Was Quitting My Job at the Food Factory Because of the Noise the Right Choice?

[nighost]

Hello everyone, and thanks to the founders of the forum.

I decided to quit my job at the food factory because of the noise.

I wondered afterwards whether that was an unnecessary overreaction, or is it possible that my own tinnitus could develop even worse from this because of work, or could that even go in a better direction after quitting?

I have had my tinnitus since about 2018 and the most likely cause was acoustic trauma or Temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

The sound resembles the static noise of a old CRT TV and is continuous.

Before, it didn't bother me terribly, but now, over time, it has progressed to the level of not being able to enjoy tv series as before because it spoils the concentration at times.

When I finish my work I have been working there for seven months.

Prior to this job, I worked at a recycling center for three months to six hours a day, when I always had to occasionally try vacuum cleaners and blenders during the day.

That was time when I first noticed an increase in tinnitus.

I also go clubbing fairly often, but ever since the tinnitus started I have taken steps to protect my ears with.

Unfortunately, in many places the bass kicks so hard that I feel the vibration all the way to my head and I worry wearing ear plugs isn't enough.

So I'm wondering that is the ear plugs even helping good enough, and is this bigger threat to increase my tinnitus than my work.

in my work there is noise between 70, 80 or 85-87 decibels, depending on which production line I have to get during the day.

Most of the sounds are low frequency and 87 decibels come from a cutter that cuts evenly every 5 minutes.

So at worst some days, I have to be prone to 85 decibels for eight hours excluding breaks.

When I started work I didn't use hearing protection for the first three weeks, but there were fewer days a week when I was exposed to that 85 decibels full day.

Now, I always wear foam plugs and try to use ear-muffs and plugs at the same time if the noise exceeds 85 decibels.

"I wish I could get my tinnitus back down to a level where I could enjoy watching TV.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[linearb]

85-87 decibels, with earplugs, is certainly fine for most people without existing damage. Over a period of years, this may still be sufficient to cause some amount of hearing loss; that's a complex question and might boil down to individual susceptibility. If you've been doing this work without hearing protection, that's definitely dangerous.

Clubs can be much louder; there are also clubs which actually are not louder than ~85dB, so that's hard to pin down.

You have a history of recreational and occupational noise exposure and are now experiencing a bothersome increase in your tinnitus. I think the best thing to do is to rest your ears as much as possible (but still getting lots of exposure to different kinds of sounds, just at reasonable volumes), and try to eat/sleep well, meditate or do yoga, exercise, etc and basically give yourself the best shot of getting your body to heal as much as possible, and your nervous system plasticize these changes in the least traumatic way possible.

So, no, I personally don't think quitting your job was a dumb thing to do, provided you are able to provide for yourself through other means.

I wish I could get my tinnitus back down to a level where I could enjoy watching TV.

I hope that you are able to, as well. But, ruminating on thoughts like this amounts to wanting things to be not as they are; my experience is that consciously engaging with that kind of thinking just increased my anxiety level over time, whereas consciously making an effort to let go of and take a step back from thoughts like that and just exist in the current moment, has decreased my anxiety level over time.

If you do have TMJ and it is not treated, treating those symptoms may reduce the severity of your ear symptoms. Conversely, if you do not address clenching/grinding, it can wear down your discs and potentially eventually compress or even damage nerve structures.

I sleep with a bite guard that cost me $1700 :-/

 

[Bartoli]

Hello everyone, and thanks to the founders of the forum.

I decided to quit my job at the food factory because of the noise.

I wondered afterwards whether that was an unnecessary overreaction, or is it possible that my own tinnitus could develop even worse from this because of work, or could that even go in a better direction after quitting?

I have had my tinnitus since about 2018 and the most likely cause was acoustic trauma or Temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

The sound resembles the static noise of a old CRT TV and is continuous.

Before, it didn't bother me terribly, but now, over time, it has progressed to the level of not being able to enjoy tv series as before because it spoils the concentration at times.

When I finish my work I have been working there for seven months.

Prior to this job, I worked at a recycling center for three months to six hours a day, when I always had to occasionally try vacuum cleaners and blenders during the day.

That was time when I first noticed an increase in tinnitus.

I also go clubbing fairly often, but ever since the tinnitus started I have taken steps to protect my ears with.

Unfortunately, in many places the bass kicks so hard that I feel the vibration all the way to my head and I worry wearing ear plugs isn't enough.

So I'm wondering that is the ear plugs even helping good enough, and is this bigger threat to increase my tinnitus than my work.

in my work there is noise between 70, 80 or 85-87 decibels, depending on which production line I have to get during the day.

Most of the sounds are low frequency and 87 decibels come from a cutter that cuts evenly every 5 minutes.

