[Rhett_Butler]

Hey folks, just wondering if head-fi has a section dedicated to tinnitus/hearing loss/damage etc. A casual search shows some old threads but that's it.

Ever since treading around the HF community I kinda realised how valuable my hearing is. I see people blasting their earbuds in the gym against the background of gym equipment, standing beside speakers in concerts, clubbing where the state doesn't regulate noise levels (most regulations are probably public nuisance oriented instead of safety based); it kinda makes me think "what a pity".

As luck would have it I have a mild high frequency squeal in my ear now that sounds like it's sourced from my brain. And I doubt it'll go away anytime soon.

Has anyone here ever had hearing damage/tinnitus and managed to actually do something to restore their natural hearing? After all, organics matter the most in the end when you don your cans.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Audio myth #347837434783 (believe me, there's a lot of them):

Tinnitus isn't cureable.

Oh yes it is!

The Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Centre: home of TRT

A very good website detailing why it's a myth and what you can do to help yourself relieve your tinnitus. I recommend you read all of the subpoints.
The website design itself is rather poor but it doesn't takeaway from the points addressed.

 

[Rhett_Butler]

Haha I don't mind sites like that but presentation counts for a lot lol...people only believe superbly designed websites these days. But yea I can be objective about it. Besides it isn't asking me to buy a book or some girth enhancing supplement lol.

The site seems to take an "it's all in your head" and perception based approach....at first glance.

Hopefully stem cell therapies will restore all our worn out organics in 10-20 years time....sigh...

But in the meantime, are there any preventative practices that audio hobbyists can engage in while our brilliant scientists work things out? Like a decibel limiter of some sort? Or some sound gauge we can attach to our gear?

 

[madgsf]

I have had Tinnitus and a loss of hearing in my left ear since I was 12, I am 46 now. It has not diminished in any way in the past 34 years. My problem was caused by a series of inner ear infections which damaged the cochlea. I agree the web site seems to be of the “all in your head” camp, which I guess it really is

. But believe me you cannot convince yourself that you do not hear it.

For protection common sense when it comes to loud noises works. I wear earplugs whenever I am around loud sounds of any type so I don’t lose more of the hearing I have left. I have searched for cures periodically and unfortunately always return empty handed.

 

[Landis]

Your hearing really is a precious thing!

I was sadly one of those kids when I was younger that loved having his music loud and heard by all and now have to live with tinnitus. I find that constant noise distractions are a good way to go (i.e. falling asleep to music or a TV) but for those times that distractions aren't available, then it does get annoying.

 

[jsplice]

I've recently been taking a legal "smart drug" called Piracetam. It is supposed to help with memory and cognition (I've found it to only help slightly in that area). However, it has also been studied as a treatment for tinnitus. I have noticed that while taking it, my hearing is a bit sharper. This may be placebo, but it's too hard to tell if it's not. It may be worth a shot for those who have tinnitus. It can be found online for fairly cheap. You must also supplement with Choline or else you will get headaches.

 

[Bilavideo]

This is going to sound like crap advice but I'll sling it anyway: It's a good idea to be aware of what you're hearing, and to train yourself to "wake up" from the blur of the present and take stock of it throughout the day. I'm not talking about being obsessive, just cognizant.

Really loud noise is easy to react to, but the in-between-stuff, usually from a louder-than-usual environment, can creep up on you. After using in-ear monitors, I'm more used to putting filters and plugs in my ears, and am much more likely to do so for an environment that strikes me as unreasonably loud. In some cases, I prefer the quiet and sound isolation that a good pair of plugs can provide. I don't know if it's therapeutic, but it feels like it to me, and that's good enough for now.

 

[Rhett_Butler]

Hey guys I also checked website Chinesekiwi gave us, it has an "Airefreshener" software that pumps out environmental noise to partially mask tinnitus, it works quite well for me and has many variations of environmental noises ranging from fireplace to beach-surf. Best of all it's deadware so it's free lol.

Tinnitus alone I can deal with...but it interferes with my listening experience somewhat. I blasted my hearing 3 days ago with a 15 inch screen LCD with integrated when I inserted a Blu-Ray concert DVD into my new PS3 grrrr!

I shut myself in the bathroom yesterday to see how bad my tinnitus was, turns out it's a high frequency squeal in addition to a moderate buzz. Not good! And just as I was getting my audio wings!

Wow Piracetam, I wonder if this is the future of Head-Fi lol..noo-tropic enhancements to improve hearing.

 

[Seidhepriest]

Piracetam and nootropics have nasty psychological side effects. Paranoia and loss of awareness some of them. They don't manifest immediately, but there they are. Basically piracetam is a mild concentration/attention booster, and the withdrawal effects are similar to any other "high/high" drug withdrawal (like cocaine).

As a general advice, never take any psychotropic drugs. Mind/consciousness alternation is something that isn't cured easily afterwards.

 

[jsplice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seidhepriest /img/forum/go_quote.gif Piracetam and nootropics have nasty psychological side effects. Paranoia and loss of awareness some of them. They don't manifest immediately, but there they are. Basically piracetam is a mild concentration/attention booster, and the withdrawal effects are similar to any other "high/high" drug withdrawal (like cocaine). As a general advice, never take any psychotropic drugs. Mind/consciousness alternation is something that isn't cured easily afterwards.

