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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Tinnitus / March 2004Tinnitus From Headphone Use
Hello, I've recently acquired the dreaded ringing after some hefty home recording sessions. Last week I was using some closed headphones for feeback and doing multiple takes. It's strange because it didn't seem that loud and I'm always very cautious about volume levels but I was wearing the phones for quite a long period and making some pretty cacophonous wails. Afterwards, my ears felt fatigued and very sensitive to sound. Being foolhardy I thought nothing of it and set about another session the next day, after this one, I experienced the same overwhelming hyperacusis but had to bear the painful sensitivity to set about mixing the tracks. I was working on it well into the night giving my heaving cochlears little respite and was so aurally shot, the ringing in my right ear almost came as a soothing delight. When I was less delirious the following morning, I listened aghast at the death bell eminating from my auditory headphone resting place. It actually had me hypnotized for a good hour or so just with me frantically pressing my finger in my ear to ascertain the grim reality. "Not sh.tting tinittus!" was an afterthought derived following much careful deliberation and clearly a headway into embracing that renowned, sure-fire cure 'habituation' (I see you've all come to equally accept as your saviour.) My paranoia and anxiety levels were so sky-high at this new aural addition to my life that it actually helped eclipse the fact the damage had been wrought in the name of a piece of extremely piss-poor home recording, which was now very painful to listen to for more than one reason. Logging onto alt.support.tinnitus and reading of elaborate tales of cannon explosions and seminal rock concert attendences compounded my shame. Not to mention those living the high-life with an infection. I clearly was on the lowest rung of tinnitus acquisition. The next thing I did was use those dangerous (albeit high quality 'phones) to take an online hearing test. It's a brilliant free test from http://www.digital-recordings.com. I saw from my audiogram that I had a 20db loss in my right (ringing) ear over 8k and 9k compared to my left. They say those frequencies aren't really important, but tell that to my enraged ear! This was four days ago and the tinnitus has been driving me absolutely insane. I cannot concentrate on anything, I can't eat and can't even begin to conceive of having to live with it as a permanent affliction. Just now though I've noticed it seems to have changed tones... extremely bizarre. I took another online test and the strange thing is I've recovered the 20db over 8k in my right ear back down to 0db. The 9k is still off but it's very bizarre indeed. Sorry to ramble on, but does anyone have any clue whatsoever why my newly acquired tinnitus has dropped in tone? What does that signal? HELP! deathly_incantation@hotmail.com (azrael's spell) wrote in part: >Sorry to ramble on, but does anyone have any clue whatsoever why my >newly acquired tinnitus has dropped in tone? What does that signal? No one has a clue. But recent tinnitus can change, and even go away. The on-line audiogram is probably nearly worthless. The equipment needed to measure an audiogram isn't cheap and also requires a sound-proof environment. As to 8KHz being "unimportant," that applies only to understanding speech. High-frequency losses (the most common kind) do seem to correlate with tinnitus. Keep in mind that the intrusiveness of tinnitus almost always diminishes over time. Most of us here have experienced a return to near normal in our reaction to the tinnitus and our awareness of it. But that change takes time.  SignatureJim Chinnis / Warrenton, Virginia, USA Want to discuss Meniere's? See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MenieresDG I'm glad to see you still have a good sense of humor through this ordeal...believe me, it helps! My tinnitus started up about a month or so ago and, like yours, changes in tone periodically. This morning I was talking with my wife and the ususal high-pitched drone was playing in my head when suddenly a new, lower and louder tone erupted in my right ear, then gradually faded into the "background" tone. Also, my tinnitus volume seems to be affected by my jaw and neck movements and is especially prominent after a day at the computer or drawing table. and I. too, went through a weekend from hell as I couldn't sleep, became extremely depressed, distraught and despairing. Turns out I have disthymia (mild depression) on top of the tinnitus and have been on Zoloft now for about 2 weeks. My doctor prescribed Zyprexa for sleep but has taken me off that now. I know this all sounds hopeless (and I confess to feeling that way from time to time) but you actually do begin to "get used to it" somewhat, at least to the point where you return to functioning and pay a bit less attention to the freakin' noise in your head! Good luck and God bless. Fred I can just see you sitting there all scrunched up - with your neck and shoulder absolutely in spasm. Can you get to a trusted therapist and get a neck/shoulder massage. Get an electric hand held massage unit and massage your own neck muscles. Do the neck exercises mentioned on http://eebee.net/earpain.shtml Everything is more to do with muscle strain than with sound exposure. Tinnitus is a pain in the neck Elly's Tinnitus Resources http://eebee.net/ http://meniere.eebee.net/ For email: elly at eebee.cjb.net >Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > >HELP! Elly Byrne <elly@eebee.cjb.net.noway> wrote in message news: > I can just see you sitting there all scrunched up - with your neck and > shoulder absolutely in spasm. Erm... well who am I to encroach upon your unfettered fantasy? I once had a spasmic cramp in my thigh if that helps your sordid imaginings at all. I'm unaware of any pathological research into possible links between me having crouched for too long and the auditory