One Mistake Is All It Takes

[sirhand]

I have always taken obsessive care of my hearing. Fingers in my ears at every loud noise though my whole life. Last week at work I was listening to music (monstercat podcasts) with headphones and I turned it up a little to drown out the distractions. I was working on a tough job and I just wanted to get through it, so I knuckled down and worked for five hours straight. I took my headphones off and immidiately heard the ringing. They're still ringing one week later. I'm having a really hard time dealing with the regret.

Side note. I have always had ringing in my ears. Not only in silence but just general quietness. I always assumed it was me noticing what most people don't notice. That is a common theme in my life. Am I alone in that I've always had tinnitus?

Thanks for reading

 

[GregCA]

Am I alone in that I've always had tinnitus?

Nope, some people are born with T. We have a few examples on this board.

There's a good chance yours is going to fade in time. Good luck!

 

[glynis]

@sirhand ,
It could well settle or go away.
Don't beat yourself up a about it as a simple virus could cause it also.
Try stay calm and play relaxing music when you need a break from your sound and headphones or earphones on the lowest setting or not use them for a while.
Love glynis

 

[john paul]

Its easily done, i feel like before my incident i really should have picked up on all the warning signs. Maybe then i wouldnt be here but i can't change it. It took a while to stop all the regret thoughts.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I took my headphones off and immidiately heard the ringing. They're still ringing one week later. I'm having a really hard time dealing with the regret.

The mistake I made on January 22, 2017, lasted for a fraction of a second...

 

[Rajin]

Mistakes I made was drop my keyfab to shutoff the stupid telematics gps . The alarm it right by the dashboard. Bend down to pick it up , my ear was right on top the small speaker 30 seconds . My ears until this day never stop ring, plus is caused me bad hearing loss in that one ears . Ruined my life.

 

[sirhand]

Thanks for all your replies. A lot of your stories make me realize I can be stronger than I feel. I thought I'd share a train of thought I had that helped me.

1) I need to stop thinking about it in order for it to start going away.
2) I can't stop thinking about it if I keep testing it to see how bad it is.
3) I need to get it professionally tested.
So i'm going to the audiologist tomorrow. No matter what the results are, it should help me move on.

I've got a few cruel ironies to add to my story.

I worked in a wood shop for years before I switched positions to my desk job. One of the big advantages of this fancy desk job was that I wouldn't have to wear ear protection anymore. Go figure.

I just bought a house a few months ago in the middle of nowhere because I love the silence you can only get that far out. Go fucking figure.

I had a pair of noise canceling headphones in my amazon cart that would have prevented this from happening. HAHAHA.

 

[DBT]

I know that feeling all too well. And its haunting me. I never went to a concert, and never really got much noise. Never listened to loud music.

At work I used a cutting tool once in a while, and for very short time. I didnt use ear protection every time, and suddenly one day out of nowhere, my ears started ringing. This was about 4-5 weeks after a noise exposure.

So you are not alone with that feeling. But a guy on another forum told me, that we all do things we shouldnt have done, and things that are not good for us. But hopefully we learn from it. Im failing a bit on that part too im affraid.

But things get better. As time passes you will manage that feeling better and better.

 

[sirhand]

It doesn't have to be gone now. It will be gone later. It will fade. It will fade away. I don't have to do anything except continue to protect my ears. I will recover. I will not allow this to lower my quality of life. It will slowly but surely fade away to the point that my life isn't any different than it was. This will happen. It won't happen over night. But it will happen. Sooner rather than later. I must keep a positive attitude because stressing over it is just going to make it worse. I can spend no more time having negative thoughts about it. I can't allow my brain to reinforce those kind of pathways. This is key to maintaining mind over matter. It only has the power that I grant it. It will go away as soon as I let go. What I'm dealing with now is not even bad enough to merit the stress I'm going through. This is the worst it will ever be. Tomorrow it will be even better. It's not bad right now! I am so strong that learning to ignore it is merely a stepping stone for what I will accomplish! I will eliminate it! The power of mind over matter is incredible! Its power is even more potent in my capable hands. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. This hardship will push me forward to a whole new level of mindfulness. I can and do make it fade away while focusing on it. There I just did it. It is not bad right now! It's all in my head, that right MY HEAD, it's mine and I control what I'm hearing. Positive thinking! My hearing will go back to normal. It's already so close. I will listen to everything except the T. It's fading. It's not bad right now! Mind over matter!

Now imagine a guy with messy long hair walking in circles in his messy living room loudly proclaiming all this to himself.

 

[SugarMagnolia]

The mistake I made on January 22, 2017, lasted for a fraction of a second...

Mistakes I made was drop my keyfab to shutoff the stupid telematics gps . The alarm it right by the dashboard. Bend down to pick it up , my ear was right on top the small speaker 30 seconds . My ears until this day never stop ring, plus is caused me bad hearing loss in that one ears . Ruined my life.

Me too. One mistake. A fraction of a second.

Timing is everything.

 

[sirhand]

I just got back from the audiologist. There is nothing wrong with my hearing, no loss. I feel like I would rather have hearing loss than this ringing. The grass is always greener on the other side though.

I'm gonna try to stay away from here for a while, gotta get over it. I'll let you all know if I make any breakthroughs.

 

[SugarMagnolia]

Good luck @sirhand

 

[DimitarIV]

I just got back from the audiologist. There is nothing wrong with my hearing, no loss. I feel like I would rather have hearing loss than this ringing. The grass is always greener on the other side though.

I'm gonna try to stay away from here for a while, gotta get over it. I'll let you all know if I make any breakthroughs.

You don't want hearing loss, believe me

 

[MajaC]

Yop. It can only take a second. In my case, it's a airsoft shot in my ear. But do not blame yourself ok? Like it has been said, a virus could have cause that too.