Off Topic who has tinnitus..

[Eek]

Hello hello,

I've had tinnitus for a year now, (Tinnitus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
experiencing some high pitch buzzing sounds (which are worse when I'm tired, after a gig, etc.)

I also have hearing loss at 2000 Hz (uncommon frequency but that doesn't really bother me. Only the buzzing sound can be annoying, especially when trying to sleep.

Just curious..
I would like to know who here also suffers from it or has experience with this and how you are dealing with it.

 

[ggunn]

Hello hello,

I've had tinnitus for a year now, (Tinnitus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
experiencing some high pitch buzzing sounds (which are worse when I'm tired, after a gig, etc.)

I also have hearing loss at 2000 Hz (uncommon frequency but that doesn't really bother me. Only the buzzing sound can be annoying, especially when trying to sleep.

Just curious..
I would like to know who here also suffers from it or has experience with this and how you are dealing with it.

I have it. I can hear it right now.

I can't sleep in a completely quiet room; I've got to have a radio or fan going. I wear earplugs at loud gigs (playing or spectating); exposure to loud sound makes it worse, sometimes for days. Taking aspirin makes it worse, so I don't unless I really need to. Mostly I try to ignore it because there's not much else one can do.

I wish I had worn earplugs at that Ritchie Blackmore concert in 1978... ;^)

 

[Johngtr]

Hi:
I have had tinnitus since I was very young and first started playing in bands. It never really bothered me. There always was a ringing in my ears and I just got used to it. The only time I could really hear it is when I would be out of town at a cottage and it was so silent at night I would be reminded that it was still there. Not because it was not loud just that I had become so used to it.
Recently after a few years of not drinking coffee I started again and there appeared at the same time a rather loud knocking in my ears. Not like a heartbeat but very loud and irritating. I found that coffee is a kind of trigger so when I stopped the coffee the knocking went away.
I'm sure everyones experiences are different but this worked for me.
Just a word of warning about hearing loss. I have been a working musician for 40 years and have the significant hearing loss that goes along with that... stay away from cymbals! My hearing loss is all in that range and they cause me the greatest amount of pain after a gig. My amp is always pointing at the back of my legs.. not going to lose much hearing there. I don't usually have a monitor pointed at me because I don't sing... that is a good source for getting hurt during a gig. Cymbals throw their sound off both sides and are usually pointed right at the other musicians ears. I played with a band for a long time and changed sides during my tenure. I noticed my hearing diminish in my left ear when I was on the drummers right first and then when I moved to the other side it moved over to my right ear. You don't get any of this hearing back so...Please BEWARE of the drummer.

 

[Eek]

ggun, It seems you've got it worse then me.. but you're still here and going to gigs so i'm glad you're getting by

What i do wonder... did it get worse over the years? or slightly better perhaps ?(they say the brain can adapt to the sound, reducing it)
or did it just stayed that way?

 

[fidooda]

i have some of it at random and very far apart moments. I've been putting earplugs for at least 6-7 years now. A good friend of mine got me to buy these: Etymotic Research, Inc. - ER?20 High Fidelity Earplugs

the day i put them on i realised i still could ear the whole band really good. Eck i think ear better with them now. i'm thinking of getting my ears molded (right term?) for a high end set of plugs.

 

[Thornton Davis]

ggun, What i do wonder... did it get worse over the years? or slightly better perhaps ?(they say the brain can adapt to the sound, reducing it)
or did it just stayed that way?

I've had it for the past ten years. I've been playing for over forty now. Fortunately it's only in one ear. The one that's always closest to the drummer. It's most noticable when there's low levels of sound.

Over the years i've found that I can ignore it. It's never prevented me from sleeping or woken me up from sleeping. To me it feels as if i've just gotten out of a swimming pool and i've got water in my ear. Give your head a good shake and the water would be gone.

Wish this was just as easy to get rid off, but the hearing (ears, nose and throat) specialist told me it will never go away. That's because the mico hairs inside the ear that pickup the vibration off the ear drum have been damaged. Instead of standing up, they're lying on their side touching one another which in turn causes them to continually send a signal to the brain, which is what you hear as a high pitched buzzing noise.

John Densmore the drummer of the Doors and Pete Townsend to mention just a couple have it in both their ears. Which is one of the reasons why Densmore can't and won't participate in a Doors reunion.

