Taking Up Acoustic Guitar a Bad Idea When You Have Tinnitus?

Well, it's been a while. My tinnitus waxes and wanes. Since upping my antidepressant in the last month, I have noticed a big improvement in my tinnitus, so for me, tinnitus is largely triggered by anxiety and stress. It is still there in the background but seemingly much quieter or perhaps I just do not focus on it as much.

In any event, I have always been really interested in learning acoustic guitar but is that a bad idea with tinnitus? It has been over 2 years now since my injury and my tinnitus has settled down some (KNOCK ON WOOD) and is seemingly largely exacerbated by stress and anxiety. When I was assaulted, it was quite traumatic and I still suffer from some other post concussion symptoms which I hope will fade over time. They too seem to be exacerbated by stress and are somewhat vestibular related (dizzy, nausea, foggy headed when they wax).

In any event, I still also have some issues with that side of my jaw and face but am learning to live with it.

Would playing acoustic guitar be a very big risk in possibly making my tinnitus worse? Does anyone play acoustic guitar? What about even a Yooka-Laylee?

Any advice, experiences or opinions are very much appreciated!

Cheers.

 

I don't see how it could be a risk at all, an acoustic guitar is not loud enough to do any damage. If you're sensitive to the volume at first, you can wear earplugs, mute the sound hole with an inexpensive device which fits many round hole acoustic guitars, or simply put some foam inside the instrument. If you don't own a guitar yet, avoid the large bodied dreadnought guitars which are louder than standard sized instruments, such as the 000 lines from Martin, and many others.

 

Thanks. Can you link the type of earplugs you would recommend? Oo a name?

Thanks. I was actually looking at a:

Taylor GuitarsGS Mini with Mahogany Top

https://www.long-mcquade.com/19531/.../Taylor-Guitars/GS-Mini-with-Mahogany-Top.htm

 

Earplugs are entirely dependent on the individual, in other words try a few. I don't even know the names of the ones I'm currently using, but I probably got them from Amazon. I've had ETYMOTIC ER-20xs. Eargasms, and a number of others. All of them were OK, and not expensive.

I bought a Baby Taylor some 20 years ago, and hated it. The Baby is not a typical Taylor, due to the size, but I just do not like their sound regardless of the size or model. If you are new to playing, I would not recommend that you spend 700 bucks on your first instrument. I have been playing guitar for a long time and own a Martin acoustic, a made-in-America vintage Epiphone Casino, and others My go-to guitar for acoustic practice and playing at home, is an economy Bristol BM-16. It's not on the level of the Martin, but easier to play, for me at least, and nonetheless very good for the price. Some may require a little work by a technician to get it set up, but mine did not. At this price, ordering it from a reputable internet source, is OK. I got my BM-16 from Elderly Instruments, fiveor so years ago. Elderly is a good company and are less likely to send out instruments which have not been examined and tested before shipping. If you can find one in a music store, that would be better, but I don't think they'd stock them, the Bristol that I have literally blows away most of the more expensive guitars, on display.

Bristol BM-16 000 Guitar & Gigbag

 

The truth is there is no empirical basis to say someone who has suffered prior damage is safe from something like an instrument. You can only rely on anecdotes and your own experience. Anyone who says otherwise is incorrect.

 

I play acoustic guitar all the time. And piano. The acoustic guitar is a beautiful instrument to learn and play. You can use light gauge strings and just tickle them so it doesn't need to be loud at all. Try playing with fingers and not plectrum.

As you lose yourself in the learning process and music, your stress levels will lower, and that can help lower the tinnitus as well (it does mine). I can't recomend doing this enough. Go for it.

 

100% agree with @UKBloke.

Do not stop living, and spend time more time on things you enjoy - within safe sound levels. I'd say it is advisable to wear musician earplugs when sound is over 85 dB.

Stress and cortisol levels will lower, and your focus will be with the music.

 

In short, Vin, no. I'd actually encourage it rather than discourage it. An acoustic guitar is not going to damage your hearing, but it may give you many years of pleasure if you learn to play. I've said many times that starting a new hobby is one of the best things you can do when you have tinnitus.

I teach using an acoustic guitar as part of my job (that's a lot of hours). It's never had any effect on me. If you let tinnitus dictate every tiny decision in your life then it's a sure-fire way to make yourself feel permanently miserable.

 

Thanks so much everyone! A lot of very helpful and useful info! I really appreciate the encouragement. It is something I have always wanted to learn, that and also DJing/mixing vinyl (old skool, 70s/80s/90s soul/funk/hip-hop/r&b on vinyl only using Pioneer Technics 1200s).

My tinnitus is not noise induced, it is from head trauma and my main trigger is stress. I have had my hearing tested and they tell me I have no hearing loss but I know some here tend to challenge the testing so I don't really know. I did have hyperacusis but that seems to have improved some but it waxes and wanes, waxing during stress.

I also still have some other lingering post concussion syndrome symptoms but again, I think they are slowly improving with time. It has been about 2 years since onset so hoping for more improvement as time passes.

Music has always been a passion of mine, all types, so hoping to learn an instrument and maybe get into mixing vinyl down the road. With COVID-19 lockdowns and being up in Canada in the north, I have been spending a lot of time inside. Only so much "organizing" you can do in your home.

Thanks again to all and if anyone else would like to chime in or add anything, please do!

Just keeping the volume at a safe level and musician ear plugs for anything above 85db is sound advice (no pun intended).

Cheers.

 

Thanks so much for this!

 

No, you should not let tinnitus stop you from doing anything you want to in life.

 

The cool thing about acoustic guitar is you can play lightly. You don't have to strum or pick loudly. I play and if I get carried away I can strum too loudly (imo) to be really considered completely safe. But I have measured the dB and it doesn't really get to the "damaging" levels. I think you should definitely try as it's a very therapeutic thing to do.

 

I think it’s a great idea to take up the acoustic guitar (and perhaps even the ukulele). It’s a great way to relax. The ukulele is such a bright, happy instrument too. I recently got some custom musicians earplugs and would suggest looking into that as it’ll help with the volume. I’m still waiting for my ears to heal some before getting back into playing.

 

FYI: I was just playing my acoustic today without my earplugs and now my ears have that pressure feeling and have bit of TTTS in my right ear. Playing always ramps up my tinnitus temporarily. I usually wear earplugs when I play.

 

Learning acoustic guitar is bad for you.

Learn bass instead.