Why So Little Awareness of Tinnitus?

[Kriszti]

Standard Audiogram test. Granted, doing it three times might stress how important hearing is, but by not doing a full sweep, they're losing valuable information.

Yes, I know that's just good compared to no hearing care at all. But it's a starting point at least.

I agree with you. A lot more should be done to warn people how precious hearing is, and losing it when you are elderly is not the only thing that can happen.

I'm trying to educate people around me, but most of the time the answer is just a shrug, it won't affect them, and if it does, it's no big deal, it's just noise, what everyone has from time to time.
I hate the saying that "it wasn't a good party if your ears don't ring after it". This is belittling the issue and gives a very wrong impression.

 

[Thuan]

@WillBeNimble I'm glad that in your area, Ohio, has included hearing tests and that's some good progress at least. I don't believe the Los Angeles area are doing that, but I'm not sure.

I think hearing tests at school or health checkups are a good step forward but many people with tinnitus do not have noticeable hearing loss. I have moderate tinnitus and my hearing tests (which was two years ago) reported no hearing loss. So hearing tests are, in my opinion, not a good indicator of developing tinnitus because as some people say, including some research articles, there are hidden hearing loss which they can't measure.

This hidden hearing loss that can't be detected by standard hearing tests will give a false sense of security and allow children to just continue blasting their ears if they receive reports that their hearing are perfect.

I think it's absolutely necessary to reinforce education about hearing protection to prevent hearing loss AND education on the devastating effects of tinnitus. I stress tinnitus education more and its negative and debilitating effects more than the actual hearing loss because of the stated above reasons. Moreover if someone losses hearing, it's almost always permanent and by that point (at least for now until FX-322 proves otherwise) there is little hope to recover. But hearing tests that are obvious is a good indicator to stop victims from worsening their condition.

In my opinion, I think many people do NOT KNOW that tinnitus can get much worse, like from the example of my niece's friends who still bast their ears with minor tinnitus because they are not bothered by minor tinnitus.

However, I do agree that hearing tests being offered in school and doctor's appointment is a good step towards monitoring and awareness. More awareness of any form is better than nothing at our current state.

 

[Thuan]

@Ken219 I'm surprised the US military spends that much on VA. Do the military even spend $$$ on tinnitus research or just compensation?

 

[WillBeNimble]

@WillBeNimble I'm glad that in your area, Ohio, has included hearing tests and that's some good progress at least. I don't believe the Los Angeles area are doing that, but I'm not sure.

I think hearing tests at school or health checkups are a good step forward but many people with tinnitus do not have noticeable hearing loss. I have moderate tinnitus and my hearing tests (which was two years ago) reported no hearing loss. So hearing tests are, in my opinion, not a good indicator of developing tinnitus because as some people say, including some research articles, there are hidden hearing loss which they can't measure.

This hidden hearing loss that can't be detected by standard hearing tests will give a false sense of security and allow children to just continue blasting their ears if they receive reports that their hearing are perfect.

I think it's absolutely necessary to reinforce education about hearing protection to prevent hearing loss AND education on the devastating effects of tinnitus. I stress tinnitus education more and its negative and debilitating effects more than the actual hearing loss because of the stated above reasons. Moreover if someone losses hearing, it's almost always permanent and by that point (at least for now until FX-322 proves otherwise) there is little hope to recover. But hearing tests that are obvious is a good indicator to stop victims from worsening their condition.

In my opinion, I think many people do NOT KNOW that tinnitus can get much worse, like from the example of my niece's friends who still bast their ears with minor tinnitus because they are not bothered by minor tinnitus.

However, I do agree that hearing tests being offered in school and doctor's appointment is a good step towards monitoring and awareness. More awareness of any form is better than nothing at our current state.

Hearing screening is mandated in kindergarten/first grade and in second, fifth, eighth, tenth/eleventh grade and upon first school entry (California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 2952 (c)(1)) . Hearing screening in California public schools must be conducted by a credentialed school audiometrist. Note that Local Education Authorities may apply for a waiver for the high school hearing testing requirement.

California requires it, so LA has to do it. I don't recall the Audiologist saying anything about the dangers or really driving any points home about hearing loss.

