Question to Those Who Own Peltor X5A Earmuffs, Who Hear Both a Hiss and a High-Pitch Tone

[Bill Bauer]

When you hear a hiss, could you please put on your Peltor muffs and see whether it still sounds like a hiss? Mine often sounds like a high-pitch tone when I do that. Is a hiss just a quieter version of the high-pitch tone?!

 

[maltese]

When you hear a hiss, could you please put on your Peltor muffs and see whether it still sounds like a hiss? Mine often sounds like a high-pitch tone when I do that. Is a hiss just a quieter version of the high-pitch tone?!

Yes. Exactly the same. Depends on a day though, I sometimes have hissing onlg.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Is there anyone who hears only a hiss when you put on your Peltor muffs?

 

[Bobby B]

The x5a does the best job of cutting bass frequncies among all muffs so it's a more "natural " sound reduction to the ears

Plugs and most cheaper muffs usually only cut the highs so if you already have HF hearing loss and T , those will intensify the HF loss and T will sound different and louder

 

[Alue]

Earmuffs don't seem to change my tinnitus tone much, but earplugs make my tinnitus scream. It's really frustrating trying to protect my hearing with T and H.

 

[1MW]

I got today 3M Peltor X5A earmuffs and I'm very impressed.
I think everyone should buy them, they do a very good job and I think is the best
treatment for tinnitus and hyperacusis without side effects.
I had generic earmuffs but X5As are the best.

 

[JurgenG]

I got today 3M Peltor X5A earmuffs and I'm very impressed.
I think everyone should buy them, they do a very good job and I think is the best
treatment for tinnitus and hyperacusis without side effects.
I had generic earmuffs but X5As are the best.

What is the treatment? I have them as well, and like them because of the protection, but thats about it.

 

[Luman]

I am going to order a pair today.

 

[1MW]

What is the treatment? I have them as well, and like them because of the protection, but thats about it.

This is the treatment...
Overprotection of hearing for extended time reduces tinnitus and hyperacusis.

 

[JurgenG]

This is the treatment...
Overprotection of hearing for extended time reduces tinnitus and hyperacusis.

That's quite literally what gave me hyperacusis, but if it's helping you..
Can you say what you mean with extended time than?

 

[AZeurotuner]

This is the treatment...
Overprotection of hearing for extended time reduces tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Overprotection worsens hyperacusis....

 

[Bill Bauer]

Overprotection worsens hyperacusis....

What You would call overprotection HAD cured my Hyperacusis (and had improved my T).

 

[AZeurotuner]

What You would call overprotection HAD cured my Hyperacusis (and had improved my T).

Overprotection increases auditory gain, which in turn results in sounds being perceived as louder than they actually are. It's silly to even suggest that this would be an acceptable remedy for hyperacusis.

 

[fran dana]

I sincerely ask. in what context do you use those? on the street? Is not that too much?

This is the treatment...
Overprotection of hearing for extended time reduces tinnitus and hyperacusis.

What are you basing this on besides your own experience? in your own sensory perception, more precisely

for most city noises a couple of plugs that cover 30 db is more than enough. Except that you are firing in closed environments, or working with very noisy machines, even in closed environments. but wearing peltor protectors (I know them, because I wear them for a long time) claiming that they are more effective against certain frequencies is somewhat improbable at least

for example, low frequencies tend to cross walls more easily than high frequencies (due to the waveform) so if you are especially intolerant of low frequencies it is very likely to affect you even using an astronaut helmet

 

[Bill Bauer]

Overprotection increases auditory gain, which in turn results in sounds being perceived as louder than they actually are.

If one were to wear muffs or earplugs 24/7, then perhaps the above would happen. If one were to wear hearing protection when outside one's home, visiting place that might be loud (so we are not talking about quiet parks, or quiet offices), and protect from, say, a couple of hours (my case) up to something like 8 hours a day, and then watch TV at the loudest volume one can comfortably watch it for a couple of hours, then (based on my experience) what you described above Won't happen. What Will likely happen is that you will give your ears a break, and in my experience (and in the experiences of many others here) this tends to promote healing.

 

[Bobby B]

Overprotection increases auditory gain, which in turn results in sounds being perceived as louder than they actually are. It's silly to even suggest that this would be an acceptable remedy for hyperacusis.

Yes but the effect only lasts a short moment
It's never causing a permanent increase in H.
Millions sleep with earplugs and no one woke up with permanent, irreversible hyperacusis

 

[1MW]

Overprotection increases auditory gain, which in turn results in sounds being perceived as louder than they actually are. It's silly to even suggest that this would be an acceptable remedy for hyperacusis.

You are wrong. The opposite happens.

 

[JurgenG]

Yes but the effect only lasts a short moment
It's never causing a permanent increase in H.
Millions sleep with earplugs and no one woke up with permanent, irreversible hyperacusis

Hyperacusis from overprotecting is mostly reversible, that's true.

 

[Rajin]

@Bill Bauer want to share this , was driving my Fiber Truck lot of equipment in it. Left the shop with earplugs because when in motion, bad road, cage noise , equipment noise add to 75- to 98 dB depends. From the exit ramp , I took earplugs off and put on my ear muffs. But for 10 minuets I hear no ringing with it on . My point it I find ear muffs better than earplugs. Earplugs make my ear ring harder. Do anyone else notice this?

