To Plug or Not to Plug

[Lex]

I avoid loud places. I haven't been to a cinema, gone to a club or attended a festival since getting T and H. I think that's sensible.

For protection, I wear earplugs in places like restaurants, malls, and lifts. I've also taken to wear earplugs inside cars. But the noises in those places don't really hurt me (at least not instantly), and they aren't particularly loud to me. I have more trouble in quiet, enclosed places because sudden sounds seem so loud/sharp when they happen.

However, I'm more worried about delayed onset damage, which is why I've been wearing earplugs practically everywhere in the past couple of months. I read that I shouldn't overprotect to desensitize my ears, but I also read that noise damage is cumulative especially for vulnerable ears. Between those two options, I chose to err on the side of caution because I feel my ears are so fragile.

But since I've been doing wearing earplugs, I feel like I'm becoming a phonophobic. There's a strong element of fear now whenever I hear sounds, something that I didn't feel as strongly during the first few months I had T and H.

It's so hard to strike a balance. I just want to do the right thing, but I don't even know what the right thing is.

How do you guys strike a balance? How do you avoid developing phonophobia? I fear agoraphobia will come next once I get phonophobia.

 

[glynis]

I would not recommend the use of ear plugs around daily sounds as your ears will get supper sensitive but keep them handy if you need them.
Your ears will soon let you know it's to loud as usually feel discomfort.
I cope well at the cinema with noise reduction plugs and at football games.

We were in a pub New years eve and I forgot take my plugs and the pub got really loud music on so I removed my self out of harms way as a precaution as my ears started to hurt...lots of love glynis

 

[Julien87]

I tend to be phonophobic too. But for me, it came with the years. I was not so careful before. In the first years after my onset, I did not care about the everyday noises, about people honking, about ambulance sirens etc. I went to loud bars, to wedding parties or even to nightclubs (wearing earplugs when the noise was really loud) with a smile, I did not really see this as a threat. Fortunately, all this did not affect my tinnitus, it remained approximately at the same level.

So I don't understand why my behaviour changed so much, now I'm scared about the idea of going to a wedding or to a bar and I even wear earplugs when walking in cities that can be noisy. I'm becoming obsessed about noise, it has a big impact on my life. I was happier before. Sometimes I wonder if it's really necessary to be as careful as I am today. I think I should relax and only be careful not to go to very noisy places like concerts and nightclubs, I think I should not worry so much about everyday noises.. I think that's my answer to the question: To plug, BUT only when necessary (places with continuous noise above 90 dB (e.g. loud bars, loud cinemas) or when there is a high risk of sudden very loud noise).
I believe becoming obsessed with noise, and with plugging, prevents you from living a fully happy life.

 

[Lex]

So I don't understand why my behaviour changed so much ... I'm becoming obsessed about noise, it has a big impact on my life.

Did you get a bad spike? Or did you notice an increase in sensitivity?

My outlook changed because of the many horror stories I've read. Before I came across personal accounts of worsening H all over the internet, I was fine with avoiding loud places and plugging only when necessary. And like you, I was relatively happier before.

 

[Bobby B]

the way I see it - there are many noises that are really not necessary to hear - loud city, subway train or car noise, strangers talking loud in restaurants, silly background music in shops/cafe/malls etc...

Do I want my hair cells to move because of some train brakes or car honking ? or anything of the above ? the answer is no !, our ears weren't designed for all this industrial noises.

Even though it may not harm you most of the time..

I'd rather save my hearing for some nice music, conversations with friends/lovers and such..so I plug or rather wear more convenient ear muffs which are better than plugs for ear health (wax buildup..ear canal irritation and such)..no big deal for me

 

[Pleasure_Paulie]

No, stop plugging in non dangerous environments. You will prevent habituation which is required for you to eventually get better if possible

 

[VRZ78]

You need to listen to your ears and listen when they tell you it's too much... At least that's what happened to me.

After onset I could feel that a person talking loudly in class, high pitch sounds like shoes squeaking with the ground or low music would make my distortions and my T go through the roof until next days, so I wore earplugs in most situations.
After some nice rest in silence I felt like my ears could handle more like if the teacher clapped his hands instead of having the sound really loud and in my head I felt like it would not be loud as if my ears had now a limiter or could compress sound. After a while I found out that indoor sounds weren't hurting me anymore so I stopped using plugs here and I can feel more relaxed and stop monitoring sounds when I'm inside.

Now I only use plugs when I'm walking in the street because I'm in a big city and there are sirens all the time...

