Do you have Tinnitis? (Ringing sound in your ears)

[egellings]

I got tinnitus while drafted in the US army shooting 8" howitzers. 34 POUNDS of explosive to blow a 205 pound round out the barrel. It went boom again when the round hit the target.

 

[Multicore]

Anybody got this problem?

I do.

For those trying to imagine tinnitus this tone generator is set to 9.5KHz and a low volume level. Adjust it to a very low level and then you can hear what people experience.

Very low level? I have to turn the music way up to make it louder than the tinnitus.

 

[Multicore]

I can trace mine to the first 3 notes of a Nucleus concert in the Cayuga High School gym, back in the late 1960s

as in ... Ian Carr's Nucleus? Who still listens to them these days. The band I was in in 1983 as a teenager was primarily influenced by Ian Carr's Nucleus.

 

[Adi777]

Who still listens to them these days.

Me. First three album are very good.

 

[ErnieM]

I developed chronic R ear tinnitus immediately upon getting a subdural hematoma (blain breed) after a bicycle accident 5 mos ago. Recent (crude) audiogram shows "normal" left ear sensitivity, but an apparent severe asymmetry where my R ear is down 25-30dB 500-4k. Both ears then drop with age-related top octave loss above 8k in close correlation.
Yet speech intelligibility (consonant recognition) is identical when tested. My subjective response is that images are still centered, and except for the loud 8-10k or so ringing in the R ear my hearing seems symmetrically balanced! But yes, in loud restaurants I'm noticing loss of intelligibility.

So I started a quest this week to engineer a fix in my ref system to initially get back the drooping top octave, as I'm busy sussing out HF detail in high end cables as a swansong activity. I clearly have to endorse and trust younger golden ears to suss out changes in formulae. It's ok.

My first thought was to add super tweeters (the AudioSmiles from the UK seemed to offer the most geometric and electrical versatility to prevent combing and too-much low treble infiltration, let's say compared to the more restrictive Apeions), but was then reminded that using an EQ was probably going to be easier, notwithstanding that boosting an existing narrower-dispersion tweeter way up top may not result in the desired same total room power response that adding a ribbon super tweet up there would. I dunno. Since my speakers are mid-room it'd be a bonus if they seemed a bit more lively way off axis...but that's minor.

So I bumped into the Schiit Lokis, which, although seemingly somewhat variable-Q, might allow me to lift up the top octave when boosted with their 16k pot. Low-Q downward treble bleed might even be offset by dialing down their 6k pot to achieve a nice neutrality up to 8k?

Now I see that filling in this ACOUSTIC old-man droop isn't as simple as Viagra, and that I may be chasing never-never-land. Yet a few contributors thought that subtle elevation in the top octave with an EQ is a reasonable subjective help to restore top octave balance...and maybe soundstage acuity...for us old farts.

I realize that more as a medical aid I might want to use a Lokius as a midrange filler for the damaged ear as well; that would require a true stereo EQ or TWO Lokii (ignoring half of each's capabilities because they use single-stage pots). Nonethelss, $600 spent here may be better than an old noisy and less transparent dBx or classic stereo graphic equalizer?

I've read that our ear-brains do remarkable compensation for age-related losses. My skimpy reading re hearing aids has me avoiding that forest as I don't expect great frequency contouring or avoidance of other annoyances to be had easiuly. I can live with loss of direct/reflected loud environment conversation intelligibility (I dine mostly to EAT!), but will NOT accept lousy frequency response nor dynamic restrictions with live or recorded music (I'm a seasoned pianist and budding cellist (once my compound-fractured pinkie fully heals)).

Should I dive deep down a rabbit hole with super tweeter integration, hoping to not mess it up, but perhaps gain some nice top octave room gain from the added driver(s), play with boosting my lovely OE tweeters (Scanspeak 28mm silk in Verity Audio Parsifal Encores) with the Lokius' or other EQ, or not fight this battle at all and accept the increasing flock of swansongs?

Thanks for your thoughts.
ErnieM

 

[Doodski]

Should I dive deep down a rabbit hole with suyper tweeter integration, hoping to not mess it up, but perhaps gain some nice top octave room gain from the added driver(s), play with boosting my lovely OE tweeters (Scanspeak 28mm silk in Verity Audio Parsifal Encores), or not fiught this battle at all?

Get some super tweeters, dial in a parametric to that bandwidth and boost away. You might enjoy a tri-amp'd active system as it allows for some serious adjustment.

 

[norcalscott]

Interesting question if I've had positive results and one I've been thinking about ever since I started taking it. When I first took it I thought it may take a week or two to register any change. But it seemed to make slight a change after the first day. But this is completely anecdotal, and in no way was it a "controlled" test.

To add to this - since I was young and until I was 43 (2009), I had suffered from "hearing loss". My father had bad hearing too. When I was very young, and through my college years, I used to get frequent ear infections. It was chalked up at the time to having "swimmers ear". I grew up on a lake and was an avid swimmer. I think this is what caused my tinnitus. Water would get in my ears and not drain properly and an infection would set in.

