Tinnitus anyone?

[Dippers Donuts]

Anyhow...so I'm lying in bed last night thinking "What is that terrible sound assaulting my eardrums?"

Turns out I'd left my Creed CD on...

(boom tish...that's my Warwick Todd moment for the day)

No, I'm referring to tinnitus, an affliction whereby one hears a constant ringing in their ears.

Not really a major problem, not painful or anything like that, just damn annoying.

Seems to be more obvious at night, when things are quiet, which is understandable I suppose.

In fact I can hear it now...or is that just the pc...

 

[Tredders#16]

Originally posted by Dippers Donuts
Not really a major problem, not painful or anything like that, just damn annoying.

Can be a major problem for some. Major sleep deprivation and insomnia can develop, aswell as other personality disorders...not wanting to alarm anyone!

Tredders#16

 

[Dippers Donuts]

Re: Re: Tinnitus anyone?

Originally posted by Tredders#16


Can be a major problem for some. Major sleep deprivation and insomnia can develop, aswell as other personality disorders...not wanting to alarm anyone!

Tredders#16

That's true enough Tredders, it can certainly be a debilitating illness for some.

Oh lookie there...900 quality posts for the donutking...

Bit of sugar please everyone...

 

[Docker_Brat]

Yes it is very frustrating.

"ooooooooooooooooo" all the bloody time. It is very noticable when things are quiet.

Anyone who is into concerts/clubbing on a continuous basis will experience it later on.

Standing in front of speakers doesn't help either. They never said anything about this in "Addicted to Bass".

Not only is the ringing a pain, but there are other factors. Sudden loud noises hurt like buggery and I'll be stuffed if I can understand what people are saying in a noisy room. I tend to smile and nod a lot.

That ringing you get the day after a concert is your hearing being damaged. You think it returns but it never returns fully.. slowly but slowy it gets worse. My left ear is the worst, I stuffed that up standing right next to a PA bin at a concert, 2 days later the ringing was still bad and I knew I was in trouble.

I now wear stuff called 'ear putty' when I go to a show and plan on being anywhere near the stage. I only put a small bit in so it isn't noticable and it doesnt cut out all the sound, kinda like turning the volume back from 11 to a more respectable 10. Believe it or not the music sounds better, less distortion and you can feel the bass going throuh you without screwing your hearing anymore.

I can totally sympathise DD.

 

[hourn]

i get it sometimes, but not every night or anything bad like that. And yes, it is one of the single most annoying things on the planet. Mainly cause you can't do a damned thing about it

 

[Docker_Brat]

Originally posted by hourn
i get it sometimes, but not every night or anything bad like that. And yes, it is one of the single most annoying things on the planet. Mainly cause you can't do a damned thing about it

I have heard a cure is a few years away, but until then prevention is the only one.

hourn: once u get it 'sometimes' it soon becomes constant.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

I've played in LOUD bands for years and I am definitely an advocate for wearing ear plugs. It is worth splurging on some good ones made by an audiologist. They let in all frequencies but just at a lower volume, compared to el cheapo plugs which block out certain frequencies all together.

Tinnitus itself is caused by the hair cells being shorn off inside the cochlear (the inner ear) by extremely loud noise. Hair cells vibrate when the air pressure (caused by sound) changes within the cochlear. This sends a signal to the brain which interprets the signal and presto, you hear a sound. A sound is interpreted by the differential in air pressure within the cochlear. At any given time, all hair cells are firing just at a different frequency. When there is no signal (i.e. when the cell is damaged) a signal is still sent to the brain-a neutral signal if you will. This is the oooooooo sound that you hear.

The bad news is that hair cells cannot be replaced and you can expect to have tinnitus for the rest of your life. Just ask Pete Townsend from the Who.

 

[joshhem]

Originally posted by Rusty Brookes
I've played in LOUD bands for years and I am definitely an advocate for wearing ear plugs. It is worth splurging on some good ones made by an audiologist. They let in all frequencies but just at a lower volume, compared to el cheapo plugs which block out certain frequencies all together.

where abouts do ya get these? Cause i'm always at concerts i should probably go and get some.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

Originally posted by joshhem


where abouts do ya get these? Cause i'm always at concerts i should probably go and get some.

I heard about via word of mouth down here in Melbourne. I'd suggest having a look at the Yellow Pages for audiologists. They cost around $150-200 but they are moulded for your ears and your required use. A drummer friend of mine had a pair made up and he swears by them. I'm going to get some done soon as well.

 

[Macca19]

I get ringing in my ears after i go to concerts or raves...usually only for a day after.
The Prodigy concert in 1998 however...i had ringing in my ears for about 5-6 days afterwards. The day after was really bad...it was my first day at school for the year and i could hardly hear a bloody thing...was terrible.

