Causes, Frustration and Stopping It From Getting Worse

[cleftlipkid]

Hey internet
i am a young teenager and am being frustrated by tinnitus.
over my life i have had many many ear infections which is one of the things i think has caused it. i also think my ears are now very sensitive after all the infections and i cant be exposed to lowed sounds much. it also doesn't help that i am a drummer. siting in a orchestra next to the timpany recantly made it worse.

i ( as a teenage boy) own a pair of big over ear headphones: http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom777-Gaming-Headset/dp/B003NVMDYY/
since i have started noticing it a lot more i have kept the volume down low. but even with the volume low or even off, just wearing them seem's to make the ringing louder. they do press against your ears but not very tightly but i still don't understand why its louder after wearing them. i am not the type to listen to very loud music through them but if any one can help me or explain why this is happening i would be very gratefull.

i get very annoyed as i am only 15 and shouldn't have tinnitus at my age !.
it has only recently got to the volume where i can just hear it when i am talking to people wear as before i could only hear it when in total silence.

please give me your assistance or info cos it has got me quite down.

thankx

 

[Jim]

Hi cleftlipkid, welcome to the group. Sorry to hear you have tinnitus at such a young age. You should definitely protect your ears from loud music. There are lots of good earplugs and earbuds out there now. Etymotics is just one of the many. Wear them when you are drumming and playing with the orchestra. I am still able to enjoy live music but almost always have to use protection.
Quiet environments can make tinnitus worse. This is one of the many frustrating features of tinnitus. Even though you "hear" the ringing in your ears it is actually a signal that is misinterpreted by the brain that produces the annoying sound. Do some reading in this forum and elsewhere and you will gain a better understanding of what you are dealing with and hopefully help you understand and cope better.
Have you seen a doctor about the tinnitus?
good luck,

 

[William Welch]

Sorry, resurrecting this thread, but didn't want you to feel alone. I can confirm this symptom.

I'm not a healthcare professional, so I don't want to speculate, or mislead, so I'll just put the facts here: yes it seems more noticeable, and no you are not alone. My tinnitus is a high pitched ringing, that I usually forget I have, but wearing these headphones always seems to bring it back. It was caused about a decade ago due to a single exposure to an extremely high volume, specific frequency sound blast.

When I wear my Plantronics Gamecom headphones for more than a couple of hours my tinnitus does indeed become much more noticeable--even for some time after I take them off (this is the most interesting effect, to me...). More specifically, after removing them the ringing subsides after about 30 minutes to an hour. Hope this helps at least with confirming your suspicions. I don't know why this is, but you aren't alone.