Dealing with hearing loss

[CGT80]

I know some of you guys have been in my shoes, so I thought I would post my situation and see if any of the feedback helps.

I am only 33 years old, but I spent 17 years doing construction work (starting at age 14). I have been around loud environments. I have listened to music too loud in the past as well, although I was generally more careful than many of my peers. I have always been sensitive to loud sounds and would often times avoid them if possible. I also had a lot of ear infections as a kid and then had more when I was 17 or 18. I had wax build up and possible infection that lead to me getting tinnitus. It was just noticeable when it was very quiet.

Two years ago, I had more wax/infection issues. I got into an ENT for the first time, after the general docs couldn't get my ear flushed out with water. The ENT got it cleaned up and did antibiotics. It then plugged up with a fungal infection. Some CF powder took care of that. It took a few weeks to get that ear cleared up and the tinnitus got worse. I had issues with the other ear a few weeks or so later. I had it treated right away and the tinnitus didn't seem to get worse. The left ear is loud enough to hear over the TV, but it varies.

I ended up doing group classes for cognitive behavioral therapy to get rid of the anxiety from having the louder tinnitus. It took 6 months or more to get more comfortable with it. It still bothers me, but it is mostly just an annoyance and doesn't give me constant anxiety. Unfortunately my family has issues with depression and anxiety, anyway. They also have a history of sinus and ear problems, so some of my problems are genetic.

I knew I had some hearing loss from loud noise and infections, although the docs claim that none of it is likely from infections. They also claim infections will not cause tinnitus. I have learned that medications can cause tinnitus as well and it effects some more than others. I have only shot guns a couple times without hearing protection. I use it even for 22's. I used ear protection for a lot of my construction work such as sanding, grinding, cutting steel, etc. Of course I got more careful as time went on, so I was less than ideal when I was younger. As a teen, I didn't think much about using hearing protection for mowing the lawn or edging. My brother and I used cotton in our ears for the first time shooting with 22's and a 38 spl. My parents weren't well equipped, but that changed after that. We had ear muffs or ear plugs after the first time, although they may have not been the best.

I used some custom plugs with baffles in them for a while, when I got into shooting pistol competitions. I had used muffs before that. The custom plugs weren't enough for open guns and I bought electronic muffs and ended up using them over the plugs. It made a nice difference in sound blocked and it allowed me to hear range commands better. I got into shooting rifles more, in the last year, and I picked up 3 gun competitions. I use 33db foam plugs and my proears 26db electronic muffs over the top. Same goes for my shotgun. I usually just keep the same setup when I practice pistol after the matches. Last month I bought some pro ears 33 db electronic muffs since I wanted as much protection as possible around the compensated guns or when on the concrete firing line.

Around Christmas time, I notice that my right ear seemed plugged up. I figured out that only some tones were bad and others were closer to normal. I have had a lot of congestion over the last few months and wondered if it was due to that or if my hearing was changing. My left ear goes back and forth with being congested or plugged. It has done it since the bad infection that I had two years ago. The hearing will be a tad muffled and then it is good again when my ear pops or opens up. I have read that this is possible after damage from infections.

I saw the ENT for my right ear. I did prednisone steroids and got on flonase for allergies. I take claritin D as well. Two weeks later I went back and did a hearing test. Of course I have mild high frequency hearing loss. I knew that would be the case. Doc says it wasn't a viral infection because the low frequency is very good on my right ear. Left ear is -5db at low frequency which is normal or close to it. 0db would be perfect. My right ear is overall, better than the left, but the right has 5db more loss than the left at two frequencies. Of course the doc didn't say if that is enough to make me feel as if sound isn't even. Sound was mostly even as of a few months ago, but I knew the right ear was better for high pitched sounds like listening to powder rattle in a rifle case. Now I hear voices, tv, or radio better from the left. I still have conversations just fine, but the world feels a bit lopsided. The audiologist did make the comment that my right ear canal is small, but I doubt it has really changed and caused the sudden change.

