My Acoustic Trauma (Jackhammer) Induced Tinnitus Has Got Much Better

[Pixelito]

I initially got mild tinnitus from a referee whistle, but it got severe from shooting guns at age 64 without enough hearing protection. But I slowly managed to improve it over the past 2.5 years by protecting my ears very carefully with earplugs and noise-canceling AirPods, until just recently when I attended an award ceremony in NYC that was between 80 dB with occasional spikes to 90 dB for a few hours (measured on my Apple Watch app). I actually thought I was fine at those levels, but wow, was I wrong.

Now am having trouble sleeping, super-loud hissing at around 65-70 dB (which I figured out by hissing into my Apple Watch at the equivalent level). I had a sudden regression and now back to where I was 2.5 years ago.

But I've proven to myself that we can still recover even after 50. Just have to start again.

It sounds like the noise event caused your spike, but you've been making an obvious improvement. I am almost 6 months removed from my tinnitus-causing event and I just had 15 straight quiet days. I consider "quiet" days to be a 1 on a scale of 1-10. So at age 55 I am definitely healing.

Molded earplugs from my audiologist are on my keychain at all times. He told me that anything over 60 dB is no bueno.

Good luck. Keep us updated on this.

 

[Utdmad89]

It sounds like the noise event caused your spike, but you've been making an obvious improvement. I am almost 6 months removed from my tinnitus-causing event and I just had 15 straight quiet days. I consider "quiet" days to be a 1 on a scale of 1-10. So at age 55 I am definitely healing.

Molded earplugs from my audiologist are on my keychain at all times. He told me that anything over 60 dB is no bueno.

Good luck. Keep us updated on this.

So lucky.

 

[RHL]

It sounds like the noise event caused your spike, but you've been making an obvious improvement. I am almost 6 months removed from my tinnitus-causing event and I just had 15 straight quiet days. I consider "quiet" days to be a 1 on a scale of 1-10. So at age 55 I am definitely healing.

Molded earplugs from my audiologist are on my keychain at all times. He told me that anything over 60 dB is no bueno.

Good luck. Keep us updated on this.

Nice work! Your audiologist sounds like a smart person! I'm going to try to do this as well, but realistically, it's awfully hard to stay below 75 dB living in a City unless you never take the earplugs out. But I'll buy some molded earplugs to go along with my AirPods with their fabulous noise canceling. I just tried my dB meter on my Apple Watch and realized it is giving me readings via the inside of my AirPods, not the outside, so I'm actually able to see exactly what my ear is getting even with them on. It's pretty cool.

Thanks for your story. I'm going through a bad regression after having healed/habituated for the better part of 4 years. It provides me with some hope that I might habituate a 2nd time, or hold out long enough for something like Susan Shore's device.

The regression was due to an (acoustic) accident that I probably couldn't have prevented – but similar to you, perhaps I had grown a little too optimistic with protecting my hearing.

Just saw my ENT today, and he's optimistic that the nerves are just stirred up and that being ultra cautious will allow them to be quiescent again. Hopefully! But I'm definitely going to baby them for the rest of my life, change my habit, wear hearing protection much more, etc.

 

[Fields]

Just saw my ENT today, and he's optimistic that the nerves are just stirred up and that being ultra cautious will allow them to be quiescent again. Hopefully! But I'm definitely going to baby them for the rest of my life, change my habit, wear hearing protection much more, etc.

I hope your ENT is right and that you'll go back to baseline.

On a side note, I think I've read on Tinnitus Talk that electrical noise cancelling earphones or headphones don't actually prevent noise from entering your hearing. I could be wrong, though.

 

[Pixelito]

So lucky.

I still have plenty of bad days. A streak of good days usually means bad days will follow.

 

[Utdmad89]

I still have plenty of bad days. A streak of good days usually means bad days will follow.

I didn't mean it in a horrible way. I haven't had good days, it's always loud and there, and now I have worsened with hyperacusis and noxacusis. I'm in my 30s. What's it going to be like as I get older.

 

[gameover]

Molded earplugs from my audiologist are on my keychain at all times. He told me that anything over 60 dB is no bueno.

60 dB, really? Unicorn audiologist.

 

[Jupiterman]

60 dB, really? Unicorn audiologist.

Do you mean that from the perspective of 60 dB, it is too quiet a threshold (and should be listening to louder) or too loud a threshold (and should be listening to lower)?

 

[gameover]

Do you mean that from the perspective of 60 dB, it is too quiet a threshold (and should be listening to louder) or too loud a threshold (and should be listening to lower)?

I don't know what is truth anymore. Does anyone know? I tend to lean towards quieter is better. Living under 60 dB is difficult. Besides it's a function of intensity x time of exposure.

