Unprotected Hearing While Shooting

[Mic Mike]

I know, I'm an idiot, I'm fucking stupid. I just never realized how retarded I truly was until I chose to shoot a .44 magnum without ear plugs. I thought I would be fine because I've endured shotgun blasts and unloading an AK-47, but I suppose I ran my luck short.

I've recovered from many things, but it's been days and I don't see this going away. I don't need to see a doctor to know what I've done to myself, the noise is the high frequency kind, it doesn't stop. It's only in my right ear, my left experienced no damage at all, but my right, I've had to rebalance my headphones 20 points to be equal to the other so I know how much I've lost. It also has begun to fluctuate between to tones but they're still high pitched. It gets piercing when lying in bed, and god forbid that I lay on my right ear.

I've already cried repeatedly, eyed up my gun considering suicide, at the moment I'm on one of those "good days" you guys talk about. In the last couple days I read plenty of material, watched videos, found myself repeatedly being sent here, so I might as well join because the other online community I sought comfort from wasn't very reliable except a few people who I believe are users here anyway.

I find myself getting migraines more, but I distract myself with my A/C, I watch youtube videos I've relied on for background noise before, and I listen to music in bed such as

but I don't recommend every song.

It's definitely not as bad as what others have, I've read many of your stories for comfort and I know I'm practically in the kiddie pool by comparison, but still, it's so new to me, and I'm learning how to deal with it.

Oh well, as someone said, life is about dealing with it and moving forward with what we have. You can belittle, I've made a terrible mistake, I deserve this, but my friends and family don't deserve to see me blow my head off because I've already put them through so much. When I'm with them I don't hear it at all, even with noise cancelling headphones and we play online, I seem to forget all about it. I don't want to hurt them anymore.

I'm glad a community like this exists, even though I brought this upon myself when many of you didn't have a choice, so I know I'm not going to be on the same level.

 

[Aussie Lea]

even though I brought this upon myself when many of you didn't have a choice, so I know I'm not going to be on the same level.

Most people get tinnitus from blasting their ears with music, going to loud gigs/clubs or other kind of continued or sudden noise exposure. It's about the same what you did here. What matters is that we're now all in the same place... living this nightmare!

 

[Mic Mike]

Most people get tinnitus from blasting their ears with music, going to loud gigs/clubs or other kind of continued or sudden noise exposure. It's about the same what you did here. What matters is that we're now all in the same place... living this nightmare!

I guess many of us did make stupid mistakes but I should've known, I shouldn't have done it. It's no one's fault but my own and I have to live with it, because my life still has a big impact on others including my parents so I can't shoot myself unless it gets louder. It's not as bad as what others have, but it's entirely reliant on the background noise from what I've gathered so it makes no difference. It might not sound right but I'm glad I can at least suffer with other people, the human mind doesn't ever like to be alone in anything. Thank you.

 

[Aaron123]

@Mic Mike

If you did this 5 days ago, call an ENT as soon as possible and explain what you did. Make it clear that it was a 44 Magnum with no ear plugs. Make it clear there is significant hearing loss. This is a classic acoustic trauma. The standard course of treatment is a strong course of prednisone or similar. In your case, they may want to inject it through the ear drum. (Note: this is the standard course of action even though the literature is mixed. Somewhere around half to 2/3 of cases resolve naturally with at least some recovery of hearing. Nonetheless, unless you are allergic or something, this is generally considered a "It can't hurt so let's give it a try" option. Though we know that things that "can't hurt" sometimes do.)

I would call until I got someone who could see me today - or tomorrow at the latest. If I couldn't do that, I would go to the ER. Time is of the essence. Five days is already pushing it.

 

[Alue]

Ouch. I wouldn't say seeing a doctor is useless. You should at least try prednisone ASAP. It may not help, but it is one of the few things that can possibly help in the early stages.

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum @Mic Mike. I agree with others on the prednisone treatment. Do it ASAP.