 

[serendipity1996]

So I have a referral to an NHS 'tinnitus clinic' for further treatment and advice. I have been sent a questionnaire to fill in and send back - no questions that aim to establish a pathology, e.g. do you have a history of loud noise exposure? Instead, there's a series of patronizing and irrelevant questions, such as 'Does your tinnitus make you feel insecure? (wtf) and "because of your tinnitus do you feel you have a terrible disease"? I really hate the tone in the last one, basically insinuating that it's just a question of your mindset and tinnitus/hyperacusis can't be distressing in itself. Another clanger: "Does your tinnitus make you feel confused"? These questions are just ludicrous. Imagine asking an arthritis or a cancer sufferer, 'does your cancer make you feel insecure? What a joke!

 

[Ken219]

@Ken219 I'm surprised the US military spends that much on VA. Do the military even spend $$$ on tinnitus research or just compensation?

ATA has an article about 'Tinnitus an Unacknowledged, Underfunded Public Health Crisis'

A press release in honor of Tinnitus Week.

 

[Lucifer]

So I have a referral to an NHS 'tinnitus clinic' for further treatment and advice. I have been sent a questionnaire to fill in and send back - no questions that aim to establish a pathology, e.g. do you have a history of loud noise exposure? Instead, there's a series of patronizing and irrelevant questions, such as 'Does your tinnitus make you feel insecure? (wtf) and "because of your tinnitus do you feel you have a terrible disease"? I really hate the tone in the last one, basically insinuating that it's just a question of your mindset and tinnitus/hyperacusis can't be distressing in itself. Another clanger: "Does your tinnitus make you feel confused"? These questions are just ludicrous. Imagine asking an arthritis or a cancer sufferer, 'does your cancer make you feel insecure? What a joke!

These questions are irrelevant. The last thing you pointed out hits too close to home. It's basically asking a tinnitus/hyperacusis patient "does your cancer make you feel insecure".

It's a shame that there is more sympathy for cancer patients but when it comes to tinnitus and hyperacusis nobody gives a fuck about it. Imagine even everyday sounds could make someone with tinnitus and hyperacusis worse. I just hope one day these warnings are taken seriously like how the cigarette packaging showing the damage of the lungs maybe we should start having pictures of people with with earmuffs and stating what decibel the environment is to show the severity of these conditions.

 

[UKBloke]

So I have a referral to an NHS 'tinnitus clinic' for further treatment and advice. I have been sent a questionnaire to fill in and send back - no questions that aim to establish a pathology, e.g. do you have a history of loud noise exposure? Instead, there's a series of patronizing and irrelevant questions, such as 'Does your tinnitus make you feel insecure? (wtf) and "because of your tinnitus do you feel you have a terrible disease"? I really hate the tone in the last one, basically insinuating that it's just a question of your mindset and tinnitus/hyperacusis can't be distressing in itself. Another clanger: "Does your tinnitus make you feel confused"? These questions are just ludicrous. Imagine asking an arthritis or a cancer sufferer, 'does your cancer make you feel insecure? What a joke!

Clearly NICE's new guidelines haven't yet fed back into the system...

 

[serendipity1996]

I also received a leaflet from the BTA. I cannot believe the answer to this question - it's not even a proper answer to be fair. Zero mention of how tinnitus in most cases is a result of inner ear damage. I can't believe this stuff is being published and distributed by health professionals. This answer doesn't address the question at all. I despair.

 

[Thuan]

@serendipity1996 That paragraph is infuriating. It's also what make CBT and TRT do more harm than good for awareness. Health professionals and others, even some tinnitus sufferers, just default to habituation as the cure all answer. Habitation is not the answer and a lot of times there's no way to habituate. If there's no drive to find an actual cure, we won't ever get one.

 

[Lucifer]

I also received a leaflet from the BTA. I cannot believe the answer to this question - it's not even a proper answer to be fair. Zero mention of how tinnitus in most cases is a result of inner ear damage. I can't believe this stuff is being published and distributed by health professionals. This answer doesn't address the question at all. I despair.

View attachment 39949

This is why no one treats it seriously. They all think one size fits all cases.

 

[Juan]

There is a little known human factor. Earplugs are rated NRR (Noise Reduction Rate). NRR is the maximum dB reduction if you are a perfect human. Example noise level 110 NRR 32 simple math 110 - 32 = 78 dB. Sounds safe enough. But you are not a perfect human. The rule of thumb is, if you are wearing a product with an NRR of 32 it would deduct 12.5 decibels ((32-7)/2=10). Example noise level 110 NRR 32 the true math is 110 - 12.5 = 97.5 dB. Dangerous level. Your estimated NRR may vary! Sad but true.

