Tinnitus Since Yesterday After Concert — What Should I Do Now?

[Mailana]

Hello !

First of all, english isn't my mothertongue, sorry in advance for the mistakes
I went to a concert yesterday (I don't really enjoy this kind of things but my sister does and I had to go with her). I forgot to take earplugs with me (and they didn't sell any there...) and I stayed there during 3 hours at least. I noticed the tinnitus and a light sensation of blocked ears when I got home but I wasn't really anxious about it, I was sure it will be gone tomorrow. I tried to not think about it, stayed in a quiet place and slept. When I woke up, I noticed that it's not gone : thankfully it's less loud, but I hear it even if I'm not in a really quiet environment or in total silence if I concentrate on it. It's quite mild, but I'm scared it can worsen... My sister had the same symptoms yesterday but from what she said, they're totally gone (she's actually listening to music and watching series and I'm really, really envious of her luck haha).
Since it has been only 1 day and a half, do you think there is a possibility to get rid of it ? Or at least, improve it ? I've heard of the emergency treatment with corticoids, is it worth to take it ?
I'm becoming more and more stressed about this...

Thank you !

 

[The Red Viper]

Yeah now is the time window to try to prevent permanent damage. I'd say go for the emergency steroid treatment. Anything over a day in terms of ringing would concern me.

 

[Gr8fulDude]

Please see a doctor now if you are not better and ask about prednisone.

 

[Sound Wave]

I wish I would have done these things in the first days:

- LEAVE THIS SITE!
- DO NOT RESEARCH T IN THE INTERNET
- Do all sorts of nice things you love that distract you from listening and thinking about T

=> the idea is to prevent your brain to 'learn' and associate T to distress and fear

 

[Foncky]

1. Take the steroids (prednisone/prednisolone) now if you feel something is wrong, don't wait. It's usually a short (4-5 days) but strong course, with no taper needed. See a good doc, he'll explain that to you.

2. Your ears will need to rest for a few weeks / months.

3. Give up concerts, it's not your thing anyway.

 

[Sam Bridge]

Man i love concerts, well not so much anymore. Now i have t and so many others from concerts i just find it absolutely crazy that something that is meant to be fun can lead to this constant sound . Worst of all there is no awareness of tinnitus either. If you smoke you know the risk you take for example. Concerts? Nothing at all about tinnitus..

 

[Vinnitus]

@Mailana Take extra vitamin A, C, E and magnesium supplements. They have been scientifically proven to limit hearing damage in the first three days after the noise trauma. Remember you need to take ALL of them, as it's about the combination of these vitamins.

Treatment with a combination of vitamins A, C, E, and magnesium, initiated 1 hour prior to noise exposure, produced a compelling reduction in NIHL and cell death. Effects of either the antioxidant agents (vitamins A, C, and E), or magnesium, were very small and not statistically reliable. Thus, the combination of agents was clearly more effective than any single category of agents.

As a consequence of delayed ROS production, ROS and RNS scavengers reduce NIHL not only when administered prior to noise, but also when treatment begins on days 1 or 3 post-noise [85]. Treatment delayed 5 days relative to noise insult was not effective, suggesting the therapeutic "window of opportunity" for successful antioxidant-based intervention against NIHL occurs within the first three days post-noise.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950331/

 

[Mailana]

Thank you everyone ! I still hear the T so I think that I should see a doctor in emergency. The problem is that I'm in holidays in Italy and it's very hard to find someone who speak english here, but I'll try my best to find someone.

I have magnesium (I took some yesterday) vit A, E but not C, but I'm going to give it a try

Man i love concerts, well not so much anymore. Now i have t and so many others from concerts i just find it absolutely crazy that something that is meant to be fun can lead to this constant sound . Worst of all there is no awareness of tinnitus either. If you smoke you know the risk you take for example. Concerts? Nothing at all about tinnitus..