In the battle with T, we need to use the technique of passive resistance, meaning not out-right fighting it or confronting it with extreme emotions, such as anger, anxiety, depression, even suicide ideations. Yes, at the beginning nothing can stop the extreme emotions much even though we know they are not good for T. However, the body is a wonderful healing machine. As long as we set on some good proven strategies, such as CBT, mindfulness meditation, living life and pursuing goals & hobbies, then time is on our side. The body will slowly harden to the T sensation over time and our perception of the T stimulus will moderate and improve. So we need time to get better. If you read the success stories, you will know Time is a common element of success. No body is a super human. Try to use distractions to get the brain off from monitoring T. If you already have time you don't hear your T, consider it a positive. We need to stay positive in order to hasten the recovery. In the mean time, when T really spikes, try to use masking to help yourself. If you haven't done masking yet, here are some suggestions. Take care & God bless.

1) Mask at bed time so you can sleep better. Find whatever sounds/music that are soothing to you. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for this, or a computer with speakers.

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune, or use smart phone. You can also order some nature sounds via 'itune' to play on your PC.

3) If you have computer and speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: http://mynoise.net/

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

[Foncky]

It's really important so I'll write it too : you have to try Prednisone asap.

You'll think about the rest later.

 

[Bobby B]

Yes get the steroids and very important - you need to protect you ears from noise During the next 6 months - not just gun level noise but regular loud noises as any normal loud noise ( street, restaurants ) can make it much worse now that you ears are still damaged

 

[Mic Mike]

Oh god no one told me there was potentially treatmentjust to man up and accept it. Fuck me, I even looked up anything available and found people having zero success at the doctors, if anything just making it worse. I'm texting from work where I load trucks and there's a constant buzzer going off on the speakers, I need to get the fuck out of here. I need to get on disability or something, I need to find a doctor inthe UPS health plan. I don't know if I can even get disability, son of a bitch.

 

[bill 112]

Speaking from experience anytime I've had an acoustic incident worsening my T and H no doctor here would give me steroids because I had no hearing loss.When I got H from a noise exposure I ran from doc to every ENT begging for steroids and not one would give it to me,not one!If your experiencing a hearing loss get to your doc asap and demand steroids.They probably won't do anything as I believe they are effective in SSHL but I'd still try it,let us know how things go.

 

[Alue]

Oh god no one told me there was potentially treatmentjust to man up and accept it. Fuck me, I even looked up anything available and found people having zero success at the doctors, if anything just making it worse. I'm texting from work where I load trucks and there's a constant buzzer going off on the speakers, I need to get the fuck out of here. I need to get on disability or something, I need to find a doctor inthe UPS health plan. I don't know if I can even get disability, son of a bitch.

I doubt you'll be able to get on disability, but do see a doctor and give prednisone a shot. Wear hearing protection while around loud noises and try to stay calm.

 

[bill 112]

My history of trying to get steroids in Ireland
-Got T from unknown cause,refused steroids.
-A year later went to my mates gig with hearing protection,made my T worse and was refused steroids yet again.
-Two years later high pitch noise bursts through my tv,instant T increase and H.Refused steroids yet again.
-Two years later my hearing suddenly drops with worsening of T and H,begged and pleaded for steroids and yes you guessed it refused again.

If I go deaf tonight I'm not even bothering going to look for steroids,like you I'll have to just accept whatever happens because apparently steroids are gold dust in this country.

 

[Foncky]

I'm lucky, even my GP understands that steroids are the only thing to try quickly after a big noise trauma. Not a miracle though.

Protect your ears at work Mic. Get 3M/Peltor earmuffs for instance. Or just cheap 3M 1100 foam ear plugs.

 

[Bobby B]

Yea faking an audiogram result just to get the steroids shouldn't be too hard though

 

[bill 112]

I did in 2014 Bobby,but my DPOAEs were perfect so they refused as yet again there was no hearing loss as far as they could see.

 

[Mic Mike]

I'm reading mixed responses about these steroid injections and I've gotten a recommendation about hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
I don't know anything about either of these, if I can be treated now I need to do it fast but I don't want to end up worse than now and although I have a fair health plan I don't want to go into debt over nothing.
I'm definitely going to get an ear plug for work though, that constant high pitched buzzing, that can't be good for me.

 

[Mic Mike]

The ringing itself is starting to fade, but what worries me is I've read that the same thing has happened to many of you before it inexplicably peaked and stayed that way. I will bring an ear plug with me at all times, all things considered I'm unbelievably lucky and need to be thankful for the little damage I did with my own stupidity.

I want to use my headphones again, I listened to some music with my left ear at 50 volume and the tinnitus right ear at 10 volume but even that made me worried. I'm also worried about these treatments, they seem too good to be true and money isn't something I can throw away right now.