So at worst some days, I have to be prone to 85 decibels for eight hours excluding breaks.

When I started work I didn't use hearing protection for the first three weeks, but there were fewer days a week when I was exposed to that 85 decibels full day.

Now, I always wear foam plugs and try to use ear-muffs and plugs at the same time if the noise exceeds 85 decibels.

"I wish I could get my tinnitus back down to a level where I could enjoy watching TV.

What are your thoughts on this?

Depending on the production line, you're definitely in the "danger zone" around the cutter at 87dB. But... (And there are a few buts...)

How did you measure the dB level? Was it on your phone? These readings can be off. In this case it's better to get a reading with a properly calibrated dB meter (or some dB apps on some iPhones actually are pretty accurate because the apps are calibrated to the mic used in those phones.) It should give you some idea at least, but every 3dB increase halves your exposure time and since you're right there are 87dB a couple of dB up or down could make a difference.
Then again, the 'safe level' of 85dB for 8 hrs is a guideline where the majority of people don't seem to experience measurable hearing loss over years of exposure, so it's more of an empirically established safe level. It doesn't account for spectral characteristics of the noise either.

I know I couldn't do 85dB...
Your experience too might vary depending on susceptibility. You're wise to be protecting yourself. The 85dB is meant to be continuous exposure. I understand the cutter only kicks in every once in a while, so the average exposure for you may be lower.

In the end, if your ears are acting up, it's wise to listen to them and adjust accordingly. Sometimes, worsenings of tinnitus can happen without a reason (or because of past noise exposure catching up), but in your case you have a history of noise exposure so I would take it easy for a while and see if it gets better. All the best.

 

[Sash]

I would definitely stay away from indoor clubs though I guess its a blessing in disguise for tinnitus suffers that clubs will not open for several months yet. I have learnt the hard way as mine has got progressively worse over two years mainly due to exposure loud noise and even when I did take all precautions and be sensible.

Yes probably did the right thing to quit as blenders are horrible for the ears.

 

[jasonbourne]

I don't know exactly what you're trying to say. At 87 decibels if you use earplugs and good quality over ear muffs you could spend 100 years in that factory and be fine. Even muffs alone would do the job.

 

[Autumnly]

At 87 decibels if you use earplugs and good quality over ear muffs you could spend 100 years in that factory and be fine. Even muffs alone would do the job.

That's not the case for everyone with tinnitus. Edit: Just wanted to add that it's obviously important not to needlessly scare people but I'd say, if possible and financially feasible, it's a reasonable decision to work in a quieter environment as someone with tinnitus.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Here is an actual, direct answer to OP's question

I tried the 'laissez faire' approach for that first period, where I didn't let myself be bothered by most sounds, except for 80db+ (when I started plugging the ears) and still went out and did all my old activities, but that ended up costing me dearly. I had a 'spike' (if it can still be called that) that hasn't gone away.

At 87 decibels if you use earplugs and good quality over ear muffs you could spend 100 years in that factory and be fine.

Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others.
Fyodor Dostoevsky

Unfortunately

Reality denied comes back to haunt.

@jasonbourne You are talking about the guidelines for the healthy people. There hasn't been a study of tinnitus sufferers. (If your "words of wisdom" above were based on a study of tinnitus sufferers, please provide a link.) There is a lot of evidence (e.g., multiple posts on this forum, the ones I am quoting below are just the tip of the iceberg) that points to many tinnitus sufferers' ears being compromised, so that the noises that the healthy people won't even notice could cause serious damage.

@nighost Once you check out the testimonies below, you will know that you did the right thing.

Got a spike myself from seeing a movie with earplugs, and then I later even switched to safety earmuffs. It's yet to settle or fade. I won't be going to see one anytime soon again if ever, if that's all it'll take. If you do ever see one, I think it's best to go with earmuffs rather than earplugs, no matter how "silly" it may look to others.

I also got told no ear plugs during normal day sounds by my ENT. He said walking next to traffic and in trains is fine. So I followed his advice. My tinnitues spiked majorly and still hasnt gone down four months later. They then realised my ears were more sensitive then they realized and decided on a process to gradually ween me off them. They screwed big time and soon realized the damage they had done because i became more panicked, more anxious, protecting more and now its a harder time to ween me off them.

Which one sounds worse - years spent being exposed to noise at a factory or a kid stomping on an inflated bag?

So after my last permanent worsening from an idiot cranking my car speaker to the maximum. I was walking around the city with my friend with no plugs in and a kid stomped on and popped an inflated bag approx 2m behind me, it caught me off guard but I remained calm and told myself it was nothing to worry about as I had no pain and felt not muffeling of my hearing. I woke up two days later and my tinnitus has permanently increased again. What is happening to me, why is it constantly worsening like this. I feel nothing anymore and Ive basically begin to disassociate as I just can't mentally comprehend what is happening, this is like living in a literal nightmare.