I obviously have anxiety about the change and it can be depressing. Some people suggested medication for those problems, but they are toxic to the ears, so it could make things worse. I have family on those meds and it doesn't fix their problems but it can help. I will probably try the CBT again. I do have a book that I used when I did the group work before. A hearing aid is probably an option, but it is usually very expensive and can have drawbacks. I would want something that was all in ear so it would not be so noticeable. I feel way too young to need hearing aids. My dad has a bad right ear, but gets by without hearing aids, although he does have a lot of problems with hearing people. I have read that people who have hearing loss for a long time may not benefit from a hearing aid because their brain forgets how to utilize the missing sound, once it is enhanced from the aid. My grandparents seem to have this issue.

By the way, I got new glasses recently because I was seeing either one step below 20/20 or right at it, but I knew it could be better. I see one step better than 20/20 with the new glasses. I am very in tune with details and how my body acts and that can sometimes be unfortunate.

Not hearing perfect didn't bother me all that much and the small differences between each ear were chalked up to life happening, but hearing lopsided is very annoying. Does anyone else have the same problem?

Chris

[canthitsquat]

I worked construction my whole life and shot large caliber handguns and rifles.
When I was an apprentice, I had to go into the attics of apartments we were building and shoot the roof trusses to the firewalls with a Ramset gun.(No hearing protection.) That's when mine started. After years of abusing my hearing, I now wear hearing aids and am basically deaf as a churchmouse.
So not much you can do now except find the right audiologist and go from there.

[merlin101]

I have a mild+ case of tinnitus but for the most part have grown used to it. I use hearing protection ALL the time now! Not so much back in the day, i worked in an auto body shop for 20yrs and before that was in the army field artillery so I know what loud noise is. I've found that the tinnitus does get worse if ear wax builds up, I take care of that when showering I get the water about as hot as I can stand it and tilt my head and FROM A DISTANCE spray the hot water UP into the ear. I don't have a lot of water pressure so that makes it easier and safer, the wax just never seems to build up anymore.

[MBTcustom]

I'm a machinist/gunsmith and I have not always taken care of my hearing. I have run several buckets of WW's through my 30-30 with no ear protection whatsoever.
At this point, I have mild hearing damage, and there are certain tones that I just don't get. It's absolutely maddening to have somebody talking to me 5 feet away and I have to put my hand to my ear like an old man and ask them to please speak up. Or go to the wireless store and try all the cell phone on the rack and choose the one that allows me to hear someone on the other end of the line whether or not I like anything else about the phone at all.

Thank God I don't have tinnitus all the time, although it comes and goes. Right now as I type this, I hear a faint whine all the time, but it's soft enough I can ignore it.
BTW, I just rolled over 33 m'self and I just got into my first pair of glasses this year as well. That's not really a bad thing, as it is extremely good form for me to wear safety glasses at all times anyway. As long as a was getting them, I got glasses with safety shields and polycarbonate lenses while I was at it, and they have already saved my bacon several times. I can deal with hearing loss, but my eye's are absolutely essential to my trade.

Hang in there buddy, and if the doctor you are seeing isn't working for you, go find a better one. So many people could get some relief if they only knew the right doctor to go see.

Take care my friend.

[white eagle]

my tinnitus started in 1980
I am 56 years old
my ringing varies in sounds but most of the time its a ringing or high pitched tone,my left ear is the worst but my right is catching up on a scale of 1-10 rating the volume level I would say my tinnitus is a constant 4
its not all bad because the sound isn't always constant sometimes I hear sounds like chains dragging
I hate the quite and pray for some noise...I lost track of what crickets sound like in the summer,what rain sounds like and wind in the tree tops just to name a few.women's voices are very difficult to hear
I have a hearing aid but it helps nothing with reference to tinnitus
I take more precautions now that ever
take care of your hearing you will not like to hear what I do 24/7

[TCFAN]

I have hearing aids in both ears and a constant LOUD ringing in both ears.I can't follow conversation very well at all.Talking on the phone is almost impossible.To hear what is being said on TV I have to use wireless headphones.All of this from shooting with out hearing protection for many years.