 

[Sebastians]

One good advice: don't use headphones for a couple of months at least. It's just gonna push your hearing over the edge right now

 

[Mic Mike]

One good advice: don't use headphones for a couple of months at least. It's just gonna push your hearing over the edge right now[/QUOTE
Not even calm music? Is there a way to know if its doing harm, like ear pain? I saw that some people get cues when they hear others talking too loud. Unfortunately my friends get loud and jovial a lot but they never sounded too loud

 

[Mic Mike]

Thought I edited the quote tag off the rest of my post.

I mean, the ringing IS only in one ear, reading about headphones, I might switch to mono audio and only listen in the ok ear. I DO wear the earplug at work considering how loud that place is.

But the problem is my hobby is recording entertaining videos with friends and editing them, and I had a plan for tomorrow for a while and it's something my friend also looks forward to a lot. The day after the gunshots, we had a session for 3 hours, that probably wasn't good.

I mean, how much can adjusting the volume assist? I have been using headphones, but at extremely low volume in the right ear. Just enough to pick something up but barely hear it.

 

[Zorro!]

Like Sebastians said lose the headphones. Give your ears a break. Go to the doc, get checked out, get some prednisone (if you're not allergic to it) and learn some relaxation techniques. We all have regrets about stupid stuff we did in our past. Don't beat yourself up over it.

 

[Bobby B]

Do not expose your ears to loud sound - more than 60 db - it can make it worse than the day right after the shooting.

There is more than just T - painful permanent hyperacusis is what can come on top of that and some people killed themselves over this.

Imagine you have a broken leg and decide to go for a walk anyway - it can break bones and tissues even further and make it much harder to heal.

Ears can heal but it takes a very long time - its a 6 months to 1 year project, be patient and find another hobby for the time being.

 

[AuggieDoggy]

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a healthcare provider of 25 years with a history of tinnitus. It has been relatively low grade, but caused primarily by exposure to shipyard noise in the late 1970's, and unprotected exposure to gunfire.

Now, having moderate major depression, I take Wellbutrin occasionally. Anyone complaining that Wellbutrin causes or intensifies tinnitus is "spot on". Healthcare providers who diminish, discount or dismiss Wellbutrin as a cause of or intensifying tinnitus are simply wrong. They tend to be providers with little or no experience with it, do not suffer from it, and some consider it as imaginary or auditory hallucination.

Bottom line: Wellbutrin causes and intensifies tinnitus. Rest assured, you really are experiencing problems with Wellbutrin. You aren't imagining anything.

Hope this helps. Dr. H

 

[Bobby B]

Sorry to hear you got T'ed on unprotected shooting.
What kind of firearms was it and in what context ? and why unprotected ?
Didn't ears hurt while shooting as an indication that its too loud ?

Sorry for all the questions but a few people into in firearms are on this thread - not much interest in Wellburtin though

 

[JAJ]

Real guns! Air guns! Grease guns! I remember when I first experienced the intermittent high pitched "singing" in both ears, (at 56) I thought: "Well, I earned this". When I was a kid, I worked with my father at his service station. I changed tires on the old fashioned (very loud) tire machines. I used very loud grease guns and power wrenches in the closed bay, underneath cars on the lifts, with no ear protection. At night, I would shoot handguns with him in the bay...We'd shoot down the length of the echo-y garage, into these big metal "bullet catchers". We shot 22's, 38's and 44's. Who knew back then? Then as I got older, it was rock concerts! I remember driving home from concerts with my boyfriend, and we'd both be deaf! It was scary but it passed, and by the next day we were fine. (GREAT concert, man!!....LOL!) But NO ONE back in the 60's and 70's talked about ear protection! Never! So...it was bound to catch up. I mean, it's so unnatural to expose the ears to such loud noises, but in America...loud is natural! Guns and railroads and manufacturing and loud music and TNT blasting, power tools and war....all natural to us. It was interesting to read the post from the young man from Thailand, who mentioned that few Thai's have tinnitus. I imagine that it's a much quieter culture than in the U.S..? I dont' know.

