Does having tinnitus mean no more headphones? - Page 3

Topping this thread - I have this, and have just started listening regularly for longer periods to headphones. 

 

I find my tinnitus more noticeable after listening on headphones (but have never noticed this listening to music via speakers). 

 

I've noticed this more since using "open" headphones (LCD-2s) vs. closed headphones.  I may be increasing the volume slightly in open headphones to block out ambient noise, but not by much.

 

I'm wondering if anyone notes that listening makes this more noticeable or "agitates" tinnitus? 

I would let your ears heal for another 3 weeks and then start listening to headphones at low volumes.  Otherwise use speakers at moderate to low volumes.  Losing your hearing not what you want so try being a bit more sensitive with your ears.  They are hard to replace.

Edited by NA Blur - 8/19/11 at 9:36pm

I have intermittent tinnitus, cause unknown. Music from headphones seems to be a remedy, not a cause.

I feel the need to chime in whenever I see a tinnitus discussion since I've been living with it since '99.

 

-The less you think about it, the better off you are. It will always be there; the trick is to keep yourself occupied and possibly to avoid pin-drop quiet situations. It will just magnify the ringing.

 

-The first few months after the ringing started my ears were extremely sensitive. I didn't use my headphones much because I had to listen at such a low volume. Over time I was able to increase the volume of my phones and my car stereo to a more normal level but it took quite a while. This was partly because of sensitivity and partly probably because I was scared to make it worse. Even after 10 years, though, I still wear earplugs to church as the live band is a bit too loud for me.

 

-Even after all of this time my ears ring a little more when I'm done with a listening session. Could be 2 songs or 2 hours, I still have slightly more ringing. Part of that could be music induced and part of it could be just the fact that I notice it a little more because the music is suddenly off. Probably a bit of both. I recently realized that closed cans, while they give me the deep bass I crave, actually give me more listening fatigue and slightly more ringing. I recently switched to the Audeze LCD-2 and the difference is amazing; there's less fatigue, less ringing and overall I feel more comfortable after listening to them. So in my experience open headphones might be better for tinnitus sufferers.

 

Good luck. Remember to be patient and let your ears heal/adjust in the short term.You may have to live with it for the rest of your life so try to make it a friendly relationship and not an adversarial one :)

 

Scott

Just to echo what has been said - the Tinnitus expert I had to wait 5 weeks to see told me that it's perfectly fine to keep using headphones but to keep the volume way down. He said isolating IEMs or closed cans are best so that you do not have to turn the volume up as as much because there is a lot less external noise to compete with.

 

He also has tinnitus and said to just ignore it, by not focusing on it you can train your brain to not notice the sound as much. It took me a month before I was able to tune it out and start sleeping again.

 

Interesting note, when he was testing my hearing he gave me a pair of HD25s to put on, and said "these may look unusual to you, but they are very good", then I told him what they were he was very happy to meet another audiophile and we chatted for 30 minutes.

That reminded me of Arlo

Just sitting there on the group W bench, smokin cigarettes and talkin bout audio AND all kinds of mean and nasty stuff
Edited by Happy Camper - 8/20/11 at 3:09pm

Sorry the Arlo reference is completely lost on me (Alro Guthrie?). He was a nice Dr, we chatted about headphones and music. It was the most interesting doctors visit I've had (good and bad - he also told me I have some significant hearing loss in my left ear that was permanent).

Edited by MusicaMan - 8/20/11 at 3:33pm

I first started noticing my tinnitus in 96 and it has slowly gotten worse over the years. I have both tinnitus and hearing loss in both ears (50dB at 4kHz).

What others have said about sleep, stress, diet, caffeine, and avoiding noise are all valid.

I do enjoy listening to headphones and speakers, but with my condition, fatigue sets is fairly quickly. My tinnitus also "reacts" to some noise and music as a kind of feedback sometimes.

One guideline is that if you are listening to music and after 5 or 10 minutes the volume sounds like it got lower and you feel like turning it up, that means that it was too loud to begin with and you should turn it down.. After a while, you'll learn what is a safe volume for you.

Tinnitus and hearing loss can be caused by noise exposure, but it is also genetic - some people are pre-disposed to getting it. If you experience it after a noise "event" (loud music, airplane flight, concert, etc.), don't panic Rest your ears for a few days and things will return to normal.

There are a lot of resources on the web to learn more about it. If you experience it once, take it as a warning and be more careful in the future to preserve your hearing. Believe me, I still consider myself an audiophile and I still enjoy listening to music, but tinnitus has reduced the pleasure I used to get in half and hampered my enjoyment.
Edited by palmfish - 8/20/11 at 6:12pm