I try to stress to any one that comes to my range here at the house to shoot that they should protect their hearing.It is not any fun being deaf...........Terry

[lmfd20]

I have tinnitus also and I too am 33. I work in a mill that I might be in an area as high as 122 decibels for 12 hours at a time. Almost everything I shoot now is suppressed and I still wear my custom fitted ear plugs. I carry my ear plugs with me all the time. To bad I still hear the ringing with the plugs in. Nothing like having to have the TV on when you go to sleep to try to drown out the constant ringing. I think most of us feel your pain although maybe not so much. Good luck.

[enoch59]

I just went to an audiologist yesterday for my first hearing test ever. I have had a high pitched ringing in both ears for the past ten years or so. I was hoping I'd be able to get hearing aids but the Doc told me that I wasn't deaf enough for the insurance to cover me so at the tender age of 60 I just have to live with it. I can hear ok except for the higher pitched sounds which get lost in the ringing. I guess I should be happy that I'm not bad enough for hearing aids. Tell that to my wife when she walks into the room and I've got the TV up to 48 just to hear what's being said. Sorry honey. I shoot alot but always use protection except when I'm hunting and that is almost always just one shot and I never seem to hear it. I'm sorry to hear about what Terry is going through. I hope all who are reading this thread will take note and protect their ears from damage. My wife and I will send up some prayers for you Terry. God can heal anything.

[462]

I have substantial hearing loss and quite loud, multi-frequency tinnitus in both ears. VA issued hearing aids have helped the loss, still certain consonants sound the same, making many words very difficult to decipher. The tinnitus can be bothersome, especially at bed time.

[Digger]

Quite a few of us out there ... age 62 ... constant ringing in the left ear as I type ... been shooting off and on thru the years , didn't think much about protection .
Until a few years back ....
Job at the time was classified "O+M" ... emergency gas line repair , the man who goes in to a situation that the fire department stands back from till the gas flow is stopped (natural gas) ...
Got called out to a scene .. an excavator on a job site doing water main install sliced clean thru a 2" natural gas main line ... pushing about 60 pounds pressure .
Fire dept had their hoses pointed at it in case ..
I suited up in my "bug suit" (full retardant suit) with oxygen supply and proceeded into the hole ... but I forgot my ear plugs !!!!
Too late ... with all the police , fire dept. and everyone else in the world watching as I went in ...
The machine cut the line clean on one side so the other side of the plastic main was dangling so I was able to squeeze it off .. but while I was working on that , the clean cut side was blowing , screaming gas ,constant roar at my head ,left ear ..just about a foot away all the while ... couldn't hear much from my left side for a few days after ..
paid the price , now it is a constant high pitch tone .
If only there was a cure.

[shoot-n-lead]

I am 53 and have it in my right ear most of the time. It varies in severity depending on my allergy/sinus state at the time. As I type this, I can hear it above the TV, I guess that this is probably due to the frequency rather than decibel level. There are times that it can make me a little anxious when I am trying to go to sleep. It is aggravating, but I am blessed that it is not worse as I hear some guys talking about theirs and it makes me realize that I probably should not complain about mine.

[geargnasher]

I have a little bit of ringing in my ears from time to time and weird dropouts in either ear where suddenly I go virtually deaf for a few seconds and a clear sine tone (about A-440, I also have "perfect pitch") creeps in and then tapers off. Never have had ear problems and this has gone on for years, so who knows. Much of my life I've been involved with impact tools, beating on metal with hammers and punches, grinding, and operating light pneumatic nail guns, much of the time without hearing protection but always with eye protection. Always been religious with "ears" when shooting, but oddly, the only significant hearing loss I have is high pitches in my right ear from an accident with a .22 auto rifle as a kid: Shooting it without hearing protection and a round stovepiped and went off when the bolt slammed the rim against the ejection port. Being left-handed, it went off about a foot from my ear and I didn't hear much out of that side for a day or two. As for understanding voices, I've always had trouble with that anyway, and it has nothing to do with hearing loss, but with the inability to mentally sort and isolate audio inputs. If it wasn't for close-captioning, I'd miss most of what comes out of TV speakers. I don't go to the movies much, either.

