# Tinnitus



## Adam Of Angels (Oct 2, 2013)

Assuming this is the right place to put this (if not, mods, maybe you could direct it to the appropriate sub-forum?), and I know there was a couple of really old threads in this matter, but nothing that really got to the point:

Who here has Tinnitus?

So I've had very mild, almost un-noticeable tinnitus since I was in my early teens, but about two years ago, an amplifier malfunctioned and squealed very loudly in a high pitched manner when I was standing directly in front of it. That plus the loud drumming that went on during that jam session left me with rather severe tinnitus in both ears (mostly my left one) ever since. More and more, I'm cautious about noise wherever I go - I'm not certain that more noise will make it worse, but I am not open to experiment either, so I take ear plugs with me everywhere.

What sucks is that almost everybody that knows me had figured that I had a very promising music career ahead of me, but now I'm just about certain that live music/touring is no longer an option (or rather, it wouldn't be intelligent in the slightest). Even with protection, I figure live shows are much too noisy to keep my hearing fully protected, so I'm just kind of accepting it as it is.

Anyway, I don't mean for this to be a sob story, I'm just opening this up for discussion to see if any of you guys deal with it as well. I don't want to sugar-coat it in any way - it's pretty severe in my case, sometimes more than others, but the majority of the time, I'm not stressed over it so long as some level of noise is around me and/or I'm distracted.

Do any of you have it, and if so how severe is it? If its severe, do you manage to play live without it getting worse? I know there must be a good number of touring musicians with it, but it's hard to get first hand accounts of musicians dealing with tinnitus in their line of work.


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## Hollowway (Oct 2, 2013)

Have you talked with a doctor about it? I gotta think there is some solution for special earplugs that would allow you to play live.


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## downburst82 (Oct 2, 2013)

its good to have a current thread on something like this but just for reference there is lots of good info in this thread 
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/re...rotection-advice-audio-clips.html#post2801831


I dont have tinnitus but I do have pretty bad Presbycusis (high frequency hearing loss), its something that happens normally with age but mine is alot further advanced than it should be. Could be worse I guess, all you can do is make sure you enjoy the hearing you have to the fullest while also taking every precaution to take care of it! (earplugs!! good ones!)


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## TRENCHLORD (Oct 2, 2013)

Got wife and kids? lol
If they're like mine you won't get enough silence to notice.
I have it very mild, but it's more from the machine-shop/factories I think.


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## coffinwisdom (Oct 2, 2013)

My dad has it pretty bad from 30+ years of going to concerts with no ear plugs. He doesn't seem to be too bothered by it tho. He wears ear plugs at all concerts now and actually prefers it. He says it filters out the muddy low end and the extreme highs.

Invest in protection for your ears it's worth it. There are specialized ear plugs for musicians. I don't know for a fact but I think good ear plugs do put you out of the damaging db range. There are ones that are supposedly -25db. Or even going direct instead of amps and using IEMs. I don't think you have to give up being a musician


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## Asrial (Oct 2, 2013)

I'm very protective about my hearing, only going about half volume on iPhone, earplugs during concerts etc. Yet, I can in periods have some form of tinnitus which lasts for several hours. Pretty annoying.

My dad got it full blown though; he has to whistle shitty 90's pop songs to silence it.


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## coffinwisdom (Oct 2, 2013)

Paul Gilbert has severe hearing loss and wears big ass headphones when he performs. I've seen headphones that advertise -35db sound isolation

Where there is a will there is a way


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## AliceLG (Oct 2, 2013)

I have permanent tinnitus, as in the ringing doesn't go away at all, and some hearing loss. Mostly from years of going to concerts and jamming in garages without any protection at all.

Nowadays I'm very careful. I always take earplugs with me to concerts and wear them on rehearsals as well. I have the Alpine MusicSafe Pro, which are very good but rather uncomfortable. Necessary evil I guess.

I also have some huge ass headset by 3M, the kind that construction workers use when operating a hydraulic hammer or drill. They are definitely overkill for rehearsing but have been a godsend for recording when the control room IS the amp room.

