Hello everyone, I was shopping online and bought 3 personal alarms for £10 they are advertised for children to take to school by attaching them to their schoolbag and the elderly to raise the alarm if they fall out of a chair for example. So I bought these alarms and they arrived on the 24th June and I was not going to test them due to them being loud however the instruction leaflet says long term exposure to this sound can permanently damage the tympanic membrane and do not put near the ear so yes loud, but not an extreme warning that you shouldn't even set this off as could cause instant deafness or permanent tinitus!
My kids were in the room however a moment of stupidity I set one off and it took about 3 to 7 seconds to turn it off. The back door was open and I could feel the sound flying out the door it was a very strange and loud experience. I looked up the alarm online and it is 140 decibels!!! This level can cause instant deafness I can't believe that these are being sold and apparently they are police approved.
Anyway I immediately had slight pain
My children were OK
I called 111 and they said if there is no bleeding or anything no emergency however call GP on Monday.
I felt OK ish slight pressue, weird sensations. Felt sensitive to sounds especially outside. For the first few days, Then on the Thursday the loud high pitched ringing started. Titnitus pretty much constant since then I had a few quite days where I thought it was going but then went loud again.
Friday I saw the Dr and he said it was such a short duration of time give it another 2 weeks.
He had to look up the duration of time for damage but he was looking at 100 decibels not 140db however I'm not one to argue.
Specsavers gave me a hearing test and my left ear is mild hearing loss -40 db he said come back in a year for another test. He said 7 out of 10 people have tinitus includinlg himself as if it isn't a big deal really. And said my ears look healthy
I saw another Dr 2 weeks later and he said he will write to the ENT for an opinion on whether me and my children need to be referred.
Today 19th July I went to hidden hearing and she said my eardrum are a bit rippled and she hasn't seen like mine before so she is writing to the Dr to refer me to ENT and the children just incase. She also said she hasn't seen anyone exposed to 140db before.
My main issue is the kids they are 16 and 18. I've never put them I'm any danger and they live a healthy active lifestyle and I feel terrible. My daughter had very mild ear ache for the first few days no other symptoms. My son has had mild ear ringing every so often a bit of pressure but generally OK. It is nearly 4 weeks and I'm hoping symptoms do not start or get worse.
Today I went for a walk without earplugs as I want to hear my daughter talking but now my ears are 'sore' and feel weird sensations In the head around the ear, so will definitely wear them outside
I threw the alarms in the bin as I was so scared of them going off again. I wish I never bought them. I can't turn back the clock and I probably will never forgive myself. If I have to live with this I could cope but worrying if I've damaged my kids ears and they will have to worry about their ears their whole life is filling me with dread.
I hope my kids will be OK my daughters left ear is full with wax but her Right ear is clear and the left is the side the alarm went off. My sons ears are full with wax too so I'm hoping that is why they are OK at the moment and hopefully not damaged. The audiologist said earwax can reduce 30 db
I had my ears sringed last year and so clear and my ear drums look rippled she said she is not sure if this is due to the acoustic shock or if I was born with it.
It will be 4 weeks on Saturday and feeling awful I'm the fittest, cautious and most healthiest of my family to the point they take the piss and I do this!!! I can't believe this situation.
Looking forward to chatting and please I know I did this I have already criticised myself a million times I just want to have some advice and to be a part of the forum as I'm probably going to be stuck with this for a while
I feel unlucky but extremely lucky we didn't suffer instant deafness and I feel like the only one in this sort of situation. Surely someone else has been stupid enough to set one off
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Laura878787
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well Laura this is how I see it. You have been a good mother. You are still a good mother. You did something with good intentions that had unexpected consequences. You cannot change what happened so don’t beat yourself up about it.
You’ve done what you can to rectify the situation but might have to wait and see what transpires.
Over the last few years on this forum there have a been a few posts from people who have had loud noises. If they don’t see your post then you can be fairly sure they don’t go on this site any more and are therefore as happy with it as they can be. If they do respond, then let’s see what they come up with.
Thank you, It just such a worry when it's the ears as it's not always easy to see what damage has been done if at all but surely some sort of damage has been done at that level of decibels. I'm just hoping the kids are OK and that maybe because I'm older and my ears are free from wax that I've got the constant the ringing and other symptoms. Thank you for replying it means a lot. I tried to post on tinitus talk as there is more people on there but my posts kept on getting deleted. My children are telling me I'm over_worrying and are being nice about it but even if they are OK will never forgive myself for this.
