[fierce_freak]

The first time I noticed tinnitus I was 6. When I was young I had ear infections all the time and have had tubes in 3 different times (and one surgery to remove the last set). I have good and bad days, as someone said earlier. I've actually found that the best cure for it is to not worry about it...if I worry about the tinnitus it becomes louder as I'm more and more obsessed with it. If I can just forget about it (while still keeping enough of an ear open to see if it's getting worse), it gets a lot better.

 

[nadavnaz]

Oh my, the minute i watched this thread I turned the volume DOWN...


I also have a constant fear of me having tinnitus. I have this weird humming\buzzing\sweeping (constant) sound when I'm in completely quiet environments. Not many beeping incidents for me....



Now that I come to think of it, I think it's fairly obvious that there'll be a larger percentage then usual of tinnitus incidents in an audio equipment\audiophile hearing forum. Audiophiles, (not necessarily with 10000$ equipment, just people aware of what they hear) should generally notice this a lot more, seeing they focus on they're hearing a lot more.


As the nice dood above me said, don't worry, be happy, and so will the tinnitus be.

 

[balanceofpower]

I have tinnnitus. Use it as a warning to be careful in the future. Everyone's situations are different but in my case it most likely was caused by reckless concert attending in my youth without earplugs. I try to use earbuds or in-ear cans as little as possible these days to be more careful, along with a conscience monitoring of the sound levels. The Sennheisers I use seem to help in this regard as the sound is not as 'in your face' and recessed slightly in the treble.

 

[xnothingpoetic]

there's really no point to going to an audiologist in most cases.

If you have it, you'll know. And there is not much you can do about it.

In some cases, diet, exercise, change in meds, stress relief, and ext can help reduce it. But in the end you are going to have to live with for the rest of your life.

you will never hear silence again.

BUT keep in mind it can get worse. So even if you do have tinnitus, KEEP the volume DOWN. Protect you hearing!
Think of it as a early warning to hearing loss.

 

[ozz]

some medicines and high blood pressure will cause this along with stress.

 

[Rise To The Top]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Part of the buzzing is just electrical environment effects and such. Primary sign of tinnitus is high pitch ringing.

x2, there is usually a low humm or buzz whenever you plug in your headphones, volume high or low.

 

[Rise To The Top]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozz /img/forum/go_quote.gif some medicines and high blood pressure will cause this along with stress.

I have experienced titinitus like screeches from certian medications, but not from (my) high blood pressure.

 

[Bizzel]

I honestly can't decide if I have mild tinnitus or not. When it's dead quiet I can hear a constant tone that's right on the edge of my hearing range (18KHz+ I'd say). I never notice it during the day and it never seems to get better or worse. I'm wondering if it's just environmental noise I'm picking up on - it doesn't 'ring' like people say tinnitus does, it's always constant.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Does Benadryl perhaps worsen tinnitus?

 

[ADD]

I think those people who stated earlier that tinnitus complaints would be prevalent in audiophile circles are absolutely spot on. Since most of us are pretty obsessed with hearing the most minute detail in sound and detecting the tinniest changes in the sounds of things, it really isn't surprising at all. Apparently a test was conduced once amongst students where they were put into a sound isolation chamber for 5 minutes. At which point 95% of them suddenly noticed they had tinnitus. So although it obviously is not necessarily a purely mental thing, it is in the sense that the same tinnitus sound can drive one person crazy and barely bother another.

I also agree that the more one worries about it, the worse it will become. I find the best antitode is too keep very busy - such that I don't give myself the time to dwell on it.

I've had mine for about 22 months now after that fateful ingestion of the prescribed antibiotic. But now I am so used to it, I just live it with now like someone would any other non-life threatening long term health complaint.

One thing I am not fearful of is that listening to music will make it worse. It actually does the opposite, because it gives my brain a rest from processing the tinnitus sound. I actually think there is too much paranoia around here regarding volume levels forheadphone listening. The guidelines for how much our ears can take are pretty clearly spelt out, yet some people are still fearful of going anywhere near those minimum levels.

 

[ADD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnothingpoetic /img/forum/go_quote.gif In some cases, diet, exercise, change in meds, stress relief, and ext can help reduce it.

And lack of sleep! A couple of nights staying up till 1.00 am and I really know about it. I am sure many people's tinnitus would be reduced if they got a proper 8 hours sleep every night and did not stay up.

 

[J.D.N]

Interesting thread. I had 3 serious ear infections a year like clockwork until i was 6. Since then i've always been in to music etc.

Since i was about 16 (im now 21) i noticed an occasional high pitched constant frequ in my ear (it doesn't ring). I have been to see an ear specialist 3 times to try and track any damage or anything. As it stands im missing a roughly 800Hz gap around the 19,500Hz mark, this is with my ear drums being composed of up to 85% scar tissue. The only problem i have is with volume, so i tend to have things slightly louder than other people.

As for the ringing, i only notice it occasionally, at worst it hangs about for a couple of days.

What i've never been able to determine the truth of, is the claim that tinnitus is actually the hairs inside the ear 'dying'. I have been told (I am NOT saying i believe them) that when you hear a ringing or constant frequ like this, you will never hear that exact frequ again.

This theory seems somewhat unlikely, but it would be interesting to see if anyone else had heard something like this.

 

[appophylite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schalldämpfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does Benadryl perhaps worsen tinnitus?

Sometimes, tinnitus is the result of allergies. If you take the benadryl in standard doses or lower, it may actually help. But you wouldn't want to take too much because that may have other side-affects.

 

[ADD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.D.N /img/forum/go_quote.gif What i've never been able to determine the truth of, is the claim that tinnitus is actually the hairs inside the ear 'dying'.

It is a medical theory as to a cause, but there are also many other accepted causes of tinnitus. How do you know you have a "problem" at 19,500 Hz? I hope that determination was the result of an extended audiogram rather than your own testing. But that being the case, the audiologist should have rightly told you that you don't actually have a problem, since hearing loss at such frequencies is largely of no relevance. Hearing tests are only standardised to 8,000 Hz in any case - it is not often you will even find an audiologist who has the very expensive equipment required to test beyond 8,000 Hz. So long as you fit within a certain dB envelope between around 100 and 8,000 Hz, your hearing is normal.

PS: Most people your age I speak to these days ask me to repeat myself. I guess they have driven themselves partially deaf. I never have to repeat myself to people my age or even people a lot older than me.

 

[Mush77]

So the tinnitus that I've been having in my left ear left for a few weeks, then came back in a very big way over the last few days. High pitched noise, plus a kind of 'beating air' sound. The Audiologist I went to found that my left ear drum wasn't responding as much as my right. I'm really hoping that this thing won't be permanent, or come back every once in a while. It causes me to not be able to distinguish between sounds, the treble is rolled off, and the bass blooms out - and all of this is just in regular conversation...