Is it common for Trucking to cause tinnitus?

If you drive way out on HWY 50 and go a few miles off road, shut off your vehicle and step out, you will be surrounded by an eerie vacuum of silence. This is what the world is supposed to sound like. In the last 100 years the world has gotten louder due to human activity. Cars, trucks and industry pounding out constant noise. If you were to re-animate someone from the 1800's, they would be shocked how loud the world has become.

 

Sometimes I don't think the average person really understands the concept that hearing damage like radiation exposure is cumulative. Those bones in the ear are tiny and can't tolerate loud noise. I don't think the noise problem today is what it was years ago with trucks. My father lost almost all his hearing in his left ear and had problems with his right ear when he died. Tinnitus can also be caused by Heart Disease. My advice to this OP would be to see a Doctor and make sure this is not health-related.

 

I don’t know about trucking,but dammmmm that Skid Row concert was loud.

 

I'm always impressed with how different things sound after a power failure. You can hear the sounds of nature that were covered up by man made sounds, I love it.

 

It's not just sound. I can remember standing out in the California desert miles away from lights and the view of the stars is so much better.

 

That's a perfect description of tinnitus. It can be a high-pitched noise or a middle-lower frequency. I believe high frequency or ringing is pretty common but it others hear something like a wind noise. Some people report that if their bedside white-noise machine makes a very similar noise to their tinnitus noise it is almost like the 2 noises cancel out and they get relief. I believe some doctors prescribe hearing aides that produce the same noise as the patient hears to relieve their problem.

 

A woman that is not as heavy as the fattest woman is not necessarily a thin woman. Trucks are quieter now than the loudest trucks decades ago, but that doesn't make them quiet, just less loud. Even modern trucks, if you drive them long enough (hours per day and for years at a time) will produce significant hearing loss. Ear plugs are cheap and can be comfortable for all-day wearing. I prefer the Macks slim-fit sleep/rest ear plugs available at Walmart and Amazon. I wore them almost 24 hours per day for years. Generally the first hearing you lose are the ability to hear the frequencies that make up human speech and music. While not hearing people sounds like a blessing to some of us, it's pretty inconvenient.

 

I don't think there is a right or a wrong when it comes to wearing hearing protection while driving. I can see plusses and minuses with both arguments. I had my hearing tested back in 2020 and according to the doctor, my hearing was fine no changes from the test from about 5 years ago. I think this comes down to a choice. I never felt comfortable even with music playing very loud because I wanted to be able to hear my truck. I remember two situations when I could hear a universal joint about to go. Once in my POV and another in a cab over I was once driving. Also, I never felt comfortable not being able to hear if someone was screaming, this was why I always rolled down both my windows when I was backing. I guess I am old school when it comes to this. As a trucker, you really need 4 of your 5 senses at their peak. Sight, smell, touch, and hearing.

Now I want to change the subject a bit. You are 100% correct about hearing loss. This is why when I was driving I had my hearing tested about every 3 years. The clinic where I saw my personal doctor had the equipment to do these tests. For me, it was a one-stop thing because this doctor also did most of my physicals. After watching my father's hearing diminish over the years I knew better. That hearing a whisper thing is OK but as you correctly stated hearing loss can and does happen still in this industry. Considering everything I think paying a bit extra every 3rd or 4th year to get a full hearing test so you can keep a record of your hearing over decades is well worth it.

 

There are two things we humans should be very careful about. Hearing loss and radiation are cumulative. When I am outside walking and hear someone driving nearby with their music cranked up I start wondering at what age will they discover they will need hearing aids. I'm going to over-simplify the hearing process the way a hearing doctor explained it to me. We, humans, have both analog and digital hearing. The analog part is those small bones in the inner ear followed by the cochlear nerve that carries what we hear to the brain. This doctor told me that she has seen cases where people who are around musical groups and work on and around airplanes have had their eardrums destroyed by high-amplitude sounds. Here is the problem and why most people can't understand old warhorses like me. Ever heard the old story about dropping a frog into boiling water? Yes, they will jump out. Put them in cold water and slowly turn up the heat and they will stay in the water until it kills them. This is what happens with loud sounds. People think nothing of it and take no actions to protect their hearing. Then by the time they fail a DOT physical or notice they are only hearing every other word then they start thinking about protecting their hearing. It also goes back to the almost impossible task of getting someone under the age of 30 to understand they won't live forever. Then call people such as myself old warhorses that are just bitter and don't want them to enjoy life. Because I know I am speaking to a brick wall I just decided to make some changes. Last year (2021) I transferred a great deal of money into a mutual fund that holds a lot of hearing aid makers' stocks.

 

You explained the analog part of hearing, but not the digital.

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Everything about us is analog.
The only time digital comes in is with computers.
And our brains tend to (try to) convert those digital signals back to analog along the way.