Tinnitus

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Superhuman

Shagaholic
I've had this a few times over the years after being at a gig but it never lasted more than 48 hours and I never had it too bad. Last week I spent a few hours a night recording and mixing through headphones (Senheisser's that pretty much block out everything else), I didn't think it was overly loud (obviously it was) and I'm pretty sure I should have taken more breaks. Now I have a ringing in my ears that is driving me insane! It's not as bad as it was a few days ago where I could hear it all of th etime but I really notice it now if I am in a quiet environment plsu I can feel a slight pressure on my eardrums... Anyone else ever experience this? If so has it died down over time? Should I refrain from listening to any music at all for a while - even car radio at low volumes?
 
Superhuman said:
I've had this a few times over the years after being at a gig but it never lasted more than 48 hours and I never had it too bad. Last week I spent a few hours a night recording and mixing through headphones (Senheisser's that pretty much block out everything else), I didn't think it was overly loud (obviously it was) and I'm pretty sure I should have taken more breaks. Now I have a ringing in my ears that is driving me insane! It's not as bad as it was a few days ago where I could hear it all of th etime but I really notice it now if I am in a quiet environment plsu I can feel a slight pressure on my eardrums... Anyone else ever experience this? If so has it died down over time? Should I refrain from listening to any music at all for a while - even car radio at low volumes?
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My wife and her mother both have it all the time. Not sure if there is any hereditary reason for it though. Gets worse some days and better others. Hopefully yours goes away soon.

Daav
 
Yes. I posted a few weeks ago (month or so maybe). I got a blast from a full volume marshall. I suffered the same symptoms and still do to some extent. (disclaimer) Don't listen to any loud music. Consult with a liscenced (sp) audiologist. I hope for the best for you. I also can relate as I studied and assitssed with a well known engineer who mixed LOUD. For real LOUD. Bad deal for me; not to mention poor judgment on my part. Report back or PM. Thurgood.:)
 
First off - you shouldn't mix with headphones. Secondly - turn it the fuck down - you are doing permanent damage brother.
 
Tinnitus can have many different causes. In your case, the most likely is noise exposure. The damage can be cumulative over time, and it may have caught up with you.

"Tinnitus and hearing loss can be permanent conditions, thus, precautionary measures are advisable. If a ringing in the ears is audible after exposure to a loud environment, such as a rock concert or a work place, it means that damage has been done. Prolonged exposure to noise levels as low as 70 dB can result in damage to hearing (see noise health effects). If it is not possible to limit exposure, earplugs or ear defenders should be worn. For musicians and DJs, special musicians' earplugs can lower the volume of the music without distorting the sound and can prevent tinnitus from developing in later years."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

In any case, if yours doesn't resolve over another week or so, you should see an ENT doc to make sure there is nothing else going on.

If it does resolve, you need to make protection from noise a priority, or it is going to come back in spades, along with hearing loss.
 
lay off the caffeine and nicotine and see if that doesn't make it go away (or at least lessen). when i kicked my mountain dew habit, the change in the noticible level of my tinnitus was remarkable.


cheers,
wade
 
No man, this is definitely from over exposure to high volumes, I don't smoke (gave up weed ages ago!) and I gave up caffeine and booze recently too. One thing I notice though is that if I listen to the same track I was mixing now, even at low volumes on a car stereo, the problem seems to flair up and the ringing and pressure seems to get worse for an hour or so as if a certain frequency is causing the problem... Anyway, I'm investing in a proper set of musicians ear plugs. Problem is I have 4 babies in the house and can only record and mix on headphones for the forseable future. Will give the ears a break for a couple of weeks then will be working off 'seriously' low volumes. I reckon there is a high probablilty that I damaged my hearing this time... if anyone out there has recovered from this, let me know!
 
Aspirin & diabetes can also cause ringing ears but the likelihood is that your problem is using h/phones loudly .
I have perm ringing - more in one ear than the other - & it has caused some freq's to be masked in my hearing PERMENANTLY! I did damage - loud concerts, playing loudly, tracking recording loudly, using a walkman whilst mowing the lawn & turning it up to try to hear it above the mower etc.
H/phones can be bad - they are not good for mixing, they should only be used to listen for detail & tracking. When used loudly they are deliterious to your hearing. They are fun, unrealistic & cosmic but bad. Earbuds can be worse.
Don't use h/phones at all for a while & stay away from loud things as much as possible while your ears settle down - try to mix without them - difficult given certain domestic contraints but a better option all round.
Mixing at low vols will cause a host of problems with your mix though.
There are some systems that claim to retrain the ear post tinnitus - some have good reports related but I don't know how that relates to a musician's hearing - it may be about training the ear to ignore certain freq. which would be as bad, for you or me, as having them masked by hiss.
Mine is so bad I have to have music playing when I'm trying to get to sleep to mask the ringing. - Yep, that bad.
 
You have to know that headphones are right close to your eardrum,more so than speakers..I hate to think of the damage all these young kids are doing with these ipods ect.that have headphones.I would lay off for a while and lower the volume when you use headphones.try to use headphones for recording only or just to check your mixes...You'll be allright:cool:
 
Just a quick update on the state of my hearing, it's been about 9 days since my ears started packing in. I've stayed away from mixing /recording/playing and have not used headphones once since, the ringing in my ears only started to calm down yesterday and now for the first time I noticed the pressure on my ear drums has gone away. If I think about it I can still hear the ringing but it's a lot better than hearing it ALL the time and shriekingly high levels. Good news for anyone else out there that gets real crazy tinnitus is that it can die down - I won't be using headphones for any longer than 30 mins at a go from here on out and it will be at very low volumes.
 
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I've had ringing in the ears non stop for over 25 years, 24 hours a day,every single day and night. You'll get used to it after awhile, but like the doctor guy said, there are other things that can cause ringing in the ears that may need to be looked into.

[edit to add] I didn't even notice your last post.:o Glad to hear it's clearing up.
 
Not to bring you down or anything (I'm glad the ringing is gone) but the damage is done. Luckily, you can work around it. You'll have to train your ears again, but all is not lost! It's happened to me plenty of times and I'm now afraid of taking a hearing test (among other things :o). I also use ear plugs nearly everywhere.
 
yea earplugs for cutting the lawn and loud appliances will save your ears for recording:D
 
super to hear (no pun intended) that your symptoms are lessened. Be careful to avoid loud noise. Best wishes. Damn I can't spell early in the am. Now I have to earn a living. Damnit.
 
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