Hello Everyone!

Hi there.

Im from South Africa, im 26 and ive had tinnitus since 2012.
I got it from plying guitar and drums.
I used to wear earplugs put not always! The one day me and a friend were playing guitar (electric) and I decided i wanted to hear a bit better what my guitar sounds like with my guitar amp pretty loud because it was a new tube amp that i got and the louder you crank them the better they sound! so jammed guitar without my earplugs. All was fine till after the jam when my ears felt really sore and buzzy, I didnt think much about it because I knew it will just mellow out again, the next morning I had no ringing in my ears but still some pain, but I thought what the hell and I jumped onto my band at that times drummers drum kit to play some drums. When I hit the first cymbal my ears felt like it had exploded.
It was agonizing, so much pain and ringing!
I could hardly talk because I couldnt stand my own voice as it was causing me so much pain to listen to anything!
I was still at my parents so the next day when I woke up and my ears were still ringing and the pain was still there my mom took me to the doctor we had a look at my ears and told me everything is fine and the ringing will go away in a few days (I WISH). He gave me steroids that I had to take for a few days, ive read about it and it can prevent a person from going deaf after acoustic trauma.

Anyway, its now 2015 and my ears are still ringing, i still have pain, my left ear is very sensitive to sound, i have pan in that ear most of the time, its also the ear that always ringing the loudest.

Ive had days when the ringing was very faint and the pain was gone, but it never lasts. I took magnesium for a few months and that stopped the pain but I dont always have the funds to buy magnesium. Tinnitus really messed my life up.

My passion was and is playing guitar and most things guitar related, but ive decided to just let it go and sell all my gear as i cant use it, 10 mins of p;aying guitar and I get a few days of insanity because of the pain and ringing.

I pray that it will one dau go away or that there will be a cure for tinnitus!! If they can just make a drug to stop the pain it would be so awesome!

No one really understands what we go through everyday unless they have tinnitus as well.

That about it

 

Hey @Andrei88,

First off can I say I LOVE the S.A accent .....one of the most attractive accents on the planet.

Ok now back to you.... I'm sorry that you had to sell your gear that truly must have been hard. My T is pretty chronic, its rings, hums, buzzes, pulsates 24/7 normal to loudly at any given moment. I got mine from loud music, however I am not talented like yourself and can play an instrument lol.

If you even just want to chat drop me a PM, this forum is brilliant you will find a lot of beautiful people on here more than willing to help or just listen

Jade XO

 

Hey @Andrei88,

i'm also a guitar player, i only play acoustic music now. I also sold my old beautiful fender hotrod, i really miss the sound of a valve amplifier, played with a nice telecaster or a gibson es335 ! but you have to make decisions in life, so it's the same for me. i figured it's not natural to amplify sounds, you're never supposed to play loud, it has nothing to do with good music

i also hope there will be a good treatment soon

 

Hey @Jade
May thanks for the welcome!
Haha well you can only hear the accent if im speaking English XD my first language is Afrikaans.

T is very much horrible but I suppose we all cope with it hey, I really hope for a cure and I believe that there will be a cure still in our lifetime!
Things are advancing rather quickly in the medical world regarding tinnitus it would seem, when I first got my T and I was searching for meds and treatments there were almost none and only those scams like tinnitus-cure and that junk lol.

Ill start taking magnesium again on friday, helped me loads last time I took it.

Thank you il drop you Pm and always come on here for a chat! So far its been really awesome reading posts on here and juts getting hope again for a cure!

All the best!

Andrei

 

Hey @James White

Many thanks for the comment!

Its sad that you had to sell your gear but hey I do understand that its either playing loud electric and making your T worse or giving up the electric.
Ive also considered switching to acoustic! I love all types of guitar music so I wont lose out just because its now acoustic and I cant play high metal or rock.

As long as I can play guitar it would be A OK!

I just bought a new tube amp last week lol but Its no use, cant enjoy it at such low volumes with earplugs, so im in the process of selling it :/

I hope that we get a cure man and that one day you will be able to play thru a cranked tube amp again! while wearing earplugs off course

All the best
Andrei

 

Have you tried Flat response plugs at about -12dB or -15dB.

They take a little getting used to (especially when you come off stage into slightly quieter space), but I find I can understand people talking to me amongst the noise, albeit at a lower level.

Worth every penny. I want to try some tight notch plugs (if such a thing exists) at my tinnitus frequency and wear them all the time (obviously not -15dB acroos the range). Ideally almost zero across whole range except your whine pitch. The idea being if you don't hear the annoying frequeny band, it won't be "sett off".