Now, for the anxiety part, sounds to me like that's the main issue rather than a physical hearing handicap. Also keep in mind that allergy meds and steroids can cause a variety of blood pressure spikes or drops and other fun stuff that can affect perceived hearing.

Gear

[acguy45]

Yup its nothing nice, mine started out by me trying to be young and cool A.K.A (dumb) by not wearing ear pro when working or shooting. Then I got my bell rung a time or two down range. I have to have background noise or be basted to sleep. I fail my annual hearing test's on the regular to. but it's strange how on the third try I pass some how.

[2thepoint]

I live with someone who is suffering from some of the same symptoms you have. About a year ago my wife experienced "sudden hearing" loss in her left ear. Her hearing was perfect on a Friday and three days later on Monday couldn't distinguish sounds in her left ear. Being a nurse, she was very careful to protect her ears from loud noise. Overall she's in excellent health for being 60. The ENT's chalked the hearing some sort of a viral infection without any rhyme or reason. No prior symptoms. Along with the hearing loss came the tinnitus which she still struggles with on a daily basis. She takes Zyrtec and Mucinex to help reduce the congestion in her ear. Any of the decongestants that contain "DM" or Sudafed increase her anxiety level and fires up the tinnitus!! She has to sleep with an audio device next to the bed that plays continuous water sounds to distract her from the ringing & roaring. Zanax, a mild tranquilizer is the only thing that helps her control the tinnitus during the day. They suspect that the steroid sprays worked in reverse and contributed to the congestion. The clogging or congestion worsens the tinnitus so she wears silicone ear plugs to shower in fear of getting water in her ear. Then there's the monthly visits the ENT to remove wax, fluid, etc. She's scheduled to have a surgical cochlear implant called a Baha 4. They surgically implant a titanium post in the bone behind her left ear. After three months of healing they fit her with a small module(the Baha 4) that snaps on to the post. She removes the Baha when showering and bedtime. My understanding is that the Baha transmits sound via induction to the implanted post.
If you haven't already, I strongly suggest that you connect with the best ENT you can find. They can plug you into the right resources, help with options and alternative therapies, development of a long term treatment plan and maintenance. Read, read, read and read some more on the subject!! Check out tinnitus support groups in your area. Ask your ENT if anyone in So Cal is doing research or medical trials that might fit your needs. Sorry if I got a little carried away...I watch my wife suffer with it every day.
As a number of other members have posted - Encourage everyone exposed to loud sounds to wear ear protection!
I wish you all the best and hope you're feeling better soon!!

[CGT80]

Gear, you are right about the anxiety. It has only been 3-4 weeks since I realized the change was not going away. My hearing would fluctuate once in a while anyway, but then return. The tinnitus can fluctuate and sinus issues will change things. I do get the very loud ringing and loss of hearing for a couple seconds, then it goes away. That happens to my mom as well. She has tinnitus from ear infections as a teen.

I just case gauged a bunch of ammo, and the sounds are pretty much balanced. I don't hear myself talk as much in my right ear and I don't hear voices or the stereo as well. If I look straight at a person and listen to them, sometimes it almost seems balanced. It is more of a discomfort than a handycap. The doc didn't recommend hearing aids for mild hearing loss, unless I had a hard time communicating. My right ear peaks at -40 db at 4k hertz. My left only drops to -35 at most. The left has a little loss in the low frequency and a little more loss than the right ear at 8k, but at that level the loss is slight. There is a narrow range from 3-5k where the loss is the greatest. The doc says that most speech is below this area and that kids or womens' voices will be the most likely to give me trouble.

I know I am lucky to not have bigger problems. Some of you guys have it much worse. I have done some great things since I had the tinnitus get worse, two years ago. It didn't stop me from being a talented and able bodied person but it does have some effect on me. I have neck and back problems that can limit me more than the tinnitus, when they are flared up.

I was reluctant to wear glasses all the time, but I also like the fact that I always have polycarbonate to protect my eyes. I don't have the side shields, and I use a face shield most of the time when cutting and grinding, but they have still saved me a few times. I scratched the new pair with the hook from a chalk line. That would have surely been painful in even the best case scenario, if I hadn't had the glasses. I have astigmatism and I don't see well far away. I can read small print without glasses if need be. My glasses are auto darkening, so they help greatly with bright sun, without messing with sun glasses.

