Too much noise has me suffering for days

[Syl]

Went to a party for a toddler at a pizza joint on Saturday. The music was soo loud. It's like being at a concert. I had fun and my tinnitus is unaffected, but it wore me out. I know it was the noise. I didn't do much other than talk & eat. It's Monday & I'm still feeling exhausted.

Syl

[moe]

Syl,
I'd be totally exhausted too! Thank G*d  my kids are older, and I don't have grandchildren! I too become fatigued with all the noise, my tinnitus gets worse, I can only handle so much.
I basically avoid noisy places like the plague. No, sorry can't do THAT. If needed, I wear a pretty orange foamy ear plug in my good ear, that seems to help with the loud background noise.
Feel for ya, hope you're back to yourself soon. Naps are in order!
Maureen, the napping queen

[dalern]

I too experience this.  When I go to the gym and take a class, they are always asking if the music is too loud.  Everyone but me says no!  They do have ear plugs available and I have taken to wearing them!  Somehow, even when people or music are too loud in my good ear, it is painful!
~Dale

[Syl]

Maureen:
I did contemplate not going to the party, but I figured if it got unbearable, I could leave. I stuck around a while because I was enjoying myself. So now I'm suffering. It's Tuesday & I do feel better today.

Dale:
Fortunately, I don't feel any pain, but the noise does leave me feeling drained. I would imagine that wearing ear plugs during your class, makes it difficult to hear the instructor? Or even with the loud music, how can you hear your instructor?

Syl

[Debbi]

Syl, I totally relate to what you are saying!  I have to think twice about doing certain things because I know that I am going to be sideways with fatigue for a day or two after any sort of noisy event. 

My hubby and I went to a wedding a few weeks ago - it was outdoors, under a tent, pounding rain, about 100 people AND a DJ.  It was like a little slice of Hell right here on earth!  :   It took me about a day and a half to feel "normal" again.  I usually have those foam earplugs in my purse, but as luck would have it, I had switched purses and didn't have any with me.

My husband laughs because after any sort of loud event, I have to retreat to my "cone of silence" for awhile.  He knows to just leave me alone and not make any noise...   
Debbi

[Jim Scott]

Syl ~

As the previous posts demonstrate, you have our empathy.  Exposure to continuous loud noise is definitely fatigue-inducing.  The strain of trying to hear people talking through loud music or just the cacophony of many voices talking, laughing and shouting is both difficult and tiring for me.  I once thought it was just my age but I now realize this is common for those of us who are SSD. I've learned to avoid these situations or leave as early as possible.  When neither option is available, I may still enjoy myself, but like you, I suffer from fatigue the next day.  Fortunately, it passes.

I'm glad to learn that you've recovered. 

Jim

[Syl]

I feel fine now. You think I would have learned to keep my earplugs in my purse by now. Why don't I go do that right now?

Syl

[moe]

Good idea Syl!
I hope you get those earplugs strategically placed everywhere like I do. My bedside, TV/computer room, car, kitchen, I think that covers it.
Maureen

[Debbi]

Yes, I learned my lesson, too.  Right after the wedding I distributed ear plugs to every place I could think of that I might ever be ...

[wendysig]

Syl,

Sorry for what you went through, but glad you're feeling better.  I know what you mean about feeling exhausted for days after a loud party or other noisy event.  Between the balance issues that arise for me in crowded situations and the noise, I usually feel like my poor brain is spinning for at least a day.

Wendy

[CHD63]

This must be more common than one would think for those of us having had ANs.  Not sure how much of it is related to hearing loss vs. brain injury from treatment.  I, as well, find noisy environments almost unbearable at times.  Recently we decided to give ourselves a treat and went to The Cheesecake Factory.  Well, the food was delicious and the service was great, but I about croaked in the echo-ey loud environment.  I pulled out my hearing aid and put in my musicians' plug in my good ear and it was tolerable enough to finish our meal.  I could hear my husband and the server well enough to communicate.   However, I was exhausted the next day.

I have an old pair of my husband's ear protectors he used to use when mowing the lawn and keep them in the kitchen at home for softening the blender and disposal noise, as well as clanking of dishes when they are being put away.  The musicians' plug is custom fit from my audiologist, which I just purchased recently.  It can be adjusted for how much noise reduction is desired.  It worked fairly well the other night, but I may have her adjust it to block out more.  The advantage of the musicians' plug is that it is designed to allow for some frequencies to get through (musicians have to be able to hear the music .....).  Do not have the bill yet, but she said it would be about $45 so well worth it to me.

Clarice

[moe]

Clarice,
Yep you gotta do what you gotta do. Those musician ear plugs sound intriguing. So when you said you took out your hearing aid, was that like the BAHA type or the regular type?

This is another one of those things that people don't get. My tinnitus gets worse too, and it's already bad!

Keep pluggn that good ear
Maureen

[Syl]

Saturday, I went to another b-day party. This one was in a home. Lots of people chatting, laughing, enjoying the party, & music playing in the background. Loud, but tolearable for my AN ear--not exactly the extreme noise from a pizza joint.

It was a home I hadn't been to before. Went looking for the bathroom through a dark family room. I didn't see the step. I fell & landed on my knees. I got an instant headache. I was in bad shape. The host & hostess felt bad because they thought I had hit my head. I explained that I don't have to hit my head for such an occurence to result in a headache. I told them that sneezing gives me headaches. This provided them with some relief...sort of. I took 2 Tylenols, went to lie down for some 20 mins. I recovered quickly, but it didn't change the fact that the pain made me cry.

My balance is pretty good, but when challenged by a step in a dark place, the step, so far, has won. A few weeks ago, in a different house, I missed the step down from the kitchen to the dining room. I landed sitting, but I got an instant headache. The lady of the house said that everybody falls there. Sure, but I bet I'm the only one who gets a headache as a result.

Next week I will be visiting another home for the first time for another birthday party. When I arrive I will have to ask the hostess if there are any steps I should know about so I don't take another fall.

Syl

[CHD63]

Maureen .....

Sorry ..... I wasn't very clear about that.  Since I still have 20% hearing in my AN ear with perfect speech recognition, I have a Widex hearing aid that very nicely boosts the volume up in that ear.  When I am in an extremely noisy environment, I turn off my hearing aid in the AN ear by removing it (essentially returning to 20% hearing in that ear) and put the musicians' plug in my good ear.  It worked quite well the other night ..... just did not do it soon enough in the evening.  I guess I could get another musicians' earplug and put it in the AN ear but this worked very well.

Syl, so sorry about your falls AND your resulting headaches.  I learned the hard way to always keep something solid as my focus point and when in a dark or dim situation to have someone with me.  Fortunately my husband has figured out I really do need assistance in the dark and makes himself readily available when I am with him.  When I am by myself, I always hang on to a wall or furniture when navigating unfamiliar terrain in someone's house.

Best thoughts.  Clarice

[Syl]

Clarice:

My hearing in my AN ear is at 20%. But that's word recognition. I thought word recognition was always the first to go in hearing loss. I can hear many other sounds, such as the ice cream truck, barking dogs, car engines. My hearing aid does very little for word recognition, however it does helps with other sounds & some directionality.

How is it possible to have 20% hearing w/ perfect word recognition? Hearing is such a complex sense.

Syl