My tinnitus faded a lot suddenly almost 3 years ago. I had total remission of some trebly sounds in my head. It became only audible in quiet rooms.

Now it's back in full force cause Im stupid. Some ENT told me ear plugs are safe. Wrong! Tinnitus is with me again.

I didn't think listening to headphones would affect my ears since I never exceeded 25% of max volume (usually stayed between 10%-15%). I would use them at the gym to help mask my T and they offered some protection against loud noises at the gym. After about 3 months my T was so bothersome and I couldn't pinpoint the cause since I also work with kids and it can get loud at times. I stopped using the headphones and now use earplugs at the gym and the tinnitus did subside. I wouldn't recommend using headphones for more than 20 mins a day and no more than 3 times a week. I used to be at the gym for 2 hours 4-5 times a week so it took a toll on my ears.

I was told not to wear hearing protection for normal everyday situations but look where it's got me. I had my plugs in my pocket too. Getting on with a normal life hasn't helped for me.

I tried to wear some ear plugs while I was at the gym because I was afraid the clashing of the dumb bells was going to hurt my ears.

However, after working out twice I now have these two low frequency tones that feel like they are fighting over who should be playing every waking second. I can't quite figure out their pitches because they keep tag teaming, but it's much lower than my regular tinnitus.

I'm kind of distressed because I feel like I can never workout again for fear of making my tinnitus worse. What should I do?

While I agree some people here go overboard with hearing protection, this increase in noise sensitivity after wearing hearing protection is only a temporary one. It is not the same thing as the brain turning up the auditory gain when there is a permanent loss in hearing.

With regards to noise exposure that isn't dangerous to most people, I developed a new tone in my right ear after a noise exposure at work back in October. I spent about half an hour in an area that I would estimate was at most 90db, but it was probably less than that. I had deeply inserted large foam earplugs at the time, but apparently that was not enough protection. That tone has not gone away, and it's not some psychosomatic spike. Spikes in volume are somewhat relative in my opinion, they can be attributed to stress, lack of sleep, noise exposure, diet, etc., but completely new tones that do not go away are something different.

What is safe for you may not be safe for me. And the fact is there has been no good study done assessing the vulnerability of already damaged auditory systems. The gold standard for dangerous noise levels is based on old data from OSHA where they looked for permanent threshold shifts of 10db or more at 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hz. As we know now, you can have fairly significant auditory damage without having a permanent threshold shift in those three ranges. There is also a lot of industry push-back when OSHA tries to make safety guidelines more strict (I haven't seen this with noise levels, but I have seen it with chemical safety guidelines). Moreover, it's very likely that some people are more genetically predisposed to hearing damage than others.

What I'm getting at here is I agree with you that some people really do go overboard with hearing protection, and obsessing about noise is not healthy, but it irritates me when people adopt this attitude of "well it works for me therefore it must work for you" or "it's safe for me therefore it's safe for you". No one can say that.

the noise has actually got worse - a lot worse just lately as I've been exposed to a noisy office environment. Normal for everyone else but too noisy for my ears. I now have a noise like a jet engine, a rushing wind with a high-pitched whine in it.

Yeah. I am going through the same thing. Got my T to improve and go back to mild and went to a restaurant I have eaten safely at twice post T and have had the loudest spike that has, after a week, not improved at all. And my H got worse too.

When people speak of habituation, I'm pretty sure they refer to what I was experiencing when my tinnitus was a lot less louder. It was easy to tune out which is why I never took it seriously until it was too late. What I have now is impossible to ignore completely.

It lead to stress and anxiety which have destroyed my sleeping. Without any medication I get maybe an hour of unrefreshing sleep. I take ambien which gives me 4 at most which is my new normal now. Memory and cognitive abilities have fallen off a cliff. I suggest you drop concerts, headphones, and anything else involving loud sounds. You don't not want to reach this state ever. Take care.

Now situation is devastating and so strange: 12 days ago dishes near me crashed on the floor and a strange spike started. It wasn't noticeable during the day, during first hours. Then hearing became a bit muffled. Not a big deal anyway.

Problem is the evening and the night. An eletric sound from my ear, from my head... I can't sleep. If I try to cover my ears.. I don't hear the tinnitus! But when I put off my hands it starts again.

Was a difficult first few months, but i protected my hearing a lot (avoiding loud places, wearing custom -35 dB plugs outside and peltor muff when things got loud).

The tinnitus had slowly lowered o a slight "shhh" that was so low I was ok to sleep in a silent room (and i hardly heard the tinnitus even with the Peltor on most days, or if I heard it it didn't bother me).
I had stopped all medication.