I totally agree with you. There's not enough awareness about the hearing damage we're exposed to during concert. I thought that since I wasn't near the speakers, my ears will be okay. Well... I gambled and lost.

 

[Angelears]

You are Okay Give yourself time. You have temporary sound induced tinnitis.
Medical term you are experiencing is-- Temporary Threshold shift.
Take this concert as a lesson learned to protect those ears. So take a deep breath and relax. I promise you that you are fine. Believe me when you have tinnitis you have to learn patience and how to stay calm. I am suffering right now from a T flare up and I too am working on calming down. You are not alone today. My T is from stress and anxiety. But T it is still annoying no matter what the cause. Its a slow recovery sometimes. Kind of like an ear infection. The ears are so complicated. Have you seen a medical picture of the ears? Its so incredible. My advice is to avoid caffeine, salt and sugars. Stay away from loud noises. Lower the volume on everything. This will give your ears a break from loud sounds. Use white noise to relax. White noise would be like a fan running. Play soft music in the back ground. There are relaxing music online you can listen to as well. Go for a walk outside always helps too. It gets you out of your head.

Also if you still are having T several days from here. Several days meaning a week and not more then 2 weeks. You can go to an ENT doctor and they will help you. All they do is look down your ear. Then they do hearing test. On one test the sound goes in the ear. The other test they send sound to your inner ear behind your ear. Its quite interesting and painless. Sometimes they will give you steroids to speed up the recovery. Hang in there and good luck!

 

[Foncky]

Why wait ? If she waits a week or more, steroids are not likely to have any effect.

She has to decide now if she feels ok or if she needs to see a doc. But waiting 2 weeks doesn't make sense at all. A hearing test after 2 weeks is nice and everything, but useless.

 

[Mailana]

I've finally manage to schedule an appointment with an english speaker ENT doctor. I'm going to see her tomorrow at 10 AM I have a little question about the emergency steroid treatment : how does it work exactly ? Is it safe for someone with auto-immune issues (like me) ? Of course, the ENT doctor is the more able to answer these questions but it would be great to have other people's opinion.

You are Okay Give yourself time. You have temporary sound induced tinnitis.
Medical term you are experiencing is-- Temporary Threshold shift.
Take this concert as a lesson learned to protect those ears. So take a deep breath and relax. I promise you that you are fine. Believe me when you have tinnitis you have to learn patience and how to stay calm. I am suffering right now from a T flare up and I too am working on calming down. You are not alone today. My T is from stress and anxiety. But T it is still annoying no matter what the cause. Its a slow recovery sometimes.

Thank you for your kind words ! Since it's still here after 2 days, I chose to see a doctor as soon as possible, I'm not sure it's only TTS and I prefer maximizing my chances of recovery... I hope you feel better soon, tinnitus isn't a fun thing :/

 

[Foncky]

I don't know about the auto-immune issues, but I guess steroids are useful to people with issues like that.

Hope the doc you saw was great. Take what's needed and enjoy Italy Mailana.

 

[Mailana]

I don't know about the auto-immune issues, but I guess steroids are useful to people with issues like that.

Hope the doc you saw was great. Take what's needed and enjoy Italy Mailana.

Hello ! So, I went to the appointment and the doctor told me that I have a hearing loss at around 4000 Hz in the left ear (but I'm still in the normal range). The right ear is okay. Sadly, she didn't give the emergency treatment, only a supplement with ginkgo, vit. A, C and E. I didn't insist, if I was in France I would have gone to the nearest hospital to ask for the emergency treatment, but I'm in Italy, it's not the same... She said that since it has been only 3 days, it could improve, but of course she isn't sure. I hope my T doesn't worsen, I'm really stressed about it. I know that stress is counterproductive, but I'm a very anxious person by nature.
I don't know how I'm going to manage my next fly in one week, or the street sounds (I've never hated motorcycles that much !) etc.

 

[ehrfried]

No worries!
You will get rid of it and the hearing will fully recover. I can almost quarantee you that.
Protect your ears as much as you can (earplugs during the day!)
Sleep in a really silent room and get plenty of sleep.

