[jimr101]

Before you give up go to a good doctor. My headphones were hurting my ears. My love of music is my souls therapy. I worked in the boilermaker trade in loud noises for 40 years and my hearing checked out better than most my age so I was suspicious. The doctor said my ear were fine but my bad teeth were causing my ear canals to get inflamed. Got some nasal spray and dental work and am back to enjoying my music.

 

[SP Wild]

  I wont listen to music for about 2 months.
If the problem dissapears(in which i doubt) ,than i will try to listen to music on middle level volume.
If the problem wont dissapear i wont listen to music anymore.
My healt is more important to me.
Its very frustrating to me because i bought the icon dac and the headphones akg k550  just before
4 weeks and now i have this problem.
I gave money for that and now i cant listen to music on it.
I listen to acdc and creedence and this is such music which you must listen on an higher volume .
I listen 2 weeks on that music like creedence,acdc,rolling stones on maximum volume and got tinnitus.
Before that i never have had problems with my ears.
I have the feeling that from now one my ears will never be like they were till 4 weeks before.
Very frustrating...

 
Yes I stayed well away from headphones for a good few weeks and the pleasure of music returned to me, thank goodness.  It will get better, but you have to be mindful of the volume control always, but that applies universally to everyone.  You did a good thing by noticing something is not quite right to find a cause and a solution.  I guess the lesson for use all here is not to get too carried away with our new found fidelity.
 
I think you might still be very young, when you get older, other things in your body is going to start breaking with wear tear and this little episode will pale in significance with the challenges of aging still ahead of you.
 
For now rest your ears for a bit and continue your music journey with new found knowledge and awareness.  Had I not joined head fi and become educated about tinnitus, things could have been a lot worse for me.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

I think you'll be fine, I've had tinnitus most of my life and my hearing isn't too bad. I think the tinnitus before I started listening to music was a result of around six ear infections as a child.

It's okay if you listen to music, I don't see why you shouldn't. As long as you get in the habit of listening quietly you won't do any further damage and the tinnitus should go away. Since I use open headphones I just tap my hand on my wooden desk every so often and if I can hear that through the music I'm okay with the volume.

 

[tdockweiler]

I have it off and on. Once in awhile i'll realize it's gone and it must have been not there for weeks.
I think mine is caused by specific foods.
 
I get it really bad when I eat naval oranges (?!) or overdose on refined foods.
 
LOL often i'll blame it on electronics for some reason. Maybe it's my wi-fi router's fault or something in my tablet. Hey wait, maybe my CFL bulbs!

 
It seems to happen most when i'm tired or stressed, but maybe it's just a coincidence.
 
I actually can't pinpoint it to one ear and it seems to be in both.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

I'm only 17 and I'm getting this at night. I don't even listen at high volumes. But I listen for long periods

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

I'm only 17 and I'm getting this at night. I don't even listen at high volumes. But I listen for long periods

Don't worry, it's normal to get it in a very quiet room. The real world is a very loud place and headphones slightly add to the tiny hearing damage as well. Honestly it's nothing to worry about unless you start hearing it in normal volume situations, or have hearing dropouts with ringing.

I used to listen way, way too loud so now I can only hear up to 14 KHz and I'm only 19. Even then, I went to an audiologist and got my hearing tested and it's perfect within the tested range of 200 Hz through 8 KHz. I can hear down to 30 Hz as well, the bottom of my HE-400/subwoofers response.

It's nothing to worry about, just continue being careful and you'll be able to continue listening to music for ages to come .

 

[Blinxat]

I got tinnitus in 2010 in my right ear after a neck injury.
 
In the beginning I didn't associate it with hearing at all, my hearing tests came back normal or even better than average for my age then 23 or so.
 
It is quite a bad case, I can hear it everywhere if I want to. It is not tonal, sort of a sizzling sound at what feels like 17khz or there about. I still hear that but my hearing in the right ear these days drops dramatically at around 12-13khz.
 
HOWEVER, eventually I adapted quite well and learned to accept it. It got me involved with Headphones in the first place, because when using them you cant hear it. Same goes for running water and a shower, always a relief when it is a bad day.
 
I was still able to complete stuff like the goldenears challenge with it.
 
I do try to keep volume at or below 82db or so.
 
I found that over ear cans are best for it, in-ears seem to aggravate it for several days, or maybe thats just in my head.
 