My mom thinks my side to side difference is mostly allergy and sinus related, but she can be optimistic without realizing the facts. I am more of a realist. I hope it improves, but the feel and sense of my ear along with what the docs say, and what the hearing test shows, leads me to not get my hopes up. I was surprised that the hearing test was drawn out by hand vs. from a computer. The chart appears to be carefully mapped out, but there is room for error.

I was worried that shooting may have lead to my hearing change, but my doc is an occasional shooter and says I am relatively safe if I double plug like I have been doing. I know it doesn't drop the sound to what is considered perfectly safe, but I don't shoot on a daily basis. I don't usually make it to the range more than once a week. I might plink for 4-5 hours, but that includes setup and breaks. Sometimes I get sidetracked with picking up lead. I may plink for a couple hours after a 3-4 hour competition. I shoot only outside and I stay 10-20 feet behind the shooter while the competition is going on. I do RO squad mates sometimes. I try not to shoot from our rifle pads too often as the canopy and concrete don't dissipate the sound. I like to use the private bays that have rock and dirt to reflect sound less, although I sometimes shoot from under the wood canopy on those.

I am a fan of lighter loads. Cast boolits are cheap and the noise is lower in rifles like the 30-30 and 30-06. Recoil is less fun than it used to be when I was a teen. I have a 460 XVR revolver, but I don't shoot many medium or hot loads. A 270 cast boolit at 1000 fps from trail boss, is my bulk load. I use a 750 fps 45 colt load also. The gun is a work of art, and the light loads keep the sound comparable to ordinary sized pistols. I always used my best passive muffs for the medium and hot loads as well. The ar will bark a little but it is still an 18" barrel and has a battlecomp, which is not nearly as obnoxious as some.

With all that said, I don't see how shooting should be a real danger to my hearing in my case. I see many guys that just wear electronic ear muffs and they even take them off when we reset the targets. I don't think the muffs alone are enough, and they may or may not have damage when using them. I have only shot on a regular basis for the last 5 years. Before that it was only a few times per year. I think the years of construction, music, vehicles, and all of life's other loud sounds along with infections and sinus problems, have done the majority of the damage I have.

Shooting has been my main hobby and enjoyment for the last 5 years. I would hate to give it up or significantly slow down with it. I really got into boolit casting when I got the big revolver, two years ago. I did dirt bike riding, but gave that up after I broke my leg. I have a vw dunebuggy, but it needs some work and gas is expensive when I am pulling a toyhauler at 6 mpg with my truck plus what the buggy sucks up. I went snowboaring for my birthday on Dec. 18th, for the first time since 2008. I don't want to get hurt doing that and I don't have anyone to board with anymore. Shooting has been more affordable and safe than some other hobbies. I do some fabrication work on various projects and auto work on my classic trucks and buggy. That is part necessity and part hobby.

Thanks for sharing your stories, guys. It is nice to see that I am not alone. Heck, 33 seems to be a common age for some of us. Life can really be a PITA when things don't work as they are supposed to. When you are young, you don't think about having to deal with all the problems that will pop up.

I lost my junior high/high school best friend to a heart condition, a handful of years ago. His dad had a heart attack and died unexpectedly, then he found out he had the same condition. He had open heart surgery, but there were problems and it got him while he was recovering. I have know people who have had cancer and some who lost the battle. Others have had different problems that were severe and really disabled them. I could have it much worse, and am thankful I don't. It is challenging enough to deal with hearing problems. Hopefully people will learn from those of us who weren't careful enough. We have to be careful with our hearing, even when it comes to medical problems or which drugs we take, as there are many threats to our ears.


How do you guys feel about continuing to shoot even though your hearing is already compromised to one degree or another?

