19-Year-Old Newbie

Hey all,

My name’s Lachlan and I’m another new kid on the block. I’m pretty young, about to turn 20, and have had slight tinnitus for a few months.

When I was about 5, I developed a cholesteatoma in my right ear. Since then, I’ve had fairly severe hearing loss on that side. No biggie, it was just something I learned to live with. I’m going back to my ENT to see if there’s been any developments to help that improve.

I love playing music (I play a lot of sax and keys, and have done for years). Because of this, I’ve been in a number of bands and large jazz groups since I was very young. I also love going to live concerts, and clubs now and again. Being in my second year of uni, the last 12 months has been pretty wild. My parents were also in bands and whatnot so I’ve just always been around that, even from the womb

Probably not surprisingly, I developed T in my left ear a few months ago and my hearing test revealed I now also have mild hearing loss around 4000hz, which is symptomatic of noise exposure. I’ve been wearing cheap earplugs since December but they haven’t helped so I’m getting better ones and praying I don’t have to find a new hobby

I’ve read that T can also be linked pretty heavily to depression/anxiety. I don’t have a formal diagnosis, but some members of my friends and family are concerned occasionally that I might have something along those lines

Just reaching out to see if anyone has any similar experiences on any of these points, and what it’s been like for them. I’m probably still in the ‘shock’ phase and waiting to either habituate or for it to go away.

 

@Lachlan O ,
My son had the same problem age 7 needing his ear bones removed and at 16 it grew back and needed a second operation to clear out everything in his middle ear.
He could not have replacement bones but his hearing is about 40 db in that ear and hes now 23.
Love glynis

 

Hi and welcome

Yes, tinnitus is linked to anxiety and can spiral out of control if you allow it

First off - invest in some professional musicians' earplugs (e.g. Etymotic ER-20,, or something like that). They are specially filtered and will protect your hearing - esp in your left ear. They aren't cheap but - a necessity in your case if you want to continue with your music. Your ear(s) will thank you.

 

Find another hobby

Our ears aren't designed for this and with your history it's only going to get worse even with those fancy earplugs which by the way protect less than cheap foam plugs inserted deep

 

It would be interesting to see what @Jazzer thinks about your passion for music in relation to this condition. he plays saxo too