Musician with Tinnitus

Hey guys.

I'm a musician with noise induced tinnitus and I've also found out I have hearing loss at just 22.

It's been stressing me out since music has always been my life and I have no plan b.

Just wanted to find out if tinnitus from hearing loss goes away?

Thanks.

 

HI @Katlego1

Tinnitus from hearing loss improves in many cases with the help of a hearing aid/s. However, it all depends how much of a hearing loss you have? More importantly I believe is the fact that you are a musician. If you listen to music through headphones even at low volume your tinnitus is most likely to get significantly worse. I am serious about this and please do not be misled by doctors or other health professionals that might tell you. As long as the volume is kept low listening to audio through headphones will be okay. It won't believe me! These medical professionals are good at what they do and know about the anatomy of the ear and can treat it medically or surgically. However, when it comes to tinnitus the majority of them know very little about this condition as they have never experienced it. Most of the information gained is from their tinnitus patients. A lot of these patients have mild or moderate tinnitus which will often improve within a short period of time. Many of them haven't the need to visit a tinnitus forum for help.

Similarly, some people in tinnitus forums that don't have "noise induced" tinnitus will be quick to tell you headphones use causes no harm providing the volume is kept low. Again, this is not true. Their tinnitus was not caused by "exposure to loud noise" and therefore, they know nothing about noise induced tinnitus. I will say, some people with noise induced tinnitus are not affected by headphone use. Please keep in mind, if you ever decide to use headphones you risk your tinnitus becoming worse so the choice is yours.

The fact you are a musician concerns me more than your hearing loss which I have a feeling may not be too severe. Being a musician puts you at greater risk of your tinnitus becoming worse, because "loud sounds/music" and tinnitus do not go well together. I am sorry to be so sobering but I'm giving you the facts. I have many years experience with noise induced tinnitus, and have corresponded and counselled people with this type of tinnitus, so I'm very familiar with it.

Please click on the links below and read my posts which you might find helpful.
All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

 

@Katlego1 I cannot say if it will go away for you or not. If you can lay down and sleep easily without the noise in your ear(s) or deafness bothering you...and if you are not generally distressed by it...then you are in a good place regarding your hearing and your ears.

By musician do you mean professional, amateur, or hobbyist? That may be a big question for you. I myself am passionate about music, but I do it for my own enjoyment with no concern for "making it" as a musician. One of the things I love the most is writing my own songs; but I look at it as part of who I am and not what I do. So I have freedom around it.

I think however you pursue music keep the volume lower, even if others in the industry or people around you pressure you to make it louder. I'm not saying play music so softly that it would be fitting only for a mouse concerto, just evaluate what you're doing and think of how necessary it is to be loud, and always be mindful of sound damage....because it will occur.

I don't know why it isn't talked about a lot by musicians, maybe it's taboo or lame, but if you think about it I'm sure nearly every professional musician has tinnitus and hearing loss. Those that do talk about it make it clear that they are not invincible. Some famous musicians that have spoken about their struggle with tinnitus or hearing loss are Sting, Will.i.am, Eddie Vedder, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Chris Martin, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck (Google their names + tinnitus to learn more). But anyways my point is that I believe it goes with the territory, and I'm positive that many musicians know it will only get worse for them but they accept that fact as a part of the life they love.

You have to know that playing loud on stage (or in the studio), mixing at loud volumes, wearing in-ear monitors on a concert tour, being near a drumkit or cranked amps, etc. is gonna wreak havoc on your ears. If you're having trouble with tinnitus now you will have more trouble with it in the future. Not saying that to scare you but I think some folk are wired to handle tinnitus better than others. I cannot handle it well except with the grace of God getting me through. Still, even with tinnitus I enjoy piano, guitar, singing, etc. I just try not to play too loud.

Also, definitely look seriously into what type of hearing protection musicians use.

Good luck

 

I'm also a musician/composer and struggled a lot lately with how I see my future in that profession. However I don't play live or in environments where it's usually quite loud. I'd say I'm at a point where I have to think about moderation more and be more mindful of working with lower volumes, but not be too starved of sound to the point where my ears become too sensitive.

I use headphones less now and only use them when it feels necessary or I have to pick out small details. I have the volume way lower than I used to in the past, and limit the time I use them by maybe a couple of hours or less depending on how I feel. If I feel ear fatigue coming on then I'll stop using them and take the time to relax. The only time I'll really use headphones now is to get the mixing right, so if I work on something now I'll only use headphones when I'm finished on a song so that I hopefully won't spend too long on the mixing stage.

