Tinnitus, who else?
 

Heya guys :)

I've got tinnitus which, for me, is a high pitched buzzing sound that I hear even if there is no external source of sound. I guess I have it because of too much loud music, too much playing the drums without protection during rehearsals, loud concerts and I also fired a high caliber rifle without protection once which may not have helped. When I was a kid, I was nearly deaf for a few years until I had surgery, so maybe that has part to do with it.

Tinnitus is becoming more and more common and of course musicians are often at risk. Do you have it? Is it a problem or has it become less annoying with time?

I'm not too bothered by my tinnitus. I usually don't notice it until I go to sleep at night and there are no other sounds to listen to. It used to be a problem for me, but I did my own "Tinnitus Retraining Therapy" to alter my negative perception of the sound and eventually, it faded into the background whenever other sounds were present. Very helpful :)

It's still a bit annoying when it's silent, though.

Anyone else?

I have a feeling it's creeping up on me.

Yep. When it's silent I can definitely hear a ringing in my ears.

If you have (temporary) tinnitus for 4 to 5 days after a concert, that means you've been damaged by the sound at the concert. Not trying to be a party pooper, but maybe you should step a little away from the speakers. ;)

I never liked earplugs to tell the truth, but in retrospect, I wish I would have used them more. I got some rather expensive ones now that effectively lower the sound without messing it up too much, but it's still not the same playing with them.

The loudness is like part of it, you know!

haha I agree
there were times I used ear plugs at some concert and after a song I would clap like everyone else, but I couldn't hear my own clapping. That's just weird

I'm doubtful I'll escape it, I've been gigging near enough every week for the past 4 years and....I got no plans of stopping. So it'll probably get me in the end.

my father has it really bad, he played music from the late 50s to the early 90s though. i learned to watch myself from his mistakes. earplugs are hit or miss, as a spectator they're worthwhile if you plan on being close to the speakers. as a musician they're a hassle unless everyone else in the band is using them or you have preset levels for every instrument.

i have it. it comes and goes between 1-5 times a week. kinda sucks, but ive read that it doesnt nessisarily mean youve had permanent damage. after a coheed show me and all my friends got some mad ear damage... my ear drums hurt for 2 days straight :(.

People who do have tinnitus should try the retraining therapy. I sort of did it on my own and I went from being bothered by it to not being bothered by tinnitus rather quickly. The rough idea on how it works is this :

As everyone knows, sensory input is processed by the brain. Various inputs are "labeled" in a way after importance. Some input can be ignored, like the feeling of your clothes against your skin, and some, particularly those that trigger an emotional response, are regarded by the brain as important. If you have a constant ringing sound in your ear and that sound causes a negative emotional response, then that sound may be "labeled" important.

If you familiarize yourself with the tinnitus sound, realize it's not dangerous, it's not gonna drive you crazy and accept it in your life, then it should eventually be labeled as an unimportant sound. Unimportant input is largely ignored by the brain when there are other more important input present. That means that with retraining therapy, it should be possible for most (by far I would think) to not be bothered by tinnitus unless it's completely silent.

At first, I would avoid silence, so if I was going to sleep, I would play some ambient music or even just bird twitters, ocean on beach, thunder storm or some other soundscape on loop. Nowadays, I accept my tinnitus without too much trouble even when it's silent, so I don't need sound to sleep anymore. ;)