5 days ago, looking for work, I had a Skype call. Basically my PC messed up and the Skype ringing tune was much higher than it usually is. Took me 20 seconds to stop it but apparently it may have been too long.

Now I'm back to a loud baseline tinnitus with new very high pitched sounds coming and going on top of it.
Very depressed and angry that one small mistake can mess my ears again when my life was finally going so well again.

I was sitting in my house and my next door neighbor decided to cut his entire lawn with a gas powered weed wacker. She did that for about little over an hour on and off, I guess stopping to refuel and moving around to different parts of the house and driveway. I was so deep into a movie with my girlfriend that I was just not paying attention, and did not notice the high pitched sound of the weed wacker outside at first.

But later that afternoon I got a very bad spike and my tinnitus went through the roof. You would think that a person is safe in his own home from something like this, but it seems that I was not. Even with all of my double pane windows and heavy cloth blinds closed I guess that high pitched noise from the weed wacker just went right through it and nailed my ears.

So I have been suffering the past 3 days with increased tinnitus. It started on sat after noon around 12, and here it is today Tues and I'm a little better, but not back to my baseline again yet.

It's really freaking me out. I'm very mad and frustrated at myself for not using in my ear plugs or gun muffs to protect myself, but who would have thought that their would be any danger inside of my own home ?

I did measure it on my dB meter on my phone and it seemed to be around 58 dB. I have no idea how accurate that a cell phone's dB meter is.

My neighbors house and driveway are about 30 to 50 feet away from my house and driveway depending where they are using the weed wacker or where I was in the house I happened to be in the front room. I did notice that I could hear the movie over the sound of the weed wacker it wasn't until I paid attention that I realized how loud the sound from the weed wacker was.

Yeah, that's how I ended up with severe tinnitus and it was mild in the beginning. I'm not saying people should stay at home all day but I do think that things like concerts can permanently worsen tinnitus even if that person wears hearing protection. Of course, not in every case and the thread is about a lawn mower not a concert but I don't think it's responsible to tell someone to just 'live their life' - go out with hearing protection but if your body is giving you signals that t is getting worse then listen to those. I had people with tinnitus tell me I'd be safe with ear plugs and if I noticed a spike it would just be due to me worrying about it... I know other people aren't as naive and stupid as I used to be but the severity of my tinnitus was honestly preventable and I wouldn't wish such a worsening on anyone else.

You see I've had tinnitus since May of 2006 and the first couple of years I was extremely cautious and used protection when ever I felt there was a chance that there could be loud sounds. This meant me using custom made earplugs at work, using heavy foam earplugs the extremely few times I went out to a pub or similar (after all I was 22 when I got this thing and couldn't as well isolate my self).

After a few years though I started using protections less and less. And by that I mean I didn't use earplugs at work anymore (I worked extra as a bus driver at the time while studying at a University). I still wouldn't dream of going out without plugs though. And between 2009-2015 I pretty much never used earplugs at all. I didn't go to clubs or concerts or anything like that so I even stopped bringing plugs with me. I actually didn't even have a set of plugs in my pocket for years.

My tinnitus was stable for all this time with a few milder spikes that never lasted more than a day. But to be honest I probably wouldn't even know because I didn't even think about my tinnitus for years. I was "cured". I didn't hear it unless I listened for it. If tinnitus came up in a conversation I would listen for it and go "yep there it is" and then it would go back to the oblivion.

Then in January 2015 I had a major spike that became permanent. After that my tinnitus is not as stable anymore. Recently I went to a wedding reception and even though I wore SNR:35db earplugs the whole time I am having a pretty bad spike at the moment that has been lasting a good couple of weeks that I'm praying is not going to become permanent. This would never have happened only a few years ago!

So what I'm trying to say is that it's not as clear cut as you might think. Your tinnitus might be stable for now but there can come a time, like it seems to have for me, where something that shouldn't be harmful according to all of the sound level charts just for some reason is. I am going to have to come to terms with the fact that I can never ever go to a loud venue again, even with the heaviest protection, and that is sadly the fact for many others. It's not unreasonable fear. It's simply common sense.

I have made some mistakes in my past by going to loud places with earplugs and made my progress bad, and now sometimes I think it's permanent, but I am happy that I am somewhat habituated and don't have any panic attacks.

Even if you get completely recovered don't expose yourself to any loud environment anymore even with earplugs.

About 3 weeks ago I started to feel better but I went out one day and I wasn't wearing my earplugs for only ten minutes. It was a restaurant with music playing but it wasn't loud. Still I came home with a loud spike and thought it would go away in the morning but it stayed the same until now. I also have this feeling of fullness mostly in my right ear which has nonstop ringing.

