Success Story: Tinnitus from High-Powered Rifle Exposure

[jg1254]

Hello, Tinnitus Talk!

I wanted to post here and not be one of those people who leave after improving. I figured I would do my part since this forum really helped me when I was going through this experience.

On October 16, 2024, I was exposed to about 100 rounds of .308 caliber rifle fire at an indoor range. At the time, I used foam earplugs, not double protection, but I am not sure if I wore them correctly. Afterward, I immediately noticed bilateral tinnitus at about six out of ten in both ears, though I did not experience any obvious hearing loss or threshold shift. I had never dealt with tinnitus before, but since I was in the military, I am sure I had prior exposure to loud noise because I was regularly around rifle fire.

When I realized it was not going away after about a week, I started to panic. Falling asleep at night became difficult. However, over the next four months, it gradually improved, although I did not notice significant progress in the first three months. There were many days when I wondered if I would have to live with this for the rest of my life and other days when I was completely convinced that I would.

Personally, I think what helped me the most, anecdotally of course, and I am also a medical doctor, was wearing earplugs nearly all the time outside my house. I bought earplugs from Amazon and wore them while driving, flying, at bars, restaurants, and essentially everywhere unless the environment was noticeably quiet like a library. If I was at work and it would have been too strange to wear them, I removed them but put them back in afterward. I genuinely believe this is similar to healing a broken bone or recovering from surgery because it gives the hair cells time to rest and undergo proper wound healing. I am not sure why this concept has not been studied more in the literature.

I did not take any supplements. I also made a point to sleep a lot, sometimes ten hours a night, because I felt that one, it provided quiet time for my ears and two, it was good for overall healing.

When I went to my primary care doctor, they confirmed that my eardrums were not ruptured. I asked for steroids, but they did not prescribe any. I did not see an ENT, get an audiogram, or do any injections.

Initially, my tinnitus was a persistent six out of ten. Now, at around month four, it has faded so much that sometimes I cannot hear it at all, even when I purposely try to notice it. I plan to continue wearing earplugs until it disappears completely, but I do not intend to return to the forum. Reading others' experiences here was helpful for me because it gave me people to relate to, but I can see how it might cause anxiety for others.

As for shooting guns, I am unsure if I will go back to it. I am weighing the risks versus the benefits, and I do not think this hobby is important enough to risk damaging my hearing again. If I do return to shooting, it will be with a silencer, at an outdoor range, using both earmuffs and earplugs. But honestly, I am probably just not going to do it again.

Good luck, everyone. I hope my experience is helpful. Personally, I highly recommend rigorously using earplugs after any noise related injury.

 

[Jupiterman]

This poster has never posted before.

Sorry but I cannot read this story.

I cannot take it seriously.

 

[FellowSufferer]

Hello, Tinnitus Talk!

I wanted to post here and not be one of those people who leave after improving. I figured I would do my part since this forum really helped me when I was going through this experience.

On October 16, 2024, I was exposed to about 100 rounds of .308 caliber rifle fire at an indoor range. At the time, I used foam earplugs, not double protection, but I am not sure if I wore them correctly. Afterward, I immediately noticed bilateral tinnitus at about six out of ten in both ears, though I did not experience any obvious hearing loss or threshold shift. I had never dealt with tinnitus before, but since I was in the military, I am sure I had prior exposure to loud noise because I was regularly around rifle fire.

When I realized it was not going away after about a week, I started to panic. Falling asleep at night became difficult. However, over the next four months, it gradually improved, although I did not notice significant progress in the first three months. There were many days when I wondered if I would have to live with this for the rest of my life and other days when I was completely convinced that I would.

Personally, I think what helped me the most, anecdotally of course, and I am also a medical doctor, was wearing earplugs nearly all the time outside my house. I bought earplugs from Amazon and wore them while driving, flying, at bars, restaurants, and essentially everywhere unless the environment was noticeably quiet like a library. If I was at work and it would have been too strange to wear them, I removed them but put them back in afterward. I genuinely believe this is similar to healing a broken bone or recovering from surgery because it gives the hair cells time to rest and undergo proper wound healing. I am not sure why this concept has not been studied more in the literature.

I did not take any supplements. I also made a point to sleep a lot, sometimes ten hours a night, because I felt that one, it provided quiet time for my ears and two, it was good for overall healing.

When I went to my primary care doctor, they confirmed that my eardrums were not ruptured. I asked for steroids, but they did not prescribe any. I did not see an ENT, get an audiogram, or do any injections.

Initially, my tinnitus was a persistent six out of ten. Now, at around month four, it has faded so much that sometimes I cannot hear it at all, even when I purposely try to notice it. I plan to continue wearing earplugs until it disappears completely, but I do not intend to return to the forum. Reading others' experiences here was helpful for me because it gave me people to relate to, but I can see how it might cause anxiety for others.

As for shooting guns, I am unsure if I will go back to it. I am weighing the risks versus the benefits, and I do not think this hobby is important enough to risk damaging my hearing again. If I do return to shooting, it will be with a silencer, at an outdoor range, using both earmuffs and earplugs. But honestly, I am probably just not going to do it again.

Good luck, everyone. I hope my experience is helpful. Personally, I highly recommend rigorously using earplugs after any noise related injury.

I'm glad to hear that you're recovering, but I recommend using earplugs less often. Overprotecting your ears in environments that aren't very loud can lead to increased sensitivity to sound, known as hyperacusis. For many people, hyperacusis is actually worse than tinnitus because even normal sounds, like traffic, can cause stabbing pain.