With the onset of Meniere's, I lost most of the hearing in my right ear, and my tinnitus changed from "shrill singing" in both ears, to a very loud white noise with fuzzy electrical sounds in it in just my right ear, that fluctuates from loud to deafening, throughout the day. It's going to be a gradual road back. I went to my ENT for my inner ear steroid injection for Meniere's related vertigo yesterday. (It has improved the vertigo over the past several months, but it hasn't improved my hearing or tinnitus.). But he did explain that hearing aids with anti-tinnitus programs were very good for people with hearing loss who also had tinnitus. He explained that brain needs/wants to hear sound. That sound is good for the ear and brain, where deafness and tinnitus coexist; That introducing sound will ultimately cause protein synthesis at the cellular level and actually make changes at the level of gene expression that eventually lead to the brain's changed perception of the tinnitus. The way I understood it, the tinnitus is the brain's substitution for the sound that it needs to hear, but is no longer coming in....It needs the sound so much that it has to manufacture it's own. So now....the therapy is to give it noise to work with. (I'm no scientist....just doing the best I can to paraphrase the ENT-speak! LOL!).

But he DID discuss with me, the fact that if I were a "sudden deafness" patient...or post ear trauma, that he'd be administering the steroid shots to me weekly, instead of monthly because of the huge success he's had with sudden deafness.

So for Mic Mike: We're LUCKY in the our country that physicians are so FREE with the steroids! I can't believe how much trouble these people are having in the UK! That sounds horrible! Why is that? If I could treat my recent onset trauma-related tinnitus with a few shots of a steroid, I'd run, not walk, to the ENT, and pay any price. Tell him it just happened....The thing is, it really can't hurt. It's not like taking a systemic drug...The steroid stays right in your inner ear and is absorbed by those tissues. If you 're near Chicagoland, I can give you some doctors names.

The Best of Luck to Everyone!

 

[Genevieve]

My history of trying to get steroids in Ireland
-Got T from unknown cause,refused steroids.
-A year later went to my mates gig with hearing protection,made my T worse and was refused steroids yet again.
-Two years later high pitch noise bursts through my tv,instant T increase and H.Refused steroids yet again.
-Two years later my hearing suddenly drops with worsening of T and H,begged and pleaded for steroids and yes you guessed it refused again.

If I go deaf tonight I'm not even bothering going to look for steroids,like you I'll have to just accept whatever happens because apparently steroids are gold dust in this country.

@bill 112 Your story is horrible! Why did they refuse you steroids?

 

[bill 112]

@bill 112 Your story is horrible! Why did they refuse you steroids?

I know,how I'm not dead yet is beyond me

I don't know why they did,I begged and begged but because I had no hearing loss I was refused over and over again.Apparently it was too risky for their jobs to give me steroids for"no reason"and something happen to me.If it was found out that I demanded steroids and they gave in it would essentially mean the patient was playing the doctor which in turn could get them in hot water.I never stood a chance with these beasts from the get go

 

[truesilence]

I know,how I'm not dead yet is beyond me

I don't know why they did,I begged and begged but because I had no hearing loss I was refused over and over again.Apparently it was too risky for their jobs to give me steroids for"no reason"and something happen to me.If it was found out that I demanded steroids and they gave in it would essentially mean the patient was playing the doctor which in turn could get them in hot water.I never stood a chance with these beasts from the get go

I had exactly the same problem doctor and neurologist were like ' NO!' What's the big deal? Why is it a problem in the UK?

 

[bill 112]

I had exactly the same problem doctor and neurologist were like ' NO!' What's the big deal? Why is it a problem in the UK?

I have no idea Silence I honestly don't.You'd think we were asking for a juicy bag of heroin by the way they go on!Funny thing is I'd say it's easier to get heroin than steroids in this wonderful country.

 

[Houstontx]

I got T recently on April 3.2017 from going to the gun range . I had ear plugs but I'm guessing my left ear wasn't plugged In right.. I got muffled and distorted hearing. 3 days later I went to ENT and found out I had moderate hearing loss in the high Frequency. So he said my option was to get steroid shot (dexamethasone) to the ear drum . Because I was still in the window to get it and had a 50/50 chance of recovering hearing. So I did it. Which of now. I can hear just like I do in my good ear. But the T is still there.. it's a mild T which I can easily mask. Sometimes I don't notice it unless in a quiet place. My question is will my T still manage to go away??? I'm only 27 going on my 5th or 6th week of my T. I had no damage to the ear drum or had no drainage. Just the T being there