Basically only music sets me back now which sucks. Or low quality speaker like phone speaker at high volume increase my distorsions instantly.

 

[Julien87]

@"bobby b" So what do you do Bobby, are you "plugged" all the time?

@Lex
Well, I spent time thinking about it. I think my behaviour changed in 2012 (I already had my T since 2006). During the summer of that year, I was exposed to a loud alarm and I felt bad the days after (I felt dizzy + one ear felt "clogged"). I thought my inner ear suffered more damage and became more afraid of noise after that. Since that time I paid more attention to everyday noises in general, I saw them as more threatening. The months that followed this incident I wondered if I was developing hyperacusis because noises annoyed me more than before. I read a lot about hyperacusis at that time, it scared me a lot, I was afraid it was happening to me. Did I really become more sensitive to noise or was it just psychosomatic? I didn't know, and I still don't know actually. Noises don't make me feel pain, it's just that brief loud noises create discomfort to me. I think it's psychological in my case...
Anyway, following this incident and period of hyperacusis fearing, I became more and more afraid of noises, I think it's because of that.

 

[Bobby B]

@Julien87
You are thinking too much - ear protection is like eye protection, sunglasses when its bright to protect your eyes from UV. No big deal. Won't make your ears more sensitive apart from the time while you wear ear protection.

If you think noises bother you, then wear muffs.
I don't think wearing plugs for too long at a time is a good idea because earwax gets trapped inside and then you push it further down the ear canal.

I live in a big noisy city so yes, I wear ear muffs - no plugs - most of time during commute, lunch breaks, noisy places and such. There are some very noisy bikes, sirens etc.. and there is no time to insert plugs in and out all the time, muffs are much better for that.

With muffs you can remove those when its quieter or to give the ears some air.


But I am gradually reducing the amount of time I wear those already. My H has improved a lot thanks to ear protection, LLLT and healing time so I am giving my ears 2 more years of healing time while doing LLLT and so I will be extra careful with noise, in 2 years I will gradually reduce overprotection unless it goes over 70db.

I also bought a much quieter car with quiet tires so no more muffs while driving.
(used Toyota Lexus LS430 )

And I disconnected the airbag computer so no airbags for me - takes like 30 minutes mostly removing covers, and you can connect it back if needed in the future.

 

[Julien87]

Yeah I noticed that big cities can be scary if you suffer because of noise (or, in my case, if you're afraid of it). I lived some months in Moscow, and I'm happy to be back in my quiet small French town.
Where do you live?

 

[Bobby B]

I live in Tokyo
The laws on noise are not very strict here - I was driving with no muffler on my cars and bikes etc.. - ah the good pre-T days ! never had the police stop me. Clubs/bars are very loud, again no laws in Asia in general but China is even worse for noise at clubs I think.

Emergency vehicle sirens are not as loud as in the USA though, and car honks have a limit of 110 db at 2m.
Fire Dept NY truck is certainly the loudest I ever heard

 

[Julien87]

Oh ok, yeah especially noisy city I imagine.

 

[Juan]

I avoid loud places. I haven't been to a cinema, gone to a club or attended a festival since getting T and H. I think that's sensible."

I think that is a very sensible approach; those places you list are really loud.

"For protection, I wear earplugs in places like restaurants, malls, and lifts. I've also taken to wear earplugs inside cars. But the noises in those places don't really hurt me (at least not instantly), and they aren't particularly loud to me. I have more trouble in quiet, enclosed places because sudden sounds seem so loud/sharp when they happen."

These places are medium-level noise, but can get noisier. Restaurants for me are ok, malls so so because of the PA system. I tend to wear earplugs when driving in an urban environment; people do honk a lot and there are lots of loud motorbikes, sirens etc.. the car itself and music in the car are no problem, and on long car rides I do not wear earplugs.

"However, I'm more worried about delayed onset damage, which is why I've been wearing earplugs practically everywhere in the past couple of months. I read that I shouldn't overprotect to desensitize my ears, but I also read that noise damage is cumulative especially for vulnerable ears. Between those two options, I chose to err on the side of caution because I feel my ears are so fragile.

It is hard to find places without very loud peak noises, but with a "real" sound environment to get used to noise (medium level noise). For me some restaurants do the trick, a park, a museum, the beach, places like that. Coffee bars are complicated, specially the ones with those new coffee grinders that are crazy loud. Shops may be complicated too, as many of them have loud music.

