Tinnitus After Riding Motorcycle on Freeway

[ns444]

I'm so glad there is a site I can come to where others understand Tinnitus and share their thoughts and experiences.
I got motorcycle last weekend. My first one.
I wrote it a few times around the town at under 40 MPH without any issues.
It is a very quite motorcycle.
I wear a full face helmet, but apparently not a good one.
On Tuesday (3 days ago), i decided to drive it to work.
So I drove it on freeway at 65 MPH for about 20 min.
There was ALOT of wind noise in my helmet, but I didn't realize that it could damage my ears.
When I got to work, I had this loud buzzing noise in my head.
No one had told me i needed ear plugs when riding a bike.
The buzzing hasn't gone away and I went to ENT Doctor yesterday and he checked my hearing and said the ear looks OK. After audio test, he said I had no hearing loss which is good.
He said since this happened all of a sudden because of loud noise it may go away in a few days or few weeks or few months, or it may never go away. He said each person is different and they respond differently and heal differently. But the fact that I had no hearing loss gives me a better chance of recording from T.
He said he could proscribe me steroid medication, but it would probably not be helpful in my case. I went along and agreed not to take steroids. Not I'm wondering if I should have taken it.

Anyone here with similar situation?
How long did it take for it to go away?
Should I go back to the doctor ask for the steroids medicine?
Any advise for someone who has had this for just over 3 days and what they can do to help for better chance of successful recovery?

I stayed away from anything loud all my life to protect my ears. I'm 48 yrs old. Always wore ear protection when using lawn equipment and never been to a concert or near loud speaker and never listened to loud music. So I have taken good care of my ears and this happens. The buzzing (high frequency) noise is really loud. the only time I don't hear it is in the shower. It is giving me head aches.

I have only been dealing with this just a little over 3 days, so I could use some advice.

Thank you.

 

[Bill Bauer]

The consensus (regarding what you might expect to happen) here is similar to what your doctor told you.

Now I'm wondering if I should have taken it.

I would have taken it, if I were you. Why not pull out all stops?

I have only been dealing with this just a little over 3 days, so I could use some advice.

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

 

[Contrast]

But the fact that I had no hearing loss gives me a better chance of recording from T.

You have hearing loss even if it is super mild, tinnitus caused by acoustic trauma 100% guarantees it and it was caused by riding a motorcycle on a free way without hearing protection.

The audiogram test used by most audiologist to check for hearing loss are extremely outdated and research has came in for the last decade about hearing loss being much more complicated then just detecting tonal noises in silence yet local audiology clinics across America ignore it.

The standard audiogram only test the human voice range 0-8000hz They have come to a irrational conclusion that noises about 8k like Music and birds chirping are not important.

Trouble deciphering speech in background noise is a sign of hearing loss that goes completely unnoticed by audiograms.

In a nutshell you don't lose the ability to hear soft tonal noises within a frequency, you lose the ability to hear complex noises within a frequency. In my own case of suffering with hearing loss high pitch noises in my right ear blur with background noise, yet non of this damage shows up on an audiogram



https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28087419

 

[GregCA]

It is a very quite motorcycle.
I wear a full face helmet, but apparently not a good one.
On Tuesday (3 days ago), i decided to drive it to work.
So I drove it on freeway at 65 MPH for about 20 min.
There was ALOT of wind noise in my helmet, but I didn't realize that it could damage my ears.
When I got to work, I had this loud buzzing noise in my head.
No one had told me i needed ear plugs when riding a bike.

That's because it is generally not required. I've ridden motorcycles for decades without ear plugs, and I'm pretty sure I'm in the majority (I used to go to motorcycle gatherings so I have quite a few large samples to base my statement on).

The use of ear plugs is generally recommended if your motorcycle is particularly noisy (unlikely when it abides by laws), or if you are going to be doing long trips with a helmet that doesn't insulate your ears appropriately from wind noise.