My tinnitus was severe initially, but it went away completely but then it returned, slowly at first, as I continued to enjoy a few concerts and clubs (with earplugs and in moderation). I only continued to do these activities after an ENT told me that I should continue to do all the things I usually did, just wear protection - I first and foremost blame her for the situation I am now in (horrendously loud tinnitus and hyperacusis) from bad advice. I should have trusted my gut instinct and never went to another rock concert again, but no I trusted her advice... perhaps because I wanted to.

I gave up concerts in 2016 when I got my first very noticeable increase - the time it went from being a "only at night" sound to a 24/7 sound, though very low in the day, I could tune it out easily. I was quite happy, learning to sleep normally with the new volume, and it didn't bother me too much. I still went to social nights with friends, bars and restaurants that weren't playing loud music were ok for me with earplugs.

Fast forward to April 2018 and I decided to accept an invitation from a friend to play electric guitar with him at his house. Big mistake! We played on small amps and for an hour and a half and that is what left me with catastrophic tinnitus and hyperacusis.... I'd say from this point onwards, the impact on my life has been absolutely life-changing and devastating. I'm to blame for that, I should have known better, but I stupidly thought with ear protection I'd be ok because I am usually ok playing my amp even without earplugs. I should have worn ear defenders not just ear plugs. As I hadn't taken in the extra volume from his amp and plus he turned his up a bit louder than mine. I became full of regret and started to hate myself and my decision that changed my life.

My life since has been very difficult. I cannot sleep without meds each night, the ringing is so loud. I cannot drive, shop or walk near busy roads without earplugs. I cannot go to restaurants or bars anymore or do most social activities that my friends do which has left me feeling isolated and depressed. I've tried to vacation as usual... which was partially successful. However on flights I have to wear ear defenders otherwise my tinnitus spikes like crazy. The last time I flew in May this year, part of my trip involved a boat trip....the boat was 87 dB! I wore earplugs but again, 87 dB on a small boat 47 minutes each way? It caused another increase in my tinnitus. The same thing goes for driving my car... if I drive on a highway for more than 30 mins, normal earplugs don't protect me, I have to wear ear defenders to stop tinnitus spiking. I'm not sure what kind of tinnitus I have but it's very reactive to low level noise and it really gets me down as it seems to increase in volume each time. I don't want to live like a hermit but it's becoming that way... and I hate it. The spikes from little mistakes are loud and go on for weeks. Usually when they fade I'm left with louder ringing generally.

I wish I could understand how I have a spike after using a 70 decibel lawn mower with ear muffs on for like 20 minutes. It has been 10 days now. Ever since I've did that damn MRI two years ago, not only did I get x3 tinnitus increase, the noise threshold required to get worse is much lower. I used to use gas powered lawn mowers before the MRI with no problems, with hearing protection on of course.

Just more proof to the concept that the more damage you have the more it easy it can get worse at least for me.

Two weeks ago I went to a karaoke night and used earplugs. It really wasn't all that loud except for a few of the bass noises.

However, since then, I have gotten a spike in tinnitus (before this I had been habituated fully for a year and a half!)

It appears injured ears are very similar to concussions. If a person sufferes a concussion, and then has another one before the first one is done healing, the 2nd concussion can be several times worse. It makes sense, as an injured brain trying to heal doesn't have the resilience of a healthy brain to withstand a new trauma.

Oh go you'll be fine they said. Wear earplugs they said.

So I went to the event with ear plugs. Was there for only a few minutes. Big mistake. Gave me low drone/hum that's worst than the high pitch hiss/eeeee, tea kettle sounds. Never went away. sigh
3 1/2 years ago.

Everyone is different. Every situation is different.
You have to make a decision and live with it.

I can't take it anymore. I don't want to die but at this stage the urge to stop suffering is stronger. Ps. To all members in this forum advising against so called "overprotection". I never exposed myself to sounds even remotely considered as being potentially harmful to healthy people but because of your advice I was exposed to sounds uncomfortable for me which eventually proved to be damaging.

At initial stages i was very weary about sound levels around me and used protection everytime I felt uncomfortable.

Only by reading TRT literature or some posts here I started to expose my self to sounds loud but never louder than 75-80 dB.

Whenever I was feeling like something is not right I was stupid enough to believe you these changes were part of "the natural process of healing".

Is this your healing? Every time you feel like giving this sort of advice have my case in mind.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/joycecohen/noise-kills-when-everyday-sound-becomes-torture
More useful quotes from that buzzfeed article

Recognition of the dangers of noise — which are often mischaracterized and more far-reaching than previously assumed — is "dawning a little bit but doesn't go beyond the research community so far," says Jos Eggermont, a professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. He was stunned when his research showed that exposure to low-level noise, in amounts not generally considered harmful, caused extensive damage in the auditory cortex.

