Police Car Turned on the Siren Close to Me: Will This Make My Tinnitus Worse?

I was outside when a police car approached and turned a corner without the siren on. Suddenly, it activated the siren very close to me—probably just 5 to 10 meters away. Startled, I quickly sprinted into a nearby snack bar. I had a decibel app running at the time, and as you can see from the screenshot, the noise lasted only about 5 seconds, but it was extremely close.

I always wear Oropax earplugs when I'm outside, and today, they fit very well, deeply, and securely in my ears. Still, I'm terrified that this might cause another setback, especially since I experienced noise trauma just three months ago.

I plan to get some cortisone tomorrow morning as a precaution, hoping to minimize any potential damage.

 

Don't worry, you'll be fine. Your ears experienced a brief shock from the loud noise, but it was only for a short time. If you'd been exposed to that level of noise for a much longer period, it might have caused a problem.

Tinnitus can feel frightening when it's new, and we tend to focus on it too much, constantly checking for any small changes. As your stress levels decrease and your worries begin to fade, you'll start feeling much better. Your sensitivity to sound will also return to normal.

 

Any update? The same happened to me, but I was literally like 1-2 meters away, right next to the police car