hearing loss at concert

May 19, 2007 2:05 PM

I went to a concert three days ago and my left ear is still ringing. How do I tell if it's permanent hearing loss? Should I see a doctor?

Just before I went to the concert I took a shower and cleaned the wax out of my ears and in the morning went to the dentist by chance. I mention the dentist because I have tmj and it might be related somehow. Right after the show when I walked outside my ears were ringing really bad and my left hasn't stopped. Is there anything I can do to prevent permanent damage or would seeing an audiologist help?

posted by apdato to health (22 comments total)

I abuse my ears at shows way more often than I should. It usually takes a few days for the ringing to stop. Longest it ever took was a little over 2 weeks. I'm not saying that's OK, or that it's not causing permanent damage, or that you shouldn't see a doctor - that's just my experience.
posted by ferociouskitty at 2:14 PM on May 19, 2007

Yeah this has happened to me quite a few times. Just waiting hasn't failed me yet. I probably will suffer from permanent damage at some point and so may you if you keep it up but I wouldn't worry too much if it isn't something you do on a regular basis.
posted by sveskemus at 2:19 PM on May 19, 2007

FYI: ringing in the ears (tinnitus) can be caused by things other than exposure to loud noise. Meniere's disease (which usually also includes hearing loss and vertigo) can cause tinnitus, as well as a number of medications (it's a classic symptom of aspirin toxicity). More info in this review article.

IMHO, 3 days of tinnitus is about 2 days too many. If you have a long history of loud noise exposure, I'd recommend a hearing test. Hi-frequency hearing loss is increasingly common in today's iPod generation. Seeing the status of your hearing may inspire you to use earplugs at concerts to protect your perfect hearing (if your audiogram is pristine), or preserve your damaged hearing (if it's not).
posted by scblackman at 2:33 PM on May 19, 2007

Please buy a set of quality earplugs. If you really enjoy going to shows, then you're going to want to enjoy music for the rest of your life. I went to a lot of shows through college and afterwards and stood way too close to the speakers. I only had the ringing once or twice, but I now realize I am definitely suffering some level of hearing loss. Luckily, my hearing is still sensitive. It is just very difficult for me to pick out what I want to hear from the background.

I know somebody whose ringing is permanent. I figured that eventually he'd just get used to it and be able to tune it out. Unfortunately, that is not the case, he always hears it.

I don't mean to be alarmist. Personally, I'm hoping technology will advance enough in my lifetime to where I can restore the level of hearing I had when i was younger (I'm 28 now). In any case, I use Etymotic ER20s. They are $15 shipped, and I actually enjoy the sound of shows more with them in. You can hear much more detail when you filter out the crowd noise.

As far as the ringing goes, I haven't heard of anything you can do to diminish it. I'd just wait it out.
posted by AaRdVarK at 2:41 PM on May 19, 2007

As stated above: not a recommendation to see or not see a doctor.

But

It's not uncommon. After seeing Alice Cooper last summer, my ears rang for days. I have heard that, yes, there is hearing damage, and that is the result. But the ringing does go away.
posted by The Deej at 2:53 PM on May 19, 2007

Folks, I have tinnitus. Trust me, you don't want it. I've had a ring tone in my left ear since October 17, 2001. There is no cure and you have to summon a fair chunk of mental discipline every day, forever, just to stop from taking a hacksaw to your ear.

I didn't get it from loud music. I'm just unlucky. But knowing what I know now, if there was any way – ANY way – to prevent it, I would hop on it and not look back.

I sincerely hope yours is temporary.
posted by lpsguy at 3:00 PM on May 19, 2007

Many years ago I went to a Pro-pain/ Pantera show that was the loudest thing I have yet experienced. So much so that my ears rang for three or four days. Like the poster, it freaked me out, and every show I went to after that I brought earplugs.

As AaRdVarK points out, it actually makes the show more enjoyable since you can still feel the impact of the noise, but you can now enjoy the nuances of the actual performance.

FWIW, I didn't go to the doctor, but if had lasted for much longer, I probably would have.
posted by quin at 3:24 PM on May 19, 2007

Never tried them, but some musicians I know swear by Earlove, which attenuate evenly so things don't sound muffled.
posted by phrontist at 5:05 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

You might want to get a hearing test, just to establish a baseline.

Always wear earplugs before your concert, and, if the studies are right, make sure you have enough magnesium in your diet. It appears to lessen damage to your hearing.
posted by adipocere at 5:55 PM on May 19, 2007

The damage is already done, no point in seeing a doctor unless you want a hearing aid (in which case go straight to the audiologist). 3 days of ringing probably represents some permanent damage, too.

