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~Guest 227866
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:05 am
Posts: 154
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:06 am 
 

Anyone else have this horrible curse? ringing in the ears 24/7 that will never go away.
It started out of nowhere about a year ago, and has never left my head since. Only gotten louder with the more shows I go to, and only gets worse when I listen to music up past any quiet volume.

Just trying to see how common this is, with all the loud noise in metal music

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henkkjelle
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 pm
Posts: 4537
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:14 am 
 

I have mild tinnitus in my left ear. It's basically just a high pitched (but not loud) ringing. A little bit like the sound of crickets, and it has this very subtle and fast up and down feel to it. It started in november last year. The doctor said it's almost definitely not noise related, and it probably has something to do with the clusterfuck of colds I had in that period. I pretty much have to wait for it to go away. The doctor said the chance of healing is pretty high, but it could take a very long time. The first couple of weeks were annoying, but I'm as good as used to it now.

Oh, yeah forgot to add that: I'm not having any hearing trouble because of it. I guess I should consider myself lucky.
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Last edited by henkkjelle on Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
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FearTheNome
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2003 8:41 am
Posts: 201
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:31 am 
 

I have some tinnitus. It's bad enough that I have minor trouble hearing things when there's background noise, but not so bad that I'm conscious of it unless it's very quiet.

I wear earplugs at every show now and try to keep my volume reasonable. It's really hard to do though.

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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:09 pm 
 

I've had it for years. All it took was one (bad) show. Certain things make it temporarily worse (namely caffeine and alcohol) but I've never noticed anything making it better. I mostly just make sure there is something quiet turned on if I'm in complete silence, like a fan, so I don't hear it.

It does severely reduce my enjoyment of music via headphones, I will say.

Zeating wrote:
Anyone else have this horrible curse? ringing in the ears 24/7 that will never go away.
It started out of nowhere about a year ago,



You probably got it gradually over the course of a few shows. If it genuinely started out of nowhere I would see a doctor. It is sometimes a side effect of certain types of brain tumors.

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Subrick
Metal Strongman

Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 pm
Posts: 10167
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:30 pm 
 

I've had it since I was 3 years old. I had a lot of ear issues when I was very little, from going deaf for a brief period to the ear tubes I had in getting lodged in there are requiring surgery to get them out. It left me with tinnitus in both ears, and strangely enough it doesn't seem to have been worsened at all by listening to music at loud volumes. The only time it's ever effected me to the point of pain was a couple years ago when I was so ridiculously ill that I ended up falling over in my bathroom. That was not a pleasant experience.
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soul_schizm
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:55 am
Posts: 764
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:40 pm 
 

Yes, I have this too. No doubt the result of too many shows and musically generally too loud, for too long.

I feel like it's pretty common in the metal community.

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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:43 pm 
 

It's pretty common in the wider music community.

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Foulchrist
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:25 pm
Posts: 637
Location: Scotland
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 6:36 pm 
 

Yep, years of headphones at stupid volumes. Only really becomes distracting if I focus on it, otherwise it's mild enough to blend in with any existing background noise.
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Subrick
Metal Strongman

Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 pm
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 6:42 pm 
 

I'd think that rock, metal, and a lot of electronic music are the most likely to get tinnitus from, as they're all meant to be played very loudly. I would be shocked if there weren't a ton of industrial or EBM musicians that have just constantly ringing ears.
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Smoking_Gnu
Chicago Favorite

Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
Posts: 4797
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 7:45 pm 
 

I've noticed that mine (brought on by a stupid lack of hearing protection at concerts while I was in high school, and/or possibly chronic sinus allergies) has gotten notably better since I stopped listening to music on headphones. Not sure if that's directly correlated, and I'm certainly hoping it's more on account of health shit because that actually gives it a chance at going away entirely, but it's a pleasant change.

I always listened to music on my headphones at very reasonable volumes, but still did so for very long periods of time, so I'm guessing it just exacerbated whatever I already had.
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CF_Mono
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:21 pm
Posts: 1793
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:00 pm 
 

I've had it for a long time. Sure it gets worse after shows but it doesn't bother me really, I've learned to ignore it.
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~Guest 132892
Wastelander

Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:18 am
Posts: 6349
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 2:43 am 
 

I've had it for a long time but after working in a venue its gotten far worse.

At smaller shows if I happen to be standing next to a speaker I have to plug my ears, otherwise all I hear is ringing.

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Adriankat
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:54 pm
Posts: 2793
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 3:55 am 
 

I've had tinnitus ever since I was a wee little baby. Growing up with tinnitus, I thought nothing of it until I learned what tinnitus was, which lead to me being angry about it for a few weeks then I moved on. It's pretty minor and only noticeable in a library-type sound environment or when I'm wearing my IEMs.