Funny thing you brought up combat and the military. One would hope the military has the best equipment and is informed of the dangers of loud weaponry! What happens when a government contractor intentionally manufacturers a defective product? Virtually nothing.

Read military history: If it wasn't for a whistleblower 3M would still be selling the military defective earplugs! From 2003 and 2015 and maybe longer!
3M A contracting company agreed to pay $9.1 million (pennies, not only is tinnitus deeply disruptive; it's expensive. The Department of Defense spends about $2 billion each year on tinnitus compensation to veterans.) to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold the U.S. military defective earplugs.

The Minnesota-based 3M Company allegedly sold its dual-ended Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2, to the Defense Logistics Agency without disclosing defects that decreased the actual effectiveness of the hearing protection the device offered.

3M should be contributing 100 million a year to tinnitus research for their intentional harm!

Wow... sad story. I didn't know the military received defective products. One would think that due to the high expenditure on defense, a big chunk of US GDP, the military would have the best.

As for earplugs, I think they do not really reduce 30 dB due to the properties of sound, and how the decibel curve works, meaning that the longer you go up in the decibel scale, the higher is the difference after adding another extra dB of sound, the power of sound compounds, and the amount of damage it can make compounds too.

 

[WillBeNimble]

@serendipity1996 Yeah, that's a bullshit article. That's a psychological look at tinnitus, not what's actually causing it. Gods, this is one of the least ethically examined issues of modern living. We can prevent it, and we should be trying to treat it. I mean, hell, we can treat by preventing it as well. The VA, people who experience blasts and car crashes are still going to need help too, so it shouldn't rob us of care. It's just so dumb.

 

[Lucifer]

I also think that if people knew that tinnitus can become louder and hyperacusis pain can get worse with lower levels of sound then people would treat these conditions seriously.

The only problem with stating loud noises causing hearing loss is what things are considered too loud to damage our hearing. I feel like a lot of people and even me before I got tinnitus and hyperacusis I didn't know what things are considered to be too loud and that's the current problem we have now.

Also by not stating you can get tinnitus and hyperacusis from loud noises is the reason why we are all here in the first place.

 

[ASilverLight]

So I have a referral to an NHS 'tinnitus clinic' for further treatment and advice. I have been sent a questionnaire to fill in and send back - no questions that aim to establish a pathology, e.g. do you have a history of loud noise exposure? Instead, there's a series of patronizing and irrelevant questions, such as 'Does your tinnitus make you feel insecure? (wtf) and "because of your tinnitus do you feel you have a terrible disease"? I really hate the tone in the last one, basically insinuating that it's just a question of your mindset and tinnitus/hyperacusis can't be distressing in itself. Another clanger: "Does your tinnitus make you feel confused"? These questions are just ludicrous. Imagine asking an arthritis or a cancer sufferer, 'does your cancer make you feel insecure? What a joke!

I received the exact same questionnaire for my upcoming ENT visit. All aimed at how you feel - no room to mention any other complaints or background. And now I'm just gonna look weak because I can't handle a little ringing even though my tinnitus goes way beyond that.

And yeah, my best friend literally told me they're still going to blast music because it doesn't matter. Lol. Until you're in my level of hell - and I'm not one of the worst cases on this forum to begin with.

 

[serendipity1996]

I also think that if people knew that tinnitus can become louder and hyperacusis pain can get worse with lower levels of sound then people would treat these conditions seriously.

The only problem with stating loud noises causing hearing loss is what things are considered too loud to damage our hearing. I feel like a lot of people and even me before I got tinnitus and hyperacusis I didn't know what things are considered to be too loud and that's the current problem we have now.

Also by not stating you can get tinnitus and hyperacusis from loud noises is the reason why we are all here in the first place.

Yes, the leaflet from the BTA was basically just like 'tinnitus is nothing to worry about don't let it hold you back'. Where's the message saying that tinnitus is, in many cases, a warning sign of hearing damage and that you should be careful with your ears from now on. Sure, many people can seemingly continue to abuse their ears without consequences but for many of us it will just end in misery. My hyperacusis emerged 5 years after my tinnitus and I am sure that I could have prevented it if I had the knowledge to protect my ears once I had those first signs of hearing damage with tinnitus. I've definitely improved a lot with my hyperacusis but it's been a miserable experience.

