They 'aint silly 10 or 20 years down the line when it's everyone else who can't hear.
Another update.
This Friday I have an appointment at a Tinnitus clinic at Henry Ford.
However working with the muscle therapist and me doing a ton of reading focused on Sommatic Tinnitus.
There is a muscle called the SCM, sternocleidomastoid, that runs down both sides of the neck. I've had chronic beck strain/pain, nothing ever too bad but it was there.
The SCM is thought to be a partially/wholly related to non-hearing loss tinnitus. I could push on the muscle in my neck, it runs down both sides and you can feel it, directly between the ear/shoulder, pretty big muscle. I could push on it and the pitch of the noise would change.
So now with a series of stretches and muscle work it comes and goes. I'm noise free probably 35-45 percent of the time now. We'll get to 100 percent but it requires a lot of stretches and physical work.
They still feel holding the router and doing precision work, coupled with maybe a protection reaction to the noise like tensing caused it.
I had severe ear pain that went away as we worked on the muscle and my sensitivity to sound has gone away. I can sit in a certain position and the noise is very loud, sit in another and its nearly silent.
The loudest noise I've exposed myself so far was a few hockey games but I wore ear plugs once it started, and a few movies, 2 of them being at the iMax.
Still very pleased with the results and the fact it has gotten me working on being in shape more. The neuromuscular person has been fantastic and its amazing the amount of noise change I go through as she worked on me.
This Friday I have an appointment at a Tinnitus clinic at Henry Ford.
However working with the muscle therapist and me doing a ton of reading focused on Sommatic Tinnitus.
There is a muscle called the SCM, sternocleidomastoid, that runs down both sides of the neck. I've had chronic beck strain/pain, nothing ever too bad but it was there.
The SCM is thought to be a partially/wholly related to non-hearing loss tinnitus. I could push on the muscle in my neck, it runs down both sides and you can feel it, directly between the ear/shoulder, pretty big muscle. I could push on it and the pitch of the noise would change.
So now with a series of stretches and muscle work it comes and goes. I'm noise free probably 35-45 percent of the time now. We'll get to 100 percent but it requires a lot of stretches and physical work.
They still feel holding the router and doing precision work, coupled with maybe a protection reaction to the noise like tensing caused it.
I had severe ear pain that went away as we worked on the muscle and my sensitivity to sound has gone away. I can sit in a certain position and the noise is very loud, sit in another and its nearly silent.
The loudest noise I've exposed myself so far was a few hockey games but I wore ear plugs once it started, and a few movies, 2 of them being at the iMax.
Still very pleased with the results and the fact it has gotten me working on being in shape more. The neuromuscular person has been fantastic and its amazing the amount of noise change I go through as she worked on me.
Dirk,
Since your wife does muscle work check these out:
Sternocleidomastoid syndrome: a case study
Neural mechanisms underlying somatic tinnitus
http://www.tinnitusresearch.org/en/structure/docs2006/RA_Levine-Somatic_Tinnitus.pdf
I'd say 30 percent of the work the therapist does is inside the mouth. My wife says "enjoy your massage" when I leave the house with a smile thinking I'm going to some kind of oriental spa
She has no idea how painful it is.
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Just for interest,
I wear foam plugs when using power tools or by loud machines..I always wear them in loud areas
Here is a short tale,
While fault finding on some PLC controlled hydraulic/ pneumatic machines (with protection) I could not tell if a solenoid was going in during the auto cycle.
So I took off my foam protectors and started the cycle, moved close to the valve bank and listened for the click..SHOOOOOOOWACK....
beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee<<from my ears. The silencer had been taken off the exhaust port because it had blocked...the pain was mind numbing.. half an hour later I could hear again..had to go and get tested..I was lucky all was OK..frightened me..
The morale to this story is, your ears get used to the quiet with protection on. Take it of and get exposed to loud noise and your even more vulnerable.
Don't take them off...
Another thought...just because you can't hear it is it dangerous. Think about high or low frequency that you can't or can only just hear....now when do you wear ear protection??
Regards
M. Gregg
I wear foam plugs when using power tools or by loud machines..I always wear them in loud areas
Here is a short tale,
While fault finding on some PLC controlled hydraulic/ pneumatic machines (with protection) I could not tell if a solenoid was going in during the auto cycle.
So I took off my foam protectors and started the cycle, moved close to the valve bank and listened for the click..SHOOOOOOOWACK....
beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee<<from my ears. The silencer had been taken off the exhaust port because it had blocked...the pain was mind numbing.. half an hour later I could hear again..had to go and get tested..I was lucky all was OK..frightened me..
The morale to this story is, your ears get used to the quiet with protection on. Take it of and get exposed to loud noise and your even more vulnerable.
Don't take them off...
Another thought...just because you can't hear it is it dangerous. Think about high or low frequency that you can't or can only just hear....now when do you wear ear protection??
Regards
M. Gregg
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I bought a pair of Pro Ears Gold hearing protectors for shooting, but now I use them whenever I need protection. They are muffs rated 33dB SNR so very good isolation. The cool feature is that each muff has an outside mic, active electronics and inside headphone speakers...they allow normal sound levels through while limiting loud sounds to a safe level. Perfect for M Gregg's situation where he needed to hear the equipment without risking his hearing. There is a volume control on each muff that lets you adjust the sound level including amplifying ambient sound (used by hunters for hearing game movement) while still limiting exposure. Added bonus is they have a cordset to hook up to an iPod or other player. Not cheap (I paid $270 for a pair) but much cheaper than hearing aids!
Went to the Tinnitus clinic on Friday.