It will not get better as it isn't exactly a curable condition, but with proper protection it can stay the way it is.

Also important to remember, hearing loss is a compounded problem between sound pressure level and exposure time. From what I've measured in most gigs you get about 95 dB, which limits the exposure to a little bit less than one hour. But no decent concert lasts only one hour right?


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## WhiteWalls (Oct 2, 2013)

Luckily I don't have tinnitus, but frequent sinus problems and ear infections when I was a teenager made my hearing very sensitive, especially in my left ear (which is the one I had the most issues with as a child).
By "very sensitive hearing" I mean "there's no ....ing way I can resist at a concert without earplugs", let alone a rehearsal in a small closed space

So I simply wear earplugs all the time and I'm fine, sometimes I even put them on at the movies when it's a bit too loud for me


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## Pedantic (Oct 2, 2013)

I've got very slight tinnitus from a Mogwai show. It used to bother me a lot but I'm pretty used to it now. The biggest problem is that I always wear earplugs now, and that makes it a lot more difficult for me to enjoy show.


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## Nats (Oct 2, 2013)

I don't have tinnitus but I do have slight hearing loss from all the years of rehearsals without plugs. Being so cavalier with my hearing and what it's come to now (nothing severe, but noticeable) bums me out from time to time, but with twin daughters on the way I feel like it might be a blessing in disguise. Regardless, now I wear plugs when I go to any shows, indoor or out, and any rehearsals I'll ever do. If I don't have any handy then I improvise using tissues or something. Some people say if they could go back in time they'd go back and .... bitches they missed out on. Me? I'd have taken better care of my ears.


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## hairychris (Oct 2, 2013)

Ugh, I have a permanent 8k ring in one ear, 8.5k in the other, very little peripheral sound detection, unable to hear people talk in loud situations, unable to sleep unless background noise is present... It really sucks, and has been known to make me spectacularly grumpy as it gets worse as I get tired. Bad combination! 

I basically destroyed myself in the 90s. I use earplugs all the time for gigs/clubs/rehearsals now.


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## thedonal (Oct 2, 2013)

Yep. Constant ringing his here too. Mostly very high pitched (not measured it..), but the occasional bell like ring comes in too then fades.

Most of the time, it doesn't bother me, but it's often quite loud when I'm ill or over tired or super stressed (a regular feature of me).

I should use plugs now at gigs etc, but never do.


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## Miijk (Oct 2, 2013)

I got mild tinnitus, don't know when I got it, I kind of just noticed it one day and because of this I have gotten more and more protective with my ears. Like with Thedonal mine gets louder when I'm tired, stressed or ill... I got a slight headache while wrighting this as well so it's pretty noticable atm! Might also be because I'm in class right now, hehe...


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## xzyryabx (Oct 2, 2013)

Guys, think of investing in a pro-level set of earplugs if you hang around loud amps!
You can go to an ear doctor, have them take a mold of your ear then send it off to a company (forgot the name, there are a few out there, I recall a recent thread on rig-talk.com that mentions a name) and they can create custom-fitting plugs that are way superiror to hearos and that stuff. Shouldn't be too expensive (150 US$) but I think it's worth it in the long run.


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## flint757 (Oct 2, 2013)

hairychris said:


> Ugh, I have a permanent 8k ring in one ear, 8.5k in the other, very little peripheral sound detection, unable to hear people talk in loud situations, unable to sleep unless background noise is present... It really sucks, and has been known to make me spectacularly grumpy as it gets worse as I get tired. Bad combination!
> 
> I basically destroyed myself in the 90s. I use earplugs all the time for gigs/clubs/rehearsals now.



Me too man. Some of it is from hearing loss and loud noise, but I actually think a large portion of the blame can be placed on the braces I got when I was a teenager. My braces gave me bad TMJ from realigning my lower jaw and TMJ is supposedly a cause of tinnitus. Domino effect. 