In 2009, for a variety of reasons, I cut wheat from my diet. Within 2 days I noticed a HUGE improvement in my hearing (I've not eaten wheat since). This is not why I cut wheat from my diet - and yet it turned out to be a completely fortuitus- and yet life-changing - event. It literally brought me to tears. I'd all but given up listening to music....

And while I did not seek an explanation from a doctor, I would say it was due to inflammation of my inner ear - an autoimmune response - possibly celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.

I hesitated making this initial post since there doesn't seem to be any peer reviewed confirmation that NAC works in restoring hearing damage. But reading all the posts in this thread, and having suffered from hearing loss for so many years, I thought it was worthwhile to share my experience.

Gluten & Ear Problems | Livestrong.com

Gluten sensitivities typically affect your digestive system, skin or sinuses, but in certain circumstances, a gluten allergy can cause ear congestion and a temporary reduction in hearing.

www.livestrong.com

https://www.tinnitusjournal.com/articles/the-effect-of-a-glutenfree-diet-on-a-patient-complaining-of-severe-tinnitus.pdf

This is very interesting, thank you for posting. I will give NAC a try, really nothing to lose. My tinnitus ranges from tolerable / unnoticeable unless I think about it - to really annoying to the point of affecting my hearing. My left ear is worse and I attribute that to many concerts where I seemed to always be on the left side of the stage, turned right to see the stage, with my left ear right at the speaker stacks - lots of festival seating rock concerts in the late 70's and 80's.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

I wonder which would be less risky for your hearing in general: closed-back headphones/in ear monitors or open-back headphones.
Open-backs tend to be driven with higher volumes because of the lack of isolation. OTOH, they dont create any pressure on your eardrums.

Why wouldn't open backs create pressure on your eardrums? I'm not sure you understand how headphones work.

They should do a study. Does the presence of tinnitus lead to the abuse of tubes? The softer treble might sound better, or the reverse could be true. Added distortion from tubes could make tinnitus patients reject tubes.

 

[venquessa]

I get both short bursts of high intensity ringing and persistent low level squeel.

The short bursts, I thought everyone got these, once in a while. It sounds very similar to the "shell shock" special audio effects in Saving Private Ryan. Sound level drops suddenly replaced by a loud high pitched ringing. Sounds like you have just been temporarily deafened. I believe there is a little bone/ligament which is reflexed to loud sound and pops out against your ear drum to mute really loud sound. I believe mine is a little hyper active just. I can induce it sometimes just by cracking the joints in my neck.

The consistent high pitched whine is constant and I put that down to hearing damage from loud headphone use for 40 years.

Last time I gave my ears a test I gave up at 13k. Brought the cat in to verify the presence of the 14kHz tone, but I was getting to 50/50 as to when it was on or off. Cat was 100% sure.

A little tip, if you are bored trying to get to sleep, that whine, if you concentrate.... you can hear music in it. If you listen really carefully it can become quite pleasant. If this happens for you, it's basically your inner music, your brain looking for and fabricating patterns in the noise. It's why I will not accept "subjective listening tests" as evidence for anything but someone's imagination. In the same way music sounds different depending on your mood. It's because the most of what you actually hear is a fabrication of your mind.

 

[Thefaster]

I've tinnitus from many years to the either ears. In my case it's a constant whistling sound at remarcable volume that sometimes is lower. Recently my tinnitus has become pulsating synchronized with heart pulse. My tinnitus whistle frequencies are similar to a sound about 10-11 kHz in a kind of sweep tone caused by pulsation previously mentioned, this is the pulsating tinnitus. Now, after all these years, I've gotten used to this nuisance and often I don't feel it because my brain Is busy with other things.

Maybe my passion for Home Theater wanted to give me a sweep tone test built into my head.

 

[Adi777]

What about hearing aids and ear implants? Can they help in a real way with tinnitus, and maybe also with hearing loss?

 

[ErnieM]

A month on 600mg daily NAC has had zero effect. Townshend supertweeters really mess up FR and soundstage if positioned on axis, anywhere set back on top of monitors due to combing. I have them rear-facing off the rear edge now. Results are still inconclusive. It's possible that the added rear HF actually screw up stage precision, although maybe adding a spatial effect somewhat like rears in an HT system...not what I want. The upward-firing dual-aix supertweeters from that guy in the UK may be worth a shot, but the borrowed Townshends may go back.
Hate to introduce extra XLRs and a cheap Lokius EQ into my ref system, but maybe that'll work (if I don't blow the $$$ Scanspeak tweeters!).

 

[antcollinet]

A month on 600mg daily NAC has had zero effect. Townshend supertweeters really mess up FR and soundstage if positioned on axis, anywhere set back on top of monitors due to combing. I have them rear-facing off the rear edge now. Results are still inconclusive. It's possible that the added rear HF actually screw up stage precision, although maybe adding a spatial effect somewhat like rears in an HT system...not what I want. The upward-firing dual-aix supertweeters from that guy in the UK may be worth a shot, but the borrowed Townshends may go back.
Hate to introduce extra XLRs and a cheap Lokius EQ into my ref system, but maybe that'll work (if I don't blow the $$$ Scanspeak tweeters!).

