Tinnitus.. anyone else got it?

[tubelab.com]

Unfortunately I have subjected myself to most of the hearing reducing tinitus inducing behaviors mentioned here. I played in a band, worked in a rehersal studio, played with guns (my favorite was the 12 gauge, works wonders on stubborn TV sets) raced cars, (as mentioned the Mazda rotary has the most annoying painful sound on the track, chasing it trying to pass is worse than driving) too many rock concerts including front of the pit at Metallica.

However:

then there's my mum! she has something called meniere's disease... it's a thing that stuffs up your inner ear, and it does stuff, like you can't ballance and you puke and crap when you get an 'attack'... but with this disease comes permanant tinitus. it's so bad that she has to listen to pretty loud music just so she can sleep, or else it drives her crazy!

About 20 years ago my world started spinning. I couldn't stand up. Sleeping was nearly inpossible. Puking from extreme dizziness was common. Attacks would come on with no warning, making driving a car or going to work impossible. Several doctors had no clue. Then the previously mild tinitus became extremely loud, and was the predictor of an impending attack. A hearing speciallist confirmed Menieres. He said that I had lost 15 db hearing in one ear, 20 db in the other. It would likely get worse, but there had been cases where it just went away. After almost a year of living with my head in a blender, the dizziness subsided and the loud roar turned to a medium field full of crickets.

After almost 20 years it has returned. There was almost a step function loss of hearing. Within a week I became unable to understand people talking in a normal conversation, especially females. The dizziness is back but it is not to the point of dysfunction yet. I feal nauseated and generally useless for a day or two after an attack of dizziness.

I went to see a well recommended speciallist who said that I was now 40 db deaf in both ears with no hearing above 4KHz. And very limited low frequency hearing. The loss of low frequencies is indicitave of middle ear damage and not caused by exposure damage.

I find this odd since I can hear the basser cars comming 4 blocks away. This has to do with the way the tests are done. They play a tone at a very low level and slowly turn it up until you hear it. Of course I can't hear things masked by the tinitus. I can however hear a wide range of frequencies, it just has to be played quite loud. Experiments with a big amp and an audio oscillator revealed that I can hear 15 Hz to 15 KHz if the volume is turned up. The highs are masked by the tinitus to the point that cranking 18 KHz will cause a queasy fealing (not unlike an impending dizziness atack) before I hear it.

[Cassiel]

Hope your hearing gets better George, we need your input on oddball tubes.
Wishing you the best.

[jacco vermeulen]

Both sides, no less, bummer.

Already considered a life style change ?

[tubelab.com]

Hope your hearing gets better George, we need your input on oddball tubes.

Why do you think I am now building hundred watt per channel tube amps instead of 2 watt SE amps? Seriously I still listen to my 45 based Tubelab SE a lot. But I did build some more sensitive speakers!

I have been to a few speciallists and all agree it isn't going to get better. I am now investigating hearing aids to be able to communicate effectively at work.

[mickeymoose]

Bummer!
Beethoven suffered from extreme tinnitus, but he kept on writing music. So keep on going.
I got it. I thought it was of the acoustical work I did. Turns out that my condition, peripheral neuropathy, is to blame. A joy indeed!
As I said: bummer! E

[kevinahcc20]

I've got it in both ears...early in my career I worked in a plant that stamped out 80,000 suspension control arms a day from 0.120" (3 mm) thick steel. The din of the transfer presses in the stamping area was overpowering and in 1970 ear protection was not on the radar screen. Many rock concerts also undoubtedly contributed. It's there all the time but not obtrusive if you don't focus on it...more prominent at night when it's very quiet.

[eyoung]

Ditto work in auto repair, but I think the 6 12" Jensens in my guitar cabinet may have had something to do with my rt side hearing loss and tinnitus. drives me nuts at night when I'm trying to go to sleep...maybe the reason I like my headphones as I can turn it up loud enough I can't hear the ringing.

Regards, Elwood

[prickears]

I have it mainly in my left ear due to an ear infection a couple of years ago that had me falling ar$e over head. I thought I was having a stroke!!!!! Although I do get it in both ears on the days that I take Codeine for a football incident back in July. (badly dislocated knee).
Worse too if i'm tired or stressed out..........or if i've just been to a Metallica concert!!!! (?)

[7n7is]

I take a pinch of piracetam now and then in a cup of coffee. It has made me even more super human than I was before. piracetam research: 114 studies

[mickeymoose]

They must have done those studdies before they invented erectyle disfunction. Or are these little $10 blue pills? E