Additional recommendations about: Change of Habits - 2/3

Continuation of list about Change of Habits that could be considered when hyperacusis and tinnitus arise:

8. Bathrooms are often a problem too. Never flush a toilet with the lid up. If possible, never flush while we are in the room. We often flush with our knee (or foot) while holding our fingers in our ears. Sounds odd, but in life you do what you have to do - right!

9. The sound of running water through plumbing often emits a high sound that is distressing... Many of us wear foam or silicon earplugs when we take a shower. The quietest way to get clean is to have someone else draw your bath water. Spray shower heads work better.

10. Noisy pets are very upsetting. Loud barking dogs or chirping birds are the worst offenders. If you are visiting relatives or friends and you know they have an excitable pet that makes noise, wear foam earplugs until they have gotten used to you. You can always take them out once the pet gets acquainted with you.

11. There is a secret to attending small public gatherings that helps ears slowly adjust to increases in sound. If you are going to an event where a gathering of people will be present, it is better to get there early. By doing this, the sound level will slowly increase as people arrive... Also, check out where the speakers are in a room. Rooms with front speakers are much better for us than rooms with surround sound. We need distance from speakers to help our ears handle most public address systems.

12. We can have our family or spouse take a video camera to an event we cannot attend. Once they get back from the event... they will be sharing the moment with you.

13. Many of us are unable to walk on the sidewalk where there is any amount of traffic. If you take a walk, drive to a quiet area ...

14. Shoveling snow is also a problem because the metal shovel scraping the hard pavement can be too loud for some of us. Plastic shovels are quieter. Chain saws just annihilate our ears and should not be used under any circumstances.

(to be continued)

Texts extracted from The Hyperacusis Network web page (Supplement section), with the permission of its editor. (see “related links” in this blog)