Poll: Driving. Earplugs, Earmuffs or No Protection?

[Michael Leigh]

@ Michael Leigh
Yes, it's a shame I don't drink. Perhaps I should start. So, it's not the drive or the ear muffs, but stress?

@Tinker Bell
Do you still use muffs then? Because this is awful. It's so crazy loud.

I feel it's stress related or a mixture of the two....

 

[Sam Bridge]

You seem to be relying on your own experience and ignoring the experiences like the one I quoted above. You never addressed that case, because you can't.

But you also do that yourself with all due respect.

 

[TracyJS]

If I were you, I'd ask a professional (the kind that has real medical credentials). That's what I did, and I'm glad I did it.

You asked a medical professional about wearing ear protection in the car and the occlusion effect?

 

[TracyJS]

I feel it's stress related or a mixture of the two....

Mixture of the two?

 

[john paul]

Mixture of the two?

stress of driving and hearing protection made my Tinnitus worse for a few hours. I feel it was the fact i was listening to the T for 4 hours, stressed about driving and worried about my T getting worse. Looking back i feel it was actually the ear plugs that mainly caused me the problems and not the road noise.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Mixture of the two?

The occlusion effect of wearing the earmuffs can make the brain focus more on the tinnitus, coupled with stress, which I believe you were under could have resulted in the increase in your tinnitus. Please put this behind you and forget it as it will pass and the tinnitus will calm down.

Michael

 

[Tinker Bell]

@ Michael Leigh
Yes, it's a shame I don't drink. Perhaps I should start. So, it's not the drive or the ear muffs, but stress?

@Tinker Bell
Do you still use muffs then? Because this is awful. It's so crazy loud.

I do not use ear muffs when I drive. Only when I vacuum or use a blender, so very sparingly and only for a short amount of time.

 

[Ed209]

@TracyJS, it's not necessary to wear muffs in your car. That is unless you're driving something that is insanely loud, which is very unlikely.

By plugging your ears in unnecessary situations it sets two precedents, in my opinion.

Firstly, earmuffs are overkill for a car and so your brain is not only forced to listen to your tinnitus, but your auditory gain can be increased making your perception increase.

Secondly, you are conditioning yourself to behave differently, which is not necessarily in your best interests. Stress and anxiety thrive under these conditions and it can also lead to phonophobia.

We tend to do better with tinnitus if we sort out any depression and anxiety first. Unfortunately, constantly worrying about noise, and unhealthily monitoring all sounds in your environment, will make you feel worse.

 

[TracyJS]

@Ed209

Well, it seems that's what happened.
I drive a 2016 Ford Fusion sedan. Not a luxury car, but a decent car.

I was driving on Chicago area expressways at a high speed so there's noise and bumpy roads.

It's so confusing to know what to do.
I wore the ear muffs driving. Haven't done that before. And when I got here my tinnitus was and still is insanely loud. As loud as it gets.

I'm afraid to drive back home, now.

You make some good points. There is so much fear with this condition for me.

 

[Lane]

Briefly, sometimes when traveling in a car, I can have extreme difficulties within just a few minutes. Other times, I do way better. I recently discovered that drinking POPPY SEED TEA has enough of a gentle sedating effect on me that drinking it before driving helps considerably. -- (Of all things!)

 

[GregCA]

You asked a medical professional about wearing ear protection in the car and the occlusion effect?

No I asked a medical professional about when to use hearing protection (I was particularly concerned since I am a musician).
But you can certainly ask them your specific question.

 

[TracyJS]

No I asked a medical professional about when to use hearing protection (I was particularly concerned since I am a musician).
But you can certainly ask them your specific question.

What did the medical professional say regarding hearing protection?

 

[Bill Bauer]

But you also do that yourself with all due respect.

My policy is to not ignore other people's bad experiences. These bad experiences provide information about what can make T worse. Good experiences don't prove that an activity is safe.

 

[GregCA]

What did the medical professional say regarding hearing protection?

They said that I didn't need it for every day environmental noises. I specifically asked them about my playing music via headphones (since I have an electronic drum kit) and they all (no exception) said I should keep playing my drums (with my headphones), but just to be reasonable with the volume.

