Single Gunshot... And Now I'm Here

[HarryLDN]

Hi all,

Around two months ago I was exposed to a pistol shot from around 1m away. I knew immediately that I had seriously screwed up. It was exactly like in the movies when a bomb goes off, I was in shock.

For the next few days, I had the now familiar full/waterlogged feeling. I was worried, but comforted by the fact there was no ringing.

One week later, the ringing starts...

Weirdly, only in my left ear, which was furthest away from the blast. I proceeded to have crazy ear pain that would come and go. It was a very tough month.

It has now been two months and one week. I'm not sure if the ringing has got better, but it's around a 3-4/10. I had a spike the scared the life out of me last week. Luckily it subsided. The pain and fullness is still there, intensity of it varies day to day.

I feel I am putting alot of stress on my family and friends because I am pretty miserable to be honest. I blame myself for the whole thing. Hard to process you may have given yourself irreparable hearing damage in less than a second.

Any words of advice would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading.

 

[PortalNaut]

Guns are loud, and I'm sorry you got exposed. I had ear protection and got T at an indoor range.

Generally, I think like 50% or maybe 85% T will decrease in most cases, so give it time. Protect your ears meanwhile if you are around other loud noises.

The hair cells (nerves) of the eat have likely been damaged. I was put on a steriod in the first 12 days, and then when I was off it, I used Flonase (which is a steriod) to get some of the same benefit. I'm not sure what affect if might have for you but you might read a little on it and consider.

To be sure, life will continue and your ability to cope will increased. Hang in there!

 

[DanielJ]

Sounds like you have gone through the normal healing process. If your ears are still hurting/sensitive then they aren't fully healed so don't worry too much yet.

Give it 6 months and avoid any further traumas and most likely you will only hear it in a quiet room when really listening for it. It does get better but unsure if it will just completely go away, that's hard to say at this point.

 

[Julien87]

Good morning.
Sorry to read this. I can relate. I was also exposed to a gun shot at one meter and it was by far the loudest noise I ever heard. As you say, it was like in the movies (sudden deathness and big tinnitus for a few seconds).

You should not blame yourself. You're not the one who pulled the trigger are you? Even if you are, you just did not know the effect it could have. Anyway, you should probably check with an ENT if it had any effect on your hearing. They will also prescribe something if needed. Try to see one fast, today or tomorrow.

 

[Sebastians]

sorry to hear that. That's exactly how my T started about 4 years ago. I had loud, intrusive T for the first year or so (multiple tones), ear pain that would come and go, hyperacusis to certain sounds, thumping eardrums and horrendous spikes and lost my shit down the line when nightly spikes would wake me up in the middle of the night for weeks. On top of that, i broke up with my GF of 6 years, had to move out to another city and had to help my folks move out of their old place (super stressful knowing my folks). looking back, I really don't know how i survived that initial year. I went from a strong-minded, sporty guy to a total wreck in a matter of weeks.

I'm glad to say that after the first 12-18 months things started to improve (non-linearly) and by now, i'm mostly fine. My T is low and the tones softened, my ear pain is gone, my TTTS is as good as gone and i managed to turn my life around. It will take a lot of time and will test you to the maximum, but hang in there. judging from your post, your symptoms are improving already. with some luck, you won't have to go through what I did, and even if you do, things can drastically improve.

 

[Auron]

@Sebastians

Did you notice any hearing improvement over between 12-18 month period?I've read,although extremely rare,that some people report better hearing many months after some acoustic trauma.Most experts in the medical field suggest that 1 month is about all the recovering you ears will do in terms of hearing power.Maybe peoples who have their T fade after to silence ,did so because their hearing came back enough after many months,probably suggesting that something outside of just their hair cells or synapses was damaged and recovered.

 

[Bill Bauer]

There is still a very reasonable chance that after 6-24 months you will feel Much better (and possibly even get to hear silence again). Ears take forever to heal.

Hard to process you may have given yourself irreparable hearing damage in less than a second.

Any words of advice would be much appreciated.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

[foam]

Tinnitus isn't about hearing loss though, it's about what the brain does about it and that takes a long time to sort itself out

 

[Auron]

Tinnitus isn't about hearing loss though, it's about what the brain does about it and that takes a long time to sort itself out

So do you think people who have louder tinnitus early on have caused/suffer greater hearing loss than other's who have mild tinnitus at onset?

 

[Bill Bauer]

So do you think people who have louder tinnitus early on have caused/suffer greater hearing loss than other's who have mild tinnitus at onset?

My semi-uneducated guess: yes.

But it is possible to experience improvement even if your tinnitus had initially been very loud.

 

[Pawel1]

I think that it's worth thinking about repairing the Tinnitus, rather than getting used to it. Habituation to Tinnitus, is a brain process that can take up to a year or longer. But, you can repair Tinnitus, within a matter of weeks or months, if you find the right techniques for your case.

The thing is, the more drastic and sudden a hearing loss occurs, the more chances there are, that this will create or increase Tinnitus. Sometimes it takes a few of such hearing loss events, and sometimes it takes just one event, for a person to develop Tinnitus - Everyone is different.

