Tinnitus and High Fi Audio

stretchl

Greetings, all.

I have tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears and accompanying high frequency hearing loss.

Because of this condition, likely caused in my case by listening to too much loud rock-n-roll through headphones in my late teens, I'm sure I'll never hear a lot of what I play through my stereo system; I'd never hear what's played through the most expensive stereo system on the planet, for that matter

I'm curious if anyone else here has tinnitus and how it has changed your listening habits.

Thanks!

cnh

You do realize that as you age "everyone" and I mean "everyone", at some point, starts to lose the ability to hear the highest frequencies. Anyone over 50 probably can't hear above 14 or 15Khz. Above 60 even less, above 70...forget about it!

I can't hear above 14Khz myself. But to tell you the truth I don't see that I'm missing much. And things do NOT sound radically different. Most musical performances are mostly below that high point, so unless you're listening to some unusually Electronica that has super high frequency info. You're probably still better than you think!

You've probably heard about the ap teenagers use to mess with their parents, that has a tone 17 or 18Khz on it that most parents can't hear but they can. You'd be surprised just how fast high frequency begins to decline after even one's late twenties!

That 20-20Khz range is very very brief, indeed, within the human hearing life cycle.

So enjoy what you do hear! It's probably more than you think!

cnh

BlueFox

I have a bit of tinnitus in my left ear since March 2002. However, I still enjoy my stereo, and as I upgrade pieces I hear more of the music. So, while there is some ringing in my left ear, it does not appear to have made me deaf. Interestingly, classical solo piano music seems to irritate it, while string instruments seem to sooth it.

jimbo1421

My own tinnitus was caused by working with power tools without hearing protection. I don't do much of that work any more but the ringing persists. Some years ago I wanted to really start listening to my classical and jazz recordings, not just play them for background. I found myself instead, listening to my ears ring. It seemed that by focusing on my hearing sense I was aggravating the tinnitus. It also didn't help that my SurroundBar and Yamaha AVR combination was a bright, verging on harsh, system that was fatiguing to listen to. I began to look for a solutions to these issues and, through these forums and Craigslist, discovered vintage Polk Monitor 10s and later, SDAs. Adding some good amplification smoothed out a lot of these issues to point where I am no longer irritated by my system. Indeed, I can now lose myself in my recordings. I still have the tinnitus, but it is no longer front & center.

You might benefit from switching to a warmer system.

Jim

cnh

Good idea, Jimbo. I love "warmer" myself. But never thought about it being related to tinnitus. I've ALWAYS heard high pitched sound coming from my ears even when I was a child in very "silent" environments or moments. Perhaps the culmination of a number of ear infections.

OR, there were some reports of people floating in sensory deprivation tanks in the '70s. One researcher said that in that complete "silence" he could still hear two sounds. One high pitched, one low. His take. The high pitch was his nervous system, the low his circulatory system. Whether or not that is the case. It is interesting and also reminds me of that article I posted a while back on the fact that few if any people can stand being in a completely soundless room for more than 45 minutes.

Damage. We're all damaged beings in some sense?

cnh

Syndil

Hearing loss is cumulative and permanent, therefore I do everything I can to protect my hearing. I keep a set of earplugs on my keychain at all times and use them liberally. Going out to clubs or live concerts they are an absolute must. I highly recommend everyone keep earplugs on them.

mrbiron

Don't have tinnitus per say but do have substantial hearing loss at the ripe age of 28. Nothing to do with loud noises and more to do with hereditary. 60% in my right and 20% in my left. Doctors say i should be in hearing aids by the late 30's. SCORE!

Like you, i will never be able to hear the finer details and i am OK with that. If i never heard them in the beginning, then i would never know they're there. Thus meaning, i was never missing anything in the first place. :cheesygrin:

Habits haven't really changed and i just listen to lot more low level.....at least i think it's low level???

George Grand

32 years of jets, I'm deaf as a stick. Seriously cuts down the audio purchases once you come to grips with it in your own mind.

stretchl

I was just in this guy's house from whom I bought the LSi-15's I mentioned in another thread. We listened to both his 15's and his 25's and I swear with both I head the ringing in my ears more than I did the music. I think it somewhat depends on what I'm listening to, but some music makes me physically uncomfortable because of the ringing...

goofyGAguy

stretchl wrote: »

Greetings, all.

I have tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears and accompanying high frequency hearing loss.

I just developed a nasty case of this just a couple weeks ago! Constant ultra-high frequency tone that is preventing me from sleeping. It's driving me crazy.

stretchl

if it came on suddenly, goofy, it may be a result of inner ear or sinus congestion and treatable

BlueFox

Not necessarily, mine occurred suddenly. I went to bed one night, and the next morning I was wondering where a noise was coming from. After looking all around the house I finally realized it was my left ear. I wasted time at the doctors, and getting my hearing tested, but there is no cure at this time.

cnh

goofyGAguy wrote: »

I just developed a nasty case of this just a couple weeks ago! Constant ultra-high frequency tone that is preventing me from sleeping. It's driving me crazy.

