Introducing Myself and My Concert Induced Tinnitus

Hi all, I stumbled upon Tinnitus Talk because of the Flare Calmer thread. Who knew that those crappy plugs could have an actual unintended positive effect. So I'll start by introducing myself. I'm a 33 year old guy from The Netherlands. I'm a very active person. Besides work, I both play and coach waterpolo, I like to ride motorcycles, I love doing handy work around the house and most of all I love music. I'm what most would refer to as an audiophile.

Now when you see that list up there, you can probably see what I also see in hindsight. A lot of those activities are quite heavy on the ears. My hearing has always been perfect. A bit too perfect even, I'm the kind of guy who can hear the hum of a fluorescent light or the high pitched noise of a phone charger from meters away. So, again in hindsight, my ears are very sensitive to sound. Now mix that with some young naivety and you've got the reason why it's never quiet for me anymore.

When my friends ask what tinnitus is like for me, I ask them: Do you know that ringing in your ears when you've been out in a club or at a concert and you've been too close to a speaker? Now imagine waking up the following weeks after the concert and asking yourself every morning "When will this be over" and little by little you realise it never will. Since that happened, I have been wearing plugs when I go out even though I hated the effect they have on sound quality. I do it because I'm trying to prevent worse. Nowadays I wear custom made ear plugs, which barely alter sound quality, so I still have that full concert experience, while being protected from further damage.

In the years I have aggravated the ringing somewhat, accidentally or by not thinking ahead. Starting a motorcycle in a closed off garage, drilling just a couple of quick holes in concrete, standing next to heavy machinery at work that suddenly starts up. Stupid slip ups which have made the ringing go from hardly noticeable during the day to definitely always there.

In my left ear I have an off key Dutch railroad crossing bell. It's a couple of octaves higher pitched than the real thing. It's always present, even in loud environments. In my right ear I have a faint very high pitched whistle. It's only noticeable when it's somewhat quiet around me or when I'm very tired. What stands out to me is that when I lack sleep, sometimes I suddenly hear a loud thump immediately followed by my tinnitus overwhelmingly taking centre stage, drowning out most of the sound around me. This lasts for anything between half a minute to a couple of minutes and I can usually quiet it back down by focusing on it. It's rare that it happens. I would find it interesting to hear from people who experience that as well. It can be quite disorienting and I haven't found any triggers other than being head tired. I wonder if anyone has any tips on what causes it or how to prevent it from happening, as it's most unpleasant.

What has been the hardest for me personally is accepting that I will never have absolute quietness again. That being said, I'm grateful that I recognised the cause and immediately started protecting my ears from further damage. My symptoms are not so heavy that it's constantly on the forefront and that makes it easier for me to deal with.

I've had my hearing tested a couple of times, and it's still very sensitive. So apparently, apart from the ringing, the damage isn't very severe. I hope I can keep it that way so I can keep enjoying music the way I do. Anyway, this has been one of the longest introductions I have written on a forum, so I'll wrap up now. It'll be nice hearing from you and reading other people's experiences here.

 

The ringing increase you get for a minute is called fleeting tinnitus. A lot of people get it. I also tend to get it when I’m tired and feel off. I’m not sure why it happens.

 

Fellow motorcyclist here. I bought a 2nd hand motorcycle in late July, a Yamaha with a CP2 engine and a loud chinese full exhaust system. I ran it for month until my Akrapovic Titanium arrived.

I always ran the Akrapovic with the db-killer on since I got it, but I believe that loud Chinese exhaust system laid the foundations for the tinnitus my in-earphones built.

 

Thank you, that's much enlightening. I googled it (which is rarely a wise choice with a medical issue) and I found a nice post on here by a doctor. It's annoying, but basically benign. So that's a relief to me.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...imes-a-day-—-what-are-the-implications.38853/

A nice thumping parallel twin, excellent choice. I love single and twin cilinder bikes. Don't get me wrong, I like a screaming 12k rpm 4 cylinder as well, but there's something so satisfying about that thundering roar. It can certainly wreak havoc on your ears tho, especially with a cheap open exhaust.

Still I've never had the idea my exhaust was causing the most damage. I believe it's wind noise that gets you harder. Try riding at highway speeds and hearing your exhaust. Unless you have a very quiet helmet and a good fairing, you won't hear the bike over the wind at all. That worries me and it's reason for me to wear my plugs when I ride.

 

That little CP2 is a screamer. Way louder than the CP3.
Regarding the wind noise... That's true! That's why I've always used earplugs. Wind noise does get crazy at highway speeds. Especially if you're using a modular helmet.