# Ear problems



## Black_Sheep (Jun 27, 2011)

So i might have tinnitus or something like that. Really annoying. But i don't know for sure.. 

It all started about 2 weeks ago when i was about to go to bed, when my head touched the pillow, BAM!. i start to hear this little beep in my left ear. 
And it won't go away. 

I haven't been in any kinda noise in a long time. And i've always secured my ears. Last show i saw was Devin Townsend Project @ Helsinki, and that was 3 months ago, and i was (of course) wearing earplugs.

Sometimes it feels like there's a lot of pressure in my ear but i can't do anything about it, and the beep is even more worse. Also sometimes, it's hard to concentrate or even sleep properly because of this... 

I play guitar (obviously, i think everyone on this forum plays ) and i love it. I practice daily for about few hours. About at least half of the time im using my amp. I've been wondering if it's too loud? I really don't think so, because i've been using pretty much the same volume level while playing home for over 6 years. And my gf said that i never play really loud. 

Maybe my ears are just weak or something? My greatest fear in this, is of course that i wouldn't be able to play guitar, play in a band, or go to shows anymore. That would totally turn my whole life upside down in a very, very bad way. 


So...

Anyone here have any experiences like this? All help and/or advice is greatly apreciated. I have a doctors apointment tomorrow (and im really afraid of it) so hopefully i'll get some answers from there as well...


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## Bevo (Jul 6, 2011)

I am just getting over this but it was a constant white noise kinda like a shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that never stops. the quieter the room the louder the noise, it was also louder in my left than my right.

The DR said it was tinnitus but other than that noise my hearing was fine.

I gave up guitar and had plugs in every jacket, pocket, car, office washroom everywhere, i even ran with them.
Two months later its down to 10% of what it was and I got rid of my big amps to play a HT-5 with a 1-12, just not worth the big rigs to lose my hearing.

One thing that was interesting was some of the ringing can be caused by diet!!
See the DR and get checked out!


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks a lot for your answer! Sorry i didn't check this topic sooner. (it was just that i didn't get any answers at first) 

The doctor said the exactly same thing to me. 

I understand if you used plugs at work or when playing alone at home. But while running? 

I play in two bands and i don't really feel like giving up guitar, i'll just have to use plugs (get better ones too, maybe?) all the time, even when i practise at home. 


If it can be caused by diet, surely some of it can be caused by not eating too healthy?


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## jymellis (Jul 12, 2011)

Black_Sheep said:


> Thanks a lot for your answer! Sorry i didn't check this topic sooner. (it was just that i didn't get any answers at first)
> 
> The doctor said the exactly same thing to me.
> 
> ...


 
i have had it for almost 30 years.


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 12, 2011)

jymellis said:


> i have had it for almost 30 years.



Im sorry to hear that  


Is there any advice you could give? How it began? Did it get worse? How it has affected your life so far?


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## Bevo (Jul 12, 2011)

Get the fitted plugs made for music, you can't go wrong.

When my ears were bad every noise was loud and grating, cars on a wet road were pretty bad.

Happy to say its passed and I am back to almost normal with a very healthy respect for my hearing.


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## Static (Jul 14, 2011)

i have the exact same problem. started 2 months back when my head touched teh pillow....and it was seriously scary cause i thought id end up deaf slowly ....when sleeping i tried to take my attention off the ringing noise by listening to the noise of the air conditioner or the fan or some random noise .....i think the best thing to do is not pay attention to it. luckily its not as prominent as it used to be so im kinda relieved, hope things work well for you man.

i need to get me those headphones that paul gilbert uses to prevent damaging his ears..but i think they are way too expensive...any advise on which ear plug'/headphones to go for to prevent ear damage?


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 14, 2011)

Thanks, i wish you the same. The thing that scaried me the most was that it indeed started when i was about to go to bed. 

I would like to know that about earplugs as well. I really need to buy new ones. I guess i'll order some custom-made earplugs that fits perfectly. They cost quite much, but im willing to pay whatever it takes to have the best plugs possible. 