I also asked "how loud is too loud when I go to parties, bars, restaurant?" - answer I got: "if anyone around you (or yourself) needs to raise their voice to talk to someone else, then I'd start getting concerned".

But each case is different - which is why you need to ask with your specific context.

 

[bur547]

When I had severe hyperacusis I just kept my car windows up. Never had to use ear plugs or ear muffs during that time and my hyperacusis was overall really, really bad.

That doesn't sound that bad. If I don't use hearing protection the vehicle noise alone will increase my T. I could never get away with covering one ear facing a siren.

 

[bur547]

Can a loud noise make existing T worse? The answer is clearly "Yes". When one is out on the street, one can be exposed to loud noises. You don't know when it will happen, but eventually it will happen. So if you don't want T to get louder, and you have to be in an environment where you are certain to eventually be exposed to a loud noise that is loud enough to make your T louder... enough said.

This sums it up for me. I don't wear hearing protection when the sound environment is predictable, while I'm at home and I'm in control of the sounds around me. I can have a shower, I can listen to music or watch movies. That doesn't bother me. LOUD unexpected sounds will never be alright, ever. The bottom line is, I can wear hearing protection a few hours a day and have low Tinnitus. Or... I can wear no hearing protection and tank the sounds like a hero and have constant (permanent?) tinnitus spikes. I have to be habituated either way, I would rather be habituated to quiet T than loud T.

 

[Sonic17]

Well, I made the drive using ear muffs and my tinnitus is much louder

Hi Tracy, my Tinnitus always seems a little louder in the evening and then calms down overnight; it may not be the muffs at all.
I hear Chicago is a beautiful city; if I were you I would relax and explore the city: protect your ears when noise is too loud. I was in Minneapolis last week and did just that; carried around a pair of ear plugs to use on the Light Rail, noisy malls, etc but otherwise just enjoyed myself. I use muffs and ear plugs for flying and really find them helpful. I also use muffs when using my vacuum or blender, never had a problem.
For driving I love listening to the white noise of my air conditioner, so I usually do not use buds. But my motorhome s noisy, so I protect my ears with muffs or buds, either seem to help.
It will be fine, Tracy. Just do what you are comfortable with; some of this is trial and error.

 

[Sonic17]

I drove 150-185 km/h (like the rest of the traffic in the left lane), and I spent about an hour (cumulatively) driving 200-210 km/h

This is off topic... but wow is that ever fast!!

 

[Mystery Reader]

@TracyJS
This might be a bad analogy, but I look at carrying muffs in the same way someone with a severe allergy might have to carry an EpiPen. You need to have protection, just in case. I recently bought muffs (the foam earplugs were becoming difficult to work with and I haven't found a re-useable one that I like, yet) and I have them with me when I go out. Some might say it's a crutch, but guess what? Tree work was being done on the grounds of a place I went to today, and right as I pulled in someone started a chainsaw right near my car. I put the muffs on, and, once inside, didn't need them. Same thing on the way out -- the absolute second I stepped outside, the chainsaw was revved up again, right in front of me. On went the muffs. I drove away, and off they came. It was the only time I used them today. Having them there when I needed them was an absolute stress-reducer. I've put them on when I've been outside and a helicopter has flown too low overhead, and I wear them at the market because the place is ridiculously loud. Eventually, I won't need them there, but I've stopped pretending that situations won't arise when I'll need to protect. It's doing what I can to be prepared for them and reduce my own stress level that counts. (Then you just hope you get them on in time!)


Mystery Reader

 

[Lane]

I recently bought muffs

Agree completely with your reasoning. What kind of muffs did you end up getting? -- Thanks.​

 

[Mystery Reader]

@Lane
I bought Peltor X5A (because they've gotten such rave reviews here) and also a set of Walker Passive Slim. The Walkers have less db reduction (22 vs. 32 with the Peltors) but I wasn't sure how much I was actually going to need, so I bought both. Good to have a pair with more db reduction handy, I think, but thus far I've been carrying the Walkers and they've been fine so far. The foam plugs I was using had a 32 db rating, but I don't think I was getting that much because I'm sure I wasn't putting them in correctly. The Walkers have been much more effective than the plugs.


Mystery Reader

 

[kingsfan]

I know I'm necroposting, but I want to add my experience to the forum, and this seems a better place than starting a new thread.

