If you have Tinnitus I need your advice

[shatto]

One week ago, last Sunday and Monday, I was in a seminar and the hotel sound system damaged my ears.
The overhead speaker was just behind our table, a bit too loud and had very high treble.
Monday I wore ear plugs and the treble still bothered me.

Today, a week later, I still am bothered. I have a numb feeling, somewhat akin to after weapon-fire without ear protection
and even my voice sounds tinny to me.
Monday the singers on American Idol sounded uncomfortably and irritatingly tinny and were almost unintelligible,
over and above the normal being drowned out by the band and their not enunciating.

And my tinnitus is louder than before.

But otherwise my range of hearing seems normal.

You think I should have this checked?

[BrendenF11]

I would, mine is constant when it is more quiet for example while trying to sleep. Initially after the cause of the tenittus my ears kind of hurt and felt funny, my hearing was dampered a bit but nothing major. I had my ears checked to make sure I had not bursted and ear drum, I would asvise atleast doing that just to make sure. Otherwise it could get much much worse. Also getting it checked out prevents future damage to the ears which could be prevented by a simple examination.

Also mine was real bad for about the first month to a month and a half. Now I will not notice it, unless it is relatively quiet, and then on other occasions it peaks real loud like (for example after firing a weapon without hearing protection), but it usually subsides after about 5-30 minutes on the real bad pitches.

[serpa6]

I would get it checked mine everyone is loud around me and things that i say are loud enough for me So i think I am talking in a normal voice that is when the headaches come My doctor told me when it acts up it will overpressure the ear drum and hurt He had checked for fluid behind both of my ears one was ok the other had a little bit and caused a overpressure when exposed to loud nosies He had put a drain in that ear but it has fallen out so I am back to step one and Tinnus is coming back stronger it really sucks I hope it not going to premantly damage the eardurm but I have to go and hope he decides to put a drain in to relive the pressure at least
You should go get checked out dont wait and suffer like I do I hate doctors I see to many already one more and its like I should work there

[KGCNC]

I have had it for years. Get checked out. Another thing,if it was a work related seminar I would talk to your employer about what happened. They might foot the bill for getting it looked at. I had a tinny sound once. I had just visited my dad in the hospital and hours later the hearing in my left ear was tinny. People sounded like munchkins. That issue went away after a few days. No clue what caused it.

[shatto]

Thanks y'all. The post is a copy of what I sent my doctor and, heck, since I have free government healthcare, that only cost a trip to Korea to earn, I will see the ear guy.

Rush Limbaugh is stone deaf because a genetic problem rotted away all the follicles. He commented one day that his tinnitus was bothering him so,
I'm guessing our jamming a screwdriver in our ears will do little to cure the noise. It really is in our heads.

[shatto]

Since I have the free government healthcare I earned when they sent me to Korea, I emailed the message that began this thread, to my doctor at the local VA Clinic.
I figured that a week with no noticeable change warranted worry. My doctor is wise. He waited another week and then emailed:
( "Doc. David Chapman to: Shatto. A hearing test wont provide any new info. See if the tinnitus tones down on its own." )

The tinny sound of mine and others voices has indeed almost gone away and I am back to the half dozen separate electronic tones running simultaneously all the time, although somewhat louder than before.

Surprisingly, I have been more sensitive to...loudness.

For a few days I wore earplugs while driving, the background noise was just below painfully irritating, which is a problem for someone who drives for a living.
Yesterday, rather than compressing the foam and scrunching the ear plug in as far as possible so it expanded and filled the ear canal, i just pushed them in lightly and,
apparently what happened was they blocked out the upper range and allowed the road noise in, the result being sound two or three times louder than with no ear plugs.
Today, I was able to go through the day with open ears, although I still kept the radio in the '20' to '25' range.
On the other hand, I had not the slightest interest in the President 'coming out of the closet' and turned the radio off most of the day.

The things happening with and to my body, as time passes are often amusing, sometimes aggravating, always fascinating.