Tinnitus

[shredd]

...decided to open a chat about it here, as it has been intruding on other threads, pretty much unrelated to it.

As a long-term sufferer of it, it's a topic of interest to me...main reasons being that years of exploratory research and medical care have me convinced it isn't curable/treatable...and the various secondary causes (diet, such as sugar and wheat; disease, such as diabetes; etc etc) are not only hard to 'pin down' as an actual contributor/cause, but are probably .5% of cases, when compared to the long-term effects of playing and/or listening to loud music, the roaring din that is modern society, and of course - CONCERTS.

For manymany years, I had the faintest tinge of it...which was unsurprising, considering my long history of concerts, loud listening, and being an active musician.
At this point in life: I have Pete-Townsend-level tinnitus, and it's like standing next to a LearJet running at full throttle with no ear protection. 24/7/365.

The great irony of all this is that 'older folks' (not to mention anyone related to hearing care) have ALWAYS given the strongest possible warnings to protect your hearing in all those various loud environments...and 'younger folks' have ALWAYS ignored them - only to become the half-deaf 'older folks' we ignored.
I think that'd fall somewhere in the poetic-justice/karma area...

 

[dctdct]

So you didn't vote yet, @shredd ? I ask because the Townsend level has no entries

I fully agree with your post, as I'm also suffering from minimal Tinnitus. The reason was loud earphones/headphones music listening from Walkman during my youth (noise reduction did not exist back then, so crank the volume up!).
I stopped abusing around 35, but a slight damage was already there. Symptoms: A buck in my hearing frequency graph around 1800 Hz (more on the left side) and a very faint high frequency tinnitus if I actively listen to it.

I manage the tinnitus since decades without problems. It has no impact on my musical activities or daily life, nor when I fall asleep. The frequency loss is more of limitation, specifically in crowded places with a lot of chatter from all around (like a bar).

I got what I deserved, as you already mentioned: Karma.

 

[Slugworth]

shredd. We talked about this briefly on one of my threads. I've only had it for about a year now, it's minimal and comes and goes. but it's certainly more persistent with headphone use.
Many cases of Tinnitus amongst military personnel due to loud noise exposures. I work wigth a woman that developed it through eustacian tube drainage issue when she was younger. Her's is pretty bad and is different frequency levels in each ear. She said brown noise is the only noise that can mask it for both ears. My right ear is slightly deficient at 6.5 kHZ range, which is petty normal for people as they age https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52448-Understanding-high-frequency-hearing-loss Tinnitus isn't even hearing loss dependent. I

I've been on a couple Tinnitus forums when I first developed it. Though I didn't stay on them past a couple months because they can get very depressing. Unfortunately, I don't see a cure any time soon. Maybe stem cells research can come up with one.

 

[-mjk-]

There is a new therapy that looks promising:

High insulin levels in the body can also trigger tinnitus, so doing what you can to reduce insulin resistance can help.

 

[Slugworth]

This is very sound science..lol

 

[-mjk-]

It is sound science. But it only works for a certain type of issue. This is TMC. Dr. Mandell advocates for a similar technique.

 

[shredd]

So you didn't vote yet, @shredd ? I ask because the Townsend level has no entries

So I put my vote in - "Pete Townsend level" tinnitus here. I'll spare you the grisly details. The 'bad news' is bad enough: that manymany years of audiologists, chasing every treatment ever imagined - ranging from "scientific" or "fantastical" - and very purposefully avoiding loud noise at every possible moment has done nothing to alleviate my case of it; even when I work on mewzyk, it's at very low levels.
Yet it has worsened over the last 12-15 years to a level Pete T would bemoan.

On the other hand: it contributes to my awful mixes and cat-in-a-blender vocals...that's my excuse 'n I'm stickin' to it...

 

[-mjk-]

I use several Flare Audio products such as their Calmers. I keep a set of those and also their earplugs on me at all times. I use them virtually every day. It's loud out there!