I've been able to hear that most of my life. But you find that you can and will filter it out by shifting your attention unless you have "serious" damage in there. The Brain is a miraculous device, it can attend as well as ignore! Try not to focus on it because it only makes matters worse. I've also found that stress intensifies one's inability to detach from listening for it--which is 80 percent of the problem!

And stay away from aspirin and related family pain killers!

cnh

goofyGAguy

stretchl wrote: »

if it came on suddenly, goofy, it may be a result of inner ear or sinus congestion and treatable

I sure hope so. This sucks! But from what I've been reading, BlueFox is correct. There's nothing that can really be done for it.

goofyGAguy

cnh wrote: »

The Brain is a miraculous device

Mine isn't. :mad:

muncybob

I've had tinnitus in my left ear at varying degrees for the last 15+ years along with loss of high frequency due to age but more so in the same ear. I of course wish I didn't have it but it's not nearly as bad a my wife having an accident 10 years ago that severed the auditory nerves in her left ear...now completely deaf in that ear. Ever since then we don't listen to music together much as she really doesn't get the enjoyment out of it anymore.
I still enjoy listening to music but I don't play it nearly as loud as I use to and "bright" systems are something I stay away from.

stretchl

muncybob wrote: »

I've had tinnitus in my left ear at varying degrees for the last 15+ years along with loss of high frequency due to age but more so in the same ear... "bright" systems are something I stay away from.

That's my feeling exactly. The "brightness" is what I associate with the discomfort.

stretchl

goofyGAguy wrote: »

I sure hope so. This sucks! But from what I've been reading, BlueFox is correct. There's nothing that can really be done for it.

It totally depends. I've had it for years and have done quite a bit of research. Ringing in the ears has a variety of causes and each has its treatments or not. Acute tinnitus as a result of congestion is absolutely treatable. Chronic tinnitus is usually not and most of us are stuck with it if we have it. Peter Townshend has had some success treating his, as has William Shatner, if what I've read over the years is correct.

The UVA Medical Center had a tinnitus treatment program for years, though I don't know if they still do. I couldn't get into it when I was in the area because my insurance didn't cover it.

jimbo1421

goofyGAguy wrote: »

I sure hope so. This sucks! But from what I've been reading, BlueFox is correct. There's nothing that can really be done for it.

You won't know until you've seen a doctor. Don't self-diagnose.

Jim

cnh

jimbo1421 wrote: »

You won't know until you've seen a doctor. Don't self-diagnose.

Jim

Yeah, you should at least do a hearing test and see what it turns up. I had one two years ago. Perfect, for my age. I had 100 percent on the word recognition part. Could hear absolutely everything spoken and repeat it. No surprise there as I spend my days teaching, asking questions, listening to students and entertaining dialogue and debate. I do "believe" that gives me an advantage on such a test! lol

Get yourself checked out to be safe!

cnh

Erik Tracy

On another forum there are some that have gotten succesful results from treatment...fwiw...
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=285261

tonyb

goofyGAguy wrote: »

There's nothing that can really be done for it.

Have someone punch you in the face, you'll forget all about that ringing in your ear.:cheesygrin:

I've been living with it for years, sometimes it's worse than others. Thanks to years of being around construction equipment and in part being a dumbass thinking your superman. Because of this, I gravitate to a warmer sounding system, a more organic, fleshy sound like tubes deliver. I still enjoy the high notes in music as it doesn't bother me as long as it's not that piercing sound that is sometimes associated with horn speakers.

PolkieMan

I am a bafoon

PolkieMan

I have the problem too from working in a machine shop, loud cars, and playing music too loud.
I like my Sda's also because they don't sound shill or irritate me like some speakers do. I have had 2.3tls since 89 but wanted something for the bedroom I got a deal on monitor 70 but they drove me crazy so I was lucky to find some SDA 1c's in Dec.

jimbo1421 wrote: »

My own tinnitus was caused by working with power tools without hearing protection. I don't do much of that work any more but the ringing persists. Some years ago I wanted to really start listening to my classical and jazz recordings, not just play them for background. I found myself instead, listening to my ears ring. It seemed that by focusing on my hearing sense I was aggravating the tinnitus. It also didn't help that my SurroundBar and Yamaha AVR combination was a bright, verging on harsh, system that was fatiguing to listen to. I began to look for a solutions to these issues and, through these forums and Craigslist, discovered vintage Polk Monitor 10s and later, SDAs. Adding some good amplification smoothed out a lot of these issues to point where I am no longer irritated by my system. Indeed, I can now lose myself in my recordings. I still have the tinnitus, but it is no longer front & center.