Take those: https://www.lifeextensioneurope.com/vitamins/vitamin-b12/methylcobalamin-1-mg-60-lozenges
Choose express delivery. In your case it is worth the money .

Several per day. It is almost impossible to overdose them, so take many. Oh and don't swallow them but dissolve them under the tongue.
Drink a lot.

If this really does not work, go to LLLT therapy (Low Level Laser).

Hands away from corticosteroids. The raise your stress level and even block healing.


But no worries. This works.
It worked for me even after 8 months......



Should that not work after a certain time has passed - i'd say give it 2-3 weeks, then you can try this:

-Vitamin C in the form of Natriumascorbate
-Vitamin B-Komplex (B1, B2, B3, B6, B8, B9)
-Vit. B12 (as Methyl- or Hydroxocobalamin) injection subcutane
-Protein rich and basic diet
-Phospholipids (=lecithin) 50-60g daily
-Magnesiumcitrate
-Calciumcitrate
-Vitamin D3 (10000-24000 IU daily)
-Omega 3


You can also try it now - it is just more money that you have to spend, so I'd do it.
You cannot really overdose any of these, so I recommend double the dose of the recommendation written on the package (if I did not explicitly state doses next to the substance).
B12 alone should suffice, however, just to lower your pulse .

If you find a doctor who does it, then I recommend taking methyl- or hydroxo- or adenosylcobalamine shots (=injections), as they raise your b12 blood level even faster (within hours). You can also order them online yourself (including needles and everything) - google for "arnika apotheke münchen". If you have troubles translating from german, I volunteer to help you.

All the best and good cure!


Oh and for the flight: Put on earplugs plus in the plane put on ear muffs over them!

 

[Foncky]

Hello ! So, I went to the appointment and the doctor told me that I have a hearing loss at around 4000 Hz in the left ear (but I'm still in the normal range). The right ear is okay. Sadly, she didn't give the emergency treatment, only a supplement with ginkgo, vit. A, C and E. I didn't insist, if I was in France I would have gone to the nearest hospital to ask for the emergency treatment, but I'm in Italy, it's not the same... She said that since it has been only 3 days, it could improve, but of course she isn't sure. I hope my T doesn't worsen, I'm really stressed about it. I know that stress is counterproductive, but I'm a very anxious person by nature.
I don't know how I'm going to manage my next fly in one week, or the street sounds (I've never hated motorcycles that much !) etc.

Almost everyone has some hearing loss past a certain age, don't worry.

You did the best you could, so no regrets. Find some good foam ear plugs for the rest of your trip and for the flight (and yes, ear muffs on top of that in the plane if you can get it).

If you ever need help in French, don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure you'll be fine. You seem to be able to make the right decisions quickly and that's the most important thing

 

[Mailana]

No worries!
You will get rid of it and the hearing will fully recover. I can almost quarantee you that.
Protect your ears as much as you can (earplugs during the day!)
Sleep in a really silent room and get plenty of sleep.
Take those: https://www.lifeextensioneurope.com/vitamins/vitamin-b12/methylcobalamin-1-mg-60-lozenges
Choose express delivery. In your case it is worth the money .
Several per day. It is almost impossible to overdose them, so take many. Oh and don't swallow them but dissolve them under the tongue.
(...)
Should that not work after a certain time has passed - i'd say give it 2-3 weeks, then you can try this:

-Vitamin C in the form of Natriumascorbate
-Vitamin B-Komplex (B1, B2, B3, B6, B8, B9)
-Vit. B12 (as Methyl- or Hydroxocobalamin) injection subcutane
-Protein rich and basic diet
-Phospholipids (=lecithin) 50-60g daily
-Magnesiumcitrate
-Calciumcitrate
-Vitamin D3 (10000-24000 IU daily)
-Omega 3