I would say it's wise to try to think about a plan B. If you ever get to a point where you honestly don't think you can continue as a musician professionally then you're gonna be under a lot of stress and anxiety, and it'll be so much easier to carry on with life if you know what you can possibly do next. I'm pretty sure that in the near future I'll be doing something different for my career with music being on the backburner, but I'll still write music from time to time.

I know Will.i.am just powers on through it and works and works and works and masks the crap out of tinnitus when he has to sleep or something. I'd be worried that sort of life style would lead to hearing loss and eventually just burn out hard, but it seems to work for him. He said his tinnitus came from ADHD or something though, I don't know if that's true. But like bSiDeQuiEtWaTeRS said, some people might just be wired to handle it better than others.

The ear is complicated as well as the brain, and people have shown improvement and even some healing over many months and even years. But that possibly won't happen if we don't give our ears the rest they need and give our bodies the exercise and nutrients they need to thrive.

 

I try to totally avoid headphones and use monitors at extremely low volume and thanks for the comments and my hearing loss is very mild

 

Im

I want to professionally do music I try to keep volumes at extremely low volumes and for gigs I'm going to use ear plugs

 

Good idea to use earplugs at gigs (also at shows that you attend yourself). Don't feel like you need to go down to whisper only volumes...you still need to be able to hear the music and enjoy it. Headphones I haven't decided about yet for myself...I feel here is where I'd go extremely low as they sit right on the ear. Either way gauge how you feel each day and how your ears sound at the end of each session/event and don't be opposed to switching things up if necessary (like adjusting volume and types of hearing protection).

Good thoughts.

 

Thanks for the advice

 

Same here. Im in my early 30's. My perfect hearing is gone. Makes music rough.

There is a drug called fx 322 in clinical trials right now. This very well be what cures us. I say that after extensive study. It is a new frontier of medicine and I strongly believe its going to surpass our expectations.

 

HI @Katlego1

The idea of using earplugs (noise reducing type) is a good idea at gigs but please don't think they will give you one hundred percent protection from sound making your tinnitus worse because they won't. If external sound is loud enough, it will pass through your head/skull and be transferred to your inner ear by "bone conduction" This will reach the cochlea and irritate it. This will manifest itself in making your tinnitus spike and it's possible for the spike not to reduce and become permanent. Many people have made the mistake of putting trust in earplugs and going to a concert or club, and not aware that external sounds can affect them in the manner that I have described. Low bass frequencies can do harm too. They can travel up through the body and into the head and reach the inner ear. Please read the post below written by a member of this forum who is an Audio engineer.

Michael

@Bill Weir

Hi!

I'm an audio engineer and now have T. I hate to have to tell you this but there are no earplugs that can protect you in the typical nightclub environment. The best protection will only lower the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) by about 30 db. Assuming the sound is typical, it's going to hover around 105 db A when measured using long term averaging, slow response on a meter. This means there will be peaks well in excess of 120 db"A" weighted. Weighting the scales of measurement on the sound meter gives more accurate readings. "A" weighting approximates what your eardrum is sensitive to... meaning sound with the deep bass filtered out. "C" weighting includes the bass and is generally 15-30 db higher than an "A" reading.

So, 105 db A (typical nightclub or major concert translates into 130 db "C" or more including the bass. How long do people generally stay in the average nightclub? Too long! 4 hour stay is average. A concert is generally 2.5 hours. Many people will stay in the club all night until they are "OK" to drive and be back in public LMAO. The drugs people do screws up their judgement and desensitizes them to physical sensation and people damage themselves without realizing it.

Sound levels pretty much everywhere are TOO loud IMO. Instead of the industry standard 105 db A (Live Nation SPL cap) I like to keep it at 96-98 for people. Why so loud? Above 96 db the fight or flight response begins to kick in and you get that rush of excitement you get at a concert. It's a lot of what people pay for. Deep bass goes in through bone transconductance. You don't "hear" it with your eardrum you feel it This is how it is possible to have bass with headphones. If this transconductance did not occur, the long wavelengths that make bass would not have enough distance to unfold when using headphones. So, earplugs DO NOT protect you from low frequency damage. Not even a little bit.

So, on the one hand, you're going to have 100db + peaks getting through your earplugs in the range above 100 Hz (low note on a 4 string bass guitar is 41.7 Hz) and the bass below will pressurize your cochlea like nothing is even there, straight through the bone. Some of the subwoofer arrays I have installed in places must have security grating around them to keep people from getting within ten feet of the subwoofer array because the array produces well over 150 db down at 35Hz at 1 meter distance and would make them nauseous or in some extreme cases even worse than that.

I can say this definitively from direct personal and professional experience. If you value your hearing and do not want your tinnitus to increase, avoid these places or if you must go limit your exposure considerably.