Tinnitus Folks - Experiences & Solutions

Junk Yard Dog

Well-known member
Well, I finally got it. Early 40s. Been gigging a lot the last 3 years, and despite wearing shows mostly (sometimes fell out and didn't stop to put it back in), I did not wear earplugs when I gigged in my 20s or went to concerts. So here we are... And it's not debilitating yet, but it's there and likely not going away.

Saw an ENT, who was not helpful or with a good bedside manner. I'm learning from others that it is not studied in med school and pretty dismissed overall. "Learn to live with it" is the conventional wisdom. I have joined a few groups online in the last 4 weeks since it started and am learning a lot from others. It's crazy how bad it can impact some people's lives.

Anyway, I know I will habituate and learn to live with it, so I'm not freaking out. My question for you dudes is...

1) When did you get it and how long have you had it?

2) What do you do to deal with it?

3) Do you still gig and if so, do you wear earplugs, custom earplugs, IEMs, etc.? And do you use a modeler or real amps with stage volume?

4) Did you quit music for a while, like stop gigging and/or playing at home?

Anything else you want to share. Cheers!
 
I’ve honestly had it as long as I can remember, only time I really notice it is in complete dead silence. I remember some ads on the radio for a pill I think that was magnesium that is supposed to temporarily help it but I’ve never tried
 
1) When did you get it and how long have you had it?

2) What do you do to deal with it?

3) Do you still gig and if so, do you wear earplugs, custom earplugs, IEMs, etc.? And do you use a modeler or real amps with stage volume?

4) Did you quit music for a while, like stop gigging and/or playing at home?

Anything else you want to share. Cheers!
1) early 20s
2) avoid ambient "silence" in rooms, run a fan/background noise
3) still gig, use plugs consistently. Would consider getting custom fitted plugs if live gigs come back. Real amp or modellers doesn't matter, its still about decibel level and time exposure.
4) didn't quit, got some anxiety about how much worse it could get but that passed and if you're cautious you can slow it down pretty good.
 
I got it probably sometime in my early 20's. It's when I started noticing it. It's pretty bad. If I am in a quiet room, it is very loud. I sleep with a fan, or use websites like Rainy Mood/youtube forest sounds videos or listen to ambient beats on a quiet level when I sleep. I still jam/gig (well I did until Covid). I don't use any protection and play my amps still loud as hell because I am stupid.
 
Sadly I've has it since I was 20 or so. I dont even notice it until I read this or someone talks about it. When I told my ENT doctor I have it he was really surprised. He told me he has patients that have a severe time with it... to the point of needing to be medicated.

That said, I've yet to hear (pun intended) of anything working to resolve or lessen the noise.

Keep in mind, my hearing is still good and proven with ear tests. Before the new TV's came around, I was able to hear the old televisions high end pitch when turned on.
 
I've got a tumor on my right auditory nerve rendering it deaf and rings like you shot a gun right next to my head. 24-7 for about 16-18 years now. But my left ear was pretty good until recently starting to ring.

I slept with TV on for the longest time but not needed anymore. Stopped gigging but would have anyway. It takes time but your brain adapts. When you have all these notes ringing in your head you lose the ability to hear certain pitches as well. Some people's voices are harder to hear.

And I'll post this here because it relates and is fascinating imo.

 
Yeah, I got it (or it got worse to the point where it annoys me) a few years ago after I turned 40. I really don't know why honestly. I suspect other medications for other things. I just play at home at fairly low volume (never over 80-85 decibels). I went to an ENT and have no hearing loss, so it isn't caused by loud volume. (I was worried concerts in my younger years were the cause also....)

I have several air filters in my house to always have noise going. I recently got sound machines to sleep to, which were recommended by the ENT. I also try to keep the humidity higher in my house. I actually tend to get headaches by loud, and bright tones, so I tend to dial in darker tones at fairly low volumes. I have tried to cut back on caffeine and artificial sweeteners in drinks and such. I changed a few of my medications to other things hoping that one day I will just wake up and it will be gone.
 