Sorry, I didn't see your answer, thank you for your help! I already take sublingual B12 since a long time but sadly it has no effect on my T for the moment, it's still here. My diet is already quite good (no sugar, no gluten - I'm celiac - lots of vegetables etc...) and I take vit. D, B6, magnesium (bisglycinate) omega-3 (krill oil), zinc (and other things specifically for my thyroid, ex: selenium, iodine). I'm not even sure it can work for my T because it didn't decrease at all : worse still, a new sound appeared in my right ear two days ago because I exposed it just one little hour to the airport noise, it wasn't even loud... It's incomprehensible. I'll see how it goes. :/

Almost everyone has some hearing loss past a certain age, don't worry.

You did the best you could, so no regrets. Find some good foam ear plugs for the rest of your trip and for the flight (and yes, ear muffs on top of that in the plane if you can get it).

If you ever need help in French, don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure you'll be fine. You seem to be able to make the right decisions quickly and that's the most important thing

Thank you for your support
As I said, unfortunately my T didn't decrease and even worse, I have a new sound ringing in my right ear now because I exposed it to the airport noise (it wasn't even loud!). The left ear was protected with a foam earplug. Is it possible to be that reactive to just normal noise, at least in the early stages? Perhaps I made a mistake by protecting only one ear and exposing the other to noise, even if it wasn't for too long? (stupid me). It's really hard to hear what people say when you have two ugly green foam earplugs stuck in your ears all the time...
I thought about buy a good pair of noise cancelling headphones in order to protect my ears when I have to go outside, in order to let them rest a little (because earplugs are quite uncomfortable after 1-2 hours and I have to wait until September to make good custom molded earplugs). Is it a bad idea?
And my ears feel blocked most of the time, it's quite annoying... I read that it should go away after a moment (I hope so). Sorry for all the questions, I'm new in this and a little bit lost!

 

[ehrfried]

Most importantly: No Stress. It is not true what doctors say - it is not too late at a certain time. I had TT after noise as well, and I found a good cure 4 YEARS later (it's the vitamins I wrote above) - and I got rid of it 99,8% so far (and think I will get rid of it at all, also H disappeared completely and I hear 19kHz again).

So you do not need to be stressed.

When Sublingual B12 does not have an effect, try an injection.

I would protect my ears all day - even if it is annoying, but set priorities now! And it takes not too long and then you are used to it! Oh and they are not ugly . Even now people ask me why I wear plugs....I always tell them some quick "one-sentence-answer" just to satisfy them: I have H (which is not true anymore but a less complicated answer).


Well. And one veeeery important thing: Get a silent place to sleep.
The more silent, the more ear regeneration over night!

And no stress. You will get rid of it.

 

[undecided]

And whatever you do, don't stand next to a dynamite explosion.

 

[Foncky]

Thank you for your support
As I said, unfortunately my T didn't decrease and even worse, I have a new sound ringing in my right ear now because I exposed it to the airport noise (it wasn't even loud!). The left ear was protected with a foam earplug. Is it possible to be that reactive to just normal noise, at least in the early stages? Perhaps I made a mistake by protecting only one ear and exposing the other to noise, even if it wasn't for too long? (stupid me). It's really hard to hear what people say when you have two ugly green foam earplugs stuck in your ears all the time...
I thought about buy a good pair of noise cancelling headphones in order to protect my ears when I have to go outside, in order to let them rest a little (because earplugs are quite uncomfortable after 1-2 hours and I have to wait until September to make good custom molded earplugs). Is it a bad idea?
And my ears feel blocked most of the time, it's quite annoying... I read that it should go away after a moment (I hope so). Sorry for all the questions, I'm new in this and a little bit lost!

Protecting only one ear is not ideal : it's very difficult to know where the noise is then, so you can't really hear a danger coming. You feel protected but you're not really.