Usually it returns to baseline level whatever happens.
 
But I still see friends and others walking around with their iphones and whatnot at 100% volume :S

 

[Soundwave76]

I got tinnitus last December when listening my new HD700s couple of hours straight and probably too loud. Needless to say, my HeadFI hobby more or less died. The first months were the hardest in my life. Total hell. Then I began to habituate and eventually felt much better. 2-3 weeks ago my tinnitus spiked to a louder volume and seems to remain there. I fear this might be the new baseline.
 
Spread the word here that tinnitus is a real risk for HeadFiers and do keep the volume low and take pauses when listening. And if you have tinnitus, I highly recommend TinnitusTalk community / forum - http://www.tinnitustalk.com

 

[purpledrank]

i have tinnitus and I blame myself and EDM "artist" Girl Talk. I went to Party in the Park in Atlanta GA to see MGMT and Girl Talk was the headliner. MGMT is psychedelic rock so I didn't bring anything to protect my ears. After Girl Talk's 90 minute set at the end of the concert I had intense ringing and got very little sleep. It calmed down over a course of a few days but if I am in an isolated room without any sound (not even an AC) I will hear ringing.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Just to make sure now.... If you work anywhere loud, which might not seem loud at the time, you still can create tinnitus in your ears. The most effective tool against tinnitus If you're battling it is an SPL matter. They're $25-$30 and are quite accurate. You can measure any place and even headphones. To get the spl of iems, a/b them with headphones and compare. Anything above 80db for periods of time should make you think about your hearing. Job sites that expose workers to 80db are not required to provide ear plugs but 85db and above are. There are ear plugs that cut the spl by a few dbs but still allow you to hear.

For safe listening, keep the spl down at 60-75db with most being somewhere in the middle.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  I got tinnitus in 2010 in my right ear after a neck injury.
 
In the beginning I didn't associate it with hearing at all, my hearing tests came back normal or even better than average for my age then 23 or so.
 
It is quite a bad case, I can hear it everywhere if I want to. It is not tonal, sort of a sizzling sound at what feels like 17khz or there about. I still hear that but my hearing in the right ear these days drops dramatically at around 12-13khz.
 
HOWEVER, eventually I adapted quite well and learned to accept it. It got me involved with Headphones in the first place, because when using them you cant hear it. Same goes for running water and a shower, always a relief when it is a bad day.
 
I was still able to complete stuff like the goldenears challenge with it.
 
I do try to keep volume at or below 82db or so.
 
I found that over ear cans are best for it, in-ears seem to aggravate it for several days, or maybe thats just in my head.
 
Usually it returns to baseline level whatever happens.
 
But I still see friends and others walking around with their iphones and whatnot at 100% volume :S

I woke up in the middle of the night about two and a half years ago to an awful high pitch ringing noise in my right ear, just like that no warning signs nothing. I didn't understand what was going on and eventually went back to sleep thinking it was my ears popping or similar, however in the morning when I awoke it was still there, I became more concerned, days past, still the ringing noise didn't let off and that was it I got tinnitus in my right ear for life (I assume). Like yourself it's partly what got me listening to headphones to mask the sound late at night. At first it was quite intense and very obviously breaking my attention though like you mentioned as months went on my brain has adjusted and it's quite common that the mind learns to block it out.

I read many storeys about people who say "you learn to live it with it" and that's very true, for example these days I can only hear mine if I'm thinking about it, like now for example, it doesn't effect my listening experience, I can still write reviews with IEMs or headphones but some days I say to myself "wow it's having a good old rave today" so sure it has bad days and good days though thankfully subtle most of the time.

I think my worst for fear regarding tinnitus is getting it in my left ear too, because then it would ring in stereo simultaneously which I imagine could drive you insane.

It does indeed sound very much like the sound of silence and I can give people a utube video showing exactly what mine sounds like.

Keep in mind it never lets off, never stops not for a second, thankfully the brain is powerful enough to block it out and mine is very subtle most days.