Those PG headphones just look stupid, but i guess they work very well too. I wonder if Paul Gilbert has tinnitus? ...I know that Lars Ulrich does, but apparently he played gigs without earplugs in the 80's, so, that's just plain stupid.


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## Static (Jul 14, 2011)

yeah paul's got tinnitus. apparently thats why he started wearing those headphones in the first place...but yeah i guess i need to get me some custom ear plugs too.


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 14, 2011)

Custom ear plugs it is then. I just hope they don't cost TOO much. 


I did some checking and found out that Paul's tinnitus is also in his left ear. I wonder why... Does your left ear remain less protected when playing guitar maybe? It's closer to the frets and the neck, but dunno..


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## Bevo (Jul 14, 2011)

Don't order the custom plugs, see if there is a local shop that can make them for you. The proccess is pretty slick..
They put something in you ear with something like a string then pour liquid rubber or silicon in. Once it hardens they pull it out and do the next side.

These were $90 CDN.


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 15, 2011)

^ Thanks for the info. In the past, i've use plugs by the brand "Ear" and they've been quite good. But im looking for something a bit better now... 

Btw i read more about Gilbert's tinnitus, and he also said that it rings in B, so he can tune his guitar to it


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## Static (Jul 15, 2011)

hahaha no way!


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## powergroover (Jul 24, 2011)

i feel that my right ear is more sensitive to low frequencies , whenever i'm using a headphone, i feel the bass thump more pronounced in the right , only low frequencies is skewed, so adjusting the balance didn't 100% helps,

anyone have similar experiences ??


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## Black_Sheep (Jul 25, 2011)

^ No tinnitus? no beep in your other ear? Then, i don't know. You should see a doctor about it. I hope everything works out!


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## Black_Sheep (Aug 11, 2011)

I fucking hate this noise. Sometimes it's worse, and sometimes it's almost bearable. Dunno. Im extremely happy that it doesn't bother me 24/7. Still it's awful. The only times it doesn't bother me are when im up and doing something, usually there's some noise around that covers it. Like the noise of my computter right now for example. 

Apparently my hearing however, is still the same. 

And my only question that remains is: will tinnitus get worse over time? how? and why? im very protective about my ears, wear good ear-plugs for band practise and gigs etc. So i really have no idea, but im extremely afraid of it. If this would be any worse it would make my life hell


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## Static (Aug 11, 2011)

i feel you man. but i think as long you protect your ears, it should be fine..but then i guess as we age it might get worse,im not really sure.But right now i wear headphones for jamming , still waiting to get a good set of ear plugs.


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## Bevo (Aug 11, 2011)

The older you get the harder it is for your ears to heal, saying that I am 45 and my ears get a bit better each month. Its a slow proccess that is super easy to go backwards with, a loud show or practice and it can put you months back.

Don't give up and try to always have them protected with some plugs handy at all times.

The other day someone told me diet can affect the ears, he said if he drinks or eats some foods his ears are super loud the next day. I may try not to drink daily to see if this would work.....nah its not so bad anymore LOL!!


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## Ancestor (Aug 23, 2011)

caffeine makes it worse. and salt. i'm used to mine by now, but it freaked me out when i noticed it for the first time and realized it would never go away. 

i'm listening to it now. i think it's a really high G. ever heard the paganini piece where he includes the tinnitus tone?  pretty funny. it's the second piece here:


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## highlordmugfug (Aug 23, 2011)

Ancestor said:


> caffeine makes it worse. and salt. i'm used to mine by now, but it freaked me out when i noticed it for the first time and realized it would never go away.
> 
> i'm listening to it now. i think it's a really high G. ever heard the paganini piece where he includes the tinnitus tone?  pretty funny. it's the second piece here:



Dailymotion - Aphex Twin - Ventolin - une vidéo Music

Aphex Twin did that in this song, warning: high pitched annoying noise incoming, watch your volume.


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## Ancestor (Aug 23, 2011)

highlordmugfug said:


> Dailymotion - Aphex Twin - Ventolin - une vidéo Music
> 
> Aphex Twin did that in this song, warning: high pitched annoying noise incoming, watch your volume.



that's crazy. and the video is about an asthma inhaler? ha!