My not-yet husband emailed me because I was getting better and he was getting worse. He wanted to know my strategy. Time and silence, I told him.

Regarding a person who had committed suicide as a result of tinnitus and hyperacusis:

A concert he couldn't resist. His audiologist told him earplugs were enough. They weren't. "I want to emphasize that this is entirely my own fault," Hectors wrote. "I have never been aware of the dangers."
...
The final, fatal dose of noise came during a friend's bachelor party; he wore earplugs during dinner and fled after a brief stop at the karaoke bar. His ears burned with a white-hot pain.

 

[nighost]

Thanks to everyone for the answers.

This helps me a lot and confirmed the decision that quitting on the work was the right choice.

 

[nighost]

85-87 decibels, with earplugs, is certainly fine for most people without existing damage. Over a period of years, this may still be sufficient to cause some amount of hearing loss; that's a complex question and might boil down to individual susceptibility. If you've been doing this work without hearing protection, that's definitely dangerous.

Clubs can be much louder; there are also clubs which actually are not louder than ~85dB, so that's hard to pin down.

You have a history of recreational and occupational noise exposure and are now experiencing a bothersome increase in your tinnitus. I think the best thing to do is to rest your ears as much as possible (but still getting lots of exposure to different kinds of sounds, just at reasonable volumes), and try to eat/sleep well, meditate or do yoga, exercise, etc and basically give yourself the best shot of getting your body to heal as much as possible, and your nervous system plasticize these changes in the least traumatic way possible.

So, no, I personally don't think quitting your job was a dumb thing to do, provided you are able to provide for yourself through other means.


I hope that you are able to, as well. But, ruminating on thoughts like this amounts to wanting things to be not as they are; my experience is that consciously engaging with that kind of thinking just increased my anxiety level over time, whereas consciously making an effort to let go of and take a step back from thoughts like that and just exist in the current moment, has decreased my anxiety level over time.

If you do have TMJ and it is not treated, treating those symptoms may reduce the severity of your ear symptoms. Conversely, if you do not address clenching/grinding, it can wear down your discs and potentially eventually compress or even damage nerve structures.

I sleep with a bite guard that cost me $1700 :-/

Thanks for you advice!

I now try to give my ears much rest as it possible.

Good that you mentioned how important is to treat TMJ correctly, I am starting the treatment soon as possible.

I also have the bite guard but I have not been using that for longtime because is so hard to fall a sleep with that thing, but now when i don't need to wake up early, i can start try using that again.

I know my toxic thinking of wanting things to be as they used.

Sometimes is it just so damn hard to let it go
the things you like and love.

Good thing is there is still many things i enjoy even with tinnitus, and i keep big possibly I can habituate even if the tinnitus is not going fade to the level where is used to be.

 

[Digital Doc]

I would suspect the clubs are the bigger threat, and I would stay away.

Working at the mid 80s is not ideal, but could be done with earplugs, and if still have issues, ear muffs as well. Would give your ears a few months of rent, and try to find a quieter job at this point.

 

[nighost]

Depending on the production line, you're definitely in the "danger zone" around the cutter at 87dB. But... (And there are a few buts...)

How did you measure the dB level? Was it on your phone? These readings can be off. In this case it's better to get a reading with a properly calibrated dB meter (or some dB apps on some iPhones actually are pretty accurate because the apps are calibrated to the mic used in those phones.) It should give you some idea at least, but every 3dB increase halves your exposure time and since you're right there are 87dB a couple of dB up or down could make a difference.
Then again, the 'safe level' of 85dB for 8 hrs is a guideline where the majority of people don't seem to experience measurable hearing loss over years of exposure, so it's more of an empirically established safe level. It doesn't account for spectral characteristics of the noise either.

I know I couldn't do 85dB...
Your experience too might vary depending on susceptibility. You're wise to be protecting yourself. The 85dB is meant to be continuous exposure. I understand the cutter only kicks in every once in a while, so the average exposure for you may be lower.

In the end, if your ears are acting up, it's wise to listen to them and adjust accordingly. Sometimes, worsenings of tinnitus can happen without a reason (or because of past noise exposure catching up), but in your case you have a history of noise exposure so I would take it easy for a while and see if it gets better. All the best.

Thank you!

Yes i have measured the dB level with my phone app just for curiosity, and I know the readings can be off.

Also there was been visiting professionals who have get 85 dB measurements and they wrote information letter to us.

The problem was they don't wrote the exact locations of the noise and some places seems to be more quieter than others.

So just in case I needed to think that every places from that area noise is at least 85 dB.

