Tinnitus Beware

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1494352224' post='3295286']
on the London underground,
[/quote]

You want to try a Friday lunchtime train from Liverpool to London - what a racket!

[chrismuzz]

I've just got over a really painful ear infection which left me almost totally deaf in one ear for an entire month. Late to the party but I'm going to buy a pair of those Flare Audio ones when pay day rolls around as I know my hearing is getting bad after 12 years of gigs and I have been very stupid in that time!

Its terrible that it took the universe giving me such an extreme warning to take protecting my ears seriously really.

Edited May 9, 2017 by chrismuzz

[Dood]

I'll type more later but two tips.

Keep the volume of you IEMs down.

Don't wear just one ear plug or IEM on its own. You'll end up making things worse in both cases.

[Jabba_the_gut]

I've suffered from tinnitus for a few years now and I'm pretty sure I can put it down to one loud practice session in a rehearsal space we hadn't used before. A bit smaller than the usual space but drummer wouldn't soften it and the guitars had to compete. Should have left but I didn't. I put my foot down on the volume at rehearsals after that but too late.

The thing I find hard now is standing outside on a quiet night and not being able to hear silence; there's always a noise no matter what.

Might try reducing the coffee etc. as mentioned earlier in this thread to see if that makes any difference.

[Monkey Steve]

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1494318925' post='3294867']
Agree with all of the above. You get one set of ears for life, and they are damn hard to fix.

Tinnitus is caused by a neurological problem: the brain is no longer receiving certain information from the inner ear, this is not normal so it decides to make some sh*t up, filling in the frequencies that have gone missing.

Hearing aids are not like glasses. They do not compensate for a slack eardrum, they just try to make the most important frequencies loud enough so they can be perceived over the damaged parts of the hearing system.

There's much more to tell but I've run out of time for now...

Protect your hearing from sustained loud noises, always!
[/quote]

Very interested in this being a neurological problem because although I've definitely lost some of my hearing over the years due to a somewhat cavalier attitude to ear protection (but not to a point where it becomes socially awkward or needed artificial aid), I've never suffered from tinnitus. Maybe my brain is just wired up wrong. Possibly a luck of the draw thing?

[MikanHannille]

I know your pain. I started playing in bands in my early teen and didn't know a thing back then. Now I suffer from it. I also wear ear plugs now. I suppose it's not as bad as the others as one time when I went for a session and realised that my plugs are missing. Probably fell off at home. It was worse than it normally is, but calmed down the day after.

It is still very annoying at night when I am trying to sleep and all I can hear is this hissing noise.

[DaveFry]

Interesting blog article by a Brit muso ;

[url="https://innerpieces.co.uk/blog/is-there-life-after-tinnitus/"]https://innerpieces....after-tinnitus/[/url]

[essexbasscat]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1494353775' post='3295300']
You want to try a Friday lunchtime train from Liverpool to London - what a racket!
[/quote]

I recorded 110 db on the london central line

[Bolo]

[quote name='DaveFry' timestamp='1494526070' post='3296786']
Interesting blog article by a Brit muso ;

[url="https://innerpieces.co.uk/blog/is-there-life-after-tinnitus/"]https://innerpieces....after-tinnitus/[/url]
[/quote]
Great write-up, better worded than I could have done!
Also reminds us that hearing and everything associated with hearing is a bit subjective. What one finds hardly a problem for someone else is a panic situation. I'm hearing more positive feedback on TRT from professionals and patients alike, worth taking seriously.

Good health everyone, don't let the bastards beat you down!

[Captain Bassman]

I've been gigging regularly for over 25 years and only got around to buying proper dB reducing ear protection around 4 years ago. Not because of the onset of tinnitus but because, for a while, we had a guitarist who couldn't find his volume knob... (familiar anyone??). I found gigging with him very uncomfortable so took immediate action.

Then in January 2015 I had a 'mild' bout of labyrinthitis that kept me off work for 2 weeks. Resulting from that I was left with the feeling of a permanently blocked and ringing left ear for about a month. The blocked feeling eventually went away but not the constant ringing.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, after an MRI scan and hearing test it was confirmed that the labyrinthitis had resulted in damage to the vestibular nerve and permanent loss of top-end hearing in my left ear.

Most days I just forget about it but like others here have said, when all is quiet it's right there, ringing away!!

So for me I managed to avoid hearing damage from gigging only to get it from something completely unconnected. And - Sod's Law - in my left ear when I have almost always (due to drummers' preference) stood to the left of the kit.

Ho hum...

[40hz]

[quote name='DaveFry' timestamp='1494526070' post='3296786']
Interesting blog article by a Brit muso ;

[url="https://innerpieces.co.uk/blog/is-there-life-after-tinnitus/"]https://innerpieces....after-tinnitus/[/url]
[/quote]

Interesting stuff, thanks for linking it!

[spike]

I've had tinnitus in my left ear for around five years now but either it's not constant or I don't notice it all the time. One thing guaranteed to start it up is reading a thread about it on Basschat.

[Kevin Dean]

A big reason why I've stopped playing with local bands is because they have their on stage amps too loud & you just can't hear any quality , I always use custom made ear plugs/filters . an old girlfriend who was a E N T specialist lost 50% of her hearing at one DR Feelgood gig , she even said that she should have known better . & that was just one gig .

[zzaass]

Would a pair of old in-ear headphones protect me any ? What makes those metal ones that keep spamming me on Fbook any different

[FinnDave]

I started using ACS earplugs 3 or 4 years ago, as the band I had joined had a very loud drummer. I'm still with them and gig regularly, and have very little ringing in my ears after a gig. The others are getting increasing hearing problems but still mock my decision to use ear protection.

[Bolo]

[quote name='zzaass' timestamp='1494692830' post='3297931']
Would a pair of old in-ear headphones protect me any ? What makes those metal ones that keep spamming me on Fbook any different
[/quote]
In-ear headphones are not made to keep sound pressure out. Get some that are designed for protecting your ears. They are cheaper and less painful in the long run.