I've been driving with musician's earplugs for nearly the entire 18 months that I have had severe tinnitus. I started out with custom Westone 16 dB, and moved to Earaser 19 dB SNR. Over the course of these 18 months, my tinnitus has worsened several times. I'm not sure if driving with earplugs had anything to do with it or not - should I have used higher rated earplugs or none at all? I drive a Hyundai Sonata that is relatively quiet, but probably not as quiet as a nice Lexus or BMW. It is certainly quieter than a compact or mid-size car, but does have a louder than average fuel pump since it is a direct injection engine (GDI).

One interesting thing that I have noticed after all this time driving with earplugs is that, when trying to drive without plugs - even at low speeds on side streets, the engine and road noise is excruciatingly loud to me now. I'm starting to wonder if I've caused myself some problems. I can handle the TV and many other every day sounds just fine, but the sounds while driving are now overwhelming without earplugs.

I do have some observations about the progression of my in-car sound sensitivity from the onset of my tinnitus.

Pre-severe tinnitus, I would listen to my car stereo (an Infinity 5.1) at 30-32 volume. This has nothing to do with dB levels but just a reference number basically. I haven't tested what dBA level that would be, but I'm guessing between 85-90 dBA. After my tinnitus became severe, I regulated the volume to 18-20 the first few days. Afterwards I wouldn't raise the volume higher than 16. After about 2 weeks I remember noticing the stereo felt too loud at 12, so I capped the volume at 10 max.

At this point I started contemplating wearing earplugs in the car as I started worrying the road noise and everything was worsening my condition. From then on, I've been wearing earplugs while I drive.

Currently, if I sit parked and turn on the stereo, it sounds too loud any higher than 6 now without earplugs. I basically can only handle 1/5 the volume now after 18 months.

I think I need to begin weening myself off, but I'm really unsure since my tinnitus hasn't been stable since it came about.

 

[Robster]

I know I'm necroposting, but I want to add my experience to the forum, and this seems a better place than starting a new thread.

I've been driving with musician's earplugs for nearly the entire 18 months that I have had severe tinnitus. I started out with custom Westone 16 dB, and moved to Earaser 19 dB SNR. Over the course of these 18 months, my tinnitus has worsened several times. I'm not sure if driving with earplugs had anything to do with it or not - should I have used higher rated earplugs or none at all? I drive a Hyundai Sonata that is relatively quiet, but probably not as quiet as a nice Lexus or BMW. It is certainly quieter than a compact or mid-size car, but does have a louder than average fuel pump since it is a direct injection engine (GDI).

One interesting thing that I have noticed after all this time driving with earplugs is that, when trying to drive without plugs - even at low speeds on side streets, the engine and road noise is excruciatingly loud to me now. I'm starting to wonder if I've caused myself some problems. I can handle the TV and many other every day sounds just fine, but the sounds while driving are now overwhelming without earplugs.

I do have some observations about the progression of my in-car sound sensitivity from the onset of my tinnitus.

Pre-severe tinnitus, I would listen to my car stereo (an Infinity 5.1) at 30-32 volume. This has nothing to do with dB levels but just a reference number basically. I haven't tested what dBA level that would be, but I'm guessing between 85-90 dBA. After my tinnitus became severe, I regulated the volume to 18-20 the first few days. Afterwards I wouldn't raise the volume higher than 16. After about 2 weeks I remember noticing the stereo felt too loud at 12, so I capped the volume at 10 max.

At this point I started contemplating wearing earplugs in the car as I started worrying the road noise and everything was worsening my condition. From then on, I've been wearing earplugs while I drive.

Currently, if I sit parked and turn on the stereo, it sounds too loud any higher than 6 now without earplugs. I basically can only handle 1/5 the volume now after 18 months.

I think I need to begin weening myself off, but I'm really unsure since my tinnitus hasn't been stable since it came about.

It almost sounds like a selective form of hyperacusis as regards your noise sensitivity when driving. When I first got tinnitus I had really bad hyperacusis for a few months. For about a year I would always wear hearing protection when driving, even though my hyperacusis had long since gone, but like you I had noise sensitivity when driving. About 6 weeks ago I started going on very short drives with no hearing protection and the noise sensitivity to driving has improved a lot (though still there).