Who's Been to a Concert Since Having Tinnitus?

My favourite band are coming all the way from Japan for a tour in April. I've been offered tickets cheap and tempted to give it a go with HEAROS EXTREME ear plugs as protection. I may just go and take a decibel meter to just make sure it's not too crazy.

My tinnitus doesn't bother me one little bit any more but I don't want to get back to how I was before, especially as this venue is where I got tinnitus from, albeit without protection.

I know there's lots of talk about vibrations through your skull, but the attenuation from what I've read is more than ear plugs anyway (40+??).

It'd be good to hear any experiences from people.

I also intend to only see this band and not the others. the tickets are seated, so not next to the stage, and I can always just walk out should it get too loud.

Thanks for any help and hope everyone is doing well.

 

i personally would not risk attending the whole show, but if it's your favourite band and tickets are cheap, why not go for a couple of songs and then leave. At least you will walk away unharmed, and you will get to witness them live.

 

Thanks for the input! Yeah that's what I'm thinking, I'll be in the city anyway for a football match, so it's not like I've gone ages away to only go for a few songs.

 

I've been to a bunch. I don't make a habit of it anymore, but I don't think it's been harmful. I wear earplugs and I don't do shows that are ridiculously loud where your chest rattles.

 

What's the name of the band ?
In Japan and Asia they play crazy loud - getting ringing In the ear after a concert is considered normal

 

Baby metal

 

Cute - the members sure look better than the average heavy metal dudes
Enjoy the show

 

And a bit younger too !
Too bad they won't play at baby sound levels

Soft foam earplugs put very deep into the ear canals is the way to go - take your time to insert them properly - will give the best noise reduction
Use tweezers to remove the plugs and very slowly too pulling the ear from the top at same time

 

You know I was actually wondering yesterday when I saw your post if it wasn't Baby Metal that you were going to see!
Sounds awesome tho! My BF want to see them too, unfortunately he lacks money and I didn't wanna go due to my T. Haha

 

Thanks linearb

Hope you're doing good? Haven't been on here for a while!

Bought a sound meter today so I will use that and assess once there.

When I got my tinnitus from this venue, it was crazily loud and my chest was rattling!

 

Haha yeah, I went to Japan in October on a random trip and ever since then I've loved baby metal after hearing them everywhere! How is your T? Don't think I've spoken to you on here before!

 

I wouldn't take that risk. You know about the bone conduction, don't you ? No earplugs guarantee complete safety with such a level of decibels, especially when it comes to low frequencies. There are ppl who got T at the concert even though they had earplugs in so the risk is unquestionable. As the matter of fact it's only a question of your decision to take it or not.

 

I like them too! My BF loves metal and I suppose Baby Metal is a fusion of metal and Jpop so that works for me

It is okay, I had an increase a month ago but finally getting over it. Started to feel borthered by it as much as before. Waiting to see a TMJ specialist so hopefully I can go back to my old baseline. How is yours?

 

I played my first show in almost two years and first post Tinnitus. It went great and my Etyotic musician plugs worked great. A side benefit to them too is I seemed to be able to hear what my friends were saying with the plugs in than they could--I believe because they are attuned to cut out the 4k range the highest which allowed me to hear lower frequency noise better.

 

Nothing in this world is completely safe; we're in an unbelievably adverse and precarious condition at all times. I have no idea if the OP should go to a concert, or not, or what will happen to his tinnitus who does. However, I will say that in the real world I know no one who has completely stopped going to concerts as a result of tinnitus, no one who has had their tinnitus get worse as a result of a concert with earplugs, and a half dozen people who have continued to go to concerts for years with tinnitus and not seen any increase in their problems.

It's a personal decision, but I don't think there's nearly enough data available to imply that tinnitus is likely to get worse as a result of concerts with plugs.

 

@linearb
Might be a different story when you are prone to H though, as OP seems to be, judging by his old posts. I'd be super careful in that case.

 

Couldn't agree more. Well said.

