When You Need to See a Doctor About Noise Exposure

Sometimes acoustic trauma requires medical care, and in a few instances acoustic trauma requires emergency care. See your doctor when:

A child does not respond to any sound, such as a whistle or a clap. This is a medical emergency. Go to an emergency room.

A child does not respond to sound after an earache, headache, upper respiratory infection, or recent air travel. This is also a medical emergency. Go to an emergency room.

Hearing loss is accompanied by a discharge from the ear, earache, dizziness, or sense that things are spinning around you. You do not need emergency care, but arrange to see your doctor as soon as possible.

You can't hear a (regular, not digital) watch ticking when it is held next to your ear. Arrange to see your doctor as soon as possible.

You hear a ringing in both ears all the time that began after a recent exposure to a loud noise. Arrange to see your doctor as soon as possible.

You may also be interested in:

Treating Sudden Deafness (Acoustic Trauma) Naturally
Natural Noise Protection
Treating Acoustic Trauma with Supplements
Preventing Acoustic Trauma