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## highlordmugfug (Aug 23, 2011)

Ancestor said:


> that's crazy. and the video is about an asthma inhaler? ha!


Yeah, apparently that medicine could cause tinnitus, that pitch is supposed to be the one he heard. 

At least that's what I've heard.


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## Black_Sheep (Aug 24, 2011)

Didn't know that about caffeine or sugar etc. Thanks. That makes at least some sense, i think  


What about playing guitar? Does that make it worse? If i play at a reasonable volume (no louder than the TV or something) and sit about 2 meters away from my amp? 

...And when i play with my band at much louder volumes, i of course use earplugs. 

But how is it? Thanks for your answers so far


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## Ancestor (Aug 24, 2011)

highlordmugfug said:


> Yeah, apparently that medicine could cause tinnitus, that pitch is supposed to be the one he heard.
> 
> At least that's what I've heard.



holy cow! really! i took that stuff for years for my asthma! hahaha!

i'm sure the marshalls and concerts didn't help either, but that is sooo funny!


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## Ancestor (Aug 24, 2011)

Black_Sheep said:


> Didn't know that about caffeine or sugar etc. Thanks. That makes at least some sense, i think
> 
> 
> What about playing guitar? Does that make it worse? If i play at a reasonable volume (no louder than the TV or something) and sit about 2 meters away from my amp?
> ...



anything loud makes it worse, but you get used to it. there are drops that supposedly help. i've never tried them. 

townsend is deaf in one ear and so is ted nugent. those guys were always big volume players. zakk wylde said that he sleeps with the tv on because of his.

i just read that it's a circulation problem which causes it? that's interesting.


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## drgamble (Aug 24, 2011)

Guitar players in general are guilty of playing too loud. Most of us have a 100 watt monster with 1,2, or even 4 cabs playing in medium sized club that has a PA. Most soundmen will tell you that guitar players are TOO LOUD and end up losing control of the mix. I have always used a 50 watt amp to play in clubs, even at venues like the House of Blues, don't know how many have one close, but it is a larger type club venue. A lot of guys are using the Axe Fx straight into the board and only hear guitars via monitors. Seriously though, this has been a common problem in all bands that I have been in and I have found that most guitar players play too loud. What is the reason? You have to crank tube amps to get the "sound" of the amp. If you have a 100 watt, you gotta crank that thing for it to get to the "sweet" spot. I have a 50w amp and usually run it at half power, triode vs pentode operation, and I can crank the thing up to 7 or 8 without pissing off the sound man. I have to admit, when playing places like the House of Blues, I would run the amp at full power. The point is that it's a 50W amp. 

I've heard some of the lower wattage Orange amps, and live they sound phenomenal. Live tone and recorded tones are completely different animals, but imo the Orange 15 and 30 watt amps mic'd up sound very good.

I think that the ear most effected depends on what side of the stage you play on. Like I said before, most guitar players play way too loud and if you are stage left, your right ear is going to take a beating and vice versa. 

If it's too loud your too old.

That's a saying from a bunch of people who now have ear problems. Protect your hearing. The only reason you need a 100 watt head is if your playing an very large club or arena unless your head can achieve your sounds at a much lower volume. Otherwise, get a power attenuator and play at a lower volume with the amp cranked. The whole band will benefit from this, you will all sound better because it is much easier to mix when the sound man actually has control.


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## Black_Sheep (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks for your replies again.. 

So, it's probably gonna get worse and worse even if i try to protect my ears as much as possible? ..Can't believe it. It's already enough, sometimes it's just horrible. Im not gonna stop playing guitar, but i'll try to do everything i can to not make it worse. We'll see. Damn, this sucks so much  

Never heard of those drops, but i've read many comments that the medical stuff doesn't help at all, so dunno.


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## gilsontsang (Sep 12, 2011)

Had same problem, turned out the weather (being too hot here) gave me a cold (not the cold kind, but too hot kind)

So, it stuck my ear and that's what caused the weird noise that I thought was tinnitus. It cool'ed down around here, and now it's gone. Give it a few weeks?


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