 

Here is one who did get worse - actually strike that - she did not have tinnitus to begin with, and, still developed tinnitus despite wearing ear plugs...

www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/a-whole-new-world.2572

Indeed nothing is safe (as you say).

But hey - look at it this way: if you already have tinnitus, then what's the harm in attending another concert? The damage is already done, right? Fry those ear cells - they like it!

 

@attheedgeofscience

That's just nasty, man.
Although i would personally advice against going to loud (upwards of 75 db) environments for longer periods of time (even with earplugs), plenty of folks with T still do crazy stuff to their ears and get away unscathed. That includes flying, which i believe you do regularly..

 

Is it...?

Let us not forget that a not insignificant number of people in this world willingly choose to do illegal drugs and frying their brain cells in the process. Smoking - same deal: fry your lung cells (+ a hefty dose of radiation - a fact people are typically not aware of...).

So if folks on the surface of planet Earth have so little regard for their own brain cells and lung cells, why not place the ear cells in the same basket, right? Fry those little bastards - they are after all the ones giving most of the people on TinnitusTalk a hard time sleeping and concentrating during the day. Time to punish those little parasites.

Fry them. You can do it - I know you can...!


Here is a before/after photo of the stereocilia (inner ear hair cells) after damage:

 

Or to translate all that- it's a gamble- and now the OP has to take the decision.

 

I'd say go to the concert, but wear appropriate hearing protection. If you are really concerned then double up by wearing earplugs with over head defenders as well. Forget about how you look because it doesn't matter. We are all so preoccupied with how others perceive us, but it's at the complete detriment to our own lives in most cases. It's just conditioned behaviour that you can unshackle yourself from.

Now I'll add what an ENT and two tinnitus experts have informed me (all privately paid for): They have explicitly told me not to drastically alter my life to accommodate tinnitus. They say I should carry on with my band, and still go out and enjoy myself, with the simple caveat of using protection where necessary. I have yet to meet any professional trained in this area, in the real world, inform me otherwise. I have been told numerous times that my change in behaviour is understandable, but somewhat extreme. In other words: I am overcompensating to the point of giving myself a phobia to sound; which they say in certain contexts is irrational and bad for tinnitus and other cognitive processes in general. It just keeps the subconscious locked onto the tinnitus signal; essentially keeping its status as priority number 1. Not to forget the anxiety and depression that will build as a result of this.

Instead, I decided in January this year to take a year off from my band so I could assess my situation; mainly through fear gained from the internet. My logical mind is telling me one thing and yet my fear is telling me another. All I can say is that my T has gotten worse since I made this decision, and it's mainly because it ripped my heart out and shit all over it. I focus on it more than ever now because I'm fuelled by a fear of this and that, which may never happen. A great quote exemplifies this:

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." unknown source often linked with Mark Twain.

It's ultimately up to you but internet forums in general are by far the worst places for objective advice at times. It's too detached from the bigger picture, because you are only seeing the sufferers perspective. You will NOT hear from the statistic majority of people with tinnitus who are happy, and have never heard of tinnitus talk.

Take in the facts and then make up your own mind.

 

I've been to a ton of shows since developing Tinnitus. Seen Kataklysm there last month.I can't tell you what to do, but I'd go. Don't go near the front, plug up well and enjoy.

 

@attheedgeofscience
So you ditch flying, cell phones, pc fans, tv, radio... ?
No sensible person would want to 'fry' one's hearing. But accidents do happen. Being sensible and cautious goes a long way. And if a man wants to see some songs by his fave band wearing adequate hearing protection, ultimately, that's his choice.

 

Why do people never learn, if you experience ringing after a concert then your ears are telling you they are suffering its all very well if the ringing subsides after a few days but the damage has already been done and to keep going to concerts and suffering the same well that's beyond my understanding, in the end, it's an accumulative effect you are putting your auditory system through and one day it will pack up all together and the result will be constant ringing that will never go away, the choice is yours.