You might benefit from switching to a warmer system.

Jim

jon s

I got tinnitus working at an airport near jet aircraft with no ear protection (stupid... stupid.. stupid..). I now have a constant ringing in my ears... After going to an ear specialist, my hearing has a 10-15dB drop at the 1-5kHz range. Goes to normal levels at 10kHz and drops above 14kHz. I have a hard time understanding people in conversations, any type of hard consonants (especially K and T) does not sound legible to me.

I now wear ear muffs whenever I go near anything loud (such as blowers, lawn mowers, etc) around the house. Luckily, my tinnitus does not bother me too much but it can be annoying. I only notice it when I think about it. It bothers my wife though... I have to crank up the volume when watching movies to compensate by about 10dB which is a lot.

Polkersince85

I have some mid range loss with severe high frequency loss with ringing. 30 years in machine shop environment, shooting and age will do it to you. Aspirin and Nsaids can cause ringing also. There was a recent report out of Texas research using electric impulses to the Vegus nerve combined with headphone frequency treatments that "said" to cure the ringing in a short period of time. Claims to re-train the brain, Stay tuned. http://vnsfortinnitus.com/?page_id=233

goofyGAguy

Syndil wrote: »

I highly recommend everyone keep earplugs on them.

Any particular brand you would recommend?

Syndil

goofyGAguy wrote: »

Any particular brand you would recommend?

Glad you asked. Yes, for just carrying around every day, I highly recommend Etymotic Research's ER20 earplugs. That's what I have on my keychain right now. Etymotic calls them "high-fidelity" earplugs. They are great for concerts or bars where you want to turn the volume down but you don't want to muffle or distort the sound. That is exactly what they accomplish.

I find that when I am wearing the ER20s in a loud environment with friends who are not wearing earplugs, they usually ask me to speak up when I am talking. Usually if you are wearing earplugs and someone else is not, you would expect to be talking louder than necessary. But in a high-noise environment, you can actually pick out the stuff you want to hear better with the ER20s than without them, apparently.

That said, these are not suitable for very loud environments like a gun range or near jets, etc. But for everyday environments where you just want to protect your ears but still be able to hear, they are absolutely perfect. Usually can find them on Amazon for about $12 a pair or so. They come with a small carrying case you can attach to your keychain. The lanyard that holds the two together is removable if you don't want that (I don't).

http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html

I refuse to go to a live concert or a bar without them. Even some movie theaters around town are loud enough where I feel like I need them.

If your ears ring afterwards, then you should have worn earplugs. Ringing ears is a sign of hearing loss. And it's worth repeating: Hearing loss is cumulative and permanent. Protect your ears.

goofyGAguy

Thanks. I found some on eBay for $9.95 shipped.

Inspector 24

This is fantastic. I was thinking about this just today! I'll be doing a couple big concerts in the next couple months, these will come in handy.

Massive karma to you!

Syndil wrote: »

Glad you asked. Yes, for just carrying around every day, I highly recommend Etymotic Research's ER20 earplugs. That's what I have on my keychain right now. Etymotic calls them "high-fidelity" earplugs. They are great for concerts or bars where you want to turn the volume down but you don't want to muffle or distort the sound. That is exactly what they accomplish.

I find that when I am wearing the ER20s in a loud environment with friends who are not wearing earplugs, they usually ask me to speak up when I am talking. Usually if you are wearing earplugs and someone else is not, you would expect to be talking louder than necessary. But in a high-noise environment, you can actually pick out the stuff you want to hear better with the ER20s than without them, apparently.

That said, these are not suitable for very loud environments like a gun range or near jets, etc. But for everyday environments where you just want to protect your ears but still be able to hear, they are absolutely perfect. Usually can find them on Amazon for about $12 a pair or so. They come with a small carrying case you can attach to your keychain. The lanyard that holds the two together is removable if you don't want that (I don't).

http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html

I refuse to go to a live concert or a bar without them. Even some movie theaters around town are loud enough where I feel like I need them.

If your ears ring afterwards, then you should have worn earplugs. Ringing ears is a sign of hearing loss. And it's worth repeating: Hearing loss is cumulative and permanent. Protect your ears.

muncybob

Polkersince85 wrote: »

I have some mid range loss with severe high frequency loss with ringing. 30 years in machine shop environment, shooting and age will do it to you. Aspirin and Nsaids can cause ringing also. There was a recent report out of Texas research using electric impulses to the Vegus nerve combined with headphone frequency treatments that "said" to cure the ringing in a short period of time. Claims to re-train the brain, Stay tuned. http://vnsfortinnitus.com/?page_id=233

I'm keeping an ear on this! I would opt for invasive surgery if a 50% or greater reduction was attainable.