 

[1MW]

Yes that's true earmuffs are better than earplugs

 

[Bobby B]

Yes plugs make T sound louder because those cut the highs much more so this exaercebates the high frequency hearing loss

 

[AZeurotuner]

Yes but the effect only lasts a short moment
It's never causing a permanent increase in H.
Millions sleep with earplugs and no one woke up with permanent, irreversible hyperacusis

That's because it's typically quiet at night, therefore you're not actually "over protecting".

If one were to wear muffs or earplugs 24/7, then perhaps the above would happen. If one were to wear hearing protection when outside one's home, visiting place that might be loud (so we are not talking about quiet parks, or quiet offices), and protect from, say, a couple of hours (my case) up to something like 8 hours a day, and then watch TV at the loudest volume one can comfortably watch it for a couple of hours, then (based on my experience) what you described above Won't happen. What Will likely happen is that you will give your ears a break, and in my experience (and in the experiences of many others here) this tends to promote healing.

So by your own admission, your H was cured through sound exposure therapy (moderate volume television watching), not overprotecting.

 

[AZeurotuner]

You are wrong. The opposite happens.

The medical community disagrees with you... I'd love to hear you back that up with scientific proof. How would increasing your auditory gain reduce hyperacusis? That makes ZERO sense.

 

[Bill Bauer]

The medical community disagrees with you... I'd love to hear you back that up with scientific proof.

The problem with the statement above is that the Medical Community is Also not basing their recommendations on scientific studies (as those studies just don't exist):

http://hyperacusisfocus.org/research/earplug-use-2/
"While there are over 2200 posts on hyperacusis setbacks in the patient forum on chat-hyperacusis.net, no academic papers could be found using a pubmed search."

The fact that there have been no published studies regarding what causes permanent and temporary T spikes, means there is no scientific reason behind doctor advice to only protect your ears against noises that are known to damage the inner ear. They are basing this advice on studies that talk about what can damage healthy ears, whereas what can hurt us hasn't been studied (and the overwhelming number of testimonies on this site imply that sounds that can hurt us are Way quieter than the sounds that can damage healthy ears).

How would increasing your auditory gain reduce hyperacusis? That makes ZERO sense.

When your ears are no longer subjected to shocks, they can begin the slow process of recovery. I agree one ought to subject oneself to noises that Won't be too loud. You can't control the volume of a noisy street, but you can control the volume of your TV or computer. So you can watch TV at the loudest volume that doesn't cause any problems for you, and not worry about H.

 

[AZeurotuner]

The problem with the statement above is that the Medical Community is Also not basing their recommendations on scientific studies (as those studies just don't exist):


When your ears are no longer subjected to shocks, they can begin the slow process of recovery. I agree one ought to subject oneself to noises that Won't be too loud. You can't control the volume of a noisy street, but you can control the volume of your TV or computer. So you can watch TV at the loudest volume that doesn't cause any problems for you, and not worry about H.

It's one thing to say that overprotecting helped your tinnitus, although you'd never truly know because there's nothing to compare it with. However, it's definitely something I could believe, protecting a damaged cochlea is a good idea in the beginning stages, and could speed up recovery. But what I am saying is that overprotecting will absolutely not make hyperacusis better. Your watching of television at a moderate volume improved your H, not your use of hearing protection. That's just not the way the auditory system works...

 

[Bill Bauer]

although you'd never truly know because there's nothing to compare it with.

I agree.

But what I am saying is that overprotecting will absolutely not make hyperacusis better. Your watching of television at a moderate volume improved your H, not your use of hearing protection.

Acoustic traumas/loud noises can cause H in the first place. An acoustic trauma had certainly caused mine. Once you have T and/or H, it is not difficult (as in the volume that would do it is lower than the volume that would do it for a person with healthy ears) to get a T and/or H spike. These spikes would certainly not promote your recovery.

So why not get the best of all worlds - minimize the chance of a spike while also trying to keep increasing the volume on that TV?

 

[AZeurotuner]

I agree.

Acoustic traumas/loud noises can cause H in the first place. An acoustic trauma had certainly caused mine. Once you have T and/or H, it is not difficult (as in the volume that would do it is lower than the volume that would do it for a person with healthy ears) to get a T and/or H spike. These spikes would certainly not promote your recovery.

So why not get the best of all worlds - minimize the chance of a spike while also trying to keep increasing the volume on that TV?

What is the difference between the TV and just not overdoing it in the first place? Noise is noise... Television shows and commercials (if you watch old school cable/satellite) will hit you unexpected loud noises the same as real life will. Why do you perceive real life sounds as being more dangerous than sounds played by a speaker? Hell even the puny speakers on a laptop can hit over 100 decibels unexpectedly when watching a show or movie at a decent volume. Sure you can control the volume, but almost any show or movie will have scenes that get much louder without any warning.

 

[JurgenG]

Sure you can control the volume, but almost any show or movie will have scenes that get much louder without any warning.

Though between boundries. There is a maximum level for television broadcasts.
I do doubt the same excists on facebook-video's though for instance.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I do doubt the same excists on facebook-video's though for instance.

I set the volume on my computer to 60% of the maximum volume. I also turned the speakers away from me, so that they face the wall. It seems to have worked.

 

[GregCA]

I set the volume on my computer to 60% of the maximum volume. I also turned the speakers away from me, so that they face the wall. It seems to have worked.

You'll get a better sound quality if you don't turn them away from you, and instead just lower the volume.