 

Because for some of us Music is everything. The thought of never picking up my guitar or hitting a show was too bleak to handle.

People are always crying out for examples of people who have tinnitus and are happy. Well I am one of them, I believe it's because I have continued to do the things I enjoy (albeit with precautions). I continue to hit shows, play guitar and this year my band will release new music.

Yes I realise my tinnitus may potentially worsen(again) but it may worsen anyway.

 

I'd agree with this and add it's just a matter of common sense. Stand away from the speakers and take breaks if necessary. I did some gigs and went to a festival last year; all after tinnitus became an issue. I will add - because you'll probably never hear this side of things on a support forum - that I improved, and experienced a period of habituation whilst I was rehearsing and planning a big charity gig with my band and students.

I improved significantly from a mental aspect, to the point where tinnitus was a non issue. For some reason I started reading about tinnitus, and getting more involved on the forum again, and that's when I took a step back. I started to doubt what I was doing and was refocusing on my tinnitus again. What a mistake on my part.

I'm going to gradually get back into doing the things that give my life meaning; on the advice of the tinnitus audiologist I saw last week. Which was basically restating what the ENT told me months ago; not to stop but to use protection appropriate to the noise levels.

There are many people who have tinnitus and STILL go to clubs and gigs without ear plugs! My close friend is one of them. I keep telling him it can get worse but he doesn't listen and so far it never has. He's had tinnitus for years and it doesn't bother him. You will never hear this on a forum though; you must remember that forums ONLY show the bad stories out of the many millions who are effected. Professional musicians carry on, and take more abuse than anyone on here would ever encounter; and the ones with tinnitus all use earplugs now. I haven't read of any of them reporting it getting worse.

I'll give you a story with many similarities. When I bought my last car about 6 years ago, (e46 BMW 320d) I went on some forums to see if there were any issues I needed to know about. Sure enough, like any car, there was and it was a big deal. There's an issue with the swirl flaps that can literally write the car off; they can come loose and fall into the engine. The forums were completely full of people saying you must put blanking plates in or you risk ruining the car. I decided I better take action and rang the local BMW specialist to get it sorted. I got a quote, but in the end decided against it. I basically needed the money for something else, and the guy in the garage said he wouldn't bother if it was his car. I asked why? He said there are millions of these cars on the road, and sure the issue is known because there are cars out there where it's happened. But, the forums are only represented by the guys who have had this issue, but it represents a fraction well below 1% of all the cars out there. The forums would have you believing it's an epidemic. I still have the car and it's never missed a beat.

Sometimes you've just got to live your life and find out.

 

Ray, if music is not a big deal in someone's life then it's a very easy decision to make; just avoid everything loud and you will be safe. If this has no impact on your life it's quite a simple decision. For others, this has huge implications far beyond just saying, "stop playing and going to shows".

There's always what ifs in life, but what if we avoided our life's work to cut the risk, only to find that age related hearing loss made it worse anyway? I'd look back and be furious.

We simply don't know; but with ear plugs the risk is slim to non if used properly from what I've been told.

 

Something which is intentional and where the consequences could be foreseen can never be an accident - it's called an incident.

Absolutely, I would never ever tell anyone to do anything - be it taking Trobalt, doing LLLT, or attending a concert. As for attending a concert, I couldn't care less if people screw up their ears (as long as they had information of such a possibility in advance; that much I do care about).

Incidentally, I wrote the EU's directorate for health and consumers back in 2014 - asking them to implement some low hanging fruit initiatives pertaining to public health ("yours and mine"). Here is my request. The response can be found later in the thread (see page 2).

www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/bta-refuses-to-fund-drug-and-stem-cell-research.6599/#post-72413

No sensible person would want to fry their lung or brain cells either. But folks still do it. Don't they?

 

Not a chance in hell. My T is reactive, even normal house sounds like kettle annoy it, it cannot be masked.
I will never risk it, my aim in life now would be just to survive each day being careful, never mind taking risks.
Earplugs don't help much either I still suffer in loud noise.