• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

How much do you loose with tinnitus

ehabheikal

Senior Member
Joined
May 22, 2020
Messages
435
Likes
160
I know tinnitus makes your hearing worse, but how much is an audiophile with tinnitus loosing as fidelity?
 

CDMC

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
1,172
Likes
2,321
I think it is very individual specific. I can give you my own experience. I have suffered with classic tinnitus (high frequency ringing) since I was about 12. Mine was caused by some jackass that thought it would be funny to light an M80 in an enclosed bathroom and throw it into the stall that I was pissing in.

Over the years it has been stable, there when things were quiet, but easily masked by normal daily noises and no effect on my listening. In the past couple of years it has gotten worse and louder, but variable. About a year ago it was pretty loud for a few weeks and loud noises were painful, then went back to normal. It again flared up a couple of weeks ago, louder than ever, to the point that I am hearing the ringing all day long, even over music and am sensitive to moderate to loud sounds. Hopefully it will calm back down. Despite this, I can still hear a 16k test tone at 47 years old.

I know that everyone is different. Different people hear different sounds. Different people are aggravated by different noises, some high SPL levels, some high frequencies, some bass, some everything. It can also get better or worse. I had a doctor years ago who had a horrible case, it was painful for her to hear anything louder than whisper and lasted more than a year. She could find nothing that triggered it.
 

MattHooper

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
7,194
Likes
11,808
I know tinnitus makes your hearing worse, but how much is an audiophile with tinnitus loosing as fidelity?

Your question suggests some confusion about the nature of Tinnitus.

Tinnitus - a term covering a variety of perceived sound including the classic "high pitched ringing" - can come about due to damage in certain areas of your hearing, or from medications, or stress, or other causes. It's hugely variable. One theory in the case of hearing damage is that if you suffer damage at a certain frequency, and our high frequencies are most susceptible to damage - you have a dip in your hearing. You brain notices this dip and sort of turns up internal feedback to fill it in (very rough way of putting it). Hence you often find ringing associated with the area of hearing loss.

So Tinnitus doesn't cause hearing loss; it's often the result. And of course the damage to people's hearing is highly variable, and Tinnitus doesn't tell you about the level or nature of the damage. People can have hearing loss without Tinnitus.

It's really a case for the individual.

I played in a very loud band for over a decade and had some acoustic shock incidences here and there. I developed very loud Tinnitus that has stuck with me, waxing and waning over the years. But that was in the 90's and it made me start protecting my hearing. The result is that now, at 56, though I have a little dip here and there, my hearing is actually very good, and in particular I can hear high frequencies more in the range of someone under 46 years old.

Occaisionally my Tinnitus gets so loud it bothers me when listening to music - even riding audibly over the music when I turn the volume up. So it's hard to drown out. However, that is quite rare and most of the time I'm not aware of the ringing, especially listening to music.

So...it's complicated.
 

Feanor

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 22, 2019
Messages
382
Likes
496
Location
southwestern Ontario
I have suffered for mild tinnitus since my early 20's, (I'm in my 70s today). It has worsened slightly over time.

In my case it was probably caused by shooting .22 LR rifle indoors for several years without hearing protect; in any case wasn't long after that that I noticed the tinnitus. For quite some time I have been basically deaf above 10kHz. Nevertheless I enjoy music and might or might not even notice the tinnitus while I'm listening.
 

Daverz

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Messages
1,294
Likes
1,451
My tinnitus started in my 40s. It could have just been age related, but I think using Etymotics may have had something to do with it (just be very careful with the max possible volume). The ringing gets worse when I'm tired.

I can usually ignore it when listening to speakers, but with headphones it becomes too obvious and intrusive. Sometimes when I'm tired, my ears also become oversensitive (hyperacusis), and it's time to stop listening. Otherwise, I enjoy music as much as ever.
 

John Dyson

Active Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
172
Likes
90
About my own tinnitus, and the fact that part of my hobby requires reasonably good hearing. A friend of mine suggested Magnesium suppliments for the tinnitus, and the suppliments really do appear to help a little. I am not subject to placebo effect, but generally am very skeptical of OTC meds (other than Tylenol/Ibuprofen combination for pain). Very simply, it seems that the tinnitus decreases by as much as 10dB by using medium (not high) doses of Magnesium suppliments. The ones that I use are a combination of Mg, Ca and a few others. Seem to help enough to be worthwhile.

John
 

MattHooper

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
7,194
Likes
11,808
Interesting, John. Good to see you've had some success.

About my own tinnitus, and the fact that part of my hobby requires reasonably good hearing. A friend of mine suggested Magnesium suppliments for the tinnitus, and the suppliments really do appear to help a little. I am not subject to placebo effect,

John

Everyone is subject to the placebo effect. (Not sure if you meant to write it that way?)
 

John Dyson

Active Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
172
Likes
90
Interesting, John. Good to see you've had some success.



Everyone is subject to the placebo effect. (Not sure if you meant to write it that way?)
To some extent it might be true, but historically OTC meds dont seen to work much for me. Most OTC meds just don't do anything for me, and I am not a 'medicine person'. Very often I even forget I have taken the Mg, and notice the tinnitus is gone. (Meds aren't imiportant to me except the early morning religion of hte prescribed ones.) I get so distracted that there is often NO memory of my morning meds. When I have to work hard listening for audio problems, notice that the tinnitus is gone -- I finally remember the Mg because it was SO bad earlier on. The clue to the reminder is that the tinnitus isn't bothering me, and I can hear the very subtle hiss again on old recordings.

I really don't feel like the Mg is placebo. Most often, after taking it, that when I reach back in time, it was usualy 3-4Hr agos. It is probably NOT placebo, but more if it doesn't work -- it just might be experimental variations if it isn't really functional. Same kind of thing as the extremely intense internal pain that I sometimes have -- narcotics just don't work (except fuzz my mind), so I go for the (FDA approved) Ibu/Tylenol combination. IMO, from what I have seen -- narcotics mostly are for buzz/distraction value, do not seem to work for the extreme visceral pain for me. (I would think that if placebo would work, the narcoticspain killers would be more likely to work.) Of course, the bias against that is that I don't like a loss of awareness.

So, sure placebo effect COULD be possible, but it is more likely that if I am in error that Mg works, it would be experimental error.

John
 
Top Bottom