grinding, and because of my hearing loss, it did not seem overly loud at the time. Still, my intuition told me to wear extra protection after a few minutes.
I am 68 now, and I can feel my mind starting to deteriorate. My memory is slipping. I forget where I leave things, and I struggle to tolerate sedatives because they leave me feeling spaced out. I still work, so I can take a day off if needed, but long term, concentrating is becoming harder. That makes this even more upsetting. Ten years ago, if I had a spike, I would have been scared but reassured myself that it would settle down in time.
Now I am left wondering: did I do permanent damage? Do hair cells recover after bending, or do they stay damaged once they are affected?
This whole experience has left me so afraid. I went to where my wife sleeps and cried because I felt so upset with myself. Later, we used the dB meter to check, and it confirmed the noise level was 105 dBA.
