Tinittus

[4u2nv]

I love rock n' roll, and i love playing, but recently in the past 2 years i developed a shhhhhzzzzzz sound in my left ear, i have to quit my gig @ the bar beacuse im afraid of having a more loud thing going in my ear.
 
 I always used ear plugs, and maybe is murphy's law that this happen to me.
 
 Does anybody here experience the same thing ?
 
 

[serialnumber12]

yes i've experienced that sound once or twice but i associated it with getting out of the swimming pool,my theory is that it could be that it's just a sort of vacuum due to a build-up of ear wax, there's a liquid you can purchace @ your walgreen's its called earwax remover,try that ,you probably just need a good drain,after playin very-loud music every day for the past 30 yrs my hearing is better than ever!.  

[dnburgess]

First you should have your problem diagnosed by a medical professional. It may or may not be tinitus.
 
There is some useful information at http://www.tinnitus.org.uk
 
There is a big psychological component of severity of the effects. The more you focus on it and stress out about it, the worse it will be.  
 
I have had it for many years but was not really aware of it until a friend had it diagnosed. When I learnt about his condition it  became clear that was what I had and all of a sudden my symptoms seemed to get worse - simply because I was focusing on it. I'll often be completely oblivious to it for days on end. But if my attention is drawn to it (e.g. writing this) the symptoms become apparent.  
 
BTW an Australian clinic recently announced a cure, which involves training the brain to mask the effect (a bit like noise cancelling headphones).
 
David B.

[David Houck]

I agree with David.  Have your hearing checked by a hearing professional; not the family doctor.  And I think David might have a point about the psychological effect as well; I too don't normally notice the noise in my ear anymore.
 
I was playing in a loud two guitar band.  When my ear started ringing, I had my hearing checked.  I have significant high end loss in both ears and low end low in one ear.  After they checked my hearing, they put molds in each ear and I had them order custom fitted ear plugs with interchangable filters.  The type I ordered were specifically for musicians.  The different filters have different levels of db cut.  They were very effective with the band; those loud piercing guitars were under control.  But the downside was that they significantly affected the tone I was hearing from my rig.  The great tone I was getting from my Alembic and my rig was now flat and lifeless.  So I told the guitar players I wasn't going to play anymore if they did not turn down.  That worked much better than the ear plugs.  At the lower sound level, I did not need the ear plugs, the sound was better, and the added bonus was that we could all hear each other better; thus the quality of our playing improved.
 
I think the straw that broke the camel's back for me was feedback.  One night the guitar player was EQ'ing the PA and let loose a piercing high end feedback that was physically painful.  And a lifetime of such occurances takes its toll.  I think that anytime you go to a concert, or to see a band at a bar, or to play at a venue or rehearsal, and subsequently have ringing in your ears, then you've mistreated your ears.  When you think about it, it would seem to make sense that a musician would value his hearing.  But then I subjected my ears to such abuse for a very long time and did nothing until the damage became obvious.
 
So I suggest: have your hearing checked, be accepting of the current state of your hearing (the psychological factor), tell the guitar player that you will no longer be able to play with him if he insists on playing at unreasonably loud sound levels, and avoid putting yourself in situations where your ears could be further damaged.

[palembic]

I think we called it Meuni?res desease.
It is indeed pschychosomatic. If you emphasis on it it gets worse.
What I herad of it is that it results from stress situations.
My brother and I have it.
My brother was treated for it but in the end he realizes that it went better the moment he get angry on the symptom and yelled at it to go away (NO joke)and ...it went away!
I do it the same way.
It comes when circumstances are going hard on me and than ...I try to take a grip and take control.
 
PTBO

[dean_m]

I just had my hearing checked last month as well.  I was told that although I do have tinittus, my hearing is still okay except For a slight loss in the high end.
I think what did it for me was standing next to too many drumkits and having cymbals blasting in my ears night after night.  I now play with a drummer that has V-Drums, if he gets too loud, I can ask him to turn down.  Now that's cool.
I only notice it when I'm lying in bed in the morning in complete silence.  It would be beautiful except for the ringing in 3 different frequencies.
Anyways, white noise at a very low volume is always good to cover it up.  And, remember to wear your plugs, especially if you're in the audience.
 