Nowadays I can't do anything without a little bit of noise or me thinking to distract myself from the ringing. In a crowded room I can't make out what people are saying at all. The lunchroom effect is not my friend.


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## TomAwesome (Oct 2, 2013)

Tinnitus isn't necessarily a death sentence for your music career. As long as it's not bad enough to hinder you from hearing what you need to and how you need to, it can be worked around. There are plenty of professional and semi-professional musicians who have been gigging for decades and for some reason still don't bother with ear protection.

I have tinnitus, because when I was a kid, nobody told me about how hearing damage worked, so I blasted my ear phones and went to concerts without really thinking about it. My hearing isn't as good as it used to be, but I still get by just fine, and I don't feel like I'm unable to EQ or mix properly. Just keep up the efforts to prevent it from getting worse.


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## tedtan (Oct 2, 2013)

I have some tinnitus from years of shows, rehearsals, etc. without using any kind of ear protection, but it's pretty mild. I only notice it if my surroundings are silent. If there's any background noise at all, I don't even notice the tinnitus. Somehow I got lucky all those years and my hearing is still fine for the most part (I recently took my son to the ear, nose & throat doctor and, while there, had them check my hearing and it's right on the money - as good as my sons').

But that was just luck - my hearing should be worse than it is. Don't count on being so fortunate yourself, because most aren't.

You need to protect yourself from both volume and exposure time. The US Occupational Safety and health Administration puts out a chart showing how long you can safely be exposed to a given volume level. I've copied this from the link. Keep in mind that this would be the max exposure time - it's better to limit exposure even more than shown in this chart.
90 dB (8 hours)
92 dB (6 hours)
95 dB (4 hours)
97 dB (3 hours)
100 dB (2 hours)
102 dB (1.5 hours)
1105 dB (1 hours)
110 dB (30 minutes)
115 dB (15 minutes)​While at the ear doctor that trip I had them make a mold for the custom fitted musicians ear plugs xzyryabx mentioned. They were $150 for the custom molded plugs and one filter. The filters used are the Etymotic filters on this page, which reduce the volume pretty much evenly across the frequency spectrum (the 15dB model is best in this regard), so they don't sound muddy or muffled like some plugs. They are available in 9bB, 15dB, and 25dB reduction levels. If you reference the chart above, you'll notice that those are pretty significant reductions in terms of the safe exposure time. I got the 15dB and 25dB filters. The plugs feel a bit weird at first because they fit really tightly, but you get used to the volume reduction quickly, at least with the 15dB filter - the 25dB filter is kind of odd because it drops the volume so much.

tldr - Get some kind of hearing protection, ideally the musician ear plugs, and limit the amount of time you expose yourself to loud volume - you can't get your hearing back once it's gone.


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## craigny (Oct 2, 2013)

Between years of working construction with jackhammers and very loud equipment, plus riding a motorcycle for years that also puts a whallop on you ears, in addition to the years spent playing and listening to music loudly with no protection, and going to concerts...i have it..not terrible but in silence i hear ringing. I get hearing tests at work that I always pass....but Now i ALWAYS wear plugs....i went to see my new band play its last show with the old guitarist a couple of weeks ago and play with them towards the end of the set but made the mistake of not wearing anything, and this band plays LOUD...big mistake...my ears rang loudly for close to a week....

Adam there are measures you can take to be able to play and perform. There are expensive type plugs that will filter out most noise and still allow you to hear...i believe with caution you can stem it but i dont think it can go away totally....excersise caution my firend...


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## pondman (Oct 2, 2013)

I get it on and off but its like a low distant hum (like aliens are living deep underground in a secret city below my house ). I turn the TV off and insist that everyone listens as hard as they can for the sound and get blank condescending looks


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## craigny (Oct 2, 2013)

pondman said:


> I get it on and off but its like a low distant hum (like aliens are living deep underground in a secret city below my house ). I turn the TV off and insist that everyone listens as hard as they can for the sound and get blank condescending looks



Perhaps these "aliens" are secretly sending you messages forcing you to make those tasty "mistakes" in your work shop!!