 

[Michael Leigh]

But since I've been doing wearing earplugs, I feel like I'm becoming a phonophobic. There's a strong element of fear now whenever I hear sounds, something that I didn't feel as strongly during the first few months I had T and H.

@Lex You are right to be concerned about becoming phonophobic and suggest you get a referral to Ent for treatment for your tinnitus and hyperacusis. I also suggest that you read my two articles: Tinnitus, A Personal View and Hyperacusis, As I see it. You might find them helpful. The links are below.
All the best
Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

[Lex]

Thanks everyone. In the end, I know that only I can tell what my ears can handle. But since plugging constantly, I've not only have hints of phonophobia coming in, but also a slight increase in sensitivity. I'm not sure if this higher level of sensitivity developed because I wasn't using earplugs a lot during the first three months of my H, or because I was using earplugs a lot in the past two. It's all very confusing.

But I'm going to try plugging less, see if I can strike a balance.

 

[Lex]

So I decided to plug less yesterday and today, and I noticed something. Some soft, sudden high-pitched sounds that cause a bit of pain or startle me when I wear earplugs are less painful or less startling when I don't wear earplugs. Why is that so? Is it because when I don't wear earplugs, the background noise lessens the shift in frequency?

But of course, this doesn't mean I'll go plug-less. Some places are either too loud or have too many unexpected noises for me to go unprotected.

 

[VRZ78]

Where did you plug ? I'd say that for you there is not really a need to use earplug at your office or at the cafeteria (maybe if it has loud music or those awfully coffee machine with insane pressure noises)

 

[Lex]

Where did you plug ?

More like, where did I not plug? But for experiment's sake, I took off my plugs when I got to the office yesterday and today. I work as a writer at a software company, and lucky for me, the office isn't noisy. But because it has an open office layout, I can hear it when someone slams their cabinet close, or drops their keys on their desk, throws coins across their table, or puts down their cup a little too loudly. These sounds normally don't cause me pain, more like annoyance and if I'm deep in thought, also surprise (though on really bad days like when my sinuses are congested, they can be a tad painful and leave my ears feeling bruised). But when I removed the plugs, the impact of these sounds is less than the impact they would have if I had plugs on. I guess it helps that the AC system provides a layer of white noise, so it's not like I'm in total silence when someone suddenly coughs.

 

[Alessandro Rossi]

Indeed this is a real dilemma for us with hyperacusis... I struggle to find the right balance, and sometimes I think it doesn't exist!
I'm worried about overprotecting, but also in these days I feel a lot of noises are worsening my hyperacusis, so maybe I should.

Are there suggested earmuffs for our condition, or a simple building site one will do the work? I usually wear plugs but sometimes takes too long to insert.

 

[Juan]

More like, where did I not plug? But for experiment's sake, I took off my plugs when I got to the office yesterday and today. I work as a writer at a software company, and lucky for me, the office isn't noisy. But because it has an open office layout, I can hear it when someone slams their cabinet close, or drops their keys on their desk, throws coins across their table, or puts down their cup a little too loudly. These sounds normally don't cause me pain, more like annoyance and if I'm deep in thought, also surprise (though on really bad days like when my sinuses are congested, they can be a tad painful and leave my ears feeling bruised). But when I removed the plugs, the impact of these sounds is less than the impact they would have if I had plugs on. I guess it helps that the AC system provides a layer of white noise, so it's not like I'm in total silence when someone suddenly coughs.

Hey Lex! How are you doing nowadays?

 

[xyz]

Indeed this is a real dilemma for us with hyperacusis... I struggle to find the right balance, and sometimes I think it doesn't exist!
I'm worried about overprotecting, but also in these days I feel a lot of noises are worsening my hyperacusis, so maybe I should.

Are there suggested earmuffs for our condition, or a simple building site one will do the work? I usually wear plugs but sometimes takes too long to insert.

In terms of protection, the best ones I think are the 3M Peltor X5A. You look like Mickey Mouse with them on, but I don't mind that.

 

[TnH]

Indeed this is a real dilemma for us with hyperacusis... I struggle to find the right balance, and sometimes I think it doesn't exist!
I'm worried about overprotecting, but also in these days I feel a lot of noises are worsening my hyperacusis, so maybe I should.

Are there suggested earmuffs for our condition, or a simple building site one will do the work? I usually wear plugs but sometimes takes too long to insert.

There is no 50/50 balance. Tailor your response to the situation & how your ears feel. Also its near impossible to know exactly when to protect and when not to. Sound is SOO unpredictable. Just keep doing your best.