 

[serendipity1996]

I received the exact same questionnaire for my upcoming ENT visit. All aimed at how you feel - no room to mention any other complaints or background. And now I'm just gonna look weak because I can't handle a little ringing even though my tinnitus goes way beyond that.

And yeah, my best friend literally told me they're still going to blast music because it doesn't matter. Lol. Until you're in my level of hell - and I'm not one of the worst cases on this forum to begin with.

It's funny because my main concern was actually hyperacusis - my tinnitus is more of the 'I only hear it in quiet room' variety. So I slightly disappointed to receive a questionnaire solely about tinnitus and a 10-page BTA leaflet without a single mention of the word hyperacusis in it. It doesn't inspire confidence that they will be able to offer me anything. I think I might print out a bunch of info from Hyperacusis Research or whip out my email from Paul Fuchs if they try to give me the psychological BS.

 

[ASilverLight]

It's funny because my main concern was actually hyperacusis - my tinnitus is more of the 'I only hear it in quiet room' variety. So I slightly disappointed to receive a questionnaire solely about tinnitus and a 10-page BTA leaflet without a single mention of the word hyperacusis in it. It doesn't inspire confidence that they will be able to offer me anything. I think I might print out a bunch of info from Hyperacusis Research or whip out my email from Paul Fuchs if they try to give me the psychological BS.

You should do that! I'm glad your tinnitus is mostly mild at least, although I can't even imagine hyperacusis. Really sorry you have to deal with that.

I just don't know. I'm having a whole lot of other physical symptoms (a bunch not related to ears/hearing) and my fluctuations are just wild without any specific trigger + for the life of me, I cannot tune out my tinnitus ever. So a bit disappointed there's no way to even express that.

 

[WillBeNimble]

I had an idea for an old school ad today. Just a gun next to someone's ear, and the words, "You wouldn't fire a gun next to your ear. Why would you ever listen to max volume?" With how loud phones and mp3 players get under it. Black background and everything. Also, that would help raise awareness on hearing safety for guns too, which because of war movies and everything, is woefully lacking in America.

 

[kamil1364]

85 dB for 8 hours, 88 dB for 4 hours etc...


Your earphones at max can produce 105-110 dB SPL.

Lawnmower can be as loud as 100 dB.

Don't worry about hearing loss, worry about tinnitus. You will never ever use headphones again and be sentenced with earplugs for the rest of your life. There's no cure and we don't know what exactly causes is. Oh, and your music career is over before you even start it.

If someone just had told it to me 2 years ago, oh dear... I know it's my fault, but simple ,,turn down your headphones or you'll go deaf" is not enough...

 

[Ken219]

Selfish point of view: I want more tinnitus patients to join this board.

 

[Frédéric]

Assessment of knowledge regarding the consequences of using earphones among higher secondary and non-medical postgraduate students

Background: Due to the incremental scope of using earphones, in today's world youngsters are susceptible to loud sounds or prolong sounds that may cause negative consequences to them in the later run. Aim of the study was to assess the knowledge regarding the consequences of the use of earphones in terms of basic level and advanced levels of awareness among some high secondary students and non-medical postgraduate students.

Methods: A structure questionnaire-based study was done by distributing it among the students of Pondicherry central university, Puducherry, India, and Delhi Public School, Digboi Assam. 18 students from different departments of the Pondicherry central university and 19 students from the high secondary of Delhi Public School, Digboi were selected randomly for the study. A structured questionnaire consisting of questions related to the consequences of using earphones was used as a study tool for observation. Sets of questions related to the awareness were categorized into basic level, advanced level-1, and advanced level-2.

Results: Knowledge scores for basic level awareness showed very good results. Knowledge scores for advanced level 1 and 2 awareness showed poor results for both the groups.

Conclusions: The study highlights the requirement of developing awareness programs regarding health hazards associated with the use of earphones in terms of parameters like the feeling of ringing like sounds through the ears, ear wax, ear stress, ear pain, and tinnitus. Such awareness needs to be incorporated in textbooks of the school level.

PDF file: to read the Sets of questions related to the awareness categorized into basic level, advanced level-1, and advanced level-2.