Hi Laura . I've been thinking about it today. You've got a lovely reply from Rosie. I agree with everything she says. I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Please don't beat yourself up anymore. It's not your fault. Concentrate on managing your T . You're in the right place 🙂
Thank you! Yesterday I went out without earplugs as I'm trying not to overprotect. And later on my ears ached today my face has felt a bit numb is this normal, anyone know.
stick with this crew it’s friendly and helpful Tinitus Talk can be scary and unfriendly it’s full of extreme views very often conflicting.
If it’s any comfort sounds like you are suffering the after effects of loud noise exposure. The sound sensitivity & discomfort usually calms down over time. I have been thru similar & so have others on here. Try to ride this difficult bit out best you can it will improve. It took me nearly 9 months before my discomfort and sensitivity settled down. The recovery happened incrementally so don’t panic it if does not happen quickly. I still have tinnitus but it’s not the problem it once was.
Also while time is doing it’s thing get support from audiology at hosp it should help emotionally and practically.
The DR is writing to the ENT as he wasn't sure what to do and had never heard of steroids or any other treatment (which I think it's too late now) the audiologist (hearing aid dispenser at hidden hearing) said there are ripples on my eardrum she hasn't come across before so she is also writing to my Dr. However not really sure what can be done no so I'm just going to have to recover. The audiologist at specsavers who I saw before her said my ears look healthy, didn't mention my eardrum looking funny.
It would have been good to get some advice on how to recover from the Dr or audiologist for example ear protection but nothing
It is not my children's fault they have been exposed to this sound and they can't even be seen, I have looked at private ent but not sure If anything can be done anyway so paying hundreds of pounds for a consultation doesn't make sense?
I called 111 initially as I thought maybe we should go to A and E however it is not clear what a and e has an ent department and even if o can just turn up? Especially as after the event the symptoms were not so evident so if we all turned up and said we feel OK they'd just send us home. I initially had a bit of pain, slight sickness feeling and headache but nothing severe
I feel like I haven't come across anyone else exposed to this level of sound I've been looking post from people who shot lous guns as these are over 140db but apparently that is a second or less whereas this alarm was more than 3 seconds 🤔
A firefighter went completely deaf In both ears after a 140 decibel siren went off near his ear not sure how long he was exposed but he couldn't work again can't believe some alarms are this loud!
I did see a post where a woman on tinitus talk said her sister had one of these alarms and it went off in her car and she didn't know how to turn it off ( comes with a long pin you take out then you have to pit it back in to turn off) she said must have gone off for 20 seconds before she threw it out the window however that was 4 years ago and she hasn't replied to my post as it would be interesting to see of she recovered.
She went and got presidone straight away. Everyone seems to mention this but the 2 people I have spoke to at 111 didn't advise this and they went off to speak to their manager to see if I need to go a and e but no they just said to go to the Dr.
I've seen 2 Dr's now and they didn't know and the 2 audiologist didn't seem to know either ?
I live just outside London so it's not like I'm in some backwards old fashioned place so not sure, maybe it's recommended for people who have evidently lost a lot of hearing so they have a chance of getting it back?
Anyway I'm in week 5 now my children seem OK at the moment so that to me is the main worry. My son is worried about sounds outside so where's plugs out and about for now and here's some ringing but he said he is nit worried too much about it ( I'm scared it'll gey worse)
I know people live with it etc but I don't want to be the cause of this but if I am well have to live with it I can't turn back the clock.
If I have to live with tinitus I am probably cope ok as I have done for the past 4 weeks I have been able to work as I wfh so I can talk to customers on hands free. I can still exercise and get on with daily tasks.
The biggest problem is going outside and having to keep putting my earplugs in and out and also being in loud environments such as restaurants, gyms, karate as it is going to make life slightly more harder wearing ear plugs in these places and communicating but I guess I need to protect to try and heal of any healing can be done?
Thanks for your reply 👍 I see you are a musician . I love singing and listening to music so we have put that on hold for now but we listen to music quietly
Hopefully I can get to a point where I don't need to worry about ears all the time! 😀
Hi i think while you are awaiting deeper NHS support you would find joining a tinnitus support group helpful - it will answer some questions and give you a better perspective
Here is a link to online tinnitus support I have used myself
Do use ear plugs for very noisy environments (anything over 85 decibels) but try not to overprotect your ears by having plugs in for most of the time when you are out and about. Overprotecting can halt your progress in overcoming noise sensitivity caused by loud noise exposure.