 

[shredd]

It's loud out there

Sure is. Modern society is just a DIN.
It doesn't help that I have a pathology-based aversion to noise, particularly not-natural noise. It's torment.

 

[-mjk-]

I suggest taking a look at the Calmer line of products. I bought several pairs of Calmer Kids for my daughter and she has been wearing them every single day for 3 years now. They have protected her hearing and she also has been enjoying the reduction in harsh frequencies that put people on edge. Phoenix (her name) has my ears and I've been training her on what to listen for. She can hear powerline hum in a mix, 50 dB below the LUFS-I level. Incredible. I have the sleep version (softer material) and I also have the Calmer Pros which have an aluminum insert. I bought one of the skinny capsules and keep it on my keychain so I can pop them in my ears when it gets rough. I find them especially good at calming down traffic noise.

The Isolate earplugs are also incredible, although due to the rather odd geometry of my ear canals they do not fit so well. So I also carry a pair of Earshade Pro earplugs with me and they do the job. Some of these places I frequent have karaoke at 95+ dB levels. I put them in my ears before I go inside.

While I'm talking about Flare Audio (I should do a review) I bought a pair of their wired E-Prototype earphones (they are actually ear buds). They are the best earphones I have ever heard. The new design is intended to eliminate the distortion caused by the ear canal and I can honestly say that I can hear details in mixes that I cannot hear with any other monitoring method. I use them to check my Masters at the end. They are off the charts!

 

[Mark Richards]

I've been diagnosed with pulsatile tinnitus (objective tinnitus), a more rare type. My tinnitus presents as two different frequencies of rhythmic sound that pulse in time with my heartbeat; and the "amplitude" changes with stress level. The cause is related to chronic health issues associated with the cardiovascular system and blood pressure. I always know what my heart rate is, because I can "hear" it.

According to the Mayo Clinic, tinnitus improves with treatment of the underlying cause or with other treatments that reduce or mask the noise to make the tinnitus less noticeable. A number of health conditions can cause or worsen tinnitus. In many people, tinnitus is caused by one of the following:

• Hearing loss.
• The hairs inside the inner ear are bent or broken — this happens as you age or when you are regularly exposed to loud sounds.
• Ear infection or ear canal blockage.
• Head or neck injuries that can affect the inner ear, hearing nerves, or brain function linked to hearing.
• Medications.

Other less common causes that affect the nerves in the ear or the hearing center of the brain:

• Meniere's disease.
• Eustachian tube dysfunction.
• Ear bone changes caused by stiffening of the bones in your middle ear (otosclerosis).
• Muscle spasms in the inner ear.
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
• Acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor or other head and neck tumors on the cranial nerve that runs from your brain to your inner ear and controls balance and hearing.
• Blood vessel disorders such as atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, or kinked or malformed blood vessels.
• Other chronic conditions such as diabetes, thyroid problems, migraines, anemia, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

In many cases, however, an exact cause is never found.

Risk factors for tinnitus include:

• Loud noise exposure.
• Aging.
  
• Tobacco and alcohol use.
• Certain health problems.

 

[shredd]

Good run-down @Mark Richards - that's kind of the state of the research.
For those of us who suffer it...it's a source of frustration that it's one of those problems that can't really be effectively, or directly, treated. Most dr's (the ones that'll tell you the truth, that is) will point out that neurology is one of the dark and unconquered areas of human medicine, and may always remain so...
So the REAL answer is: try to make those dang kids heed the warnings we so blithely ignored ("protect your hearing"...I think about some of the concerts I went to in my young years - I shoulda been deaf as a rock 30 years ago!).

 

[shredd]

This is very sound science..lol

Hehee...I gave it a try...didn't do flock-all for my tinnitus...but after I was done, I had a psychic vision of Travis and Taylor getting married in a NYC bodega, wearing Hawaiian shirts...

 

[-mjk-]

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis Mark, but at least you know what it is and can research ways to mitigate it.

 

[Mark Richards]

Meditation works pretty well b/c it lowers my blood pressure and heart rate. Afterward it's barely noticeable and can stay like that for hours.