Hi,
I've had tinnitus in my left ear for over seven years now. It started after a girl kissed me on the ear.
Before that episode, I already had anxiety-related issues, but I managed to habituate to the tinnitus after a few months. While it never fully went away, it subsided to the point where I could live normally without noticing it. I really had to focus to hear it.
Three weeks ago, I went to a small coffee shop in town with my 4-year-old son. While we were there, an alarm went off. They couldn't stop it, so we left after about two minutes. Other people didn't seem particularly bothered, and my son was upset that he couldn't finish his piece of cake.
The incident made me extremely anxious, and I started freaking out. I noticed that my tinnitus spiked and began ringing in my other ear as well.
I looked into the noise level of alarms and found that they are regulated in Spain, so the sound shouldn't have been louder than 105 dB. We were about 5–6 meters away from the source. I'm unsure if this exposure caused further damage or if my anxiety triggered the reaction. I assume that if it had been a typical 120 dB alarm, most people would have left, but I noticed some were unbothered and continued their conversations.
About 10 days later, I took Prednisone for a few days, but I haven't seen an ENT yet.
I'd appreciate any input on this situation. Some people have told me it's highly unlikely the exposure caused permanent damage, but I can't stop worrying.
I've had tinnitus in my left ear for over seven years now. It started after a girl kissed me on the ear.
Before that episode, I already had anxiety-related issues, but I managed to habituate to the tinnitus after a few months. While it never fully went away, it subsided to the point where I could live normally without noticing it. I really had to focus to hear it.
Three weeks ago, I went to a small coffee shop in town with my 4-year-old son. While we were there, an alarm went off. They couldn't stop it, so we left after about two minutes. Other people didn't seem particularly bothered, and my son was upset that he couldn't finish his piece of cake.
The incident made me extremely anxious, and I started freaking out. I noticed that my tinnitus spiked and began ringing in my other ear as well.
I looked into the noise level of alarms and found that they are regulated in Spain, so the sound shouldn't have been louder than 105 dB. We were about 5–6 meters away from the source. I'm unsure if this exposure caused further damage or if my anxiety triggered the reaction. I assume that if it had been a typical 120 dB alarm, most people would have left, but I noticed some were unbothered and continued their conversations.
About 10 days later, I took Prednisone for a few days, but I haven't seen an ENT yet.
I'd appreciate any input on this situation. Some people have told me it's highly unlikely the exposure caused permanent damage, but I can't stop worrying.