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## Adam Of Angels (Oct 3, 2013)

I haven't been to a doctor yet, considering that I didn't figure there would be anything a doctor could do. In regards to getting proper hearing protection, I don't think the best ear plugs in the world can block out every harmful loud noise/frequency. At those volumes, the bass frequencies can vibrate through your body and do plenty of damage to your ears. Basically, I just don't want this to get any worse, so even minor threats are risks I'm not willing to mingle with. I suppose tame/non-metal shows are a possibility for me, but my heart is in heavy music.


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## feraledge (Nov 25, 2013)

If I had a time machine, I would force 13 year old me to start wearing ear plugs at shows and practice. By the time I realized that I should be wearing ear plugs I was left with a big enough difference between my better and worse ear that I couldn't wear them when playing, but I do wear them when going to shows. 
I'm now lost live if I'm not sticking stage left. 
And I'm used to the "aliens under the house" sound. Might as well be a truck idling. The high pitched sounds are uncommon, but often enough to be annoying. 


Take note, kids: WEAR EAR PLUGS.


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## Jzbass25 (Nov 25, 2013)

I have tinnitus but not because of music/noises, I have chronic migraines that cause tinnitus. It sucks lol


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## TheKindred (Nov 25, 2013)

pondman said:


> I get it on and off but its like a low distant hum (like aliens are living deep underground in a secret city below my house ). I turn the TV off and insist that everyone listens as hard as they can for the sound and get blank condescending looks



Hmmmm.... You may not be suffering from tinnitus.

The_Hum


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## flexkill (Nov 25, 2013)

flint757 said:


> Nowadays I can't do anything without a little bit of noise or me thinking to distract myself from the ringing. In a crowded room I can't make out what people are saying at all. The lunchroom effect is not my friend.



Exactly the same as me. And as I get older it is getting progressively worse! It scares the shit out of me.....besides all of the loud music that I am sure has damaged my ears terribly.....I have ridden motorcycles most of my life....Harleys are very loud....couple that with the wind whipping at your ears at 80 MPH constantly......It's not good at all.


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## Blood Tempest (Nov 25, 2013)

feraledge said:


> If I had a time machine, I would force 13 year old me to start wearing ear plugs at shows and practice. By the time I realized that I should be wearing ear plugs I was left with a big enough difference between my better and worse ear that I couldn't wear them when playing, but I do wear them when going to shows.
> I'm now lost live if I'm not sticking stage left.
> And I'm used to the "aliens under the house" sound. Might as well be a truck idling. The high pitched sounds are uncommon, but often enough to be annoying.
> 
> ...



THIS! Started going to concerts at 13, never started wearing ear plugs until late this year! Mind you I'm about to be 26. I've had minor tinnitus since I can remember, even as a kid. Loud headphones, concerts, etc. My wake up call was after seeing Metallica at the Apollo in NYC this year. No ear plugs, drunk as a skunk and oblivious until I got to my hotel room and tried to go to sleep. My ears physically HURT. It bothered me really bad until about a week later. Now it's steady, but spikes on and off. On nights that it really bugs me, I just end up turning on a fan or some low volume music to cancel it out. Haven't been to a doctor yet, but I probably should. You only get one set of ears...

Also note, if you drink a lot, this is known to make it worse. Laying off the booze will help to minimize it. I've read multiple medical reports that insist alcohol will increase the intensity of the tinnitus. Anyway, best of luck! Don't give up on chasing the music dream, just start protecting your ears and be smart!


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## Webmaestro (Nov 26, 2013)

I have the same story--of years of abusing my hearing when I was younger--so I won't recount that here. I also have tinnitus as a result. I have an appointment after the holidays with a local audiology clinic to be fitted for a pair of Etymotic molded ear plugs. I'll be getting the 15db and 25db filters.

It's expensive as hell... well north of $200 to have the molds made and to buy the two filters... but I'm tired of screwing around. I don't want this to get any worse, but I definitely don't want to quit playing music or going to concerts.