Noise cancelling headphones are useful when the background noise is always the same (in a plane for instance). It won't protect you at all from sudden noises, like police sirens, people shouting, etc. And they make some sort of pressure in the ears, some people believe they got tinnitus because of them. So you should stick to earplugs + earmuffs when necessary.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

@ehrfried - if you're 98% healed why are you hanging out in tinnitus boards

 

[ehrfried]

@Tom: It is very good now but not gone. And I want to spread the cure I did. That's it.

 

[linearb]

personally I would ignore people who suggest complicated, expensive supplement regimens that don't have any evidence-based research behind them, but I'm weird like that

 

[GregCA]

personally I would ignore people who suggest complicated, expensive supplement regimens that don't have any evidence-based research behind them, but I'm weird like that

Not only that, but some of these suggestions are plain dangerous. For this particular example, 24000 IU daily of vitamin D3 can get you to a vitamin D overdose pretty quickly, depending on where you start from.
Whatever your plan is, I'd suggest talking to your doctor about it, and monitor your health (blood/urine tests, etc) to make sure you're not hurting your body.

 

[linearb]

Whatever your plan is, I'd suggest talking to your doctor about it, and monitor your health (blood/urine tests, etc) to make sure you're not hurting your body.

as someone who just gave themselves a mild case of iodine poisoning, I agree

It did great things for my skin and anxiety, though! :-P

 

[ehrfried]

Hey!

I do not want to harm anyone. And I am sure i am not. I took 24000 IU daily for 3 years myself, which raised my bloodlevels to >=120 ng/mol. But that is not dangerous. So even after 3 years it is not dangerous.
In addition, it is always wise to make a blood test.

How can you expect any evidence based treatment if there just is no evidence based treatment right now?

 

[Mailana]

@Foncky Ok, thank you for your answer!
@GregCA @linearb I have a lot of vitamin and nutrient deficiencies and work closely with my doctor to correct them, I get regular blood tests. I'm aware about the danger of overdosing (particularly on fat-soluble vitamins like vit.D) so of course I'm not going to exceed the prescribed dose Or at least, not for a long time. I've got most of these supplements (minus calciumcitrate) and take them on a daily basis, if they have any good effect on my T then great. If not, I'm going to join a monastery and live there until we find a cure (joke).

 

[Fangen]

Hi!

I got my T after a concert too, mine was shorter (1-2 hours) but at a small venue, which I think amplified the sounds and hurt my ears more. I didn't get any treatment because the doctors here didn't take it seriously, but I did go to an ENT 2 months after (they wouldn't see me until it had passed a few weeks) and told me I had perfect hearing, I didn't have any hearing loss in the normal speaking frequencies. Of course I have hidden hearing loss, otherwise I wouldn't have T. I hear perfectly, I still hear small irritating sounds like the fridge from meters away but it is a bit harder with the ringing. Not sure if your T will go away or not, I hope 100% it does but I got an advice from a former T member here that helped me a lot.

Don't wait for it to go away. It gives you incredible stress and anxiety.
If it goes away, that is freaking great. But if you wake up and wait hopefully for it go away that morning you will only suffer and feel bad. I hard a time coping the first 1-2 weeks because I couldn't stop hoping every day. Then I accepted that had happened and that is when I started to feel better. But from my experience, only mine, this do not have to be true for anyone else, if the ringing haven't stopped the first day or two, most likely it is there to stay.

But, it will get better. I rarely hear my sounds anymore, they are there and haven't become milder, but I don't think about it anymore. Since you describe yours as mild, you will stop thinking about faster. Sometimes it bother me of course, but most days I rarely pay attention. But it might take time to habituate, but it will happen! Stay away from clubs, concerts or any other loud places (carry earplugs with you in your pocket just in case you end up in a noisy place), and let your ears rest as much you can. I have taken magnesium and everything between there, it doesn't really do much (of course it doesn't hurt to take them) but don't put too much hope it will do anything drastically for your T the first few weeks.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

 

[ehrfried]

There are, however, people who get rid of it. I, for myself, cannot accept my remainding T and I would also not suggest others to accept it. In my opinion, there are ways to get rid of it.