Hi doctor, I am a 21-year-old male. I have tinnitus and some hearing loss on the very high frequencies for the past one year. However, my hearing is within a reasonable range of 8 kHz. I can hear up to 16 kHz. But it is much quieter than before. When we have tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss, can natural sounds make it worse? I am feared that I make my hearing worst, so I wear earplugs 24 by 24. When I take my car, I wear my earplugs. When someone speaks a bit loudly, I wear earplugs. When I am going to a commercial center or supermarket, I wear it too. Can these kinds of sounds hurt my hearing? I stopped hearing loud noises like a music festival. Is it enough? Can I live my life as everyone without losing my hearing? How should I manage my life without making my hearing worst?
Hi. It is a combination of intensity and duration that causes acoustic trauma or noise-induced hearing loss. If you subject your ears to high-intensity sounds for long durations, then, you are hurting them more. Ideally, you should not submit the ears to more than 90 dB for eight hours continuously. With every 5 dB increase in intensity, the time gets halved. In the case of impulse noises, you should limit the number of times you expose yourself to such sounds like blasts, fireworks, and thuds. You need not wear plugs everywhere you go out or talk to someone. Just keep away from loud noises. Eat a healthy diet. Listen to calm music if you can. The super high-frequency hearing deficit that you have will not affect your day to day life. It is picked up by the audiometry. Tinnitus is a different entity. It requires habituation. You will need to train your ears to accept it and mask it gradually. There are techniques for it. You can listen to white band noise. Listening to calming music and reducing your worries also help a lot in achieving relief from tinnitus.