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## TheKindred (Nov 27, 2013)

^
15db filter isn't really worth it, I think.

I think anything over 80db can cause permanent damage. Figure a decent show rates at 110-120db, even with the filter you're going to suffer after prolonged exposure.

30-40db filters seem a better bet to me.


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## darren (Nov 27, 2013)

I do have some tinnitus but thankfully no above-average hearing loss. 

The tinnitus was a direct result of cutting some very hard walnut on a bandsaw a few years ago, without protection. Instead of doing the sensible thing and stopping when the shrieking blade reached the pain threshold, I pressed on. 

Stupid. Very stupid. 

Now I never compromise on hearing protection.


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## hairychris (Nov 27, 2013)

I buy Moldex Sparkplug 35db disposable industrial plugs in bulk now...


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## VBCheeseGrater (Nov 27, 2013)

I get the ringing in my ears after playing shows. I'm just not a big fan of wearing earplugs unless there's some really harsh sounds going on. 

One band I was in the guitarist used an older multi-fx into a solid state crate, and had it dialed into "screeching death" mode eq. I used ear plugs then every practice.

I probably should use them more.


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## darren (Nov 27, 2013)

You only get your hearing once. Ringing in the ears means you've sustained damage, and damage to hearing is permanent. 

Get a good pair of musicians' earplugs like Etymotics or HearOs, (which attenuate all frequencies equally) and wear them!


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## Battousai (Dec 28, 2013)

ive got tinnitus in the past 2 months or so(worse in the left ear) and it doesnt want to go away had it checked at ENT/Audiologist he told me it doesnt seem that sever as he did an audiogram for me (dont know how that helped diagnose it to be honest) he gave me something called stugeron to stimulate cerebral bloodflow and toldd me i could listen to music in moderate volumes and No headphones, I did what i was told however all of a sudden its gotten a lot louder and can hear it on both ears almost evenly .. what the hell am i supposed to do now im going ....ing nuts i cant even sleep for more than a few hours


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## ShadowAMD (Dec 28, 2013)

You can get Tinnitus from ear wax, something to check out.


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## Pav (Dec 28, 2013)

darren said:


> You only get your hearing once. Ringing in the ears means you've sustained damage, and damage to hearing is permanent.
> 
> Get a good pair of musicians' earplugs like Etymotics or HearOs, (which attenuate all frequencies equally) and wear them!



For the love of god, do it.

I remember sustaining permanent ringing in my ear as early as 14. I can hear it loud and clear atm, and it's loud enough to remind me to tell anyone who goes out of their way to say "seriously? earplugs are so uncool" to lick my balls.

If you play metal or anything high gain, it's going to be loud. It's the nature of the beast. Even just rehearsals are wearing away at your hearing, whether or not it's severe enough to immediately draw your attention. Hearos are awesome things that attenuate all frequencies equally, meaning you hear a nice transparent drop in volume without losing the nuances of the tones coming at you. You don't have to deal with anything muffling what you hear beyond belief. There's no reason to sacrifice your sense of hearing in the longrun because of some very stupid hangup. Anymore, when I look at videos of (among others) Paul Gilbert in the 80's wearing wearing a full noise-cancelling headset, I think he had the right idea.

Though I also have the traditional long hair associated with heavy metal...once I let it down, no one can see my ears anyway.


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## Bevo (Jan 4, 2014)

Just a heads up on a couple things I have learned over the last bit.

High blood pressure is a major cause as is stress, they are both related and cause the ring.
Some foods also have been known to cause this, they also cause high blood pressure like salt.

The last one is a killer and it's alcohol and not much at that, as part of my training program I had to cut calories and cut out the drinking totally. I never noticed a difference but after a few week break and drinking my normal two drinks a day it's back full force.
Stopping the drink brought it down to 25% and very easy to live with.

Hope that helps you guys..