I've just been reading through this article.

Tinnitus: Characteristics, Causes, Mechanisms, and Treatments - PMC

Tinnitus-the perception of sound in the absence of an actual external sound-represents a symptom of an underlying condition rather than a single disease. Several theories have been proposed to explain the mechanisms underlying tinnitus. Tinnitus ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I think the problem is that tinnitus is a multi cause multi mechanism condition. NAC (If it works at all) probably only works for one (or a small number) of those cause/mechanisms.

Won't stop me giving it a try though.

 

[Moderate Dionysianism]

I see the minimum attenuation is 10dB, while my current Rooth plugs attenuate by 9dB and I still find the result too quiet at times. Maybe it's because I don't attend large venue/stadium shows - mostly clubs of up to ~500 people, usually with decent PA and not cranked up to ear-wrecking levels. I'd like to find something in the 5-7 dB range, but no luck so far. Thanks for the suggestion nonetheless, goes on my "to test" list

In case anyone is interested in a similar use scenario, Sennheiser recently released their SoundProtex plugs. The regular one has 18 dB attenuation, but the Plus version includes replaceable filters starting at -6 dB. ~70 GBP is a hefty price though.

 

[Hello]

Sorry for reviving this thread. I'm curious how others handle their tinnitus. I mean, some real methods like how to distract yourself from it, or maybe ease it/tolerate it?

 

[Svend P]

Sorry for reviving this thread. I'm curious how others handle their tinnitus. I mean, some real methods like how to distract yourself from it, or maybe ease it/tolerate it?

Amir describes how this treatment with Lenire works in this thread

Lenire Tinnitus Treatment

Thanks to whoever posted about this new treatment for Tinnitus, I signed up on their waiting list a few months ago. I thought they wouldn't call me as they have no providers in Washington state. To my surprise a couple of weeks ago an Audiologist from Alaska (!) contacted me saying he is also...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Joe Smith]

Quiet music helps distract me from it...I have inexpensive Audien hearing aids and use one in my tinnitus ear (R) for parts of the day - there is one setting where the device has a low white noiselike "woosh" that kind of covers up the T sound. At night, we have the central air on which creates a white noise blanket and then I'm also using a program on my iphone, ReSound Relief (free) that lets one create custom soundscapes based on frequencies - mine is a higher pitch than the air conditioning vent sound, so it's closer to my T sound - I keep that spare iphone running all night on my bedside table, at a low volume.

All of that said, I have an office visit with an audiologist tomorrow to see what else I should consider, and whether a higher-grade hearing aid for my right ear would be a good investment for my long-term hearing health.

Good luck...keep us posted on your progress. Alas, there seems to be no perfect solution for this problem!

 

[Anton S]

I wonder how many people can trace the origin of their tinnitus...

I can trace mine to the first 3 notes of a Nucleus concert in the Cayuga High School gym, back in the late 1960s.
It was so unbearably loud that I and half a dozen others went flying out the doors.

Following that ... months of high pitched squeal in both ears. It faded over time but it still comes back occasionally.

I cannot definitively point to any particular event that resulted in my occasional bouts of tinnitus, but I can point to at least a correlation between my decision to retire and last bout of any periodic ringing. Since retiring, I have changed my vote from "Occasionally" to "No".

 

[EasyC]

I have started therapy for Tinnitus, which has become worse over the last two years or so. I have hearing loss as well, so it's going to be a combined treatment: hearing aids and a behavioural therapy treatment based on this theory:
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
It's based on the theory that you must learn your brain to accept and then ignore the sound, instead of viewing it as a 'dangerous' sound. It's going to take a while along with trying out hearing aids and so on.

Health care here only permits hearing aids out of insurance up to a certain price, which leaves out the best new ones of course... the price of these go up to about €5000 a pair. What is much better with these expensive ones is that there are something like 4 mic's instead of two, so you're able to better distinguish where sound is coming from (also from behind you) and also better connectivity and sound (for music listening).
It made me think again about budget choices. Probably going to rather spend a bit more money on these little machines instead of buying better amps, speakers and so on which I can't fully appreciate after getting hearing aids anymore. When you start with these, you have to wear 'm at all times. So you hear everything , always, through these little speakers. The brain has to adjust to the sound, and after that you can't go back. Terrifying, so I'm taking it slow...

 

[AudioJun]

I have a little tinnitus as well. Everyone is different but for me I found out my health plays a big role in the severity of tinnitus. For my case my tinnitus is related to my pre diabetes, specifically diabetic neuropathy. Tinnitus, double vision, less sensitivity in finger tips, sleep problems, sleep apnea are just some of my symptoms of it. Diabetic neuropathy affects the brain and then when it’s severe enough its also known as type 3 diabetes aka Alzheimer’s disease.

Tinnitus is a common indicator of diabetes get your blood A1c checked if you suspect it.