Should I Wear Earplugs on the Bus?

[aot]

I don't have a car so I use the bus quite frequently. It can be rockity, shakey, and of course, loud. I measured on my phone and while it rarely goes over 80 dB for more than a few seconds, it still makes me quite anxious.

I have 20 dB Musician's Earplugs, and foam 32 dB Foam Earplugs from Walgreens. Should I wear either one of these while on the bus? Will the rocking and shaking cause any damage via the occlusion effect?

 

[Chinmoku]

I wear them but they don't stop the vibrations. I wear earmuffs sometimes in the bus.

 

[Digital Doc]

If the sound is bothering you, for now wear them. If you are spiking after the ride then also wear them. If neither, than you don't need them.

 

[aot]

If the sound is bothering you, for now wear them. If you are spiking after the ride then also wear them. If neither, than you don't need them.

They don't bother me persay, they just make me nervous. I have a touch of Phonophobia I think.

 

[astaff14]

I'm actually on the bus right now, not wearing ear plugs. I am wearing a tight hat though that helps with noise a little. It's a bit loud for me overall but not bad, doesn't really do anything to my tinnitus. It all depends on how comfortable you are I would say, I use ear plugs as a sort of crutch in public, without them I tend to feel nervous in the way of "a loud sound *could* occur at any moment" sort of way.

 

[MRItechssuck]

I would wear earplugs. When that teenager screams in your ear, or the airbrakes are activated... you are unprotected. You can't predict when people will suddenly act like idiots...

I have hyperacusis too... so it's more important for me to wear them.

 

[Digital Doc]

They don't bother me persay, they just make me nervous. I have a touch of Phonophobia I think.

A little bit of nervous is ok, hearing damage is not. If you are not sure, the musician earplugs can be a good option that don't block as much sound, for example the eargasm ones.

 

[aot]

A little bit of nervous is ok, hearing damage is not. If you are not sure, the musician earplugs can be a good option that don't block as much sound, for example the eargasm ones.

I have Hearprotek plugs. So far they've served me well.

 

[Kriszti]

I don't have a car so I use the bus quite frequntly. It can be rockity, shakey, and of course, loud. I mesured on my phone and while it rarely goes over 80 DB for more than a few seconds, it still makes me quite anxious.

I have 20 DB Musician's Earplugs, and foam 32 DB Foam Earplugs from Walgreens. Should I wear either one of these while on the bus? Will the rocking and shaking cause any damage via the occulasion effect?

I do. And I also try to sit further from the engine. I don't know, whether it's an overkill.
I use Alpine Party Plug (SNR19). I used to wear foamies (NRR33), but they blocked too much, I could not communicate and was afraid of getting hit by a car. I also always have with me an earmuff, but up until now I haven't used them outside my place.

 

[MRItechssuck]

Has anyone found flat or musician earplugs that only have a 5dB filter? Even 10dB seem too much.

...between the tinnitus and my hearing ability I need something that will protect from the unforeseen car horn, or coworker dropping his coffee mug...

 

[Emanuel Lourenco]

So I just recently started working, sadly to get to work I have to do a commute of about 1h 30min of which about 40 ~ 50 minutes is spent on buses.

In your opinion, how bad is this for a serious tinnitus sufferer?

My tinnitus seems to be getting louder once again and I am wondering if it has anything to do with this.

 

[PeteJ]

So I just recently started working, sadly to get to work I have to do a commute of about 1h 30min of which about 40 ~ 50 minutes is spent on buses.

In your opinion, how bad is this for a serious tinnitus sufferer?

My tinnitus seems to be getting louder once again and I am wondering if it has anything to do with this.

What is a "serious tinnitus sufferer?"

I think if you have tinnitus and take the bus, subway or really loud public transportation, the tinnitus can't be that bad. I know some people will read my message and get angry but I don't care. My tinnitus is so loud, I had to quit my job. I would *consider* working at home only because government disability pays squat but I am not commuting to a job while I have tinnitus.

Everybody makes their own choices but buses and subways are loud. I've had trucks apply their air brakes near me and had extreme ear pain afterwards.

In saying that, I consider my tinnitus way worse than my hyperacusis. That just shows that there are too many chances to get affected from everyday noise. It proves to me that my ears are so ****ed up that I can't consider a job in which I have to commute and I wonder if I could work at all. :-(

Even right now, my tinnitus is screaming as I type this. I wonder if I could do a live chat tech support job at home with screaming loud tinnitus. No one cares if I am tortured while texting or working. No one can hear my screaming tones but me.

 

[Tanni]

So I just recently started working, sadly to get to work I have to do a commute of about 1h 30min of which about 40 ~ 50 minutes is spent on buses.

In your opinion, how bad is this for a serious tinnitus sufferer?

My tinnitus seems to be getting louder once again and I am wondering if it has anything to do with this.

Hi Emanuel,

Congratulations on your new job!

Although they *can* sometimes get loud, a bus is really no louder than a car once you are inside it (I quickly Googled that just to check). Many people use the bus every day for their commute. You can always wear earplugs if you feel uncomfortable.

It is very common for Tinnitus to fluctuate; it could be for any number of reasons, or it could be totally random. The stress of starting a new job maybe? Just keep an eye on it, but I'm sure it will go back down again soon.

 

[PeteJ]

I want to say one more thing on this.

I assume several people will insist their tinnitus is LOUD but they still work or commute to work... you wear earplugs or muffs in the car, on the bus or go train/subway, right? Right.

I don't know how people do that. I use my plugs and muffs at times but to muffle all sounds around me and "listen" to my isolated tinnitus for a significant (ANY!) length of time is sheer hell. The only thing as bad is trying to sleep at night.

I want to put a gun to my head when I have to use plugs or muffs. It's a catch 22 - protect myself to be cautious but subject myself to isolated unmasked LOUD tinnitus or not use hearing protection.... so I try to avoid loud situations as much as possible.

I don't even have the same ear discomfort I did before wearing plugs although wearing muffs for any length of time still seems to contribute to ear pain. The 'clamping' nature of my Plexors still bother my ears.

I hope I explained my thoughts a little better.