Fear of Noisy Environments now

[applecanary]

Hi,

About 2 years ago i went to concert and stood beside the huge speaker for probably 4 hours and i know the volume was somewhere between 112-130 dbs, stupid i know, but I was younger and didnt understand the dangers like i do now. Well, anyway, my hearing in my leaft ear didnt return until 4 days later (it just felt a lil dulled/muffled), but now both ears are fine feeling (i know, im lucky, thank you God). Regardless, i have two audiograms since then and no hearing loss was detected, but every once in awhile i will notice a high pitched ringing in my left ear, at least i think i ca hear it, sometimes i cant tell if im imaging it, bc it's so subtle. Well, anyways, my problem now is my acquired fear of loud noises and places. Im 21 and in college, so i basically dont go to parties (loud music) and DEF have not been to a single concert yet and will never again in my life, i dont play my radio loud, and dont attend football games (ppl screaming and band and all that). I really feel like ****. I want to go out and have fun and be be normal and all that but i want to have my hearing in good condition and not stress the tinnitus situation. My doc told me to stay away from loud places, so i went above and beyond to comply with this. For example, the other night my friend invited me to a baseball game, i said i'd go, when i got there, this guy sitting on my left and a girl sitting on my right were yelling so loud (cheering) that my ears were kinda hurting, i immediately got up and stood away from them, which looked totally weird to my friend. I couldn't put in earplugs b/c then how would i be able to talk to ppl? Regardless i did not have fun and whenever i get caught in a noisy environment when i get home i freak out an immediately try to ***** my hearing and make sure that i have no damage or hearing problems (dullness, ringing). So, yeah my friend invited me to her "college" party tomorrow night, she said that the ppl behind her are having a band over and that we can hear it from her house. Also, thre is a guy that saw me at the game that wants to meet me and talk at the party. Should i go? I dont know how loud the band will be, and i dont know if i can get away with wearing earplugs (guy talking to me)......gah...**** my life....lol........help please.

[ENTMD]

That's quite a story!  First off, as you already realize, you should consider yourself very lucky that you apparently suffered no permanent hearing loss from standing in front of that speaker!!  (Didn't that hurt or was at least exceedingly unpleasant?  I cannot believe people can even tolerate that...)

Anyway, it's wise to avoid sustained, loud noises that can permanently injure your hearing.  I would have a hard time trying to talk you out of that mindset.  And, a number of the scenarios that you described are likely to be very loud indeed!  Again, I wouldn't want to argue that you should just ignore that.

However, obviously you have to decide where the line is between being too vigilant/worried and ruining your quality of life and being too careless and causing permanent hearing loss and possibly debilitating tinnitus.

Look, I too am concerned about this issue and take it seriously for myself.  I am well aware of the risks.  On the other hand, I also love live music and occasional sporting events and am not about to stop doing those things.  My solution has been the same as yours -- I wear ear plugs when I am in those places.  I walk out of the theater with normal hearing and no ringing.  Plus, the concert sound has more clarity with the sound turned down.  AND (and this is particularly relevant for you), I can better hear the person right next to me because of the significant decrease in background noise.

You need to wear the ear plugs (get a decent pair) when indicated by the intensity of the sound and the time you are exposed.  The "flesh" colored plugs that fit in the canal are hard to notice unless you looking for them (if that's an issue).  If necessary, make up some white lie about your hearing to placate the curious.  But don't let this stop you from enjoying life and getting out there.  Look at it this way, if you decide you aren't interested in what this guy is saying - you won't have to listen (or will at least have a good excuse not to).  If you do want to talk to him more -- and you can't hear him (with you earplugs in), then move to an area where there is less noise.  

[applecanary]

Thanks so much for your advice, at least i dont feel so terribly paranoid now about wearing earplugs, i actually did go to the party and the band was so far away is was like listening to a song the radio, very low. Also, i was reading about the heightened sound at movie theaters today and apparently the movie trailers peek just over 85 dbs and sometimes up to 100 dbs, CRAZY!!!!....so when i went the movies (with my mom, so it wasnt a big deal to hide) i put my earplugs in during the trailers. You said you walk out of the theater with no ringing and normal hearing, do you mean a movie theatre and did you wear earplugs throughout the movie? Do you think that would be necessary? Thank you.

[ENTMD]

I was referring to concerts in theaters.  You are right about those trailers though -- they usually pack in quite a bit of noise (they are designed to make an impact).  I don't wear earplugs to movies.