Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Anyone have tinnitus? (ringing in the ears)
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Brian Curtis
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Brian Curtis
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PostSat Jun 13, 2020 8:01 am 
I've got tinnitus, too. Probably too many concerts is the main contributor.
moonspots wrote:
I then had some custom fitted ear plugs made and when Roger Waters came to Tacoma, I was all set. Much better. They have removable attenuators in 'em. 9 and 15 db ratings, and the 15's seem to be just the ticket.
I got fitted for a pair of custom ear plugs, too. But I couldn't be more disappointed. They work really well and sound great when the music is soft enough I don't really need them. But as soon as the music gets loud they become over-driven and the sound turns to mush. I've been through a handful of concert ear plugs looking for something that sounds decent. I kind of go back and forth between my Earaserz and Earos as my current favorites, depending on the show.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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moonspots
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moonspots
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PostSat Jun 13, 2020 4:59 pm 
Brian Curtis wrote:
They work really well and sound great when the music is soft enough I don't really need them. But as soon as the music gets loud they become over-driven and the sound turns to mush.
Hmmm, are they active devices? Mine are entirely passive - molded plastic (?), with removable little plugs. Sound level across the spectrum is decreased by the attentuation of each plug accordingly.

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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Brian Curtis
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Brian Curtis
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PostSun Jun 14, 2020 5:12 am 
Passive devices that use Etymotic brand filters. Non-custom earplugs with the same filters from Etymotic are very inexpensive and suffer from the same issue.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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moonspots
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moonspots
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PostSun Jun 14, 2020 5:34 am 
Brian Curtis wrote:
Passive devices that use Etymotic brand filters. Non-custom earplugs with the same filters from Etymotic are very inexpensive and suffer from the same issue.
Ok, got it, it's apparently a "mechanical" problem then. Interesting. I don't know who the manufacturer for mine are, I purchased and had 'em molded at the local hospital's hearing clinic. Seems like they were a couple hundred dollars or so. I thought "that's a LOT" at the time, until I used 'em the first (and subsequent) time.

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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CC
cascade curmudgeon



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CC
cascade curmudgeon
PostMon Jun 15, 2020 3:38 pm 
A somewhat appropriate analogy to tinnitus is phantom limb syndrome, where amputees feel pain or other sensations in the amputated limb as the brain tries to make sense of the loss of inputs, both excitatory and inhibitory. The inner ear essentially does a spectrum analysis of the auditory input and different frequencies are processed by sensory cells at a particular place in the inner ear. So when these sensory cells, or their connections to individual nerve fibers connecting to that place, are damaged, e.g. by noise exposure or aging, the higher level processing in the brain sometimes creates sounds appropriate to that place, i.e., tinnitus.. That is why masking of tinnitus is rarely effective, except as a placebo effect. Masking of a frequency requires energy at that frequency, and if there is damage at that frequency region in the inner ear the masking sound will not be transmitted to the higher levels of the auditory system where the tinnitus originates. There are some drugs which will, in some cases, temporarily suppress the tinnitus, but since they are also acting in the brain in areas which are not specific to audition they will have effects on other systems and thus are not a viable long-term treatment. So basically there is no cure. Most sufferers just learn to live with it. I have had it for 50 years, first associated with high-frequency hearing loss from gunfire and other noise exposure in my teens. The major correlation with how much a particular persons tinnitus annoys them is their score on psychological test for neuroticism The above is for the most common form of tinnitus, which is not a sign that you are going deaf. (Although you probably will go deaf if you live long enough, everybody over 55 probably already has some hearing loss, although it may not show up in a simple measurement of hearing thresholds for different frequencies. It first shows up as a difficulty discriminating sounds, say speech, in a noisy environment.) There are cases where tinnitus is a warning sign, e.g., if you develop tinnitus and a hearing loss in only one ear, along with possible balance problems, it could indicate a tumor on the auditory/vestibular nerve near the brainstem. These tumors are rare though, about one per100,000 people. There also a few other diseases where tinnitus is a possible symptom. In general, a fairly sudden hearing loss with tinnitus in only one ear should be looked into. There is also a case where tinnitus is a sign of more sensitive hearing, rather than damage. About 5% to 10% of tinnitus is from tones produced in the inner ear. The inner ear amplifies low level sounds. Sometimes the feedback loop for the amplifier at a particular frequency region gets into self oscillation and produces a tone at that frequency. About 70% of people have at least one of these tones (spontaneous otoacoustic emissions). There is a correlation with the number and levels of these tones with hearing sensitivity. If the frequency and level of the tone are stable, the nerve fibers connected to this frequency region will adapt and the tone will not be audible. However the system is highly nonlinear, so sometimes the tones are intermittent, or interact with other similar, tones to produce a tone changing in frequency. These tones are often audible. They act just like low-level external tones so they can be easily masked by a low-level white noise. So sometimes tinnitus is actually good news, although that probably won't help if you are neurotic. For those of you wondering about the long-term effects of the temporary loss from a loud concert or gunfire, etc. Even though thresholds return to normal, recent animal models indicate that these episodes may result in permanent damage to some of the connections between sensory cells and nerve fibers. So do the things my mother didn't tell me seventy year ago, use ear protection and sunblock.

