Tinnitus

[tbn.al]

This is exciting. I am 67 and have had gradual hearing loss and tinnitus onset for about 10 years now. The high frequencies are the most troubling. Although the tinnitus is not disabling I do worry for the future. Hearing problems, even minor, are obviously a larger concern for us musicians. BTW the eyes are going as well. "Getting old is not for sissies," Bette Davis.

[bort]

I didn't read the article, but I've heard a lot about radio talk show hosts having problems from wearing headphones for years on end. A solution that works for some people is a small hearing aid that produces a frequency that cancels out the one you are naturally hearing. When it works, it almost completely restores the hearing to normal.

[Dan Schultz]

I have a raging case of tinnitus. I have profound hearing loss of the upper 30% of the frequency range. I think it began as a Navy communications technician in the mid-60's from wearing blaring headphones eight hours a day. Hard rock music of the day certainly didn't help. I also did a lot of pistol and high-powered rifle shooting in the early 70's without hearing protection.

Just a dumb-assed kid who is paying for it now. The good thing is that my low range hearing is excellent. I've adapted to 'hear through' the constant high-pitch 'whistle' that's always present.

I once ground a set of brake rotors down to nothing because I didn't hear the 'squealer' that they put on them to warn of brakes wearing out.

I've learned recently that I would be certain to receive a 10% disability just for asking since I was a communications technician in the Navy.

The good thing is that I cannot hear piccolos and small, whiny children.

[scottw]

I have had tinnitus for about 20 years. Mostly it is just in the background, almost not noticed anymore. Sometimes as I am trying to fall asleep, it becomes more noticeable. It is never a problem when playing, even though it is an out-of-tune Bb. Hearing loss is something else, though. Even with hearing aids,it is more and more difficult to hear instructions from the director, especially when folks around me take a pause in the rehearsal as a signal for them to practice their own parts. And, of course, parties are no fun at all, with everyone around me talking at once. Movies and TV are more and more of a challenge, too, due to uneven sound levels and less than perfect diction. Ah, the golden years!

[bort]

Question -- do you notice the tinnitus while you are at work (amidst all of the fan noise)? Or just when you're NOT at work?

What could be happening is that your ear is compensating for the background noise that you're exposed to at work all day long, so while you're at work, you stop "noticing" the fan noise because of the reaction from your ear. As soon as you leave the room, your ear is still compensating for the background noise it expects, but is no longer present, and you hear that compensation as different noise.

Just a guess, maybe that's not the case at all. Either way, I hope you can get some help!

[Donn]

What could be happening is

Hope you have gotten around to reading the article, as there's some interesting discussion of various ways it develops.

Does anyone have not the slightest noise there, if you listen for it? Mine isn't overly noticeable and doesn't interfere with anything, but what sounds like a very high A is shrilling away in the background, if I listen for it in a quiet setting.

[scottw]

You say you listen to a lot of music at work, using earbuds. I do suggest you keep the volume down, as that is terrific way to do ear damage w/o even knowing it. If you need relief, especially when trying to fall asleep, try a white noise generator, or simply detune an AM radio station.

[Dan Schultz]

..... Dan, in your time as a tech did you ever notice the high pitched whine of the equipment running? .....

I am a repairman and spend a lot of time in the shop. The simple answer to your question is "I simply don't hear much of anything over 8khz. I can hear a 60 cycle motor 'hum' just fine but not a high-pitched whine.

I don't think it a matter of not hearing the higher frequencies as much as those sounds are masked by the shrieking that's already going on in my head.

[GC]

Had it as a kid, mostly went away in my 20's. I'm not sure whether it completely went away or I simply developed mental filters against it. If I think about it, I can hear a super-high background hiss that doesn't seem to go away.

My wife never had it until it popped up in her late 50's, and it's driving her nuts. She has a problem with repeated or sustained loud sounds, and she hasn't developed any coping mechanisms against it. A couple of her medications list tinnitus as a side effect, but changing them doesn't seem to have affected it.

[ghmerrill]

I developed a noticeable tinnitus in the last year following a really severe cold and then an opportunistic ear infection in the left ear. At least that's when I think I developed it, or maybe it's just when I noticed it.

It's constant, and only in the one ear. I just ignore it although if I think about it, it's pretty obvious.

As part of investigating it with my ear/nose/throat guy, I had an audiology test done. The result was that I had very good hearing and no obvious problems with that. On the other hand, a physicist friend of mine who has severe hearing loss in one ear is irate about the poor state of hearing aid technology (which he says could be MUCH better) and also about audiology tests (which he says in fact test only a handful of frequencies and don't tell you much at all).

[hup_d_dup]

The book Musicophilia by the neurologist Oliver Sacks has a section on tinnitus. Musicophilia describes the physical and psychological effects of many maladies (or gifts) such as tinnitus, memory and amnesia, pitch recognition and tone deafness, synesthesia, Tourette's syndrome, focal dystonia, stereophony, rhythm recognition, musical prodigies, dementia, performance anxiety, epilepsy, etc. etc. Everything is discussed in the context of music, in both appreciation and application. Many historical examples and interviews with professional and amateur musicians that describe both the problems as well as the strategies the body and mind can access to cope with these problems. A fascinating book.

Hup

[tclements]

I've had it for about 25 years. No cure. You have to learn to live with it.