Temporary Tinnitus?

I produce music for a living and also DJ. This means I’m constantly hearing loud noises without any protection. Last week, right after finishing my DJ set, my left ear started ringing briefly every few minutes. It’s now been 5 days and my ear still rings for a few seconds every few minutes. The intensity has decreased but has been stable for the last 2-3 days. I took an appointment with an audiologist next week but meanwhile I’m freaking out. I need my ears for my career and depend on them very much.

Is this temporary? I noticed that the ringing ear is the one I use to “monitor” when I DJ. This means I have my left ear listening to speakers in the venue and my right ear is constantly covered with my headphones.

 

This is a sign that your ears are bothered. You can annoy and possibly further increase the ringing by being around loud sounds. No one knows how tinnitus will act, but being around loud sounds CAN increase the volume and intensity.

 

Impossible to say. No matter what it's a warning signal to you, though. There must be some kind of protection you can use, despite being a DJ.

I hope it improves.

 

You need to start protecting your ears as they are telling you they are not happy around loud sound.
You don't want to risk any more damadge and end up with Tinnitus none stop .
As Well as the sound comes lot's of unwanted emotions and even depression and trouble sleeping.
Do the right thing before its to late.
Love glynis

 

I know this is easy to say but try not to ‘freak out’ as anxiety or an obsession with it may make matters worse. It will certainly make it sound louder.

If it does continue then you may want to get checked out to see whether you have any hearing loss.

 

HI @Eric1305

Your ears and auditory system are warning you that if you persist in subjecting yourself to loud sounds most likely, your tinnitus will become worse and permanent. If you are using headphones even at low volume, in my opinion, this will happen sooner rather than later. Sorry to sound so sobering but it's better that you know what the risks are so you can take preventative measures.

The most common cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise, and using headphones for long durations and at high volumes tops the list. Reduce your exposure to loud noise and reduce or preferably stop using headphones completely - I am very serious about that. Please be aware that using noise reducing earplugs, will not offer one hundred percent hearing protection. If external sound is loud enough, it will pass through your skull and be transferred to your inner ear by bone conduction. Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful.

Take care and hope you improve soon.
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/

 

Thanks for the reply. Is there anything I can do to fix the damage? What is the maximum volume I could listen to without further disturbing my ears? I unfortunately have to keep working until I get protection.

 

you could try getting steroid from your doctor, but you need to be very quick about it. Otherwise you just need to stop doing what your doing and let your ears recover. It takes a long time, and you need to basically not go out the house and wear ear plugs if you do. Id seriously think about giving it up, you just do not want Tinnitus for rest of your life, seriously you just dont want to get it.

 

I don't know what the max safe volume is, or if you can fix the damage, but if time is an issue you should get some foam earplugs at the drug store ASAP, then you can look into getting earplugs designed for musicians, or custom ones.

 

Yes take this as a warning if your tinnitus goes away count yourself lucky

 

@Eric1305

My advice may seem a little harsh Eric but I am trying to save you from the misery of severe tinnitus. I wish I had someone like myself or people in this forum to advise me years ago before I got tinnitus due to headphone use at high volume.

Your ears are not damaged yet and if you take precautions now I believe you will be just fine. We are all different. Whilst hearing damage can start to occur at levels above 80 decibels it also depends on length of time one is exposed to it? The best way to judge whether sounds are too loud or safe for your ears and auditory system is to listen to them because they will let you know. Start by reducing the current levels of sound that you have been listening to and please take my advice and not use headphones, even at low level. Please also be aware of what I said about wearing hearing protection. You will not be safe if external sounds are too loud. These sounds will pass through your skull and be transferred to your inner ear and will irritate your cochlea.

Please read the post below, it is from an Audio engineer who is a member of this forum and you might find it helpful. Read my posts and hopefully in time you will improve.
All the best
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.