Hi everyone,
First of all, I am sorry for some upcoming grammatical & orthographic mistakes, English is not my first language (greetings from France). Secondly I want to thank this community, reading everyone's posts (especially the success stories) was a big help when I was in the pit of depression.
I have had tinnitus since 2006 after attending my first (and only one) concert of my life (& maybe some loud music played on earbuds from my teenage years). For 14 years my tinnitus (only in one ear) was very mild (rate 0.1/10 on the level of nuisance). I couldn't hear it on my daily activity (not habituation), only when I had to lay down my "bad ear" on a pillow. I used masking to sleep or a fan (like before, I always liked ASMR to fall asleep or relaxing anyway, so nothing abnormal for me), life was good!
I tried to protect my hearing as much at possible (no loud music, no concert, stay away from loud events: weddings...), of course I had some minors setbacks but it stay approximately at the same level for all this years.
Then, last October I went on Holiday in Myanmar and at the end of the trip for the last place I had to take an outboard boat for 3 days straight which was very loud (it's the only way to visit the place, so maybe 3/4 hours per day). I did put my fingers in my ears from time to time but did not put earplugs (a shame because I had some & did put them on others occasions during the trip: in a loud train for example). However I have to say that I did not notice any increase in my tinnitus, loss of hearing or anything after the trip.
Fast forward to the end of last January, 24 hours after a gaming session with a headset (which was maybe a bit loud than usual I can recall) I developed a massive tinnitus in both ears & some sudden hearing loss along with hyperacusis. The level of nuisance went from 0.1/10 to 10/10. It was awful & I end up in the Hospital to get something to calm down my nerves & get some sleep. At some point I was so in pain that my entire body was in shock. Now I'm better (thanks to medication & therapy & time) but it still hard to cope with the loss of hearing & quality of life (I can't sleep with my wife & I'm off work since 4 months).
I'm trying to figure what happen. I already went to an ENT for my hearing problems (lost of my time if you ask me) & because of some other medical condition (I'm celiac) & other sudden symptoms (loss of motor control/sensitivity in my arms, legs, pins and needles in my hands) I'm followed by a neurologist to find out what is happening to me (she thinks maybe there is something that can explain the hearings problems because of the auto-immune background but I doubt it).
But here is what I think:
My new tinnitus, hyperacusis & hearing loss are noise induced and has been start by the long 3 days offshore boat trip in October. It is the only loud event I can recall since 10 years and my usage of headset was pretty careful most of the time so I doubt it's that. I know damage can be cumulative, so I think that the gaming session in January (much louder than usual: it was a 3 hours custom party of Warcraft 3 Reforged with Heavy Metal music) was the straw that breaks the camel's back. If I did not take that trip (or use protection during it), I would have been fine today (even with the last gaming session with headset).
This condition sucks, really... I have been careful 14 years and all it take is one mistake. These boat trip was loud but not painfully loud. Ours ears are just so damn stupid, on the contrary of other body parts: if you go too close from the fire you hurt your skin but if you listen to something very loud you will not bleed or feel pain immediately. You have to rupture your eardrums to feel something immediately.
It's insane... isn't it ?
First of all, I am sorry for some upcoming grammatical & orthographic mistakes, English is not my first language (greetings from France). Secondly I want to thank this community, reading everyone's posts (especially the success stories) was a big help when I was in the pit of depression.
I have had tinnitus since 2006 after attending my first (and only one) concert of my life (& maybe some loud music played on earbuds from my teenage years). For 14 years my tinnitus (only in one ear) was very mild (rate 0.1/10 on the level of nuisance). I couldn't hear it on my daily activity (not habituation), only when I had to lay down my "bad ear" on a pillow. I used masking to sleep or a fan (like before, I always liked ASMR to fall asleep or relaxing anyway, so nothing abnormal for me), life was good!
I tried to protect my hearing as much at possible (no loud music, no concert, stay away from loud events: weddings...), of course I had some minors setbacks but it stay approximately at the same level for all this years.
Then, last October I went on Holiday in Myanmar and at the end of the trip for the last place I had to take an outboard boat for 3 days straight which was very loud (it's the only way to visit the place, so maybe 3/4 hours per day). I did put my fingers in my ears from time to time but did not put earplugs (a shame because I had some & did put them on others occasions during the trip: in a loud train for example). However I have to say that I did not notice any increase in my tinnitus, loss of hearing or anything after the trip.
Fast forward to the end of last January, 24 hours after a gaming session with a headset (which was maybe a bit loud than usual I can recall) I developed a massive tinnitus in both ears & some sudden hearing loss along with hyperacusis. The level of nuisance went from 0.1/10 to 10/10. It was awful & I end up in the Hospital to get something to calm down my nerves & get some sleep. At some point I was so in pain that my entire body was in shock. Now I'm better (thanks to medication & therapy & time) but it still hard to cope with the loss of hearing & quality of life (I can't sleep with my wife & I'm off work since 4 months).
I'm trying to figure what happen. I already went to an ENT for my hearing problems (lost of my time if you ask me) & because of some other medical condition (I'm celiac) & other sudden symptoms (loss of motor control/sensitivity in my arms, legs, pins and needles in my hands) I'm followed by a neurologist to find out what is happening to me (she thinks maybe there is something that can explain the hearings problems because of the auto-immune background but I doubt it).
But here is what I think:
My new tinnitus, hyperacusis & hearing loss are noise induced and has been start by the long 3 days offshore boat trip in October. It is the only loud event I can recall since 10 years and my usage of headset was pretty careful most of the time so I doubt it's that. I know damage can be cumulative, so I think that the gaming session in January (much louder than usual: it was a 3 hours custom party of Warcraft 3 Reforged with Heavy Metal music) was the straw that breaks the camel's back. If I did not take that trip (or use protection during it), I would have been fine today (even with the last gaming session with headset).
This condition sucks, really... I have been careful 14 years and all it take is one mistake. These boat trip was loud but not painfully loud. Ours ears are just so damn stupid, on the contrary of other body parts: if you go too close from the fire you hurt your skin but if you listen to something very loud you will not bleed or feel pain immediately. You have to rupture your eardrums to feel something immediately.
It's insane... isn't it ?
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