Thank You So Much, I Just Didn't Know About Tinnitus

Thank you so much, I just didn't know.

I can hardly believe there are still people in 2023 that have never heard of tinnitus, but it's true. Some casually go about their day listening to music through headphones and earbuds at high volume levels blissfully unaware of the dangers of exposure to loud noise. I pass them on the street and see them on public transport, people that are content to shut themselves off from the world around them. There is nothing wrong with this, unless sound levels are too high which sadly it often is. When their music is clearly audible at a distance of a metre or more, then something is seriously wrong.

My postman regularly listens to music through wireless earbuds while doing his rounds. One day he rang my doorbell to deliver a parcel that required a signature. My attention was immediately drawn to the music that was blaring through his earbuds. Normally I don't interfere with people but on this occasion decided to say something, as it might just save him from a lot of misery and heartache in the future. I touched my ears to signal that I would like to have a word. When he stopped the music, I briefly explained about the risks of exposure to loud noise that can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. One of the most common causes of tinnitus, is listening to music too loud through headphones and earbuds often without realizing it.

I watched his jaw drop and the look of total surprise in his eyes as the realization of what I revealed hit him. He said he'd never heard of tinnitus and grew more alarmed to learn there is no cure. I mentioned tinnitus is quite a common condition that many people are able to live with but some people have it very severe which can affect their life tremendously. He thanked me and said later he will be looking up information online. Whether he will or not is another matter, because people quickly forget once the moment has passed. I feel better having said something.

I recently had fibre broadband installed that increased my Internet download speed from 60 Mbps to 150 Mbps. 60 Mbps is not slow and suits all my needs but my Internet service provider made me an offer that was hard to refuse. When I think back to when I first got Internet access some 26 years ago, the download speed was a ponderously slow 56 kbps. I remember waiting patiently for 20 minutes while Norton Antivirus updated itself by downloading a meagre 3 megabytes and prayed there wouldn't be a glitch in the telephone line causing the connection to be dropped, meaning I would have to start the download again.

The engineer was punctual calling at my home at 8 o'clock sharp. Opening the front door to a young man that looked about 23 took me by complete surprise, as he could have easily been mistaken for a member of an elite combat unit in the Army. His attire from his heavy duty boots were all black except for 4 bright yellow straps, two looped around the upper thighs and were fastened to a utility belt around his waist. They went up over his shoulders and down the back and fastened again to his belt. I assumed this was a safety harness.

Companies are heavenly into health and safety these days especially when their employees need to work off ladders or climb up tall telephone poles on the street. All that was missing to complete the picture of a military commando, was a green beret and an AK47 assault rifle. Instead he was armed with an assortment of equipment in an open top tool box in one hand and carrying a hefty DeWalt battery operated pneumatic SDS (slotted drive system) drill in the other which looked an impressive piece of kit. This type of machine delivers quite a punch, having much more power than an ordinary hammer action drill sold at DIY home improvement centres. It emits a sound similar to a Kango concrete breaker that workers use when digging up road tarmac, albeit on smaller scale.

We discussed the best location for the new broadband router and entrance hole for the incoming fibre optic cable. Exterior house walls in the UK are around 300 mm thick and over. This allows for a 50 mm cavity, internal plastering and any outside render. I am a retired carpenter and joiner, so it was no surprise to see the engineer select a 450 mm long, 16 mm diameter drill bit from his tool box, then hearing that familiar dull clunk as it was slotted into the DeWalt. From experience I knew there was going to be a lot of noise, so made my excuses and vacated the room to more quiet surroundings of my kitchen some distance away, but I was wrong.

The level of noise was excruciating as it felt like every corner of the house was vibrating from the sound of the pneumatic drill, as it bored its way through the brick wall and seemed to go on forever. By nature I am a fastidious person, especially when doing any kind of work in my home. Whilst I don't want to stand over the engineer, curiosity piqued my interest. With my noise reducing earplugs securely in place, sound levels were much more tolerable, so I decided to take a peek just to make sure all was well.

Standing at the doorway I watched in disbelief, to see the engineer wasn't wearing ear defenders or foam earplugs, the type that's squeezed between the fingers and compressed, then gently inserted into the ear canal where they slowly expand to block out most external noise. I left to go upstairs to print off information from my computer about the dangers of excessive noise, hearing loss and tinnitus.

The engineer's work was neat and tidy. As he began packing up his tools, I asked how long he had been installing fibre broadband, and then steered the conversation towards the DeWalt, saying it's an impressive piece of machinery. With an element of pride he remarked that it will go through any brick wall no matter how tough, then affectionally stroked it saying it's the Daddy! Not meaning to burst his bubble, I noticed his facial expression changed becoming quite subdued, when I said I noticed he hadn't been wearing ear defenders or earplugs to reduce the loud noise of the drill, and that this can cause hearing loss and a condition called tinnitus. Like my postman, he asked what is tinnitus? I now had his full attention.

To my surprise this young man became very interested in learning about tinnitus. In the two years he had been working as a fibre broadband installer, no-one had told him about the risks of exposure to loud noise which could lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. He gladly accepted the information I had printed and said, from now on he will be using ear defenders.

As he was going through my front door, his last words were: “Thank you so much, I just didn't know”.

Michael

 

Good job alerting those who don't know about tinnitus and its destructive ability to ruin lives. A pneumatic hammer drill caused my catastrophic tinnitus at work (contractors using it to install fencing barriers in the medical device manufacturing area I happened to be in) and resulted in my early retirement seven years ago; I was exposed to it for less than 10 seconds from fifteen feet away and I was wearing earplugs due to existing tinnitus.

