how long for ears to stop ringing after a concert?

Question

Good afternoon, all.

When I was younger (in my teens), I used to go to concerts and shows all the time. They were often incredibly loud (which was great, I'm not complaining). I would sometimes wake up the next morning with my ears "ringing" but I didn't care because I was just an idiot kid, and it would usually go away by the second day thereafter. At its worst, I would have some residual effects by the end of the 2nd day after, but never by the third.

I'm now 27. I went to a show this past Friday, and was right near the speaker. When I went to bed later Friday night, and woke up Sat morning, my left ear was ringing terribly, and I couldn't hear out of it very well. Unlike 10 years ago, it hasn't seemed to get better quickly - now 3 days later, it's still sort of buzzing out of that ear.

Anyone with medical knowledge want to hazard a guess as to whether this will get better? If so, how long will it take? And is there anything I can do about it?

Answer 1

>First Off< Let me say that I am not a doctor, I didn't/don't play one on T.V., nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

Having gotten that off of my chest, let me just inform you that you are doing >SERIOUS< & >PERMANENT< damage to your hearing.

The "Ringing" you are experiencing is called Tinnitus. It is a result of the damage you are doing/have done to your inner ear.

It results in a loss of some or most of the frequencies in the range of human hearing......(IE: You go deaf!)

If you Ever want to be able to hear >Anything< within a few years (YES! I'm SERIOUS!) Start wearing hearing protection, or avoid ANYTHING that has sound levels of 80dB or more.

The damage you do when you expose your inner ear to sound pressure levels of 80dB+ is BOTH damaging, AND cumulative (It "Adds" up & NEVER goes away!).

Go see an "Ear,Nose, and Throat" Doctor or an Audiologist, and see if you have a chance to save your hearing......

And "Grow up", Loud Music is cool!......Being deaf because of it ISN'T! You're not 15 anymore......

T.S.

Answer 2

Well I'm not an expert but in my advanced science class we talked about how loud things are and the permanent damage they can do on your hearing. With the decibels of the music as loud as they are at a concert you will start damaging your hearing after 30 minutes. I don't know how long that the ringing will last or if it will go away but you are most likely going to not be able to hear as well as you did before the concert.

Answer 3

One would have thought you would have learned by now, but oh well. No lectures. Damage to the delicate structures in the middle ear is cumulative. If the ringing (called tinnitus) isn't resolved in another few days, see your primary care provider who may wish to refer you to an ENT for further evaluation. In the meantime, protect your ears from any more abuse.

Answer 4

I think you have some good suggestions here but one other thing to understand is that once your hearing is damaged it is easier for additional damage to occur