[nibiyabi]

I listen to my music very quietly, so quietly that even my audiophile friend says I'm missing details in the music. I have ER20 earplugs that I keep with me so I can shield my ears whenever I find myself in a noisy environment. I have been listening to music less and less ever since it started getting worse and now I haven't listened to my headphones more than twenty minutes in a given day in probably over a month. It is still getting worse. It's keeping me up at night and I can hear it at all times now. I can even hear it during normal conversation and it distracts me. I always used to have a faint case, only audible at night while lying in bed if I concentrated on it. But now it's overwhelming. I'm thinking that it could be a buildup of earwax (I'm going to schedule an appointment tomorrow), but if it's not, am I doomed to a life of constant ringing?

Does earwax removal really help this?

EDIT: I can hear at least up to an 18khz tone very, very clearly, so I don't have even mild hearing loss.

 

[mrarroyo]

Sorry to hear about your problem. Besides going to see a doctor and getting your ears cleaned I would:

1. Stop llistening to your gear for a week, and I mean totally stop listening.
2. Minimize as much as you can drinking any cafeine and alcohol for a week.
3. Try to relax and sleep 8 hours a day.

In my case laying off listening to my gear for as little as 3 days (a whole week is much better) has either eliminated or significantly reduce the ringing. I repeat every few months to control the ringing.

Best of luck.

 

[nibiyabi]

Caffeine and alcohol?

Is there really a correlation there? And I'm sleeping at least 7-8 hours every night, but relaxing is a bit tough right now (finals week). I've gone a few days in a row without listening to my headphones too (I think it was 4 or 5 days in a row) and I think it may have been slightly better but I don't really remember -- at any rate, if there was a difference, it was minimal. I'll see what happens at the doctor's office tomorrow. Best case scenario is that they pull out two huge gobs of earwax goop and restore my ears to normal.

 

[vcoheda]

maybe you have an ear infection. that can cause bad ringing. or wax. either way, i would take a decent break from headphones.

 

[Lou Erickson]

There is a correlation for some people to caffeine and tintinitus. I don't know about alcohol. There's also a correlation between stress and tintinitus. You say it's finals time... that very well could be making it worse.

Take a break from the headphones. Go see the doctor and make sure everything is in good working order. Relax. See if it gets better.

If it's keeping you awake, you may find some background noise helpful. Some people use white noise, or a fan.

 

[nibiyabi]

Alright, I'll shelve the headphones and stop drinking caffeine and see what happens. It's finals week so I wouldn't have been drinking alcohol anyway.

I'll also go to the doctor tomorrow. "Just relax" won't be quite as easy though.

And I sleep with my girlfriend who requires dead silence while she sleeps, which is usually great because I prefer dead silence as well, except of course when there's an infernal ringing in my ears.

 

[Icarium]

Uhm that's pretty crappy since you are a young guy. When I had a huge build up of ear wax if didn't really cause a ringing just a 90 percent blockage of sound but the absence of sound was as palpitable as a ringing or something...

 

[nibiyabi]

Hmm . . . I was just messing around on Wikipedia looking at alternative causes for tinnitus, one of which was Lyme Disease. I clicked on the link, slightly chuckling to myself. Then it showed a picture of a Lyme Disease rash (red with a gray center) and my heart kind of skipped a beat.

Wikipedia Picture

My Leg

I guess I have another reason to see the doctor in the morning.

Probably nothing, but to be honest a bit worrisome.

 

[Assorted]

Even when you're talking! Wow I never knew tinnitus can go that loud.

When I had my ears cleaned, it helped with post-work tinnitus, but that's just me. The bigger difference was, how should I say, the soundstage and impact of external sound. Can't put it in any better words.

But please check the doctor. Tinnitus during talking is quite disturbing.

 

[nibiyabi]

Yeah, funny thing is that it has come about all of a sudden in the last 10-12 days or so. Come to think of it, I have had this bite/rash/whatever for a little over two weeks and it hasn't really healed. Hmm, still probably a coincidence but my girlfriend is all worried now.

 

[pne]

.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nibiyabi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, funny thing is that it has come about all of a sudden in the last 10-12 days or so. Come to think of it, I have had this bite/rash/whatever for a little over two weeks and it hasn't really healed. Hmm, still probably a coincidence but my girlfriend is all worried now.

3:00am and you are posting! Aren't you supposed to be resting to reduce your tinnitus?

 

[nibiyabi]

Hey man, west coast.

 

[EsJee]

yah... I've just recently been noticing a ringing in my ears the past couple of years. I can only really notice it when its pretty quiet. I was looking up ways to help ease the tinnitus and found a few articles that seem hopeful

http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1570

the person doing the research has found a pretty effective treatment by using low pitch therapy and he also has a sample from it in mp3.

http://today.uci.edu/mp3/tinnitus_zeng_070209.mp3

 

[cjkel]

Just a small point. Hearing loss is not only measured by frequency but the amplitude at a specific frequency. Hearing at 18 K doesn't mean there has been no loss if it has to be loud to hear it. Think about seeing an audiologist, as the most common cause of tinnitus is noise induced damage. I have found this out personally.