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dental drill

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by verti, Nov 8, 2019.

  1. verti

    verti Member

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    May 20, 2014
    I have been trying to figure this out for many years but have come up with nothing. Every ear plug I've tried only makes the dental drill sound louder. I had dental appointment this week & my body was actually shaking from the sound of the drill. I have never heard a drill like this. It wasn't shrill but a low sound that reminded me of someone drilling in concrete. A nightmare I can't get out of my head. My husband says to get over it & move on. I have another tooth that needs the same procedure & I can't bring myself to go back to dentist. I was off balance & could hardly walk after it was over. I know most of you will probably understand this. I don't think I could hear dentist instructions if I had music in my ears. Anyone have info on ear plugs that will work? Thanks for letting me rant.
     
  2. Clare

    Clare Active Member

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    Mar 31, 2018
    Sound is transmitted not just by air into your ear drum, but also through vibrations to your skull. After my laby I got a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), which works by getting sound through its microphone and turning it into vibrations to my skull. It's possible that you are having hyperacusis that makes small sounds enormous. I'm less troubled by that after my laby, but previously I could barely stay in a room that had a fan, refrigerator, or dishwasher. It felt almost painful. My daughter could not understand why I would immediately turn off the car radio even though she had it at very low volume. Commercials on TV were a horrible assault. I no longer enjoyed music and preferred to stay home rather than be confronted by the noisy world.

    If I had to go through a dental procedure as you've described, I would try taking a low-dose (5mg) Valium/diazepam 20 minutes prior. Valium was my go-to rescue medicine that I carried with me constantly and took in the event of vertigo onset. It may not reduce the noise level, but it will feel less bothersome and counter some of the anxiety that goes along with the hyperacusis.
     
  3. verti

    verti Member

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    May 20, 2014
     
  4. verti

    verti Member

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    May 20, 2014
    Thank you Clare! I can't take Valium but I had already taken an Ativan before I went to my appointment. I can't imagine how it would have been without it. I was a lot more sensitive to noise before I've started losing my hearing. I still can't listen to music without ear plugs. I keep hoping for someone to invent a noise reducing device for dental noise. Thanks again.
     
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