Hi, my name is Lindsay, Linds for short. I don't usually do this kind of thing but I feel I am going to need the help and support of my fellow tinnitus sufferers (just saying tinnitus gives me a surge of anxiety). So if you don't mind I will refer to tinnitus as T. I have had T for most of my life on and off not knowing what is was until about 5 years ago. All I knew about it was that it was a ringing In the ears and that it wasn't serious. The level of my T at the time of my learning about it was very bearable and I never gave it a second thought, it never bothered me. Now however it is effecting my quality of life and more than a mere distraction. I know I have only myself to blame as I play guitar and sometimes too loud! This is what really gets me down, self inflicted. The biggest mistake was not educating myself about T when I first learnt about it. Because it was no bother to me at the time. So why worry about it right, it wont get any worse than this so I don't know what all the fuss is about. I now know how foolish that thinking was! So I just got on with playing music and having a good time not knowing what adverse effects it was going to have. Well now I have it permanently and at a level of around 70db most of the time, and as you all know it is hell! It is worse in my left ear(that's the side my guitar amp sits) but it is also in the right one. Needless to say the electric guitar is no longer in use, I only play acoustic now without amplification, and I wear ear protection whenever I operate anything that makes noise eg..lawn mower. I am most downhearted because this affliction is something I could have avoided! I think there is not enough education out there about this, there should be posters out there on the walls about this, as when I went to my doctor about my T he told me it was very common. Well for goodness sakes why aren't people being told about this!! Anyway sorry for going on. I have a very supportive wife and my close friends are also aware of it, and are supportive. All I know is that this affliction is now something I will have to learn to live with. I believe there will never be a cure for T at least not in my lifetime, and if a cure is found then the side effects will be very bad. That is my view anyway. Thanks for listening. Linds
Linds, My tinnitus is most likely caused by hearing loss as about 90 percent of the people who have tinnitus. This hearing loss can of course by caused by noise, or toxic drugs or just be genetic. I to blame myself for this condition but do not know if my loss is a direct result of any one thing or all the things I listed. I blame myself for my ignorance. Yes, why are not people being told and warned about tinnitus. Protecting ones hearing is often a subject of safety in the workplace and more people are aware of the need to do so. We are promoting the use of hearing protection more than ever here in the US but in all my years in the military and in a public workplace NEVER once did I hear the word 'tinnitus" Most people seem to think that if you lose your hearing you just cannot hear as well as you once did. They do not know that this loss can be replaced by a never ending noise. No one takes tinnitus serious, unless you have it. It is brushed off by the medical field and by just about everyone who does not have it. Most people would not even know how to spell it much less know what it is.
Hi Lind...another musician here on keyboards. I never gave much thought to setting up in front of a wall of mains or amp on tripods at about ear level until....one harmonica player one evening just couldn't help himself but run up to the highs on his harp with one channel right in my affected ear. It took a few days, but once the hearing returned....there was a dentist drill mixed in there, too. For the past 14 years. Another musician pal (a sax player) who is on the front row of most of the bands that he plays in...gets blasted by the bones and trumpets behind him. He also played drums and did his tinnitus damage by practicing in a finished attic where the rim shots, cymbals and such bounced all over the place with the sloped ceiling boards on rafters. However, he recently purchased hear aids as he's at that stage in life (upper 60s....but still a major hoss for a jazz tenor sax). He allowed that after 40 years of tinnitus, with the hearing aids...the ability to hear all of the ambient sound around him pretty well zero beat out the tinnitus. Per his description...."just walking to the mailbox was a whole new experience as I could hear all the sounds of my yard, trees and neighborhood...even my shoes on the concrete...." which allowed him to ignore the minor T noise that was left after installing the hearing aids. I always thought it was pretty goofed up that T sufferers walk around in their own little sphere because no one really knows what they're dealing with and without a bandage wrapped around the head, sutures or anything that looks like an accident...no one knows. Which is unfortunate....because there's a new generation of T sufferers on the way that could do more to prevent this malady....but just don't have a clue about what it is. Most likely you're probably well equipped to deal with your perception now....given this many years. I find myself getting wrapped up with T when I put in too much time on the various T Forums, Chatrooms, etc. Like most folks, we want to empathize the plight of the newbies which means remembering all the good...and not so good times at post recognition and the angst in that first year after post recognition. Ups and downs....they come/they go. I wouldn't wander into self-inflicted; I'm sure if you knew that damage was occurring at the time of the incident....you'd have found someplace else to be. I'm a little more respectful of conditions where I set up and how other speakers, mains or monitors conflict with the keyboards level. If I can't hear myself....it's either time to move or tell the blaster to roll it back.