Thank you Bornville really appreciate your support. I managed to clean my house, go for a jog with my son. And now studying. My sons xbox is on in the room and the noise of it actually masks the tinitus I think it has some sort of fan in it not sure. I just used my loop experience earplugs when hoovering as my dyson is pretty loud and when I was in sainsburys as I find supermarkets to be loud with all the baskets and the metal cages being moved about and all the beeping! However I took them out walking home. I practised karate which always keeps me focused through bad times I haven't been to a lesson since this ear problem I my attempt to go with earplugs in as there is a lot of shouting but I need to here my instructor so hopefully it will be alright just trying to carry on.
My son said he has had ringing before the alarm but it has increased more since the alarm but not constant so I'm hoping all OK and my daughter seems OK it is hard to tell
Are you able to continue with all the things you did before or are you wearing ear protection a lot of the time still ?
You seem to be using the earplugs sensibly which is good. You ask about the changes I had to make. I had to make some changes initially changed jobs as I worked in a high risk area of the music industry which is how I got the problem in the first place. I still work with music but in a different area.
I now only use plugs for situations and environments that are very loud and also when working with music. The cinema and all concerts are a must for earplugs. To be honest I should have been doing some of these things before I got tinnitus.
I can recommend getting a referral to see dr Lawrence Mc Kenna in London - a tinnitus psychologist. He put me on the right path emotionally it really speeded my recovery up. It’s a fair wait so perhaps get the process going - you may find you don’t need it by the time it comes round but it’s a bit of insurance if you find you do.
Thank you Bournville 😊 sorry to hear you had to change jobs. I am so bloody happy I can continue with mine i have been scared and depressed which isn't like me. I usually laugh off mistakes and life events but I'm angry at the fact that these alarms are being sold online and there is no proper warning. I'm angry at myself for setting it off with my kids in the room. I just have go keep working and doing what I usually do luckily I can for now but it is hard to divert the mind from it all. I was going to take my daughter to the lion King for her birthday next month she wasn't to bothered about going but we are not now as I don't want to trigger their ears whilst they seem OK at the moment but I'm sure at that level of decibels their ears must be sensitive at the moment I wish I knew
I think unless your kids are complaining of symptoms they are fine. Naturally your concerned about your kids but If you stress about there hearing too much It could easily project the worry on to them. Sure educate them to protect there hearing at concerts, working with machinery etc but try to keep it matter of fact.
Please dont beat yourself up about the incident with the alarm - i agree they should not be commercially available.
Hi yes I did - left ear pain and a feeling of fullness in the ear for me. Any sounds containing higher frequencies were harsh sounding and uncomfortable.
The good news all that - the pain, ear fullness and sound discomfort settled down over time - it will do for you too. Your not stuck like this.
Hi again Laura I can see this is stressful and a worry for you all.
Please do get in touch with Myriam Westcott she will be able to help & advise via Skype. Really helped me while I was waiting for NHS. She is a lovely person and a world class authority in helping those who have experienced noise induced trauma. Email her and take it from there.
Yeah the only thing that may have helped them is ear wax, my daughter has ear was in left ear (which was the side the alarm went off) and the back door was open to their right hand side, the were sitting near the back door but only a meter or 2 away from the alarm
Not in a million years would I think setting it off that quickly would cause this
Sudden noise exposure should cause sudden symptoms but if damage is done or happening it could come on later I've read so many scientific articles and other people's stories about delayed onset of symptoms its just hard not to worry
The fact that the door was open and I could feel the sound escaping outside may have help the noise shot out the door. If the door was close that probably would have made us all deaf instantly
So much info out there on the internet about this subject a lot of it is too general and often conflicting - I went round in circles myself doing the same thing. It’s very easy to allow the myriad of info out there to a lead to a catastrophic view of the situation.
That’s why I suggest you talk to Myriam W that should give you a plan, give you a medical perspective and answer the concerns you are struggling with. At least email her & see if she she thinks she can help?
Often I found that I was reinforcing my specific concerns by looking at stuff that related to what I was worried about. To save you from all this despair I really would advise against tying to surf your way to the answers and get some proper advice from a qualified specialist. With all due respect to specsavers I'm not sure there audiology dept is the best place in your situation. Your GP can help guide you to the right hospital dept which you must do - but your GP’s own knowledge on noise trauma is likely to be understandably limited.
I remember saying to my children don't set the alarms off unless there is an emergency and they knew not to they are sensible. Then I go and set it off, can't believe this.