The wind noise must have been quite bad if you suffered an auditory insult from 20 minutes of riding. A bit surprising for a full face helmet, but perhaps it was indeed - only you can tell.

At any rate, take it easy on the ears for a while, and good luck!

 

[ns444]

The loud buzzing which had a loud tone has turned in to loud high pitch hiss. The loud tone is gone after 5 days. This is a little more tolerable. It is still loud and still very annoying high pitch hiss, but at least the loud tone is gone. Thank God. I'm a little more hopeful now that it may get better over next few weeks.

 

[Bill Bauer]

The loud buzzing which had a loud tone has turned in to loud high pitch hiss. The loud tone is gone after 5 days.

That was fast! For many people this happens more than a month after the onset of T. You ought to continue to improve.

 

[PortalNaut]

@ns444 I feel for you that you dove into an activity and the first time, wham, are hit with this unexpected bad thing. I had something like that to. A sad club to be in. Hopefully those gains will stay. Meanwhile you know more now, so be safe!

 

[ns444]

Update...

Well, Bill mentioned that I should have taken Prednisone.
I called the ENT, asked for medication and went on Prednisone exactly 1 week after my T incident.
So there are various frequencies and volumes that I have experienced with my T.
There is the buzzing, hissing, tone, etc.
I had buzzing sound and there was a loud tone in there too.
As I mentioned earlier, tone was gone after 5 days, but I still had loud buzzing/hissing that had several frequency sounds.

I'm not sure how many frequencies, but after finishing my 7 days of Prednisone (Dr. only proscribed it for 7 days), there are fewer frequencies that I'm hearing and volume levels are lower.
I feel like I now hear only 1/4 of frequencies as my original T (75% less frequencies).
and volumes are about 60%-70% quieter than original T.
During past 2 days, there were hours where I had forgotten I had T.
Night time is of course loudest. But still way way quieter than day 1.
What I hear now sounds like a dog whistle. Very high frequency. All the time.

I'm trying to do everything (lots of rest, medication, staying away from noise, eating healthy, praying, etc) to get better and I feel like I'm on my way.

Today is exactly 2 weeks since my incident and I feel that I'm overall 70% better. I hope it is not just temporary improvement because of the Prednisone I have been taking. Time will tell. Perhaps this post will help new T sufferers and give them a little hope. You guys on this site certainly helped me.

For the record, here is dosage of Prednisone my Dr wanted me to take:
30 mg (3 pills at 10mg each) for first 3 days.
20 mg (2 pills at 10mg each) for next 2 days.
10 mg (1 pill at 10mg each) for next 2 days.
I followed the above instruction and took them at noon time after my lunch.
Apparently this Prednisone will lower your immune system, so stay away from sick people if you take this.

I'll post an update here if there are other significant changes.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I'm not sure how many frequencies, but after finishing my 7 days of Prednisone (Dr. only proscribed it for 7 days), there are fewer frequencies that I'm hearing and volume levels are lower.

I am very happy for you!

But still way way quieter than day 1.

Wonderful. It ought to continue to fade.

 

[Lynny]

That's because it is generally not required. I've ridden motorcycles for decades without ear plugs, and I'm pretty sure I'm in the majority (I used to go to motorcycle gatherings so I have quite a few large samples to base my statement on).

The use of ear plugs is generally recommended if your motorcycle is particularly noisy (unlikely when it abides by laws), or if you are going to be doing long trips with a helmet that doesn't insulate your ears appropriately from wind noise.

The wind noise must have been quite bad if you suffered an auditory insult from 20 minutes of riding. A bit surprising for a full face helmet, but perhaps it was indeed - only you can tell.

At any rate, take it easy on the ears for a while, and good luck!

Hi Greg, I'm wondering, do you still ride?

 

[GregCA]

Hi Greg, I'm wondering, do you still ride?

Hi Lynny,
I don't ride anymore, but not because of the noise. Other life reasons...