[hardbop]

Over the past couple weeks of listening to my ER-4Ps, I've noticed that my tinnitus has gotten even worse. I discontinued usage for a while, but it hasn't helped matters.

I was careful not to listen to them too loudly, but I did wear them extended periods of time. I have actually grown accustomed to having them in my ears and, every now and then, have been able to forget they were even there.

Along with that increase in tinnitus, I can clearly tell that my hearing has become more sensitive. I trained my ear to listen for the phone ring while being sealed and I am better able to hear things while listening to music than when I first started using the canalphones. I've been listening to my TV and computer at lower volumes, despite that ringing in my ears. Further, loud noises have become more irritating.

Overall, I'm still able to ignore the tinnitus, but I'm not sure if it's increase is due to further damage to my ears or, less likely, that my hearing is more sensitive. I do hear it a lot more often than I used to.

I am unable to put the thought that Etymotic is pining for future hearing aid customers from my mind.


When I picked up some ear drops for earwax cleaning (I haven't used it yet), I noticed a bottle of pills that claimed to be a temporary, homeopathic cure for tinnitus. I wasn't brave enough to try them out, but they made me curious nonetheless. Anyone know about such remedies?



On another note, my ER-4Ps did save the day. I decided to take in a movie at the theatre last week, (Kung Fu Hustle, a great movie for fans of that genre) and the sound was far too loud. It was at least 15dB above comfortable listening levels, even for a movie theatre. I don't think I would've been able to sit through the movie without these headphones.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardbop When I picked up some ear drops for earwax cleaning (I haven't used it yet), I noticed a bottle of pills that claimed to be a temporary, homeopathic cure for tinnitus. I wasn't brave enough to try them out, but they made me curious nonetheless. Anyone know about such remedies?

homeopathy is non scientific and has no affect beyond that of placebo.

 

[seeberg]

I don't know about wearing my ER6i's in a movie theatre, but I do want to get my hands on some ER20 attenuators for this upcoming show with MC Chris and Star Wars Episode III next month in Eugene- if I can get my lazy ass out the door that is.

,
Abe

 

[Gigabomber]

I just read (don't have the link) that something that made me think most of this ear cleaning might be a bit dangerous in itself. on hey, I just found another one. anyway, it made me think that the extreme length of the tri flange might actually be pushing wax into some peoples ear and making their tinnitus worse. I remember trying them once and they definitely went a little too deep and came out all super waxy. Anyway, Listening to any type of phone is probably going to make you more sensitive to the tinnitus you already have and the fluctuations you get by mood, bloodpressure, coffee drinking, and a bunch of other things that we don't think about normally. I remember I noticed my ears buzzed like crazy after drinking a cappucino drink from starbucks after I found this site and read the last tinnitus thread.
As far as homeopathic things perform, your mileage may vary. Some homeopathic things are just trends that prey on peoples fears and it helps to weed these out if you look on the net and dig around a little bit, but some of it seems to work fairly reliably. Not sure about the tinnitus formulas though: a lot of this stuff is pretty expensive.

 

[baaron]

Have you tried getting your ears professionally cleaned by an audiologist? If it doesn't help the tinnitus, it will help your ability to hear.

 

[Blitzula]

Hardbop,

I used the Univesal fit Sensaphonics for a couple of days. My tinnitus, which had been intermittent and irregular, became a ringing that started on roughly February 15th and hasn't stopped yet. I'm assuming it's permanent. Be careful.

I also noticed the sensitivity you speak of, which seemed to strike me personally after months of headphone use. My volume levels were always low, but I also listened for extended periods. My sensitivity was such that coworkers talking in their normal loud voices was actually hurting my ears, and I was just really sensitive to louder than normal everyday noises. The sensitivity has gotten better since I took nearly a month off from headphones.

It felt like I had a less extreme case of hyperacusis (or perhaps recruitment from this description, as I did notice a drop in my hearing):

http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacus...is/default.asp

I've since stopped using an amp and am only listening to headphones out of my Ipod. I don't know if the tri-flanges contributed to my problem or if canalphones in general would have had this effect on me.

 

[sonic32]

Your ears are self cleaning and the wax is there for a reason. Doctors advise running warm water in your ears in the shower if you feel you have a build up of wax. Never stick anything down your ear canal. Go to webmd.com and search tinnitus for some help.

 

[NeoteriX]

Do you mean tinnitus when the canalphones are in? I notice my tinnitus a bit more when the Shures are in -- As songs fade out when they're over, they are proportionally replaced by ringing. It makes sense to me though, I mean I essentially have earplugs in my ears and I only notice my tinnitus at night when it's quiet or when I have earplugs in. I don't think it's due to any greater hearing damage.

 

[hardbop]

I really noticed the ringing just after I first used the shower to clean my ears. I let the warm water run over each ear for a short while then rubbed them dry with a towel.

I don't know that my triflanges are pushing wax deeper into my ear canal, but there was a bit of popping in my left ear. THe poping wasn't the eardrum or pressure, it was more like the stalk of the canalphone being plugged or pressed closed against my ear, or possibly wax. I haven't noticed very much build up on the flanges, except for a small amount of translucent wax.

 

[deathsharp]

don't know if this will help you but I've been using my Etys since october 04, and my tinnitus is still the same, intermitent and low.

 

[seeberg]

Here's something odd about my ears: I listened to my ER6i's with my reciever acting as the drive, and coming from my ears being trained on an unhealthy 40/65 on my dial, it took 3 hours and now I can listen to 20/65 without any complaints of lack of detail or whatever. I like this...
Should I go for lower if possible?

,
Abe

 

[atx]

Quote:

When I picked up some ear drops for earwax cleaning (I haven't used it yet), I noticed a bottle of pills that claimed to be a temporary, homeopathic cure for tinnitus

If you have earwax significant enough to affect your hearing, those drops won't work. See an ENT and they'll remove it quickly and safely.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I also have tinnitus and when I had shure e3c's it made the problem more noticeable in general. Usually I could only notice it at night, but when I used canalphones it became more apparent throughout the day.

 

[Andrea]

I'd suggest to give your ears complete rest until the ringing significantly decreases (at least). Perhaps quitting headphones in favour of speakers for a while may be appropriate. And possibly, to stop using canalphones purely out of prudence.

 

[JaZZ]

hardbop...

I have tinnitus as well and use my ER-4P regularly, with no negative consequences, even while using them. I don't think canalphones, headphones, speakers or what else make a difference in terms of harmful- or -lessness with respect to tinnitus, although I wouldn't vouch for this, after all it could be an individual issue. In my case listening to speakers is more critical than listening to headphones (when it comes to the ability to ignore the tinnitus).

As to the homeopathic pills -- it wouldn't hurt to try them, and I'm interested in your results. How are they called? (On the other hand, they may just be a mild sedative.)