Poll: Does Driving a Car Make Your Tinnitus Worse?

[Kyxwz]

Does driving a car make your tinnitus worse?

I see that a lot of Italian people say that driving a car worsens their tinnitus. Also for me it is the same.

Unfortunately I have to drive a lot for my kind of work.

But I did a test: I wore several times an earplug in the car to see what happened.

Nothing: tinnitus gets worse and worse. And more car was going fast (on highway for example) more my tinnitus become worse.

But then it is not a question of noise.

So my doubt: Tinnitus (probably) is a neurological problem given by neuronal hyperexcitability. Tinnitus reacts to somatic sensory signals (teeth grinding, move his neck, move your jaw etc...).

Therefore maybe the cause are the VIBRATIONS that a car can create. And for some reason noise and vibrations are transmitted through the body by stimulating a nerve already sensitive.

What do you think?

 

[Dana]

So my doubt: Tinnitus (probably) is a neurological problem given by neuronal hyperexcitability. Tinnitus reacts to somatic sensory signals (teeth grinding, move his neck, move your jaw etc...).

Therefore maybe the cause are the VIBRATIONS that a car can create. And for some reason noise and vibrations are transmitted through the body by stimulating a nerve already sensitive.

It is a very plausible explanation, IMO. Replacing "stimulating a nerve already sensitive" with "stimulating a nervous system already hyperexcitable and incapable to calm down" would be the only modification that I would make, because I am not convinced that tinnitus is (always) from hyperexcitable nerve (cochlear nerve, I suppose), but may be from hyperexcitable nervous system. See cases of people who got tinnitus just from stress or stopping benzos cold turkey/suddenly, without tapering down, so without going through something that could have damaged the cochlear nerve, like acoustic trauma or loud noise exposure.

 

[Bobby B]

The road noise in cars is very low frequency and those frequencies are not cut much by earplugs - I found that good earmuffs work much better and that's what I use when I drive. They really do protect your ears well if you have noise damage.

I would suggest you buy the Peltor X5A and try again. These are the best earmuffs for noise reduction available in the market now and comfortable enough to be worn for hours in cars.

Don't go for the cheaper Chinese ones on eBay. Those aren't very good.

Earplugs only cut the high frequency sounds which you don't really have much in a car but to the brain it exacerbates the high frequency loss so your tinnitus is getting louder until you remove the earplugs. The earmuffs I mentioned are very good for cutting low frequencies so tinnitus is bearable and won't creep up.

 

[Philip83]

Noise canceling headphones are awesome for this. I use them in the car all the time. You can listen to music too, and you can keep the volume low as you don't need a lot of volume when the outside noise is canceled to a certain degree!

https://www.bose.at/de_at/products/...oise-cancelling-headphones-apple-devices.html

They're a bit pricy, but you can find them for around €250 now if you do some digging.

 

[TC426]

I would say that yes, in my case driving makes is worse. But not while driving (i.e. it is ofen mostly masked during the drive) but with a delay.

Worth mentioning that I feel the same effect in particular other locations. Until today, I have not been able to figure out what actually causes the increase. Could have to do with the electromagnetic field, high frequency sounds that I do not hear or aircon-related.

 

[Ela Stefan]

I would suggest you buy the Peltor X5A

Are those made in Poland good quality? Or from where you should order them please?

 

[nogg]

I always use earplugs when in a car due to my loudness hyperacusis At low speeds around town it doesn't affect my tinnitus. At freeway speeds it does, and an hour at high speeds will cause my tinnitus to spike considerably until the next day.

It didn't always do this. For many years I had no problems using just earplugs. But since an exacerbation about 5 years ago it has consistently been the case, and for the last 3 years I had to add noise-cancelling headphones along with good earplugs. (The latest Sony's are the best for in a car because they are a bit better at canceling low-frequency sounds.)

But, even with that, my tinnitus still increases. It is somewhat puzzling because with all the hearing protection, the actual amount of sound that gets though is quite small. Still, that's what happens.

 

[nogg]

Noise canceling headphones are awesome for this. I use them in the car all the time. You can listen to music too, and you can keep the volume low as you don't need a lot of volume when the outside noise is canceled to a certain degree!

https://www.bose.at/de_at/products/...oise-cancelling-headphones-apple-devices.html

They're a bit pricy, but you can find them for around €250 now if you do some digging.

I have both the latest Bose and Sony ANC headphones. The Sony's are a bit better for use in a car because they are a bit better at cancelling low and mid-range sounds. But the Bose is very close.

 

[GoatSheep]

It did not for 2 1/2 years. Now that I've had a bad noxacusis setback it definitely can. At this time I barely drive.

 

[Bobby B]

Are those made in Poland good quality? Or from where you should order them please?

Amazon or any similar site. The Peltor X5As are the largest ones, good for noisy cars or trucks.

 

[Jupiterman]

Anyone given up driving due to tinnitus?

 

[ZFire]

Yes. My tinnitus increases from long car rides, specifically when I'm driving on a highway for a good while. I seem to always spike (I wear ear protection btw), but it always resets itself sometime later. Usually by next morning.

I just embrace it. You get used to it.