I indeed try to keep it on the quieter side and I think I spend majority of time < 60 dB. But it seems every audiologist will tell you 80 dB is safe.

I don't know anymore. It's fucking brain damage condition. There may be no answer.

 

[just1morething]

I don't know anymore. It's fucking brain damage condition. There may be no answer.

Most ENTs say sensorineural hearing loss is causing my tinnitus. I'm not sure how the damaged inner ear works with the brain to make debilitating head noise. I never hear too much how Lenire works lately. I got a feeling it's as useless as SoundCure which Audiologists were peddling years ago.

For me decent sleep seems to be important as I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea a while back. I often nap forgetting to put on my Bi-Pap mask. Hearing aids seem to help my tinnitus but can be hit or miss. I have inexpensive hearing aids with a small remote and also Widex Moment which I need my iPhone to adjust.

 

[Pixelito]

60 dB, really? Unicorn audiologist.

He may have said 80 dB. I don't really remember. I wear my earplugs anywhere indoors that seems too loud.

 

[Pixelito]

I didn't mean it in a horrible way. I haven't had good days, it's always loud and there, and now I have worsened with hyperacusis and noxacusis. I'm in my 30s. What's it going to be like as I get older.

Thanks, I get it. I do consider myself relatively lucky. My extreme tinnitus has gone to moderate and now to mild.

How long have you had your tinnitus?

 

[gameover]

I do consider myself relatively lucky. My extreme tinnitus has gone to moderate and now to mild.

You should consider yourself EXTREMELY lucky then.

 

[Pixelito]

You should consider yourself EXTREMELY lucky then.

I wouldn't say anyone here is lucky. But I have friends who died of cancer, COVID-19 and other things, so yeah I feel lucky in that respect. This bullshit isn't going to kill me. I'm lucky I only have tinnitus, and got it at a time when we have a treatment on the way, so there's that.

It is what it is. I don't look at it as good or bad luck. It's part of life and everything happens for a reason.

 

[Utdmad89]

Thanks, I get it. I do consider myself relatively lucky. My extreme tinnitus has gone to moderate and now to mild.

How long have you had your tinnitus?

I had intermittent tinnitus from 2018 till almost 14 months ago when it became very loud, high-pitched and constant.

 

[RunningMan]

You should consider yourself EXTREMELY lucky then.

I would love to have some of that luck. Mine fluctuates and changes over hours or days, but I haven't had any baseline improvement in 22+ months since mine really intensified, just some worsening, probably in overall intensity but also with new tones/sounds. Mine is apparently mostly from hearing loss.

 

[gameover]

I wouldn't say anyone here is lucky. But I have friends who died of cancer, COVID-19 and other things, so yeah I feel lucky in that respect. This bullshit isn't going to kill me. I'm lucky I only have tinnitus, and got it at a time when we have a treatment on the way, so there's that.

It is what it is. I don't look at it as good or bad luck. It's part of life and everything happens for a reason.

It is all relative.

 

[Leine]

Hej @Mymlan! På ren svenska, tack för din fantastiska berättelse!

Thank you for your amazing success story!

Sorry that you also had to join the tinnitus club, but fantastic that you got your tinnitus quieter and your life back. When everything feels difficult, I think of your story and try to keep on fighting.

I have lived with tinnitus for almost 20 years after a disco but in December 2023 it worsened drastically. After a COVID-19 infection and long-term work-related stress, I got a new louder sound in my left ear. I was prescribed SSRI (Sertraline/Zoloft) which under 4 days gave me 8 more new tones. I stopped the SSRI but had by then developed reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis. Sudden everyday noises have given me pain and more and more tones. I now have 15-20 tones. I can hear some of them almost everywhere.

I hope that I will, as you did, heal and that my noises will go away one by one or get lower. I really want my life back.

Thanks again for your story!

 

[Jupiterman]

I was prescribed SSRI (Sertraline/Zoloft) which under 4 days gave me 8 more new tones. I stopped the SSRI but had by then developed reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis. Sudden everyday noises have given me pain and more and more tones. I now have 15-20 tones.

Horror story.

 

[Tryn2BHopeful]

. I was prescribed SSRI (Sertraline/Zoloft) which under 4 days gave me 8 more new tones. I stopped the SSRI but had by then developed reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis. Sudden everyday noises have given me pain and more and more tones. I now have 15-20 tones. I can hear some of them almost everywhere.

I believe SSRIs triggered my tinnitus. 2 doses of Escitalopram and I woke up with this monster at 3 am.

 

[bkk97]

I believe SSRIs triggered my tinnitus. 2 doses of Escitalopram and I woke up with this monster at 3 am.

Do you have hearing loss? If so, at which frequencies?

 

[Tryn2BHopeful]

Do you have hearing loss? If so, at which frequencies?