In my eyes, Tinnitus is greatly related to the initial hearing loss and initial inflammations, that occur in the brain. Whether the initial hearing loss will repair, and whether the brain inflammation will subside, it depends on many factors, such as a person's lifestyle and if they get enough sleep. The hearing loss can repair, by more than 50% in the first few weeks after the hearing loss trauma. Hearing loss triggers brain inflammation in the brain, but sometimes the hearing loss fades away, but the inflammation doesn't.

To Auron - I think that you are right. If you damage the ears so much, that it causes deafness, ringing and pain - Then this means, that you are physically hurting your ears. So, you kill your ear hair cells, ear nerves, etc. This seems to be far more harmful for your hearing abilities, than developing Tinnitus through slow and gradual process, like not getting enough rest for many months, working too hard, etc, etc.

I used to have listened to loud music for years. My ears kept healing themselves day after day, and there was no Tinnitus for the first few years. But, after a few years, my Tinnitus appeared, because I seem to have caused too much permanent damage to either my auditory system. I imagine that each small hearing damage, causes a little tiny bit of permanent hearing damage. So, if big acoustic traumas happen, your body may not have enough time or resources, to sufficiently repair the damages - Therefore, hearing loss, pains and Hyperacusis take their toll.

However, to me it also seems, that people who experienced acoustic traumas, seem to have bigger chances of recovery from their Tinnitus, than people who develop it gradually. So, you might take advantage of the current available Tinnitus treatments, because of your supposedly increased brain plasticity.. How about trying Tinnitus-notched sound therapy, while you're sleeping at night, or even during the day? Some of those therapies are available online, for free. I don't know, maybe try to somehow invigorate your inner ear, listen to some special white noise or take some pills which help with brain blood flow.. Anything to do with brain regeneration, would be helpful.

See what kind of Tinnitus you have.. Is it somatic Tinnitus - Maybe you can silence it by tapping the back of your head with your fingertips. I honestly wouldn't be surprised, if you could cure your Tinnitus, with simple techniques, like taking Curcumin supplements and trying out acupuncture sessions that aim at stimulating your ears. Some people try HyperBaric Oxygen therapy or some stupid-sounding thing like that.

Even if the symptoms of acoustic trauma, disappear after a year or so - They could easily come back, later on, if proper care is not taken for a person's general health.

 

[foam]

So do you think people who have louder tinnitus early on have caused/suffer greater hearing loss than other's who have mild tinnitus at onset?

No clue.. my Tinnitus was level 9-10 on this sites loudness chart for a month and I have no hearing loss. Thankfully it's calming down as the months roll on. Almost 3 months in now and I've had a good 90% reduction. I'm taking a lot of NAC.. seems to be the key to victory for me

 

[Sebastians]

@Sebastians

Did you notice any hearing improvement over between 12-18 month period?I've read,although extremely rare,that some people report better hearing many months after some acoustic trauma.Most experts in the medical field suggest that 1 month is about all the recovering you ears will do in terms of hearing power.Maybe peoples who have their T fade after to silence ,did so because their hearing came back enough after many months,probably suggesting that something outside of just their hair cells or synapses was damaged and recovered.

Although subjective, i do believe my hearing recovered a bit over the years. In the beginning, my hearing suffered quite a blow and came back in the next couple of weeks (an audiogram taken 4 weeks after my trauma showed significant improvement over the one take days after my trauma).

I recently had an audiogram taken for work and they compared it to the one taken 10 years (!) before when i first joined my team; The work doctor compared the two and they were identical.. (although audiograms don't reveal hidden hearing loss, obviously).

but in general, i feel my hearing has adjusted slowly and i now pick up things i could'nt in the months after my trauma (for example certain cymbal sounds in music etc). My ultra highfrequency hearing in my left ear drops off at around 10K where my right goes up to 14-15k, that never improved though...

 

[CAgirl]

@HarryLDN How are you now?

 

[Jassiel]

My tinnitus was started by a small pack of firecrackers. Popped by my foot. Wasn't even an m80 or anything crazy. Now about 34 days with tinnitus. It has gone down from about a 7/10 to about a 2/10. At night or when it's really quiet it is about a 3-4/10.

I shot a 9mm 2-3 years ago without hearing protection and my ears rang for 3 hours. I never did that again. Unfortunately this time it was not my fault.

 

[HarryLDN]

@HarryLDN How are you now?

One year later it's definitely been a mixed bag. I have good days and bad days, currently going through a spike but when it settles down it's pretty manageable and almost gone at some points. I don't know if I am foolish for still hoping for recovery, but it is what it is.

 

[Jrblovsky]

So do you think people who have louder tinnitus early on have caused/suffer greater hearing loss than other's who have mild tinnitus at onset?

I have to disagree with this statement. My tinnitus was mild after being exposed to several gunshots. Probably 10 or so. It is extreme now after a year and continues to get worse. I however lost a bunch of low frequency hearing which I'm told is not typical of gunfire. They say Meniere's disease is causing the bulk of my tinnitus. What a piece of shit this disease is.