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## kmanick (Jan 4, 2014)

I've had it for a bout 6 years now. I went to a bunch of specialist at Mass Eye and ear. the only hearing loss I have is in my right ear and it is the frequency of the ringing.
nowadays it's not too bad, i play a lot quiter now (the Axe FX sure helps there)
but one of the specialists there gave me a prescription to Klonapin and sat me down and told me to only use 
it at night if the ringing is keeping me awake. Apparently it blocks the chemical that actually causes the ringing , but it's pretty
addictive and when I took it for more than 3 days in a row it made me very confrontational, so now I only take it once in a while. 
When I wake up I am completely "ring" free for about 4 hours, it's the only time I have absolute silence in my right ear 
I wish I could take it every night


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## Adam Of Angels (Jan 4, 2014)

kmanick said:


> I've had it for a bout 6 years now. I went to a bunch of specialist at Mass Eye and ear. the only hearing loss I have is in my right ear and it is the frequency of the ringing.
> nowadays it's not too bad, i play a lot quiter now (the Axe FX sure helps there)
> but one of the specialists there gave me a prescription to Klonapin and sat me down and told me to only use
> it at night if the ringing is keeping me awake. Apparently it blocks the chemical that actually causes the ringing , but it's pretty
> ...




Do you still play live?


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## kmanick (Jan 4, 2014)

Adam Of Angels said:


> Do you still play live?



No not any more, now I just jam at home and write. 
the G-3 show a few years back with Paul Gilbert and Petrucci really set it off, Petrucci was ridiculously loud and I forgot my ear plugs that night.
Now I have to wear earplugs anytime I'm near a real drummer, cymbals just set it off really quick.When I go into a bar if a live band is playing , if I don't have my earplugs with me it get really uncomfortable quick. really sucks but at least it has subsided over the last couple of years. I occasionally get a flare up when my right ear feels like it is in a cave and I can't hear shit, I think it's all sinus connected, when I get sick it acts up and the pressure in the right side of my head gets painful.


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## larry (Jan 5, 2014)

no chronic tinnitus here, though i might be the opposite and have sensitive hearing. I've experienced 'ringing' during pressurization on some flights and after sudden exposure to intensely high SPLs. i love music and being able to experience pristine aural fidelity. after my very first band rehearsal, i became a habitual earplug user. i used them during practice and whenever noise levels at work reached beyond my threshold, which is particularly low. because of their ability to isolate sound extremely well and reproduce signals with desirable response, i use IEMs for most of my recreational listening at low levels. if i ever get back into a band, i'll most likely upgrade to some brand of IEM with integrated ambient mics.

when it gets loud, i become fatigued pretty quick. i take my hearing pretty seriously, maybe to the point of excess. 

at some point, likely beyond my lifetime, medical science will allow us climb into some kind of chamber that fills up with a synthesized amniotic fluid which rejuvenates our bodies back to 100% functionality/health. or maybe a medical breakthrough will allow people to upgrade their aural dynamic range so that hearing loss and any associated symptoms just don't happen. imagine being able to go to concerts, band practice or even a shuttle launch without the need for hearing protection simply because the human ear can 'handle it'. 

until all that happens, I'll be fine with conventional preservation methods.


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## Battousai (Jan 10, 2014)

well its official I went to an ENT specialist and did a hearing test and its confirmed that i have noise induced hearing loss.. and thats whats 99% causing the tinnitus.. too many hours in front of speakers most probably ... 

I feel ....ing stupid for its something thats preventable and never did anything about it . My Doctor says the volume of the tinnitus does go down after some time . right now its really loud tho and im on some meds to help me sleep . its been a couple of months of it so far..

any of you had any experience on wether the volume of their tinnitus ever reduced?. Im feeling so desperate im having some really negative thoughts here

im constricting myself to low noise environments at the moment as Im a bit sensitive to loud noises too right now.


safe to say no more music or recording for me for a long long time


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## Adam Of Angels (Jan 12, 2014)

Hang in there, bud - I'm two years into it, and mine is very loud. I can't speak for whether or not the volume decreases, but what does and will happen is that your brain stops recognizing the sound as a threat and it starts to evade your awareness more and more. It's a problem now because you perceive it as a threat, but at the very least, it will be more bearable eventually. Beyond that, I'm nearly certain that there will be a range of medications that can correct hearing damage within our lifetime - they're working on it now, actually. They've managed to restore hearing in lab rats so far (this is new as of middle 2013).