I also mention tinnitus and give a warning to those in the medical community, during medical visits, as the reason for my poor voice cognition and reduced hearing ability. I now take my wife along with me as I miss words and meaning while struggling to comprehend what's being said - she's my translator.

Unfortunately, if someone had mentioned tinnitus to me and how damaging it is to our auditory system 20 years ago before I got tinnitus, I doubt I would have significantly changed my life to protect myself. I think unless you experience tinnitus or personally know a tinnitus suffer, you don't truly comprehend how devastating and life altering it can become.

 

I am sorry to know a pneumatic hammer drill made your tinnitus worse @Jammer. I wish someone had told me about the dangers of listening to audio too loud through headphones, but I had no idea about the harm I was doing to myself until it was too late.

Take care,
Michael

 

They are absolutely trying to shove this new ultra fast broadband down our throats. I have been offered; free installation, first few months free, gift vouchers and a reduced monthly cost.

Am I getting it installed?

No.

1) @Michael Leigh has hit on the first reason, my current speed already meets my requirements. Anything faster is purely superfluous.

2) I am well aware of the noise factor with the necessity to drill a hole through the wall. I will not take that risk.

3) You require TWO (as opposed to one) devices to be permanently plugged into power sockets, so costs more in electricity.

4) There are already plans to upgrade these already ultra fast 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) connections to 10000 Mbps (10 Gbps) connections.

As I've said; in terms of monthly payments; it would actually be cheaper for me to get my internet line upgraded but in terms of what I'd practically gain, I'm not even sure I'd notice the difference.

Not worth the hassle, sound risk, additional cost in electricity or unnecessary hole through your wall.

50-60 Mbps is already a large bandwidth and I think most people realise this, hence the poor national uptake. It's one of these cases where the technology has FAR exceeded the requirement.

Internet speed is so fast now and has been for a long while. Don't fall for this 'gimmick'.

 

Thanks Michael.

That one event pushed me over into catastrophic tinnitus and hyperacusis over the next month. I could no longer focus to stay in my engineering role and retired to a life of suffering.

Acceptance is the only way for me.

 

You have raised some interesting points @Jupiterman that I agree with. In my case, accepting the upgrade from 60 Mbps to 150 Mbps full fibre broadband has worked out considerably cheaper.

My 60 Mbps broadband was fibre optic cable to a cabinet in the street. From the cabinet to my house runs an ADSL copper cable. This required me to have a landline telephone which I had to pay for monthly. I rarely use my landline telephone these days as most people call me on my mobile telephone. My Internet Service Provider, offered me full fibre optic broadband to my home, which would make the ADSL copper line obsolete. It would mean losing the landline telephone but since I rarely use it, there would be no need to pay the line rental. It has reduced the monthly bill considerably.

My ISP told me, by 2025 ADSL copper lines will no longer be used. Some landline telephones can plug-in to the fibre broadband router, so people can still use their telephone. However, my ISP doesn't provide this service.

Michael

 

For sure. My ISP basically forces my upgrade speed to their new minimum along with yearly increases in fees. Since early 2020, I've gone from 25 Mbps, to 50 Mbps, to 75 Mbps. And it typically tests at 80+ Mbps down and 10+ Mbps up. The data cap is well beyond what I ever use. I did notice the performance gain going from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps occasionally when using multiple devices.

Fortunately, these upgrades have allowed me to use my same cable modem, that I own, and I'm sure they would keep increasing the monthly fee, anyway.

 

Love this! Hopefully your "small" act of kindness goes forth to make a big difference, even if it's "only" to just one person! Hoping these sort of conversations can save many more! Bravo, and thank you.

 

You are welcome @Jammer. Hyperacusis can be a very distressing condition and, when coupled with tinnitus, more so. I had it very severe with pain 25 years ago. It was completely cured having TRT and wearing white noise generators, with counselling for two years.

No two people will experience tinnitus and hyperacusis the same. Similarly, they will respond to treatment differently but it is possible, with the right treatment for tinnitus and hyperacusis, a person's quality of life can be improved. Please go to my started threads, and read my post Hyperacusis, As I See It.

Thank you for your kind words @SarahMLFlemmer. Looking back, I wish that I were more informed about the dangers of exposure to loud noise, and tinnitus. It hasn't been an easy road for me having lived with this condition for 27 years but I have been helped along the way, being under the care of good health professionals and received good counsel from fellow tinnitus sufferers.

I have learned to look at my life more positively. Even in the down times when my tinnitus ramps up to severe levels, it is helped by Clonazepam, to calm things down. I look at what I'm able to do with tinnitus and no longer see it as a hinderance in my life.

Take care and I wish you well.

Michael

 

Unfortunately, you did not cure anything. Putting more sound in a truly damaged system doesn't cure anything. If you had any bad damage, more sound would have made you worse. I feel so sorry for anyone who comes along and reads your false claims of curing. Out of desperation, I followed your advice. I had a liveable level before following yours, my audiologist's, and @R. David Case's BS sound therapy advice.

TIME, QUIET, AND PROTECTION are the best treatments we have for a damaged auditory system. If I had known that, it would have saved my life. Many, many people say the same thing. Doctors are very uninformed. Pawel Jastreboff has blood on his hands, and anyone pushing it as a cure does, too.

It's so wild that you say to stop using earbuds, but you promote the same thing with TRT. There is something very odd about people who push sound therapy, especially when you read the truth that it is outdated and dangerous from so many sufferers' firsthand accounts of it ruining their lives. You aren't helping anyone in your delusion. Your original damage is still there. It lies dormant.

 

Yeah, I didn't know what tinnitus was until I got it. My brother knew about it, maybe because he's into music, and he was shocked that I never knew about it.

 

Now that you know what tinnitus is, try to prevent it from getting worse.