The noise actually doesn't sound too loud with protection on, but i was still thinking is not worth of any risk that my tinnitus is going to get worse.

 

[Bartoli]

Thank you!

Yes i have measured the dB level with my phone app just for curiosity, and I know the readings can be off.

Also there was been visiting professionals who have get 85 dB measurements and they wrote information letter to us.

The problem was they don't wrote the exact locations of the noise and some places seems to be more quieter than others.

So just in case I needed to think that every places from that area noise is at least 85 dB.

The noise actually doesn't sound too loud with protection on, but i was still thinking is not worth of any risk that my tinnitus is going to get worse.

Better safe than sorry. Hope you find a good and quiet job.

Cheers

 

[nighost]

I would definitely stay away from indoor clubs though I guess its a blessing in disguise for tinnitus suffers that clubs will not open for several months yet. I have learnt the hard way as mine has got progressively worse over two years mainly due to exposure loud noise and even when I did take all precautions and be sensible.

Yes probably did the right thing to quit as blenders are horrible for the ears.
Sash, post: 523107, member: 29315"]I would definitely stay away from indoor clubs though I guess its a blessing in disguise for tinnitus suffers that clubs will not open for several months yet. I have learnt the hard way as mine has got progressively worse over two years mainly due to exposure loud noise and even when I did take all precautions and be sensible.

Yes probably did the right thing to quit as blenders are horrible for the ears.

Thanks for the reply!

The blenders were a problem in my previous line of work at the recycling center, not in the food factory.

It's unpleasant to hear, that clubbing can cause that kind of harm even with protection on, because I kinda like partying and here in Finland it is unfortunately one of the most common social activities with guys my age.

And now I really need to re-evaluate is clubbing worth the risk at all.

I am also thinking that it is good that the clubs are closed for the moment.

 

[nighost]

I don't know exactly what you're trying to say. At 87 decibels if you use earplugs and good quality over ear muffs you could spend 100 years in that factory and be fine. Even muffs alone would do the job.

You can be right, and I appreciate your opinion, but I was still thinking it is not worth the risk even if it is small.

My finances are stabile and I'm not reliant on work.

 

[nighost]

I would suspect the clubs are the bigger threat, and I would stay away.

Working at the mid 80s is not ideal, but could be done with earplugs, and if still have issues, ear muffs as well. Would give your ears a few months of rent, and try to find a quieter job at this point.

My finances are stabile and I'm not reliant on work.

So thats why I'dont have to take risk and be there any extra time anymore.

I'm afraid that you might be right about the clubs and now I really need to re-evaluate is clubbing worth the risk at all.

 

[Nobody19]

Please stop going to clubs.

I continued clubbing for years with plugs. I convinced myself that it was fine. When I felt like a club was too loud, I left. My tinnitus didn't get worse.

Until one day it did. I knew it was too loud but I thought it would be ok because I had strong plugs. Not only did my tinnitus get permanently worse, something much worse happened: I got hyperacusis.

 

[jasonbourne]

So thats why I'dont have to take risk and be there any extra time anymore.

I'm afraid that you might be right about the clubs and now I really need to re-evaluate is clubbing worth the risk at all.

Now clubbing is a different story. Bass better penetrates through ear protection. Most clubs are around high 90s and 100+ dB. There is no way to protect your ears. Damage is 100%.

 

[jasonbourne]

You are talking about the guidelines for the healthy people. There hasn't been a study of tinnitus sufferers. (If your "words of wisdom" above were based on a study of tinnitus sufferers, please provide a link.) There is a lot of evidence (e.g., multiple posts on this forum, the ones I am quoting below are just the tip of the iceberg) that points to many tinnitus sufferers' ears being compromised, so that the noises that the healthy people won't even notice could cause serious damage.

You can give me 10000000 quotes of people's experiences of low volumes making tinnitus worse and I take it with a grain of salt, because I understand how bad anxiety and paranoia affects it. And those people usually don't follow up with mentioning how it went back to baseline.

Now, I was exaggerating about the 100 years but as long as the food factory is super low frequency, ear protection will easily bring it down to the low 70s. That's speech level. I don't see how that isn't safe.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I understand how bad anxiety and paranoia affects it.

those people usually don't follow up with mentioning how it went back to baseline.

It looks like you haven't actually read the posts that I quoted:

With regards to noise exposure that isn't dangerous to most people, I developed a new tone in my right ear after a noise exposure at work back in October. I spent about half an hour in an area that I would estimate was at most 90db, but it was probably less than that. I had deeply inserted large foam earplugs at the time, but apparently that was not enough protection. That tone has not gone away, and it's not some psychosomatic spike. Spikes in volume are somewhat relative in my opinion, they can be attributed to stress, lack of sleep, noise exposure, diet, etc., but completely new tones that do not go away are something different.

