Tinnitus!!!!!!!

[Happy Jack]

1 hour ago, MacDaddy said:

Mine started after I was pushed off a wall when I was 12. 

 

I thought about doing that too, Si. You can have that effect on people. 💋

[chris667]

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Tinnitus? Really?

 

Yes. It could be linked to quite a few other conditions, and there are therapies that are proven to manage it. The NHS pages on it list a few.

 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tinnitus/

Edited 4 hours ago by chris667

[Happy Jack]

14 minutes ago, chris667 said:

Yes. It could be linked to quite a few other conditions, and there are therapies that are proven to manage it. The NHS pages on it list a few.

 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tinnitus/

 

It's not always clear what causes tinnitus, but it's often linked to:

* some form of hearing loss

* Ménière's disease

* conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disorders or multiple sclerosis

* anxiety or depression

* taking certain medicines – tinnitus can be a side effect of some chemotherapy medicines, antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and aspirin

 

Yup, got al that but sadly/luckily none of that applies to me.

 

Unless I'm anxious about my tinnitus, of course.

 

[chris667]

3 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

 

Yup, got al that but sadly/luckily none of that applies to me.

You say that but you should still get checked out. You could have one of those things or something else without realising.

 

It won't cost you anything to try, at any rate.

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Rosie C said:

 

Interesting, mine is more of a pink noise. But I have hyperacusis too, so maybe not exactly tinnitus.

You can have both, I do.  
 

The hyperacusis is more recent (in the last 10 years). Fortunately, there is some form of treatment for it that involves listening to faint, white noise for short periods of time (mine in through my hearing aids), it’s still a new area apparently. However, this can trigger my tinnitus to be louder. 😤

Edited 3 hours ago by ezbass

[Bolo]

3 hours ago, 80Hz said:

 in my experience earwax plays a part. I spend long amounts of time wearing headphones, as well as ear plugs, and that can move earwax around leading to issues.

Earwax completely blocking the ear canal can seem like deafness, like having your ears under the water. The brain doesn't differentiate between signal loss from the inner ear, middle or outer ear, and can start acting up from lack of input.

More likely is the prolonged wearing of the headphones which can lead to fatigue.

 

My tinnitus has been with me for about 15 years, and has inspired me to change profession. 

[steantval]

Yes I have it, obviously worse when you are in really quiet surroundings, like now while I’m typing out this response, just a really annoying high pitched whine, had it for many years, plus my hearing is definitely getting worse, struggle to hear high frequencies i.e. the timer on the oven from a distance, I put it down to riding motorcycles and playing in bands for over forty years.

[ezbass]

Just now, steantval said:

the timer on the oven from a distance,

Yep, same here. The washing machine too. The microwave is fine, however, although it is pretty aggressive by comparison.

[42Hz]

Tinnitus has been my faithful companion for so long that if it wasnt there I might feel left alone.

Hearing loss is f...ing annoying.

Both are relatively symmetrical - which I consider good.

Edited 2 hours ago by 42Hz

[tauzero]

6 hours ago, BigRedX said:

The best thing you can do is to not concentrate on it. I can tune mine out a lot of the time. Unfortunately reading this thread has made it obvious again!

 

Same here - in fact, just reading the subject heading brought it to the forefront of my consciousness. I think I've had it over 30 years - it was when I started wearing earplugs to ride bikes [1] that I suddenly noticed there was a background noise that didn't go away, like the line frequency whistle of a CRT TV which we were all able to ignore.

 

[1] It wasn't the loudness of the bikes, it was the wind noise from the helmet that was (and is) the issue

[ead]

Fellow sufferer.  I can often tune it out, but I find that if I'm in a room with a lot of folks talking I find it really hard to tune into the conversation I'm having.  Quite frustrating as a part of my job is to do events/public speaking etc.

[Buddster]

Yup, I have it too. For about 5 years. 

9.45kHz and 870Hz. A pure tone. Sometimes one is louder than the other. I remember the exact time I got it. In a rehearsal room when the guitar was way too loud. I asked him to turn down and his reply was "I can't really hear it" as he was standing at the side of the 4x10 cab! My was reply was "come and stand here and you f'ing will". 

After 30 years in pro audio, I've listened to a lot of very loud music (as a studio assistant, you are at the mercy of the engineer), but always kept below the pain threshold. 

I still play with the guitarist in our band, but I'm still angry with him for inflicting tinnitus on me. 

 

As an aside, it was very bad over Christmas. I sat my wife down (who has perfect hearing, but is very understanding), and, using a PA tone generator app, played her the tone I was hearing. She couldn't believe I was hearing this all the time. We had a long talk about it and the problems it causes. It has helped her understand the difficulty dealing with it and how it can effect my mood. 

 

Edited 17 minutes ago by Buddster

[Owen]

It sucks. 

 

But if you are reading this and you do not have it, then get some proper earplugs now when you "don't need them". The only thing that it will stop you doing is writing about how much it sucks on internet forums. Because it truly does suck, and it is avoidable. £140 odd.