I did make it worse in my right ear though, either by standing next to a speaker like a dumbass or from getting clocked in the jaw, which caused a TMJ dysfuction that could be linked to tinnitus. Both were avoidable.
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~Guest 227866
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:05 am
Posts: 154
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:17 am 
 

Subrick wrote:
I'd think that rock, metal, and a lot of electronic music are the most likely to get tinnitus from, as they're all meant to be played very loudly. I would be shocked if there weren't a ton of industrial or EBM musicians that have just constantly ringing ears.


Ha, now that you mention it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4_nB-s7TJ0

Actually about the same frequency as my tinnitus. Makes it very hard to sleep when my ears are against the pillow..usually have to listen to white noise on headphones. Well, going to the ENT doctor tomorrow so hopefully he'll have something nice to say.


(and heres something random http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/4ad4c0 ... enacious-d)

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Back Stabbath
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:15 am
Posts: 402
Location: Terra Nullius
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:50 pm 
 

I've made it to 36 without anything but the slightest tinnitus. From going to gigs nearly weekly in my 20s to working in a venue listening to punk/metal/rock bands roughly 3 times a week, and the only protection I ever used was a earplug on the side of my head that faced the stage.

However, I have a weird little difference to most people that could have saved me from the horrible ringing. My ear canals are "bent", as in have kind of corner rather than being straight. As a kid I used to have them cleaned, which involved doctors pumping a huge syringe thing full of water into my ears to flush out the wax. Both the sensation and noise of this were really weird and sample worthy (like your whole brain was being flushed out), and the gross chunks of wax that came out were...um... yeah, gross.

I haven't hardly ever had this done as an adult, so I guess my "natural ear plugs" have saved me from the Tinnitus cacodaemon.
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Zodijackyl
63 Axe Handles High

Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
Posts: 7601
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:56 pm 
 

I went to my first metal show without earplugs, and haven't gone without some sort of ear protection since then. Usually earplugs, but in the past I would sometimes forget them, so I would wad up bits of paper towel and stuff those in my ears. I also keep the volume of music relatively low and use over-the-ear headphones, not earbuds.

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Foulchrist
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:25 pm
Posts: 637
Location: Scotland
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:58 pm 
 

Back Stabbath wrote:
and the only protection I ever used was a earplug on the side of my head that faced the stage.


:scratch:

You know, those are meant for your ears, not your nostrils.
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here's a fun little challenge. How long can you listen to this before you even smirk? I made it less than 10 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YHgHO8im2s&t=77s

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Back Stabbath
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:15 am
Posts: 402
Location: Terra Nullius
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:32 pm 
 

If you knew how many crust gigs I worked at, you'd understand why I put them in my... er... nostrils.

I was expecting a crack about protection and shoving an earplug into the eye of my cock, but you came outta nowhere with that one. I'm still re-reading my post to see how my nose got involved (!?!?!)
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Foulchrist
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:25 pm
Posts: 637
Location: Scotland
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:43 pm 
 

Quote:
side of my head that faced the stage


It was this part. Isn't the side of your head that faces the stage normally the one with nostrils? :-P
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hots_towel wrote:
here's a fun little challenge. How long can you listen to this before you even smirk? I made it less than 10 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YHgHO8im2s&t=77s

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Back Stabbath
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:15 am
Posts: 402
Location: Terra Nullius
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:47 pm 
 

Ah, I see. I meant when I was working, the bar was right-angled to the stage/PA/speakers.
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Foulchrist
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:25 pm
Posts: 637
Location: Scotland
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:53 pm 
 

Yeah, it makes sense now, I somehow looked over the part about working at a venue.

Bed time for me.
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hots_towel wrote:
here's a fun little challenge. How long can you listen to this before you even smirk? I made it less than 10 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YHgHO8im2s&t=77s

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Frenzied Metalhead
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:51 am
Posts: 15
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:46 am 
 

So that's the term for the odd ringing in my ear! I have it, and it really doesn't bother me that much, I started getting it when I listened to power metal at ridiculously high volumes through base earphones. It bugged me the first few days, but I got used to it, the only time I hear it is late at night when there is no sound at all, besides the ringing, so I continue to listen to music at the same volumes, at least until it gets worse.

Also, totally unrelated, does any one here get a sharp pain in their ears when a song being played at a loud volume abruptly stops?
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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:21 am 
 

I've never had tinnitus, which is really lucky to be honest. I've been to loads of really loud shows and for a good portion of my life (middle school through sophomore year of college, roughly) I listened to really loud music on headphones daily. I should probably get fitted for custom earplugs or something; the cheapo ones you can buy never seem to want to stay in my ears. Same deal with earbuds.

