Stick a fork in me, I'm done. Dr. says "No more Headphones".... : (

[flippant1]

I guess I just can't let this thread Rest In Peace.

My story sounds very much like @flippant1 . I would occasionally get a high pitched ring in my left ear but it would go away in a minute or so, as far as I can remember. Fast forward to Feb 2023 and I suddenly lost some hearing and gained constant tinnitus in that ear. I have pretty much lost all the low frequencies and fidelity in the high frequency has suffered. It's been a total bummer for that last month and a half. Aggressive steroid treatments did not help. My sympathy to all of you out there...it totally sucks, but worse when you are an audiophile.

Neal Young as well as hundreds if not thousands of tinnitus sufferers keep listening and enjoying music. No I don’t use closed back headphones at loud volumes but I just bought a shamefully priced KEF speaker setup for my desktop and I still love music. Put in a White//pink noise machine or one for every room like me machine, I got the tinnitus app and live your life – you only go around once to try to make the best of it. Oh man Tinittus sucks Sometimes I get a daily or hourly reprieve and sometimes I just forget about it, but I sat around in a pity pot for a while. and now I’m thinking about what ridiculously priced subwoofer to get with my new speakers. I do own one too many pairs of summit fi headphones, but there’s always spontaneous remission, so keep your chin up and try to make the best of it. I hope things work out well for you !

 

[LoryWiv]

My tinnitus has not lessened my enthusiasm for music and the search for equipment that will maximize my enjoyment of it. It probably does mean that gear that sounds great to me may not sound great to someone with perfect hearing. I have lost some upper frequency hearing in my left ear and have constant ringing. It seems like a contradiction, but hot treble really bothers me. You would think I need extra treble, but the opposite seems true. My headphone listening is now all with open-back headphones (and not too loud). IEMs and closed-backs aggravate my ringing. Listening to some well-recorded tunes on Qobuz right now through a tube amp into ZMF Auteur Classics. Sounds great and I can't really hear my ringing when the music plays. My plan is to try ZMF's various tunings (Atrium, Verite, different pads) and find what works best with my particular hearing situation. I'm sure a better DAC would help, too. See! My Head-Fi-itis is fully intact. Where's my wallet???

Similar story hear, I have "made peace" with tinnitus and by using open back headphones or well-tuned IEM's at low-moderate volume, It has been stable for several years now. Although I am generally a skeptic, meditation helps me as one of the principles is to notice things (like tinnitus) but not fixate on it too much nor let it distract from what you wish to focus on.

BTW regarding IEM's I've read they can be a negative for tinnitus but with a good seal / outside noise blocking and ability therefore to keep volume down, I have not found them to be worse than other types of headphones. Of course YMMV but for me keeping volume reasonable appears to be the key factor, along with meditation a few times a week and trying to maintain good general health and a positive attitude. Bottom line: Still loving this hobby and the music!

 

[Bonddam]

I’ve had the ringing since I was I don’t remember actually. Going to clubs in New York and Philly. Attending all night raves you come out numb in the ears. The noise is there but I’m use to it. If you just got it you have not adjusted and it gets the best of you.
You kinda want to ask old people. People from concerts and clubbing what it’s like to have ringing or loss of some hearing. Sense a lot of fear from your messages.

So ask old timers and there’s lots of us.

Doctors tend to ruin your mood by saying bad things when the real narrative comes from us old timers and I don’t mean elderly.
Y’all should have experienced Twillo over 20 years ago. Wow the best and Paul Van Dyke was awesome at that club. The bass horns just Godly and those were the days.

 

[peterinvan]

So any time anything is even remotely loud, I put in ear plugs. But I sometimes have been known to listen to headphone music too loud...

My Tinnitus was self induced. I was playing with DIY speakers and forgot to attenuate the tweeter. It's not so bad that I can't listen to my curated playlists on Tidal.
I hate to think about a time when I can no longer enjoy my music.
I always use these attenuating earplugs at the movies or concerts:

Etymotic Research ER20 High-Fidelity Earplugs (Concerts, Musicians, Airplanes, Motorcycles, Sensitivity and Universal Hearing Protection)​

 

[ThEvil0nE]

Front stage at a Dinosaur Jr. show and forgot to bring earplugs. My ear was ringing (and I was fearfully depressed) for a week. It did manage to go away but still get random (but rarely) ringing that goes away in a few minutes.