Sucks... I’ve had it since mid 20’s and it’s been mostly minor. I listen to music on headphones and enjoy it so much. People say that is horrible for your hearing, but I go bass heavy, with the idea that the bass won’t cause damage

some people lose their hearing more than others naturally with age, too. My right ear feels like the “dominant” ear. Everything just sounds better from that side.

didn’t really follow your questions, but that’s only because it’s been mostly minor. The times it gets worse causes me to panic, for sure
 
That sucks for you, sorry to hear.

I’ve had it my whole life as far back as I can remember, born with it I guess. I didn’t even realize other people did NOT have it until I was in Jr High school and my Science teacher told me not everyone has a ringing in their ears.

I avoid silence, sleep with the TV on a low volume. When I’m in silence, it becomes so loud, it grows and can be overwhelming.
 
Even today on the highway I had my window down and a big rig downshifted next to me and I can hear it in my left ear now, shit sucks
 
All good info, dudes. Perhaps this thread can help others learn what methods have helped you deal with it and/or prevent it from getting worse. I appreciate all the input so far.

Cheers.
 
I’ve battled it off and on. The number one thing I’ve noticed that triggers it more than anything is stress and caffeine.

As far as ways to remedy it, I just take hot showers or drip hydrogen peroxide into my ear and keep it there for a minute or so with a cotton ball before draining it out.

I try to stay hydrated and generally as others have stated background noise and fans make all off the difference.

I gig with plugs but practice at home without them.
 
I have it. It’s super loud in a quiet room. But otherwise I hardly notice it throughout the day. As soon as I read the title to this thread, it was extremely loud in my ears. It’s a psychological thing as much as a physical issue. If you don’t think about it, most the time it’s not there.

I used to work on cars a lot when I was younger, air compressors, die grinders, etc…with no hearing protection. Loud concerts too. That probably did the most damage.

I run a fan at night which blocks out most of the noise. I can still hear good, as far as I know.

Tinnitus is interesting. When your hearing gets damaged, and your body knows it, it raises its awareness of surrounding noises, which causes the ringing. It’s a weird phenomenon but there’s no cure other that mental conditioning to ignore it. Until Elon Musk implants that chip in your brain. Maybe that will turn it off.
 
"Learn to live with it"?????you got to be kidding
My advice would be to vet the best audiologist you can find, who is aware of and uses the latest tech. The technology is changing rapidly. To make complete audilogical evaluation and get testing, do a frequency test, a word recognition test, and a voice versus background noise test at least.
 
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I have it. It’s super loud in a quiet room. But otherwise I hardly notice it throughout the day. As soon as I read the title to this thread, it was extremely loud in my ears. It’s a psychological thing as much as a physical issue. If you don’t think about it, most the time it’s not there.

I used to work on cars a lot when I was younger, air compressors, die grinders, etc…with no hearing protection. Loud concerts too. That probably did the most damage.

I run a fan at night which blocks out most of the noise. I can still hear good, as far as I know.

Tinnitus is interesting. When your hearing gets damaged, and your body knows it, it raises its awareness of surrounding noises, which causes the ringing. It’s a weird phenomenon but there’s no cure other that mental conditioning to ignore it. Until Elon Musk implants that chip in your brain. Maybe that will turn it off.
That’s how mine started too.

When I was young i worked on cars a lot with my dad and grandfather. Loud air compressors, loud cars, air tools/impact guns, grinders, etc.

Only into my twenties did I switch to gigging with loud amps and that probably didn’t help but wasnt as long as working on cars.
 
It started in my early twenties. Usually when going to bed, I was able to hear it at an anoyingly loud level.

In your situation, get custom made earplugs. They filter all frequencies the same, not like the cheapos that leave you with a muddie bass sound. You can even choose how many db they should decrease the volume, like -10 or -25 db etc...

Fortunarely, the constant tinnitus went away after like 8 years of not being exposed to loud music anymore. Sometimes I get loud atracks the last for about 30 seconds and after hearing to loud music etc it comes back but goes away eventually.
 
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