Tinnitus: Causes and Measuring sounds

There are 4 installments in this series links below
Part 2
Tinnitus: Causes

Today I’m going to talk about causes again. I spent a lot of time in a noisy truck. I often stood outside the truck talking and working, not thinking about the effects this could cause later on. It makes me mad that somewhere alone the line I didn’t hear about this problem. No one said that long term working in a noisy environment could do this. True I should have known but where is the campaign to warn people. When you get that yearly check up why isn’t there a brochure they give you that warns: protect your hearing.

My dad also has Tinnitus; he worked in the coalmines. I never thought riding inside a truck could be as noisy as working around mining equipment. I wonder at times if there is some way to link this to our family genes. My mother doesn’t have it. Only my dad and no other person in my family has it either. So I assume it comes from being around constant noise.

Sound Meter:
Did you know that you should be wearing earplugs when you sweep, blow dry your hair, mow the grass, or flush the commode. Sorry couldn’t resist that last one. I checked the volume of sound when you flush the commode it’s loud. Many things are louder than you think. You expect to wear earplugs when you go shooting. Go to a NASCAR event or a music concert.

I wonder did you ever consider popping in a set of earplugs when you mow the grass, or sweep, or ladies when you blow-dry your hair.

Here is a link to a good chart. Just copy and paste it into your browser. It will give you an idea how loud things are, compared to the amount of time to be around these noises. I’ve read that prolonged exposure to sound/noise levels as low as 70 db can result in damage to hearing.

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html


Daily life with Tinnitus:
Now that I have Tinnitus I use earplugs as often as I can. I warn you at times when you first remove the plugs the sounds of your own Tinnitus may seem more noticeable. I would rather be reminded of my Tinnitus than to have it get worse. My dads roaring in his ears, is really bad, he can hold a razor to the side of his face and hear the roaring sound, over the razor.

So I suggest that though it might seem to bring your Tinnitus to your attention it’s better than having it grow worse over time. So please buy you a pair of earplugs and use them. You too can buy a Sound Pressure level Meter. They are not too expensive and it’s a good way to teach yourself and your children what a safe level of sound . . . really sounds like.


I'll have a quick wrap up tomorrow tune in.
Samanta



Part one is here on this page
Part 2 Tinnitus: Causes and Measuring sounds
Part 3 Tinnitus: Final Installment
Part 4 Years later