What is temporary threshold shift (TTS)?
All of us probably had this experience at least once in our life: You attend a concert, and when you leave the arena, your hearing is uncomfortably amiss. Sounds are muffled, your ears feel full, and you may have ringing in your ears (aka tinnitus). This is what’s known as temporary threshold shift (TTS), and as the name indicates, the temporary hearing loss or tinnitus that results are typically momentary.
But those symptoms—the clogged-up ears, the ringing—are indications of damage, and repeated bouts of TTS could lead to permanent damage to your hearing.
TTS affects your hearing in the higher frequencies—that’s how you hear consonant sounds, which are essential to conveying a word’s meaning in English. Without being able to hear a consonant, it’s hard to distinguish between words. TTS occurs due to loud noises. Concerts are a big offender—stand by the speakers at a show, and it might reach 110 decibels.