Peace,
Dino

[bracheen]

Well, I'm glad it's not just me. I've always attributed it to blood pressure.  Most times I don't notice but right now it's roaring. Could be because this thread makes me conscience of it.
 
Welcome back Dino! I hope your holidays were good.
 
Sam

[dean_m]

Thanks Sam,
 
Yeah, the holidays were fantastic!!!!  Glad to be home for a little bit.
Hope yours were good too!!!!
 
Peace,
Dino

[dgcarbu]

4u2nv,
 
Wow, I never heard of this before, I learned something new, thanks for the awareness of tinittus.
 
Darrell

[4u2nv]

Thanks, i thought i was kind of alone in this.
 
 I check my ears and i have a -15db loss on some high frequency, sometimes i dont notice the sound, but when i go to sleep its really distracting and frustrating.
 
 I dont have wax in my ears, so i think im going to try to shout and see if it goes lol , also i notice that my tv (a sony flat screen) has a high frequency that makes my tinitus louder...weird right ?, i gess no more tv for me, lol.
 
 Thanks dear alembicians.

[bsee]

I get the sound about once every couple of months out of nowhere.  I can ususally will it away in under a minute.  It definitely concerns me, so I am more wary of how loud things seem to me at musical get-togethers.  I think the guitar player in one of my bands had bad high frequency deterioration because he would play these head-splitting notes and not even know he was doing it.  I saw the drummer's eyes cross one night on one of these when the amps were up on row of tables behind his head.  
 
The things kids do when they think they're invulnerable!  Take care of yourselves.
 
-Bob

[hollis]

Years ago I was playing in a way too loud band and felt I was sweating a lot.  As I wiped what I thought was sweat away from my face, I realized that it was blood coming out of my right ear.   I sold my amps within a week and didn?t touch an electric guitar for about 6 years.  As time went by, I started to understand that there was a reason an amplifier had pots and didn?t have to be maxed all the way up in order to produce sound.  Little bricks of wisdom have pounded me about the head until I finally understood.  I still love to rock and roll, but always with earplugs and at less than skull crushing volume.
 
I don't miss the headaches, but I kind of miss the back rubs I used to get from the bass players rig...
 
Ringing in my ears?  I?ll let you know as soon as it stops??.

[serialnumber12]

Turn it Up & Tear it up, give the bassplayer some!!!

[valvil]

I have tinnitus in my left ear as well, had it since 1996. I was aware of it (Pete Townsend story)already, and when I woke up one morning with a ringing noise in my ear and when it did not go away after 5 minutes I knew I had it.  
I went to see a specialist who put me through some tests and confirmed that I had tinnitus (he did too btw). What the graphs showed was that I had a drop of about 20dbs at 2000Hz in my left ear. I should go see him sometime soon to see where I'm at these days. Back when I got it I stepped away from music a bit, but then I realized it wasn't that bad and it really did not mess me up musically in any way, unlike with some folks I've heard of.
Basically there is no cure so far, the only way to deal with it is not to think about it.  
 
And you're right, Sam, the more you think about it the more you hear it. I always hear it the most when I go to bed and all is supposed to be quiet; then again I've always gone to sleep with some music on, so that helps.
 
Any loud noise can do it, even if you do not have a history of being exposed to loud noises. The people who have always suffered from it for centuries have traditionally been soldiers, particularly those who serve in Artillery branches and as gunnery instructors.
 
Wearing plugs when playing in live or LOUD situations is definitely recommended.
 
Ever since I've had it I've noticed that I find very high piched noises extremely annoying, especially if they are repetitive.
 
Valentino

[lembic76450]

4u2nv,
   Great post, truly a subject that we should all be aware of. No need to shoot the tv though, the high pitch is just a leaking capacitor.  
Val, like you my hearing showed a 12db dip at 4000hz. Any loud noise can cause it , jack hammers, table saws, and as my sister-in-law found out, sculptors are prone to it too. She had to switch to a different art form. At least we still have our Alembics.
Turn it down and think hi-fi.
Kenn