If one doesn't learn from others' mistakes, that's ok too:

don't worry you will habituate to living in the hell

 

[jasonbourne]

but as long as the food factory is super low frequency,

I meant to say isn't.

 

[jasonbourne]

It looks like you haven't actually read the posts that I quoted:

Did you honestly expect me to go through every quote and to see is they replied with followups and cross reference the names?

Stop expecting validation for your paranoia. You wont get it from me bro. I understand that the rules are different for us and I've mentioned it before, but you are an extremist. I literally remember the thread you created about eggshells cracking making your tinnitus worse.

 

[aot]

I literally remember the thread you created about eggshells cracking making your tinnitus worse

Can I get a source on that? I'm not exactly a huge Bill Bauer supporter, but this strikes me as kinda absurd and unbelievable.

 

[jasonbourne]

Can I get a source on that? I'm not exactly a huge Bill Bauer supporter, but this strikes me as kinda absurd and unbelievable.

I could be wrong and confused him with another user. He never denied it the last time I called him out on it.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Did you honestly expect me to go through every quote and to see is they replied with followups and cross reference the names?

If you are critical of something, it is a good idea to actually learn about the thing you are critical of.

Stop expecting validation for your paranoia.

That's what the researchers looking into the link between smoking and mortality were told back in 1950s.

I literally remember the thread you created about eggshells cracking making your tinnitus worse.

LOL I will save you the trouble of looking for the link to this, it has never happened, so you would be wasting your time.

Can I get a source on that? I'm not exactly a huge Bill Bauer supporter, but this strikes me as kinda absurd and unbelievable.

That comment of his shines the light into his mind - instead of looking at reality, he seems to imagine how things Ought to be, and then he actually believes that the world is like the fantasy he has created. He rejects the reality and substitutes his own. If he sees any evidence that isn't compatible with his fantasy, he just dismisses it, and he makes up evidence Supporting his fantasy.

He never denied it the last time I called him out on it.

May I please see a link supporting the claim above?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Did you honestly expect me to go through every quote and to see is they replied with followups and cross reference the names?

I expected you to Read the posts I quoted. If you were to do that, you would see that some of the posts actually contained the followup that you claimed didn't exist. Also, if you Claim that people never provide a followup, then it would make sense for you to base it on verifying it to yourself by looking at whether Some randomly selected posters I quoted had provided a followup. How can you claim that there is no followup, if you had never looked into it?!

 

[PeteJ]

Hello everyone, and thanks to the founders of the forum.

I decided to quit my job at the food factory because of the noise.

I wondered afterwards whether that was an unnecessary overreaction, or is it possible that my own tinnitus could develop even worse from this because of work, or could that even go in a better direction after quitting?

I have had my tinnitus since about 2018 and the most likely cause was acoustic trauma or Temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

The sound resembles the static noise of a old CRT TV and is continuous.

Before, it didn't bother me terribly, but now, over time, it has progressed to the level of not being able to enjoy tv series as before because it spoils the concentration at times.

When I finish my work I have been working there for seven months.

Prior to this job, I worked at a recycling center for three months to six hours a day, when I always had to occasionally try vacuum cleaners and blenders during the day.

That was time when I first noticed an increase in tinnitus.

I also go clubbing fairly often, but ever since the tinnitus started I have taken steps to protect my ears with.

Unfortunately, in many places the bass kicks so hard that I feel the vibration all the way to my head and I worry wearing ear plugs isn't enough.

So I'm wondering that is the ear plugs even helping good enough, and is this bigger threat to increase my tinnitus than my work.

in my work there is noise between 70, 80 or 85-87 decibels, depending on which production line I have to get during the day.

Most of the sounds are low frequency and 87 decibels come from a cutter that cuts evenly every 5 minutes.

So at worst some days, I have to be prone to 85 decibels for eight hours excluding breaks.

When I started work I didn't use hearing protection for the first three weeks, but there were fewer days a week when I was exposed to that 85 decibels full day.

Now, I always wear foam plugs and try to use ear-muffs and plugs at the same time if the noise exceeds 85 decibels.

"I wish I could get my tinnitus back down to a level where I could enjoy watching TV.

What are your thoughts on this?

I would find a quieter workplace if I was you. I think loud workplaces can lead to getting tinnitus (the constant noise over time). Of course, not everyone who works at these places get tinnitus but perhaps, it's a genetic thing in which some ears get more easily damaged or something. Distraction and masking may help but I don't see why anyone would continue working at a loud workplace after getting tinnitus. I wish I didn't at all. Maybe I wouldn't have it now.

Can researchers answer these questions? I read about people discussing research and projects but never anything like this.