 

 

[Irbricksceo]

Yeah, I've got it. I'll freely admit, It's not helped by my favoring volume! It's not that bad for me to be honest, If it is fairly quiet I'll hear it occasionally, not often, but sometimes, almost NEVER when around other noises (I can recall only two times in public). I won't lie, I've worried sometimes since I'm still in college and already have it, but I've had it for years, long before I got into the Headphone Game. I've actually got a theory that it might be why I have a degree of sedatephobia (fear of Silence). It doesnt really bother me, but It would be wise of me to do something to prevent it worsening. Figures, While Typing this, it started happening (Psychological Trigger based on thinking about it akin to "feel your tounge"?

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

Honestly while tinnitus is a bad thing, having it doesn't mean you have to quit audio . I can only hear up to 14 kHz at most and have tinnitus, but my hearing tested perfectly between 200 Hz and 8 kHz at an audiologist. As long as I keep listening quietly now, I should be able to hear fine for years to come. I am concerned about my hearing when I'm older, like forty or fifty since I'm only nineteen now... but there's not much I can do about it. Just donate a ton of money to stem cell research and hope I can get a new eardrum grown in a lab by then .

 

[duetta]

I developed mine about 3 years ago - and I'm not sure what it came in response to: more than a decade of of having Etymotic ER-4s jammed up my ear canals, playing my DT-880s too loud over a couple of months, upping the dosage of my then statin drug (Zocor), long-term hearing loss (which I don't feel I have much of) etc.  No idea.  It's not at all bad in normal circumstances, but the hiss destroys much of the pleasure of listening to an audiophile system.  It's making me wonder if it's even worth keeping an audiophile system around.  I tend not to notice it watching TV, for instance.  It only really becomes an issue when concentrating on music (the way that an audiophile would).  Very frustrating.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I just developed a ringing predominantly in my left ear, but here's the kicker: it only happens on my HD600, but never with my ASG-1. I decided to use a smartphone dB meter app, but noted a few factors first to make sure I wasn't listening too loud to begin with, but I first took into account the following:

 

1. HD600 listening environment - at home, with fan or A/C running, never earlier than 9pm; average noisefloor with fan or A/C is roughly 41dB to 43dB at 7am, drops to around 31dB to 34dB at around 10pm

 

2. HD600 associated gear - Meier Cantate.2 amplifier - my brother caught me listening too loud before (had me use the headphones as desktop omni speakers to show me), as I was using audible distortion as a cue to pull back; I've been listening at a much lower level before I hear any distortion nowadays, but will still put this out there

 

3. HD600 ergonomics - clamping force might be a factor

 

4. ASG-1 listening environment: at my desk at home, while working on laptop at night; public places like trains, cafes, library, etc

 

5. ASG-1 associated gear: Ibasso D-Zero (with laptop while working, with phone when working on anything that doesn't involve a computer); smartphone on the go

 

6. ASG-1 ergonomics - very comfortable, great seal with Sony Hybrid tips

 

 

Now, the dB measurements. What I did was to listen to each headphone as I would normally use them, then do the dB test, without changing any of the settings, but with the smartphone running the app at different positions. Used the same track in all tests, showing lowest and highest readings.

 

1. HD600 system, A/C or fan running

Smartphone between the drivers - 68dB to 72dB

Smartphone mic shoved next to each driver - 71dB to 75dB

 

2. ASG-1, home office listening level
Two ear pieces next to mic - 73dB to 78dB

One earpiece at a time pressed over the case hole for the mic - 74dB to 80dB

 

3. ASG-1, street listening level - went through train station and the rest of commute, removed earphones instead of turning down volume setting when the area was quieter; setting did not reset when I tested; note that I can do this throughout the course of my commute when taking public transportation, which can take up to an hour and a half plus walking, with no ringing

Two ear pieces next to mic - 76dB to 80dB

One earpiece at a time pressed over the case hole for the mic - 78dB to 83dB

4. ASG-1, volume pushed to produce ringing within ten minutes; resetting and resting every time I change the volume level

Two ear pieces next to mic - 78dB to 81dB

One earpiece at a time pressed over the case hole for the mic - 80dB to 84dB

 

 

 

I'm confused - apparently I've been listening to the HD600 at a lower output volume this entire time, and yet that's the one that gets me a ringing tone in my head?! Have I got them on too tight, or can this be partially in-canal pressure-related and the seal by the IEM increases the tolerance? (not really likely, that last one, but anyway...) Or is there a problem with how I measured/used the smartphone mic? I got to listen to speakers that registered 83dB last week, no ringing for the entire 35mins I was in there.
 

 

Any other ideas?