Next time wear earplugs.
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:29 PM on May 19, 2007

No point in seeing a doctor, really, because at this point there's nothing you can do if there's permanent damage. Get earplugs. I have permanent damage from a punk show; I'd been going to concerts for years, and after one show my ear just kept ringing. It stopped after about five years. I definitely have hearing loss, and I wear earplugs even to acoustic performances now.
posted by infinitywaltz at 8:03 PM on May 19, 2007

Any damage is permanent damage— that's just how ears work. Get custom earplugs fitted.
posted by klangklangston at 9:14 PM on May 19, 2007

Ya, after three days, di i u wi ama eary. So sorry. Ronald Reagan had permanent hearing loss in one ear from a prop gun discharged too close to an ear. My right ear rings and cuts out and is paifully sensitive to noises in the dish-clanking frequencies. Maybe things will improve over time.
posted by longsleeves at 9:19 PM on May 19, 2007

How do I tell if it's permanent hearing loss?

Yeah, there's no other way to say this. It is permanent hearing loss. Damage to your ears is cumulative, not something that you "might" get eventually. Basically, your ears have probably been experiencing minor loss bit by bit for some time now and this is the result, not of this one show, but of this one show finally pushing you over into noticeable territory.

Go easy on your ears for a few weeks, no headphones or loud noises. After that: Earplugs. Every time.
posted by dhartung at 9:48 PM on May 19, 2007

"Yeah, there's no other way to say this. It is permanent hearing loss."

I think "permanent hearing damage" is a better phrase to use, here. I highly doubt that the OP has actually lost his hearing in that ear. Don't freak him out.

@apdato: I once went to see They Might Be Giants in a very small venue. I stood too close to the stage because, well, everywhere in this place was too close to the stage. It took three days for my left ear to stop ringing.

Now, my hearing's never been excellent. But I can't say I noticed it being any worse afterwards. The only way I can qualify this is by saying that I can still very, very clearly hear the difference between cheap headphones and high quality ones.
posted by CrayDrygu at 10:09 PM on May 19, 2007

@phrontist: Earloves are actually rebranded Etymotic ER20s, so I guess we can call that a consensus.
posted by AaRdVarK at 10:33 PM on May 19, 2007

I thought tinnitus was the result of the ear protecting itself from loud noise by separating the bones that conduct sound?

Basically if you are exposing yourself to loud noise for hours at a time, you are damaging your hearing regardless of whether you have any immediate effects.
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:39 PM on May 19, 2007

If its ringing its damaged. Thats the long and the short of it. Give it 3 more days before you go see a doctor. nthing the wear earplugs at shows suggestion. Its incredible to me that venues arent forced by law to give out earplugs.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:54 PM on May 19, 2007

My mother is an audiologist. I asked her this question for a friend once, exact same: concert, ringing in one ear for three days.

She said with ringing that long, there has been damage. The ringing should subside, and at that point your hearing will be whatever it will be from now on, which is probably isn't going to be as bad as it is with the ringing, and might not even be noticeably different. An audiologist isn't going to be able to tell you whether your hearing has gotten worse or by how much unless you've had previous assessments. But if you get an assessment now, you'll have a base line for future comparison. Also s/he'll be able to tell you if you have any current problems that can be addressed.

Etymotic ER20s or some other type of specialized earplugs are a good idea if you plan on continuing to go to concerts and you want to maintain your hearing.
posted by carmen at 6:27 AM on May 20, 2007

@damn dirty ape: Agreed on the venue thing. At Lollapalooza last year, I was amazed at how many people brought their infants along in a stroller with no hearing protection whatsoever. They didn't hang out way in the back either. You'd see some people with their babies strapped to their belly dancing right in front of a damn speaker array. It made me want to kill somebody. Actually, I'll write Lollapalooza an email about this right now.
posted by AaRdVarK at 8:06 AM on May 20, 2007

That's pretty scary, aardvark. Putting infants in those conditions is to their ears like chain smoking into their crib would be to their lungs.

That said, the lucky part for the OP is that it's never too late to start wearing earplugs in noisy environments. Virtually every adult has some degree of "permanent hearing loss" and few have total loss, so earplugs will help almost everyone.

We're talking real earpugs here (earplugs that form a seal in the ear canal, not wadded cotton balls/etc.), used correctly.
posted by allterrainbrain at 9:34 AM on May 20, 2007

I went to a J Mascis gig in 2001 and was a bit too close to the stage-side PA speakers and front stage monitors (try right on top of them). It was the loudest thing I've ever experienced, and the first time I actually felt pain in my ears from the volume.

Luckily I didn't get any ringing in my ears, but I was virtually deaf for three days afterwards; it felt like my head was underwater. Not a pleasant experience at all.

Ever since I've worn earplugs to gigs I knew would be loud, and I concur with others here in saying that you really do get to actually hear more of the music that way (they cut out the idle chatter from the hipster crowd, which is the biggest bonus).
posted by macdara at 12:18 PM on May 20, 2007