Musicians with Tinnitus Support/Advice Thread

But to conclude about music: yes I still do it. I need this. I need to be completely absorbed in it. Just yesterday I was feeling really depressed and hopeless, and after being completely immersed in making music, I went to sleep in a much, much improved mood. I need that sense of accomplishment, and to me it can only came from writing music or playing my instruments.
That's all I have. A very small lot, but still pretty good.

 

and also, music has saved me in many instances. For example, it has kept me away from drugs. Everybody around me were taking drugs, and they would try their utmost to make me smoke this or that. I even tried, once, most drugs, just to have them shut up and leave me in peace. Once I even smoked heroin. I was always 'nah, guys, I don't care about any that stuff. That stuff is not for me. Music to me is a million times better than any of these drugs. I have to go practice now, see ya later'.

Most of them ended up quite badly, I have been the exception, thanks to my musical endeavours. Music has always kept me busy, and I need to do that now more than ever, though that damn hyperacusis thing really makes me feel bad. Fortunately it goes up and down. I try to do more when I feel better.

But I would be lying if I'd say that things are like before. They aren't. I always keep it in mind: try to adapt. Try to make something of it.

And who knows, things might get better. Why not? I see proof of it.

 

I am a musician as well. Piano , bass, guitar...I ALWAYS use musician's earplugs when I play. Usually either -9db or -15db. I have a decibal meter as well ( good thing to have ) . The plugs cost about $300.00 and the meter was about $40.00. Money well spent. The plugs definitely took a bit ( ok, maybe a lot ) of getting used to, but now I barely even notice them. The plugs do not muffle the sound, they take a volume of 10 and bring it down to a 6. I would recommend plugs to any musician whether he/she has tinnitus or not.

 

I came across this site and this thread when I searched "quitting music tinnitus". I'm 61 and have had "T", as you all seem to refer to it, off and on starting with feeding rounds into cannon in the military. It went from intermittent, volume triggered ringing to continuous low level ringing around 2000. It has now increased in volume to the point I'm about to hang up music entirely and sell off all of my painstakingly collected gear and I'm thoroughly bummed about it. Thankfully I only play and perform because I love to and not because it's my livelihood. I had a teacher whose hearing was so bad even with hearing aids he blew me out of the lesson room with his amp unless I asked him to turn down - it was all he knew.

If I thought Mr. T would stay at the level it is at now, not having played for a couple of weeks, I would keep playing, but it seems to be getting progressively worse, to the point that at its worst it sounds like I have pissed off rattlesnakes in each ear, or the sprinkler heads you see on golf courses which go tch-tch-tch-tch as they rotate in circles. My hearing seems still to be relatively good - an audiologist noted a high frequency "notch" she associated with motorcycle helmet wind noise - but I don't want to miss out on hearing my wife or crows in the woods outside the window in the morning and I want to halt the tinnitus where it is. I don't know that I'm going to hang out here - it is what it is and it seems the only thing to do is develop coping skills to live with it - but I wish you all the best and thanks for starting this thread.

 

Don't know if any musicians are experiencing pulsatile tinitus. I am going back to singing with a loud band. Lead female singer for heavy rock. I have always been more worried and more protective of my vocal chords, but now am having trouble with my ears. I didn't see alot of singers on here, but even if I wanted to wear ear plugs, I feel like it would be too hard to hear my vocal monitor over the band. We do covers of Heart and Janis Joplin and other loud originals. Will it be possible to hear my monitor well with ear plugs like the ones mentioned?

 

Yes, get a musician's earplug, they're filtered so you'll hear everything. You can try a generic one an if you like, get a custom.

Take a look: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...an+earplugs&sprefix=musician+earplugs,aps,268