Tinnitus After the Jesus and Mary Chain Concert

[KevinShaw]

Hi.

I'm Kevin. I have been a concert go-er for 40 years.

I attended the Jesus and Mary Chain in a small venue last November. Not a particular loud concert I thought and was actually cupping my ears to get a better effect. Usual ringing in ears. Two days later right ear back to normal - left ear muffled and sounded a bit distorted. Thinking it was earwax, I tried a week of softening the ear canal and then used a water irrigation which normally works. Nothing happened. G.P. said it looked a bit 'red,' so I was given an ear spray for a couple of weeks, followed by ear drops that were stronger, but still no joy.

Finally I was put on a steroid oral penicillin. Nothing worked - hearing still muffled with constant ringing.

I went to an ENT. They said I have 20 dB hearing loss in that ear - interior looks clear, a bit of debris from all the ear drops etc, but that I might have to live with the tinnitus.

I am also getting lots of migraines last year and now, but my audiologist doesn't think it's related.

I have 3 gigs up and coming this year, but I'm thinking that my days of concerts may be over for a
while.

The ringing isn't severe but I don't want it to get worse.

Any information would be great.

Thanks guys.

 

[RunningMan]

Yeah, it's best to curb all of your concert plans for the future, even loud bars/clubs, sporting events, large crowds. Start protecting your ears around any loud sounds so that you don't get worse like many of us have. Avoid using headphones and earbuds.

 

[KevinShaw]

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

The left ear is very mild at the moment, I want it to stay that way.

I'm devastated I can't go to anymore gigs - but hey, I had a good run.

Thinking of just getting some earplugs to protect in other noisy situations - any recommendations?

Thanks.

 

[Luman]

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

The left ear is very mild at the moment, I want it to stay that way.

I'm devastated I can't go to anymore gigs - but hey, I had a good run.

Thinking of just getting some earplugs to protect in other noisy situations - any recommendations?

Thanks.

3M 1100 orange foam disposable earplugs, a box of 200 individually wrapped pairs @ 13¢ a pair is ideal and they block sound very well. Or, you can get fancy non-disposable ones that allow for various levels of sound to reach your hearing, some are supposedly tuned to allow protection plus hearing conversation, music, etc. I use several types of those as well as the 3M disposable ones. Non-disposable brands such as Alpine, Etymotic, Eargasm (a bit pricey), and more are fine.