I actually probably narrowly averted tinnitus. I saw High on Fire once and we were up against the rail right in front of the PA stack. We were on the right hand side of the stage, so kind of angled to face the stage making the PA stack roughly on our right. Right around that time, I had some really bad impacted wax in my right ear that probably acted as sort of a natural earplug, because my brother who was at the same show now suffers from mild tinnitus that he attributes to that very concert.
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The Animator
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:41 am
Posts: 459
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 3:04 am 
 

I had it in my right ear for about 6 months, not sure what brought it on. When I went to the doctor she said I had a scar/plaque on my eardrum that could be causing it. Anyway I stopped wearing headphones just in case that was the problem. Occasionally I get brief ringing in my ear but other then that it seems to have stopped. Unfortunately do to the number of things that can cause tinnitus there is no way to know for sure if if it was from loud headphones. Still I don't want to risk it happening again.



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MikeyC
Official Greeter of Broken Hills

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:16 am
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Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 4:48 am 
 

Yeah, I've got this. The iPod is probably the main culprit. Not annoying me but it's always there.
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somefella
Veteran

Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:57 pm
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Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 8:54 am 
 

I have a very slight case of it but not enough to be a bother. As a metal musician who rehearses on a regular basis, I don't wear earplugs BUT it is agreed upon by everyone not to play at stupidly loud volumes, that clarity comes from tightness and sound balance, not everything up to 11.

However, I'd say a lot of it comes from the iPod, as many have said.
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themicrulah
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 12:00 am
Posts: 1167
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:05 am 
 

Foulchrist wrote:
Yep, years of headphones at stupid volumes. Only really becomes distracting if I focus on it, otherwise it's mild enough to blend in with any existing background noise.


Agreed. Tinnitus is more of a nuisance than anything.
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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
Posts: 3928
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 3:49 pm 
 

I think I have it mildly, particularly in my left ear. In junior high I'd listen to Napalm Death at max in my ear bud in that ear. I have no fucking good reason other than I was a dumb kid. Then in high school I'd play in my friend's garage fucking loud (and not very well). I have no fucking good reason other than jamming was fun and I didn't drink. But that was a while ago, and these days I'm quite jealous of my hearing. Noise canceling headphones with reasonable volume are a good compromise.
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Acidgobblin
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Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:56 pm
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:40 pm 
 

THEMICRULAH wrote:
Foulchrist wrote:
Yep, years of headphones at stupid volumes. Only really becomes distracting if I focus on it, otherwise it's mild enough to blend in with any existing background noise.


Agreed. Tinnitus is more of a nuisance than anything.


I would beg to differ. Mild tinnitus is a nuisance perhaps, but at the more severe end of the scale it can really impact ones life, negatively. I 'obtained' it by attending to many badly PAed bush festivals (think psytrance playing for days on end at maximum volume) as well as use of headphones when DJing and the end result has actually been very distressing at times. This was all massively enhanced when I was in medically supervised reduction from large doses of diazepam, and has decreased but its near constant nowadays. I can handle the high pitched mosquito tones which can be cancelled out by humming at the same frequency (no shit, actually works....;)) But the throbbing, whooshing, pulsing sound, accompanied by intermitten dizziness and partial deafness is certainly more then a "nuisance".
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_MFMGW_
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:24 am
Posts: 430
Location: A pub somewhere in Lancashire, UK
PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:29 pm 
 

I've had it as long as I remember. Hate it!

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RainbowPrius19
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:10 pm
Posts: 86
PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:59 pm 
 

I have some mild tinnitus and it is annoying as fuck, although I have had it for as long as I can remember. I have not been to many concerts but from now on I am going to wear plugs and just for the record I do listen to metal with headphones at a fairly high volume.
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hakarl
Metel fraek

Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 1:41 pm
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Location: Finland
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:21 pm 
 

I'm lucky not to have it. I have increased risk of obtaining hearing damage due to a genetic weakness. I make sure to protect my ears not only at concerts, but even in bars where the music is particularly loud. I carry around insulating earbuds almost everywhere I go, so this is not an issue, even if loud volumes come in unexpected situations.

I've noticed that I find loud volumes much harder to tolerate than most of my peers. I've read that increasing sensitivity to loudness is one of the symptoms of a budding hearing loss. My hearing is not particularly good, either, but I'm sure as to whether this is due to excessive exposure to loud noises, or if it's more "natural". Most of the people my age that I know listen to music louder than I do, and put less effort into protecting their hearing, but few seem to have impaired hearing, and none complain of tinnitus.

My weakness for hearing damage is unfortunate, as I'd probably rather lose my sight than my hearing.
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Zerberus
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:29 pm
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Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 1:57 am 
 

I have some hearing damage on my right ear and tinnitus in both relating to a LOT of ear infections I had as a child. It got a bit worse until I started using earplugs at every show I go to, and now I don't go to shows without earplugs. Really helps a lot to be honest.
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