TD

 

[MK Bass Weed]

I have it...bad..with a TON of hearing loss.

Guess who else is gonna have it...: The iPod Generation

All kinds of information out there about it...William Shatner has some great stories..Sting is trying to 'retrain his brain' about it, and his hearing loss.

I just try to harmonize with mine. Get custom earplugs and hold onto what you have left.

M

 

[Eek]

I guess it's up to us to warn friends (and ourselves) because like said here, I also think my generation (i'm 20), yes the Ipod generation, is going to have a lot of hearing loss In fact, I've stopped using MP3 players just because of it... (and i think it partially caused it for me)

My tinnitus:
I have 3 different buzzing sounds, 1 in each ear and one that i can't really place (both ears).
Which is weird, because I only have hearing loss in my right ear at 2000 Hz...
There have been a few days I couldn't sleep because of it... mostly after going out with friends) though I ALWAYS use earplugs.
Now i just only go places I really want to go to (not as a favour to friends).

Though I just try not to think about it, that is the best option most of us have I think.. and it works for most of the time

 

[Frantic Slayer]

I don't have it but I do have a hard time dealing with loud treble noises. I would highly recommend getting your ears molded for ear plugs. I had it done, it is somewhat unpleasant. I recently wore my ear plugs to a concert, and I knew at that point that it was the best investment ever, because I could here everything crystal clear without the painful treble noises.

and in terms of the ipod generation I think if you just avoid in ear headphones you will be fine.

 

[oddjob]

I have it - went and got molded for ear plugs too. Great investment!!!!!!!!

 

[Colin]

what are you guys saying about my earings?

 

[paranoid70]

Of course. Plus, deafness runs in my family. Double Yeah.

I wear earplugs to practices, gigs, concerts and even clubs these days. I don't want things to get much worse. But all those 1980s Heavy Metal gigs really did some damage.

 

[Psycho Ward]

I have six separate tones at all times, I can hear most of them even at the beach. I wear hearing aids by day and ear plugs at night. My loss is at 1.6KHz and I can't even perceive it under 55db.

Loud anything is dangerous, vocal monitors, cymbals, car engines, guns and even yelling at a ball game. Get fitted for the ear plugs (ER-20's for me) and wear them!

I take Gingko Biloba for my tinnitus, for me it does lower the level of the tones. My un-scientific test shows that if I take Gingko every day the dishwasher will drown out the ringing. If I don't take it for a week or two the ringing can be heard over the dishwasher.

I highly recommend Gingko for tinnitus.

 

[Oldtoe]

Mine has gotten much better since I lost my last bass playing job.

 

[maddog]

I have it on occasion. Believe it or not, I simply relax and it goes away. I guess I'm lucky for now.

 

[Duarte]

Oh man I think I might have it. I pretty much always have ringing in my ears and people have to repeat what they say so I can hear it. Lots of the time.

 

[thunder]

i had it for the pass 20 years. it took some getting use to it. it started out very loud. now it's not as loud. for the pass 10 years i wear ear plugs when i rehearse. band mates make fun of me but, i decide that being able to hear is more important. my daughter is a drummer and i make hear wear ear plug!

 

[miliouz]

Play music with ear plug is the only solution. I'm a french ear prothesist, and every week i meet some people who have trinitus. Implicate : noisy job, fire gun, clubbing, and music...

When you have a trinitus, it's for life...

 

[kayneex]

A handy solution (at least for me)

I remember when I applied for my sound engineering school, the first thing they required was..an hearing diagram!! well, thanks to this warning, it helped me keep my ears 'til now, after numerous sessions/clubs/concerts, and one of the things I always try to have on me is..a paper handkerchief!! (Kleenex); I'm not very comfortable with plugs in my ears, but whenever I've got to face loud sound, I just take two pieces of paper, roll it and put it in my ears, and it really do wonders everything is clear but not loud, I can hear clearly people talking to me, and when it's over, not the slightest hum in my head..Hope this might help

 

[ggunn]

I'm not very comfortable with plugs in my ears, but whenever I've got to face loud sound, I just take two pieces of paper, roll it and put it in my ears, and it really do wonders everything is clear but not loud, I can hear clearly people talking to me, and when it's over, not the slightest hum in my head..Hope this might help

Use foam earplugs, or better yet, get some custom molded ones. I used to do that with paper, but once some of the paper plug tore off in my ear and I had to go to a doctor's office and get it removed.