They didn't appear to be that dangerous!!
I really hope that kids are not taking these alarms to school or people buying them for their grandparents but the reviews say they have bought the alarms for their friend as stocking fillers! Here have some tinitus and hearing loss for Xmas!
Anyway I sent an econsult to my gp yesterday morning they are meant to call back by 6pm today. No one has called!
I rarely go to the Dr and I live a healthy life and try to avoid medicine etc however when I want a bit of advice and help , nothing
The initial dr I saw said nothing to worry about doubt there is any permanent damage so my son has tried not to worry but now he has tinitus. My son has been more careful with sound as I told him to keep things quite but he knows I am a bit of a worrier. There is no advice from anyone I've seen, if the Dr said be careful for a few weeks he may have been more careful anyway coulda, woulda shoulda.
The second Dr I saw seemed to think it was strange I wanted to start protecting ears after the exposure rather than before.
Well I wasn't expecting 140db and I want to ensure I'm taking steps to avoid further damage etc
No one I have spoken to, I speak to a lot of scientist on a daily basis even knows as I have been asking people as I am curious
I can cope with my tintius I've only had it for 3 or 4 weeks but if it stays this way I think I can live with it. I just hope my son can he said he could live with it but it's a bit annoying, he has only had it for a day ongoing. It has been on and off till today.
Just hoping now my daughter don't get it, it's a miracle if not but hope she will be OK she starts her maths degree in September
This year I've been the fittest, healthiest I've ever been, training for my 4th dan, studying. Enjoying my job. Finally things going in the right direction
This stupid alarm situation happened on the 24th June and on the 1st July I had booked gum surgery to fixed a recessed gum I had which cost nearly 2k I had been nervous to get this done, its funny because as soon as this ear situation happened I didn't even worry about the gum surgery, I couldn't eat for 2 weeks properly or talk after, everyone was asking about my gum and worried about me but the ears were the worry but no one seems to give a s*** about the ears lol
I told my sister about the situation and I was sitting on my mums garden near the back door and my sister come around and knocked loudly behind me. Then said how is your mouth. Completely forgot about the ears.
My other sister just said I've had ringing load of times (after concerts etc) and said she has injuries too (very sympathetic lol)
I have eventually told my mum as we have a birthday party in September and I said it's not going to be too loud is it? and she said she doesn't want it to be boring and I can wear ear protection, no compromise or anything to make me feel comfortable
She text me if I'm feeling better today and I'm trying to explain this is a long process of healing
Anyway just trying to keep a log of progress and thoughts not sure why
I've managed to have a constructive day at work, played badmington in the garden with my children do p90x plyo now going to do a bit of studying ears ringing high frequency but I can still focus
Worried about my children but they are strong and they don't blame me as they know I'm bloody caring and cautious but I do blame myself.
I spoke to one of my customers today very smart man who happened to talk about how a certain medication he was on made him have allergies to food but it wasn't listed as a side effect and he said sometimes you learn the hard way ( I didn't tell him about my situation as I'm at work so keep it professional) however you live and you learn and you cannot prevent everything no matter what you do. I just am a bit of a perfectionist and the ear thing is frustrating as there is no control and too much uncertainty for me and one the damage Is done you can't fix it. I'm at peace with my own damage as I'm a bit older, you lose thousands of neurons a day after the age of 30 but my children are younger however maybe they can recover more who knows?
I don't drink, smoke I eat healthy, fit and happy,
I am quite risk averse and always try and be careful but here I am setting off extremely loud alarms that could potentially deafen within a second, seriously!!! Why?!
It's funny as whilst I was in the Dr's surgery waiting room the poster opposite me was advertising personal alarms for peace of mind !! Let's just hope they don't get the same ones as me, easy to find online!
I've never wanted to be seen as a victim or have my identity to be weak. I like to be strong smart and confident. However I am small 5.3 quiet and don't make a fuss and this has meant I have been a victim of harassment plenty of times in my life, I don't know why, I keep to myself as I am so busy but I am friendly. More people are getting mugged at knifepoint in the area, and I have been threatened but nothing I can do. As the people that do this know how to wear a mask and manipulate people. Whilst I'm just working and earning for my family minding my own business. Anyway this alarm has harmed me more than anyone has managed to so the only thing to fear is fear itself right?
I don't usually post in forums or online but I don't know maybe someone can relate
Thanks to everyone who has commented and shown some support it means a lot. Hopefully I can offer some advise and support to people too, just in my own head right now
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