When Do You Wear Earplugs or Earmuffs?

[Kritish Gooriah]

Hi,

I have tinnitus, ear fullness, perforated eardrum and hearing loss, maybe TMJ since my ear surgery and my potential "acoustic trauma" (festival of motocross). I have a question please, i avoid concerts, festival of motocross, earphones/headphone, i wear earmuffs at the cinema, i don't wear earplugs at restaurants, i wear earplug on my sick ear at bowling. I wear earmuffs almost always when i'm walking in the street. But for the evenings with friends, i'm afraid by the noise (music by home theater or portable enclosure), i wear earplug on my sick ear or i wear ear muffs when i find that the noise is disturbing, i find that my tinnitus is worse and i feel a hearing strain (my ear fullness is most important for me), ear pain, i don't know: if it's my anxiety or a real hearing damage. But after one of this evening, i see my doctor, he prescribed me corticoids and i take piracetam and gingko and after, i saw my ENT (january 2018), my hearing was better since my ear surgery and my acoustic trauma and my last audiogram (november 2017).

What do you think: must i wear earplugs or earmuffs for this evenings with friends and the other times?

 

[glynis]

If you have to raise your voice loud or shout to talk then that will give you a warning your ears might need protecting.
(Keep plugs handy )
Love glynis

 

[Cheza]

i don't know: if it's my anxiety or a real hearing damage.

What do you think: must i wear earplugs or earmuffs for this evenings with friends and the other times?

Hearing aids can give you a sense of comfort that you're being protected by excess noise. That may help to ease your anxiety. You can get a handheld decibel meter or one for your smartphone to measue the decibel level. Then you'll know for sure if it's really too loud, or if you just have anxiety.

Here are some apps:
1. Decibel 10th - for iPhone and iPad, measures decibel levels
2. Decibel Meter Pro - for iPhone and iPad, measures decibel levels
3. Sound Meter - for Android devices, measures decibel levels

Handheld devices usually will give a more precise measurement of decibel level. They are available on Amazon and other retail outlets.

You're being very wise to take care of your hearing.

 

[Bill Bauer]

i wear earmuffs at the cinema

Why not avoid movie theaters and watch the movie at home where you can ensure that the volume is set at a safe level. Is the risk really worth it?

i wear earplug on my sick ear

I also had an acoustic trauma in only one ear. I wear an earplug whenever I am outside of my home.

What do you think: must i wear earplugs or earmuffs for this evenings with friends and the other times?

I would not go to those evenings with friends, if I were you, unless it was in a quiet environment, and the friends could be counted on to respect your condition and not raise their voices. If you feel that you Must go, then of course wear an earplug, but know that this might provide you with a false sense of security - this forum is filled with the stories of people who learned the hard way not to rely on earplugs.

Wear an earplug whenever you are outside of your home. To ensure that you don't get H, make sure to do something every day that exposes you to noise that is guaranteed to be at a reasonable level. For example, you can watch TV with the volume set to a maximum level that you can easily tolerate for a long time.

Check out the thread below where I summarize everything (24 tips spread over three posts) I learned about managing tinnitus after reading the posts on this forum for the past 11 months
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...itus-recently-this-info-will-be-useful.25741/

 

[Kritish Gooriah]

Thank you for your advices, i have two apps on my smartphone: noise meter and sound meter, i used noise meter saturday night: i measure a decibel level between 41,5 db and 89,2 db for the peak db, an another decibel leavel between 29,8 db and 71,8 db for the db and for the leq, i measure a decibel level between 33,5 db and 65,4 db.

I have a handheld device. For the movie theaters, since my acoustic trauma, i go to the cinema just one time, for star wars, because i'm a fan of star wars since my childhood. @Bill Bauer just one of this friends respect my condition, i wear earmuffs from now on when i must go to this evenings and i will start early. I see my doctor this afternoon.

Today, despite this evening, i feel that the noise of the TV dominated my tinnitus, but just for a short time

 

[Kritish Gooriah]

For my doctor, i haven't risk for an acoustic trauma, but he told me: "wear your earplugs before you go to this evenings and stay away as far as possible of the noise and if it's a quiet environment, you can don't wear earplugs".