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## Riffer Madness (Jan 12, 2014)

Acetyl l-carnitine [ALCAR] and n-acetyl cysteine [NAC] might help with hearing problems. google em. Targeted Nutritional Therapies - Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Antioxidants - 7 - Life Extension Health Concerns

Ive tried alcar as an alertness aid, and i found that it makes me talk louder.

Its hard for me to accurately evaluate the effects of that single substance though, because i was experimenting with combinations of alot of brain/memory supplements back then.

In pure powder form, it tastes/smells like vinegar.


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## Bevo (Jan 14, 2014)

Mine did go down and up a couple times and right now its at a level I can tolerate.
For me I don't think I ever got used to it but I tolerate it more and don't tend to notice it unless its quiet.

Not sure if it would work for you but 3 years ago after a loud jam where I was drinking I took out my plugs and the ringing was pretty bad. I had read somewhere that the ears need to relax and wear ear plugs. If I was not in my quiet office or home I wore them doing everything even at the gym or running, after a few days it started to back off a bit until it was tolerable.

Don't give up, it will hopefully mellow out or become tolerable.


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## Battousai (Jan 15, 2014)

one thing im experienncing at the moment is being really afraid of any more loud noises as im worried that ill just get worse. i experience a bit of balance issues as well ( not severe. just a bit dizzy ) anyone get this ?


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## UnattendedGolfcart (Jan 21, 2014)

I have very mild tinnitus. I'm certain that I got it from a youth center concert when I was 17, I was seeing my friend's metalcore band and they were intolerably loud, like couldn't-pick-out-a-single-note loud. The next few days I had an awfully loud ringing in my ears, but it died down and went away completely after a few days. It either came back or chronic loud music gave me the tinnitus I have two years later. It's only really noticeable when there's no other noise, like when I have my head covered by pillows when I'm trying to sleep. It used to freak me out, but I wear whatever ear plugs I can get my hands on for concerts of any size and practicing. It's never gotten any worse than when it started out, it may have even gotten better, but I notice it so rarely now that I can deal with it. Still, I'll be keeping my ears protected.


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## Kaickul (Jan 30, 2014)

Take care of your hearing guys it couldn't be replaced, I too have a little bit of tinnitus, luckily its mild that I don't even notice it much except when it's all too quiet.


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## asher (Jan 30, 2014)

widowmaker38 said:


> Take care of your hearing guys it couldn't be replaced, I too have a little bit of tinnitus, luckily its mild that I don't even notice it much except when it's all too quiet.



Same. Mild tinnitus. Especially these days, I only notice it when it's quiet.

But I think I've actually had it for about as long as I can remember.

I find it difficult to comprehend actual silence.


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## mnemonic (Jan 30, 2014)

asher said:


> Same. Mild tinnitus. Especially these days, I only notice it when it's quiet.
> 
> But I think I've actually had it for about as long as I can remember.
> 
> I find it difficult to comprehend actual silence.



This is how I feel, been there as long as I can remember, so I feel like I can ignore it. That being said, if I'm in a room with no other sound, it feels like is so loud, sometimes almost unbearably so, so I have to turn on a fan or some form of background noise. Its rare that I'm somewhere that quiet though, as I live in a city. Actual absolute silence sounds like it would be cool to experience. 

I wonder what it would be like to stand in an anechoic chamber. I'm guessing all I'd hear is eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and maybe my heartbeat.


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## Adam Of Angels (Apr 22, 2014)

I've been bothered with the tinnitus quite a bit for the last week or so. I'm bumping this in case anybody else feels like sharing their experiences.


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