Short appointment. The change has been so dramatic in the month after it first happened to today that I did not really qualify, nor do I feel I needed the assistance.
What I am doing is working and continues to work. I'm noise free enough that we know its not permanent and something physically causes it muscle wise versus damage.
I took the time to question the doctor and her biggest suggestion was in normal day to day life there are not too many sounds that can damage the ear. If you do not have a sound sensitivity then she was adamant about not wearing ear plugs or protection. If your sensitive totally different and of course anything that OSHA covers. Otherwise you will create sound sensitivity and make tinnitus worse.
I tend to believe this. I was very sound sensitive afterwards and I did wear ear plugs at hockey games. I found after I went to a few movies and other things where it was loud and I kind of dealt with it that the sound sensitivity went away and it no longer bothered me.
Now this is to be taken with a grain of salt because I has zero hearing loss, in fact after the third hearing test it was excellent so she felt I'd make my problem worse but reducing my noise exposure which as another poster said makes you even more sensitive.
Short appointment. The change has been so dramatic in the month after it first happened to today that I did not really qualify, nor do I feel I needed the assistance.
What I am doing is working and continues to work. I'm noise free enough that we know its not permanent and something physically causes it muscle wise versus damage.
I took the time to question the doctor and her biggest suggestion was in normal day to day life there are not too many sounds that can damage the ear. If you do not have a sound sensitivity then she was adamant about not wearing ear plugs or protection. If your sensitive totally different and of course anything that OSHA covers. Otherwise you will create sound sensitivity and make tinnitus worse.
I tend to believe this. I was very sound sensitive afterwards and I did wear ear plugs at hockey games. I found after I went to a few movies and other things where it was loud and I kind of dealt with it that the sound sensitivity went away and it no longer bothered me.
Now this is to be taken with a grain of salt because I has zero hearing loss, in fact after the third hearing test it was excellent so she felt I'd make my problem worse but reducing my noise exposure which as another poster said makes you even more sensitive.
i too have tinnitus. not fun at all. i often told me i should shoot myself, without REALLY wanting to do it though...now it s been two years since i have it and i learned to live with it. unlike many others, i had it because i listened a low volumes but too much.
it was a time when all i was doing is tweaking my gear to sound best.
my advice to anyone: dont go crazy with audio hobby, you can get lost in it and there is a lot more things to life than that.
hope it helps
-py
it was a time when all i was doing is tweaking my gear to sound best.
my advice to anyone: dont go crazy with audio hobby, you can get lost in it and there is a lot more things to life than that.
hope it helps
-py
I find that the misconception about tinnitus with younger people is that you just can't hear as well later in life & they don't care. They never seem to know about the ringing and discomfort. I know a guy who goes to rock concerts w/o protection (like I used to) but just doesn't realize how bad that is.
Tinnitus can be increased by stress. The more you worry, the worse it gets...
You need to break that vicious circle!
I definitely agree.
For me tinnitus came out of the blue some years ago, no loud sounds, no hard rock concerts, no discoclubs, no headphones, nothing at all... I always had a quiet life, but this thing came anyway. Oh what a lucky guy
I was part of a trial in a public clinic with an osteopath. Then with a physiotherapist privately for three years, once a week. Nothing happened. During the first period, the evening before falling asleep (the quietest time of the day) I thought I went crazy. But when I began to accept the problem, to devote to my interests with more passion, I stopped hearing the tinnitus without realizing. Sometimes I notice it, especially in the evening after a day of heavy work or when under stress. Two things still bother me: loud noises (I now hear them even stronger) and situations with many people (I feel a rumble).
But the best solution is the one that gave me the first doctor who examined me: you must be stronger than it.
dirkwright,
Whatever news you get will just be understanding where you are at...the problem exists & you are living with it, getting the facts is good news so you know how to proceed. For me putting up with tinnitus & progressive hearing loss for quite a few years finally convinced me to confront the problem. Truth is my wife got tired of raising her voice. Got an audiogram showing significant loss (30-35 db at low frequencies & 45 at high) & did lots of research. Found that there is an online company that offers high tech hearing aids at reasonable prices and provides the equipment and software to allow you to tune them yourself (DIY!). Got them about 2 months ago & couldn't be more satisfied. I ran with their initial program for a month to let the brain adjust then have gone through two program updates. I use an audio oscillator & high quality headphones to evaluate my hearing with the aids in place & determine needed adjustments. I am now approaching normal hearing, enjoying music much more, wife is happy,and the best part...my tinnitus is much less of an issue (at night without the hearing aids). I think with hearing loss the brain dials up the gain in an attempt to improve things and, as we well know a system with high gain is prone to oscillation (tinnitus). Good luck!
Whatever news you get will just be understanding where you are at...the problem exists & you are living with it, getting the facts is good news so you know how to proceed. For me putting up with tinnitus & progressive hearing loss for quite a few years finally convinced me to confront the problem. Truth is my wife got tired of raising her voice. Got an audiogram showing significant loss (30-35 db at low frequencies & 45 at high) & did lots of research. Found that there is an online company that offers high tech hearing aids at reasonable prices and provides the equipment and software to allow you to tune them yourself (DIY!). Got them about 2 months ago & couldn't be more satisfied. I ran with their initial program for a month to let the brain adjust then have gone through two program updates. I use an audio oscillator & high quality headphones to evaluate my hearing with the aids in place & determine needed adjustments. I am now approaching normal hearing, enjoying music much more, wife is happy,and the best part...my tinnitus is much less of an issue (at night without the hearing aids). I think with hearing loss the brain dials up the gain in an attempt to improve things and, as we well know a system with high gain is prone to oscillation (tinnitus). Good luck!
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