inner ear, but it would be remiss to rule anything out eh Elly? Thanks to Jim and Fred for the helpful replies. Jim, you're probably right in that the online test has little to no merit, but it gave me some pseudoscientific expertise into my own acoustic trauma which really helped increase that panic/hysteria which had set in quite nicely. Fred I'm sorry to hear of your disthymia. I hope the Zoloft provides you with some amelioration. I know only too well the perils of manic depression and self-harm. At times it really seems like this ringing is a summons, telling me my time is up. I must say your neck/jaw tonal ensemble sounds most impressive. It must feel like whenever you speak to your wife, your words take on an extra empahsis what with the inbuilt Sondheim film score. :) Good god I wish this bastard ringing would stop! > Good god I wish this bastard ringing would stop! I tried wishing and it didn't help :( But, like Jim said it does get easier to live with. I've had it for 7 years now, and while almost always present it is not always debilitating. I have grown accustomed to its presence and can for the most part function normally. I have days when the ringing is perceived as louder and it's just really hard to concentrate on anything, but I've learned to relax and take it as easy as possible on those days. If you get stressed it's just that much harder to deal with. Good luck. Greg. I echo what Greg has said. It reflects the how long I hve had T and touches on the variable nature of dealing with the noise on a daily basis. It does get easier to deal with and does becomes less of a factor in life as time goes on. My favorite advice is to NOT think about how or if the T may be worse tomorrow. When its low, enjoy life; when its not so low try to remember it won't stay that way. And do not analyze every aspect of your existence with regard to its effect on the loudness. Good luck! PaulS > > Good god I wish this bastard ringing would stop! > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Greg. If perchance you can build, or know someone who can build - simple electronic circuits, try this... www.detinnitiser.com This device can provide an alternate 'focus' to the tinnitus and replace it with a more benign sound - rather like a ticking watch. I haven't the time to build these myself at present and the circuit is available for free. There is no hidden commercial agenda on the page. Anyway good luck! I've had my T for a year now and it's true what they say here - once your T becomes accepted as 'normal' it really is no big deal and you go through the day without being too much aware of it. Life is still great. But this takes time. Steve O > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > > HELP! Be VERY careful now, about using in ear, bud type headphones. The drivers are very near the eardrum etc. Try to use open backed phones if possible imo. "If perchance you can build, or know someone who can build - simple electronic circuits, try this..." Your kidding me right ? Sonny I actually think they have kits like that down at Radio Shack. It was meant for kids but you can do like 1000 experiments with those sorts of thingys. MJ > This was four days ago and the tinnitus has been driving me absolutely > insane. I cannot concentrate on anything, I can't eat and can't even [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I've recovered the 20db over 8k in my right ear back down to 0db. The > 9k is still off but it's very bizarre indeed. First, you may be calmed by the knowledge that there are a lot of people out there with the exact same problem. And it might calm you that you will be able to cope with it, if it stays with you. Another thing which might calm you down is that my T actually disappeared after the first time I got it. I was at a loud club, and got this terrible ringing the next morning which drove me mad, but after a couple of weeks, it was gone! Maybe yours will disappear too. Stupid me, I went to another club not long after it was gone the first time, and it came back, and it's stayed with me for nearly a year now... But hey, joke's on me for not taking the first warning seriously, right? :-) But still, it's only been a few days for you, and it might disappear completely. I guess I'm lucky in that after the initial panic, I realized that it was slowly disappearing again, so when I got it the second time, it wasn't such a huge shock. I haven't really lost any sleep over it after the first few days, when I was close to panic-stricken. And to really prove how stupid I am, I've let myself be exposed to even more loud noises, and it's gotten worse. But I try not to think about it, and I usually just ignore it. The sounds I've been exposed to won't do any damage to a normal ear, but I guess my ears are very vulnerable now that they are already damaged. So stay away from lout noise. Ear plugs are very useful! And don't forget - you are not alone. A *lot* of people have T, but very few talk about it. You can't tell by looking at a person that he has T, but we're walking out there, seeing each other without realizing that it is actually quite a common problem. Anyway, good luck. It helps to talk about it. We know how you feel. Hey Roger, Thanks so much for your post. It's really appreciated and comforting to know others have been through the same aural disconcertion. I must say, it's been nearly two weeks now and I think it has improved. It certainly seems to have decreased in volume, the only time I find it piercingly apparent is when I wake up in the morning. Someone kindly emailed me and recommended taking copious amounts of antioxidants, and I really feel like it's helped since I've been taking them. I hope your second-wind of tinnitus subsides. All the best. > First, you may be calmed by the knowledge that there are a lot of > people out there with the exact same problem. And it might calm you [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > Anyway, good luck. It helps to talk about it. We know how you feel.
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