I dont usually have any ringing everyday tho...only if i lie down in bed when its dead quiet and concentrate on it ill start to hear it...but not normally.

My hearing will be rooted in later years...thats for sure

 

[The_Big_Ship]

I've had it for about the past 6 months and it's driving me insane! Just a constant loud high pitched squealing day in day out. I've been to a couple of GPs but they just say i have to live with it...

 

[WeetBixKid]

Yep, I have a mild case of it. Think it's from a concert when I was 18, but I've always played music pretty loud. I sleep with a fan on every night to mask it. It's never noticeable unless it's dead silent so not really a big deal. Serious tinnitus would be absolute hell.

 

[crownie]

i do have it and i put it down to listening to music to loud in my teens, i guess i have gotten use to it over the years as it doesnt effect my sleeping and i can still hear pretty well during the day.

 

[Xtreme]

Have had it since 2007, i think i may have even had it earlier than that. I have always had sensitive hearing...... some noises got to me more than others, including being able to hear the "mechanics" of a tv or vcr working (more than just the buzzing noise you might hear a tv make when behind it). I would hear conversations that were meant to be whispers, or conversations from one side of the house, even though i was down the other end.

My tinnitus was made worse when i went for an MRI "just to be sure", they didn't give me adequate ear protection when i was in the machine - the noise still went right through me. And the volume of what i would normally hear, had been turned up significantly..... so it became more annoying and more frustrating at times than what it did previously.

The types of noises i hear can vary, sometimes it sounds like gas passing through pipes (similar to old style heaters), someone smashing chains together, the opening of a drinking can etc.


I still have reasonable hearing, granted i have noticed differences here and there - for example it's harder for me to process lots of noise all at once. It is weird though as i was saying to someone a few days ago, if i am watching tv and someone else is watching tv in the next room..... regardless of volume level i can always hear the tv in the other room..... more than the tv in the room i am in. Easily fixed with a volume adjustment, but i have always been a 8 - 10 volume person, whereas other members of the family would have the tv set on 20 - 30 .

Lots of noises can affect me in negative ways, things like flushing the toilet and even running tap water are interesting experiences. Both give me the shivers, much like scratching your nails on a blackboard .

 

[WALL-e]

Get a ring every now and then but played drums in a heavy band with no plugs for too long. Luckily it's only occasional and not at night.

 

[the_interloper]

Just don't clean your ears, the wax will help protect them!

 

[The Passenger]

serious bump. some old names in this thread.

my ex had an auntie who had tinnitus and it pretty much sent her mad. sent her to drinking, gambling, broke up her faimly. was pretty heavy on everyone.

 

[NSWCROW]

Dived in the relie's pool about 6 years ago , came up and WHALAH...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

My 3 most used words these days are - " WHAT ? " , " HUH ? " and " HEY ? "

 

[buzzbuzz]

Yep my ex gf has it, it triggered depression and she's on meds for that now. The tinnitus (and the depression, thankfully) is much improved. She just has to avoid going to concerts, basically.

 

[Eagle Empire]

my ex had an auntie who had tinnitus and it pretty much sent her mad. sent her to drinking, gambling..

Gambling, hey..

 

[astrowizzle]

Had Tinnitus since i was 15 - Now 42. As said by another poster, a fan on at night can help heaps - that is what i like to do as well for the constant droning of the fan dulls the ringing. The main trick for dealing with it (not curing) is you need to introduce a noise that you can bring into focus and hence push the tinnitus sound away. If you start to focus on the tinnitus the ringing just amplifies more and more. My chickie also got it about 18 months ago and she was geoing mental with it for the first 12 odd months. Lots of visits to the doc, anti depressants anything that they thought would help her - but no treatment really did. But she has also learned that the more you can ignore it, or focus on something else, the easier it becomes to live with. She paid for a couple of sound files from the internet and they seem to have helped her ignore the noise. The sound is of the ocean waves splashing on the shore. Used it myself the other night and it was a nice change from freezing through winter with the fan on. Unfortunately there aint no getting rid of it at the moment. IT does get easier with time.

 

[Byron_Clanger]

Lol, quality bump is quality (I'm pretty sure I have this)

 

[Suspense]

had it since i was a kid as well. for whatever reason i rarely get it these days. or at least i rarely notice it. almost get a sense of nostalgia from it when i do.

If you start to focus on the tinnitus the ringing just amplifies more and more.

hah true. i used to focus on the ringing and see how long i could last.
i guess thats where my affinity for drone music comes from.

 

[EdgeOfReason]

I've had it ever since I went on Lexapro as a supposed preventative for my daily headaches. It didn't help my headaches at all, and about 3 weeks after starting the Lexapro, I started to get a ringing in my ears. I've been off the Lexapro now for at least 6 months, and I still have an almost constant ringing in my left ear.

 

[Dan3490]

I have a mild case of Tinnitus. From gigs.