According to my audiogram, I have no hearing loss up to the 8 kHz range.

I have hearing loss starting at mild to moderate 9 kHz going to moderate at 14 kHz and going back up towards normal at 16-18 kHz.

I am pretty sure the normal audiogram is correct, but I question the extended high-frequency test.

To clarify, I wonder if it's not actually worse at 16-18 kHz. It wouldn't make sense at my age for 18 kHz to be normal.

 

[Heal82]

Hi there,

I got tinnitus back in April 2019. It was bad, really bad, 10/10 bad. My tinnitus played 13 different tones in both ears. I heard noises of whistling, beeping, ringing, drones, humming, you name it! I had hyperacusis. I had tinnitus that kept me awake all nights for a couple of months. I had disoriented hearing. That's why I could hear my tinnitus over every external sound. Not even the shower could mask it. My ears were swollen and hurt badly. I wanted to die. You can read my old threads from back then if you like to know what happened and how much I suffered.

My short back story is that I got tinnitus from a loud noise in a tunnel, it was a 130-140 dB sound from a jackhammer working on concrete. It literally hammered my hearing away. Well I never lost my hearing but I got this so called "hidden" hearing loss.

Time passed... I just gave it time and patience. I protected my hearing by being careful. This part was so hard. I wanted my old life back, I got depressed, my life was ruined. Everything. Tinnitus took my life away. But, it started to get better. The changes were so subtle that I almost didn't notice them, but they did happen.

I was about 3 years in when I really could see a big difference. Both tinnitus and hyperacusis started to disappear more and more. The disoriented hearing totally vanished after about two years. My 13 tinnitus tones disappeared one after another... I still got some left, but today, from 10/10 bad (I would say 12/10 bad), I'm at 1/10. I hardly notice my tinnitus anymore. It's just a faint ringing and a soft hiss/cricket. Some noises still hurt my ears but I protect them if anything gets too loud.

I can finally live a normal life. I work, I hang out with friends and with my adorable daughter. She's the reason why I just kept on moving forward and she made me brave. She's my heart She went with me in the tunnel that day when it all happened, at only 9 months old. But guess what? She hasn't got tinnitus! All these years I worried so bad for her hearing. Today she is five years old. Big girl!

I never worry about my tinnitus, I worry more about my disastrous dating life.

So what I want to say is that I used to be someone with bad tinnitus, but it truly healed. All I really could do was to give it time, patience and to be careful, and I'm still careful. But I live my life fully. I'm finally free. Tinnitus and hyperacusis are not my biggest issues anymore.

What I'm trying to say is that noise-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis can get better with time. Protect your hearing, live healthy and try to just keep on going. It can get better

Can you please let me know for how many months you were homebound? When did you return to your work? And how bad was your hyperacusis? When you were homebound, how did you cope with your kids and household chores like cooking etc?

According to my audiogram, I have no hearing loss up to the 8 kHz range.

I have hearing loss starting at mild to moderate 9 kHz going to moderate at 14 kHz and going back up towards normal at 16-18 kHz.

I am pretty sure the normal audiogram is correct, but I question the extended high-frequency test.

To clarify, I wonder if it's not actually worse at 16-18 kHz. It wouldn't make sense at my age for 18 kHz to be normal.

My audiologist tested my hearing only till 8 kHz. Is that normal?

 

[Tryn2BHopeful]

My audiologist tested my hearing only till 8 kHz. Is that normal?

That's the standard. I had to ask for anything higher.

 

[HighleyTall]

I don't know what is truth anymore. Does anyone know? I tend to lean towards quieter is better. Living under 60 dB is difficult. Besides it's a function of intensity x time of exposure.

I indeed try to keep it on the quieter side and I think I spend majority of time < 60 dB. But it seems every audiologist will tell you 80 dB is safe.

I don't know anymore. It's fucking brain damage condition. There may be no answer.

Sound intensity in decibels is one thing. Time of exposure another.

 

[Yu.3]

@Mymlan, it's incredible all your 13 tinnitus tones disappeared!

I have a new high-pitched floating tone; I hope to get rid of mine, too.

 

[Nettles]

I was prescribed SSRI (Sertraline/Zoloft) which under 4 days gave me 8 more new tones. I stopped the SSRI but had by then developed reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis. Sudden everyday noises have given me pain and more and more tones. I now have 15-20 tones. I can hear some of them almost everywhere.

How are you doing now, @Leine? It's been almost a year since your increase in tones. Has there been any improvement for you?

I'm asking because I developed about five new sounds (maybe more—it's hard to tell since they all blend and dance together) after a course of Prednisolone in August. I'm hoping these might get better or that some tones might drop, like what happened with @Mymlan.