[MaryB]

Many years of way to loud music, concerts standing next to speaker stacks, open exhaust on stock cars, but for shooting i have always used ear plug or muffs(I find muffs to be more comfortable). I have pretty bad tinnitus and a friend fired a shotgun 2 feet from my right ear pheasant hunting, I don't wear ear plugs then so we can hear each other on drives. That triggered hearing loss on that side of 30db t 6khz basically all the t and s sounds seem to hit in there. So far I ignore the tinnitus and hearing loss is borderline hearing aid.

[uscra112]

I can see that this is a sore subject for a lot of us! Me, too.

Have had tinnitus for at least twenty years, probably the result of 40 years and half a million miles on motorcycles. Not exhaust noise so much as the constant roar of air going by the helmet. Too late I began to wear earplugs. I has gotten progressively worse.

Human speech without hearing aids is almost impossible without I can see the speaker's lips. (Yes, I've unconsciously taught myself to lip-read). Hard on my extended family, because I seem to be ignoring people when they speak to me. Music is only a memory. Telephones - well, I put mine on "speaker" and then hold it to my ear. Even that doesn't help unless I've got my hearing aid on.

THE major gripe I have is that the medical monopoly has driven the price of hearing aids beyond my means. I used Songbird "disposables" with some success. $120 per ear, and with a little surgery it was easy to change the batteries, so they could actually be used indefinitely. Well, they caught on to that, so you can't buy them anymore. Now they only offer one for $500, which is barely affordable for me, and it doesn't work as well at all.

One significant and zero-cost thing I have found is that high intake of salt aggravates the tinnitus, so I am always on the lookout. No more Fritos. Expensive meds did absolutely nothing for me but drain my wallet. Cutting down on salt did help.

I soldier on, thankful that I can still see pretty well. Not like when I was 20, but with moderate help I am still pretty much normal.

[Taylor]

Small arms fire and loud explosions are good for hearing loss and tinnitus,been dealing with it for years.I have 22 year old son,he too was an 11Bravo,has a blown out year and hearing loss in both years.

[William Yanda]

Glad you're getting some help from the medicos. Since you asked.......
A year ago, when I had an ear infection, my sister-a PA, suggested a 50/50 vinegar water solution. When I saw an ENT Doc, he modified that to 50/50 vinegar alcohol. Turns out the infection was fungal, the antibiotics just fed it. I endorse the vinegar alcohol remedy. The vinegar acidifies the environment discouraging the fungus, the alcohol dries it out, also discouraging infection.
My wife has tinnitus-has found relief with allergy shots. It hasn't gone away but it is much reduced.
Perhaps after a while, the difference will be perceived as normal. Loss of any sense is alleged, alleged mind you to enhance the others.
Bill

[Screwbolts]

"When I saw an ENT Doc, he modified that to 50/50 vinegar alcohol. Turns out the infection was fungal, the antibiotics just fed it. I endorse the vinegar alcohol remedy. The vinegar acidifies the environment discouraging the fungus, the alcohol dries it out, also discouraging infection."

And it does not take a 50/50 solution!

I have wore Hearing Aids for 21 years. 10 years ago I got a nasty fungal infection in rt ear canal, after 3 months of being seen by ENT specialist and using every recommended by specialist over the counter fungus remedy and 3 prescriptions he was dumbfounded and sat on the counter in exam room scratching his head. His lights finally came on! he reached down opened the top draw of said counter pulls out an empty driper bottle ( bottle like eye drop bottle) and an old stack of small pieces of paper rubber banded together. Try this nothing else is working, of course up to this time we have tried expensive USDA approved drugs, companies made money!

Old mimeographed paper was directions for ear drops. Get 1 pint of new ( uncontaminated ) rubbing alcohol, draw off and discard 3 teaspoons of alcohol, replace with 3 teaspoons of White Vinegar. shake mildly. apply 3 to 4 drops of solution 3 to 4 times a day to ears with drip bottle, as directed. In 2 weeks of using drops my ear was clear and healed. I have periodically used the drops any time I get an itch or discomfort in my ears from wearing HAs. just mixed second pint last year, still have paper taped to back of medicine Cabernet.

This solution simply replaces the acidity in the ear canal and helps wax flow out I believe. It is a very soothing solution for the ears.

Werks fer me.

Ken