My tinnitus was pretty bad about ten years ago. What helped me was that I slept with earplugs. It made the tinnitus louder, and I couldn't sleep for days (nights), but I "knew" that my brain was working on tuning it out. After that, it was more manageable.But seriously - as one having fairly significant and advancing timnitus, the best remedy I have found is "doing" - when I am distracted and actively doing stuff, I can forget about it at least a little and sometimes a lot. When things quiet down and I'm left to free thought, tinnitus roars back in.
Keep on doing!
Thanks levipeto for
posting
That's a brilliant approach I've not come across before - sounds a bit mentally painful but I think I will try it.My tinnitus was pretty bad about ten years ago. What helped me was that I slept with earplugs. It made the tinnitus louder, and I couldn't sleep for days (nights), but I "knew" that my brain was working on tuning it out. After that, it was more manageable.
I hope this could help some fellow musicians with their tinnitus. If feedback says it makes it worse, let me know, and delete it.
A psychologist would likely throw in his/her take on it also.OMG, I did't realized I'm not alone here in this struggle.
I've tried so many therapies to spot the cause, but none of them at the moment really helped:
I'm learning to live with it and be grateful for the days when it is less intrusive. In a way I started to enjoy my life more since I give more value to the "good days".
- ENT
- Dentist (it may be caused by bad dental occlusion)
- Physiotherapist (it may be caused by back pain)
OMG, I did't realized I'm not alone here in this struggle.
Interesting you mention April Wine. I attribute the beginnings of my tinnitus to a Van Halen Concert in the early 80s. It was extremely overthetop loud (and bad - no offence to EVH rip) - I had severe ringing after and literally could not hear people speaking (voices just sounded like buzzing) - took 3 days for my hearimg to return. I was quite worried at the time that I had permanent severe damage. In those days most people had no clue about (or were ignoring) the mechanics of hearing loss and how damage can't be undone/fixed.Nope! I've had it since the 90's. Almost certain it was because of an April Wine concert I attended, in a small venue. I knew it was too loud, but I was too stupid to leave. Shorty after, I started noticing the ringing and hissing. At first I thought it was coming from the tube on the T.V., but it was still there when I turned it off. :-( Of course, listening to cranked stereos in the 70's and going to loud bars in the 80's, sure didn't help either.
Aside from the annoying ringing and hissing, trying to listen to the the T.V. when someone is talking or vice-versa, is an absolute challenge. Any loud metal on metal clangs, like a hammer on a pry bar or an impact driver, etc., is beyond painful, without ear plugs. I had power scaling installed in my amps., so that I can still play guitar and have the volume set about as low as the T.V. volume. I have attended a concert in the last 20+ years without wearing earplugs. Concerts are so damn loud now, it actually sounds better...IMO.
I've had tests and an MRI to make sure there wasn't something nefarious going on. Saw an ENT and he said there was damage done to some part of my ear that helps limit how much sound enter my ear...or something like that. The weird part, is that I had a hearing test and my hearing is
'perfect' for my age. Sitting in that sound proof booth was like being in a torture chamber though. With no outside audible stimulus, the ringing is amplified exponentially.
The only solution I’ve found is to ignore it.