Hello, Pals.

Hi! I'm Charlotte, age 18 and I have tinnitus (presumably) as a result of noise. I'm a musician, I play jazz guitar, saxophone (tenor is my game), and I listen to music all the time. My favourite genres are bossa nova, chill trap, nuevo tango, shoegaze, jazz/fusion, and drum & bass/jungle. I noticed some mild tinnitus this past August, but I didn't do anything about it because it didn't effect my life very much, really. However I've experienced a spike, and it's getting on my nerves! I hope it settles down soon, but if it doesn't I'll keep up a positive attitude and learn to adjust.

It would be really cool if you'd give me some advice on my most recent thread! I won't be able to see a doctor for two weeks, unless someone cancels.

 

Hi !

I'm 19 years old and I suffer from T since July. I got as a result of acoustic trauma.
Some tips :
- protection from lound noises (when you feel it) with ears pluggs.
- soft music - not strong - to mask tinnitus
- move, do what you love
- avoid coffe, cinema, jam sessions, alcohol.
- sleeping pills to sleep if necessary.

Good luck,
wholeheartedly with you,

 

Ahhh, thank you.
Ouch, I love both coffee and alcohol. Oh well, I can do without I guess. Do you think one cup of coffee per day would effect me? Should I try green tea as a replacement? Or just cut caffeine altogether? I probably should, anyway. It's not good to get hooked young.

 

A little fun time to time doesn't kill.
Everything exciting is bad for T. At the moment, it increases it.
Over time, I don't know what happens.
But it must be fun anyway!

 

Yeah, I guess we're not supposed to come out of life in perfect shape anyway, eh?

 

Yes. But we can. Some T aren't definitives. We are young. Treatment against T soon ? I don't know but I hope.

 

T is unpredictable. Some people affected by diet. Some not. Some affected by exercise, some not. Some affected by drugs. Some not. So you can experiment with what you eat/ drink/do and carefully monitor your T before you decide to cut off your favorite things. Sometimes T can get us really depressed. So unless proven a strong correlation, don't stop your favourite things to tip-toe around T. Doing this is to let T dictate our life. Not a good idea in the long run. Young people like to experiment with things. So you can do this as an experiment.

 

Good advice! I'm just worried that if I'm not careful, it'll get worse because so much of the stuff I enjoy involves going out to a gig or a party with loud music and having a couple drinks. Right now, it's bearable but if it gets louder really early in my life, I can see myself being pretty depressed with the reality of having to live the rest of my life with noticeable ringing.

 

Update: My tinnitus switched ears over a gradual period of half an hour? Spooky. Maybe this means it's getting better, at least it's a change anyway!

 

Hey welcome @chvrlotte ---Fellow jazz guitarist here. I went to school and did my undergrad in jazz studies in ny --- didn't even think about T back then... one thing to keep in mind is that we had a legend of our genre who had severe T (Charlie Haden --- RIP). He managed to keep gigging till the end with ear plugs and plexiglass around his rig...

Who are your influences playing wise? I love Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, Grant Green to name a few. Tenor wise I have so many favorites...coltrane (my favorite album is "Cresent"), sonny rollins (mmm... probably "the bridge")... dexter gordon...man there's so many greats out there. I noticed you're into bossa nova you ever listen to Clara Moreno?

Any way as far as your T goes. MMMMM.... be careful!!!! I'd say stop doing gigs with hard hitting drummers and if you can don't use drummers at all (think acoustic bass/guitar duos) ...
This can get worse and be pretty crippling if you let it get to you so obviously try to ignore it as much as possible.
I heard of T switching ears on people who are new with it. It is just your perception when it comes down to it. Try not to dwell on it too much.
ALWAYS use protection if it's louder then 85 db (I'd advise you to get a GOOD db reader for your phone or iPad).
Also it's probably be smart to go get your ears checked, have a complete audiologic evaluation and maybe an OAE (otoacuoustic emissions test) to see if you hairs are functioning properly. Also get custom made plugs that they mold to your ears (an audiologist can do this for you).

Hope this helps!
SS

 

Hey, @SoulStation thanks for the reply!

Oh nice! I'm pretty amateur at this point, but I have a background in folk-style guitar (as well as a period where I was really into noise), so I'm getting there in my spare time.

For guitar, I'm really into John Abercrombie, especially his album Timeless. His style is so versatile, I love it. Although Jaco Pastorius is more of a bass guy, I definitely count him as an inspiration for the way he incorporated such a weird timbre into his music without sacrificing form at all. I can't forget Ralph Towner either, of course. As far as tenor, I'm really into Stan Getz. He's got a really warm tone but it's never breathy. I haven't listened to Clara Moreno, but I'll definitely check that out! It looks like she has an album of remixes, and I've gotta admit, although it took me a long time to get used to, I love jazzy beats.

Thanks for all your advice! I'll keep all that in mind after I get the verdict from the doctor.

 

That's hilarious---
I studied with John Abercrombie for over two years in college...He's a great guy and I'm so happy I got to do a lot of playing with him...I saw him a few years ago and he remembered me ---I am also a big fan...Timeless is a good record!

 

I also like music a lot, a major annoyance for a T suffer. I have more than 3000 CDS and I also like Clara Moreno, a Brazil who records for a USA label... I believe I have 2 CDS of her.. Other favorites of mine is jazz and blues.

 

Oh my god that is so cool! I love finding out that my favourite musicians are cool people. My dad knows John Till from Janis Joplin's final band, I saw them play together on stage once and it was very cool. He's a nice guy as well.

I suspect that no matter what volume you listen at, jazz will give you tinnitus regardless. There's just too many of us.