You probably know the feeling: you went to a punk show or rave and woke up with this high note ringing in your head. Quite a signal that your ears did not really appreciate the loud music. What to do? Will this stay around forever? Let us explain everything you wanted to know about the ‘morning after beep’.

Oh what a night it was. Amazing music, best friends, dancing ’till dawn. Good times. You wake up like a living souvenir. Traces of glitter on your skin. Cracky voice. The feeling of a fat black cat meowing in your frontal cortex, reminding you of the fact that that last beer, and the one after were maybe – just maybe – not necessary. And no, even that midnight kebab (hi, garlic breath!) couldn’t prevent that. But besides all this, there is something more disturbing. A muffled feeling, combined with a very high pitched whistle-like tone in your ear. The notorious ‘morning after beep’. Panic! What is this, and will it go away?

Tinnitus?

No stress please. The good news: the deaf feeling and ringing sound may not be pleasant, but it is in fact, normal. It is a short-lived form of ‘tinnitus’. Tinnitus is a cluster name for sounds that have no external cause: noises in your ear.  It sounds severe, although this is a problem with many grades, causes and forms. Hearing loss is one of the causes of tinnitus, but there are many others.

Your ear’s bodyguard

The deafness can also be a trick of your beloved body. The hear loss that you experience after exposure to loud sounds, as studies of the Sydney University have shown, can be a interpreted as a coping mechanism. The researchers found, that as sound levels rise, the cells in the inner ear release a hormone causing a temporary reduction in hearing sensitivity, that protects our ears. It is, in fact a psychological adaptation, that takes a while to be fully switched off again. So there’s a very big chance the beep will disappear in a few days. Although this doesn’t mean there is no damage.

Take a break

Just like when you have the flu and a night of heavy partying might not be the best idea, your ears could use some rest after being this heavily exposed to loudness. So it’s a smart idea to take a break from avoidable noise. If you have another event with blasting music planned within a week, maybe you should let that pass. Also consider leaving your precious headphones that blast the soundtrack of your daily life at home for the next days.

If the beep doesn’t leave after some days, go see a doctor. And don’t forget to bring hearing protection the next time you go to a show or event, to save your precious ears and to make sure that beep was a one timer. Knops are a great way to give your ears the rest they need, in a very flexible way. So the solution is not far…