Well I agree that you should use caution, but your take on the dangers are a bit exaggerated. Anything can have nasty side effects, including caffeine. I have found piracetam to be extremely mild in side effects compared to something like caffeine, and have stopped use without any type of withdrawal (unlike when I quit drinking coffee after an extensive amount of time). I have never even remotely experienced "paranoia" either. Piracetam is also not considered a psychotropic drug because it does not create any feeling of intoxication, whereas other "psychotropic" drugs, even as mild as caffeine, induce a mild state of intoxication or some type of mood lift. Please do not spread false information.

With all that said, I do not recommend anyone under the age of 18 take any such substance, including Piracetam. The effects it may have on a mind still in development has not been studied, therefore it needs to be avoided by minors.

EDIT: I will also add that there have been instances where individuals with preexisting mental conditions experience side effects from piracetam. So I would only recommend it to healthy, mentally fit adults. Also, as a disclaimer, I am by no means a doctor or nutritionist. I speak only on behalf of my own personal research and experience with piracetam.

 

[Seidhepriest]

Depends on the dose and the "hookup" time. Usually takes a year or so of a couple capsules/day before there're withdrawal effects and paranoia without Piracetam.

And anyway, anything artificial that affects the mind is dangerous. Caffeine's effects are obvious, running round-eyed on caffeine and getting a crash afterwards quickly teaches one what an overdose is.
Piracetam is more subtle, it takes a longtime addiction for the effects to show. Usually the "boost" it provides becomes a habit, and after a year or so it may be difficult for the victim to think without its help.
Psychologically, it will typically damage feelings, perception, and increase reliance on common behavioural cliches, damaging individuality.

So the point is - one's mind should be free of any drugs. They don't do any good, any temporary boost always upsets the long-term balance.

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhett_Butler /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haha I don't mind sites like that but presentation counts for a lot lol...people only believe superbly designed websites these days. But yea I can be objective about it. Besides it isn't asking me to buy a book or some girth enhancing supplement lol. The site seems to take an "it's all in your head" and perception based approach....at first glance. Hopefully stem cell therapies will restore all our worn out organics in 10-20 years time....sigh... But in the meantime, are there any preventative practices that audio hobbyists can engage in while our brilliant scientists work things out? Like a decibel limiter of some sort? Or some sound gauge we can attach to our gear?

I think you're misunderstanding the site.

Tinnitus is sort of like pain. It's always well and good if you can eliminate the cause of pain. However, great things have been done for those who have intractable pain by tackling it from a psychological POV. Afterall, a huge part of pain and how someone responds to it is psychological. This is clear to us when we see how differently two people with the very same pain stimulus respond to it. One may well claim that it isn't at all painful, while someone else will be in a lot of pain.

The same goes for tinnitus. A lot of the distress of sufferers comes from a self perpetuating, and at times, incapacitating obsession with it, and wanting it to just go away. They get this way without realising that simply letting go psychologically, not only makes you able to deal with it better, but in really successful cases, makes the sufferer unaware of it during regular activities. They have to 'deliberately' listen out for it. The first step to successful treatment along this line is belief in the power of the psychology behind how we can make something annoy the hell out of us.

Of course, and quite understandably so, many sufferers will steer away from this funny hocus pocus, psychobabble and try to find a magic fix in the form of a pill or special diet. However, be mindful that the going 'contemporary' feeling on the matter is that there is no 'cure'.

 

[jsplice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seidhepriest /img/forum/go_quote.gif Depends on the dose and the "hookup" time. Usually takes a year or so of a couple capsules/day before there're withdrawal effects and paranoia without Piracetam. And anyway, anything artificial that affects the mind is dangerous. Caffeine's effects are obvious, running round-eyed on caffeine and getting a crash afterwards quickly teaches one what an overdose is. Piracetam is more subtle, it takes a longtime addiction for the effects to show. Usually the "boost" it provides becomes a habit, and after a year or so it may be difficult for the victim to think without its help. Psychologically, it will typically damage feelings, perception, and increase reliance on common behavioural cliches, damaging individuality. So the point is - one's mind should be free of any drugs. They don't do any good, any temporary boost always upsets the long-term balance.

I'm curious, are you speaking from experience? Personally I've never noticed any type of "boost" from piracetam as one would experience with caffeine. Because a build up or tolerance may occur with extended piracetam use, I "cycle" on and off about every other month and have never experienced any of the problems you have described. Piracetam is also the most studied nootropic substance, and has been determined to be fairly safe. As I said, I have read about instances where someone with a preexisting mental condition experienced certain side effects from piracetam.

To the OP, if you are curious about pircaetam, I suggest you do your own research online and not go by what is being said here. Research for yourself. Do a google search on "piracetam tinnitus", then research the side effects and potential dangers and decide for yourself. The point is, this is a perfectly legal substance that can be beneficial to you for tinnitus.

 

[flashnolan]

I heard an NPR report on the radio today: Composing Music for 'Tin' Ears : NPR

In summary there is a recent study soon to be published concerned Tinnitus. They took people's favorite music and removed any pitches in the music matching the ringing in their ears. After listening to this "custom music" for a year their Tinnitus was dramatically reduced.

 

[MrGreen]

There was a study done in the 50s or 70s with college students and it found that 70% (if I recall correctly) college students suffered from some kind of tinnitus when placed in an acoustically padded room.

I bet these days its closer to 99.9%, but I guarantee you that most people wont notice because theyve got things in their ear 24/7.

I dont really notice that much unless I have my head against something that filters out high frequencies (such as a pillow), otherwise its really really really quiet in my case. It's surgery and infection related which isnt fair... but oh well

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Audio myth #347837434783 (believe me, there's a lot of them): Tinnitus isn't cureable. Oh yes it is!

Um, can you cure mine, dear sir? Both my subjective and objective tinnitus.