First your legs go, then you lose your reflexes, then you lose your friends. Willy Pep
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BigBrunyon
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PostMon Jun 15, 2020 11:49 pm 
coldrain108 wrote:
I think most "sound guys" running these shows are totally deaf by now.
The only cure for the pain is to turn it up. So you get these guys workin' the knobs at these events that are so enslaved to the drug of volume, so dependent on this addiction to loud that they HAVE to rock and roll all night and part of every day.

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Alpendave
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PostTue Jun 16, 2020 5:01 am 
Rock music. Firing range in the army. Not sure what caused it. I remember back in the day hiking up the Muir Snowfield and listening to the perfect, absolutely perfect silence when the wind wasn’t blowing. Now when that perfect silence occurs, all I can hear is an intense high pitched two-tone ringing. Been this way for probably 20 years and resigned to force myself to enjoy the perfect ringing and telling myself it is the same thing that I used to enjoy.

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seawallrunner
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seawallrunner
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PostTue Jun 16, 2020 11:46 am 
Am I right in inferring that most of the NWHikers who responded, so far, are men? It happens to women as well. I hear a high-pitched sound, very softly, in my ears every day, everywhere. At first I thought it was something about my home - I live in a condo building - and perhaps people around my unit were using electronic devices that leaked sound at a certain pitch range. However, I also hear this when I walk on the most remote and quietest part of the Vancouver seawall, and also hear it if I wear my Bose noise-canceling headphones. It's soft, very high pitched, a bit annoying, but I can drown it out with soft jazz or soft ambient or other music. I'm surprised about this, because I have been careful, oh so careful, about not playing loud music in my youth. Perhaps this was brought on by my busy life - on a plane most months (until recently) not much sleep, a ToDo list a mile long. My blood pressure is low, so it's not that. And I feel that sound whether I had a glass of wine last night, or not.

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Washakie
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PostTue Jun 16, 2020 3:37 pm 
There are enough of us here (hear) to start a new "hiking with tinnitus" forum. Our theme song can be The Who's "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" By the way, Pete Townsend has serious tinnitus also....obvious cause.

"What is the color when black is burned?" - Neil Young "We're all normal when we want our freedom" - Arthur Lee "The internet can make almost anyone seem intelligent" - Washakie
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Brucester
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PostTue Jun 16, 2020 5:36 pm 
Then there's work... I remember working around concrete saws and scrambling for quiet shelter if my noise protection wasn't in. Almost painful noise! Supplements? Niacin Vit B12 VitC Green Tea Garlic Hawthorne Berry Juniper Berry Hibiscus Posted this last night while drinking orange juice and all accept the berry's, tea and Hibiscus seem to be a seemingly small improvement on one side at least this morning. I'll take any improvement at this point!

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Washakie
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PostTue Jun 16, 2020 9:51 pm 
I have tried all but the two berries.

"What is the color when black is burned?" - Neil Young "We're all normal when we want our freedom" - Arthur Lee "The internet can make almost anyone seem intelligent" - Washakie
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coldrain108
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coldrain108
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PostWed Jun 17, 2020 11:14 am 
jinx'sboy wrote:
But, I did see ‘Blue Cheer’ and ‘Mountain’ - two groups who were known to turn it up to 11!
I was just listening to this little historical nugget and saw that Blue Cheer was on the same bill...sounds like it was a night of loud music. Wish I had been there, but I was only 6 at the time.. https://archive.org/details/gd1967-11-10.141132.sbd.dalton.miller.sirmick.flac1644 I did a bit of concrete/paver cutting in my time as a "garden carpenter", building stone patios and walkways. The guy on the saw had protection but the rest of us had to suffer. I fired a .357 mag, outdoors...damn did my ears ring after that. Makes one realize just how fake all fictional movie/TV gun play is. Harry Callahan could empty his cannon inside the liquor store and have no hearing impairment at all. Yeah, right.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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Krummholz
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Krummholz
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PostWed Jun 17, 2020 3:06 pm 
I have it too. It makes it hard to hear people who speak with a soft voice or when there's a lot of background noise. I've begun turning the closed captioning on while watching films. Interestingly, I can change the pitch of the sound by clenching my jaw/neck muscles. I don't need one of those White Noise generators bedside to improve sleep. Mine is built in! I believe the sound has improved my sleep; one benefit I would surely give up to be rid of this affliction. I read somewhere where they recommend giving up caffeine. Seems like an anecdotal antidote not backed up by much research. Has anyone else tried switching to decaf? Ugggh!

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Ski
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PostWed Jun 17, 2020 6:59 pm 
coldrain108 wrote:
I fired a .357 mag, outdoors...damn did my ears ring after that.
( * I'm guessing you actually meant to type "indoors" *) Do NOT fire guns in the house! NO NO and NO! I shot my telephone one night with a Winchester 1894 carbine. Really DUMB move: the telephone didn't work anymore, and even if it did I couldn't hear anything for several days.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Navy salad
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PostWed Jun 17, 2020 10:08 pm 
Me too. Too many rock concerts in my younger years!! Especially bad was the Edgar Winter (Johnny's brother) concert in around 1971. So loud I'm surprised my ears weren't bleeding after. As mentioned about, the Grateful Dead were a nice exception. Anyway, for me it's a constant hiss that never goes away, although it's louder if I'm exposed to loud noises, or even my headphones turned down to the quietest setting they will accept! But it's never kept me awake and most of the time I just don't focus on it.

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