Tinnitus / Hearing damage
Discussion
I've always tried to be as careful with my hearing as possible, but as a musician I am often exposed to loud music for extended periods. In the last few years I have used musician's earplugs which have made a difference. I think I have always been quite sensitive to it as my ears tend to ring at relatively little provocation! They have always calmed down after a couple of days at worst though.
3 months ago I bought a TVR with a rather fruity exhaust. Noted fairly early that I got some ringing after driving, so started wearing my muso earplugs. It became clear after a few journeys that they weren't cutting it, so bought some decent disposable earplugs that cut everything out which have been a big improvement, and I always wear them for long journeys. However, the last week or two I have noticed a high pitched whine in my left ear in particular that doesn't seem to be going away and it is really starting to worry me.
I have always been told that this is permanent damage, but am I stuck with it? I feel like I have taken all sensible precautions so I am totally gutted if I have caused irreparable damage. The car doesn't even seem that loud, but you can feel the pressure waves the exhaust creates when the engine is idling.
What's my next step? Doctor? Hearing test?
3 months ago I bought a TVR with a rather fruity exhaust. Noted fairly early that I got some ringing after driving, so started wearing my muso earplugs. It became clear after a few journeys that they weren't cutting it, so bought some decent disposable earplugs that cut everything out which have been a big improvement, and I always wear them for long journeys. However, the last week or two I have noticed a high pitched whine in my left ear in particular that doesn't seem to be going away and it is really starting to worry me.
I have always been told that this is permanent damage, but am I stuck with it? I feel like I have taken all sensible precautions so I am totally gutted if I have caused irreparable damage. The car doesn't even seem that loud, but you can feel the pressure waves the exhaust creates when the engine is idling.
What's my next step? Doctor? Hearing test?
sorry what was that 
that would be nerve damage done to the nerve responsible for hearing.
not a lot you can do about it now I'm afraid, other than you will get used to it after a while.
i had a slight ringing in my left ear from riding loud motorbikes for a few years and i can't really notice it anymore.
i just make sure i have earplugs in if doing journeys that include anything more than about 40mph.
that would be nerve damage done to the nerve responsible for hearing.
not a lot you can do about it now I'm afraid, other than you will get used to it after a while.
i had a slight ringing in my left ear from riding loud motorbikes for a few years and i can't really notice it anymore.
i just make sure i have earplugs in if doing journeys that include anything more than about 40mph.
How old are you?
When I was in my teens, I used to ride huge motorbikes around everywhere without earplugs, and the noise was horrific inside the crash helmet - but I didn't know any better. I also used to go to loud gigs regularly - and then fronted bands as a singer too, for a long time.
I remember one particular occasion when I went to see Motorhead at Brixton Academy - the music was so loud, I came out the gig with the feeling that I had bits of carpet nailed over my ears - basically couldn't hear much.
This was a further worry when, the next morning I awoke to ears that didn't feel much better - still had 'fluffy' hearing and this was also accompanied by a high-pitched whine too. Took a further day to get back to normal
Wasn't until I'd abused my ears like this for over 5 years that I started to wise up - and wear plugs on the bike, and at gigs.
Now I'm 40 - my ears seem to be fine. No tinnitus, and they're still pretty sensitive, luckily for me.
When I was in my teens, I used to ride huge motorbikes around everywhere without earplugs, and the noise was horrific inside the crash helmet - but I didn't know any better. I also used to go to loud gigs regularly - and then fronted bands as a singer too, for a long time.
I remember one particular occasion when I went to see Motorhead at Brixton Academy - the music was so loud, I came out the gig with the feeling that I had bits of carpet nailed over my ears - basically couldn't hear much.
This was a further worry when, the next morning I awoke to ears that didn't feel much better - still had 'fluffy' hearing and this was also accompanied by a high-pitched whine too. Took a further day to get back to normal
Wasn't until I'd abused my ears like this for over 5 years that I started to wise up - and wear plugs on the bike, and at gigs.
Now I'm 40 - my ears seem to be fine. No tinnitus, and they're still pretty sensitive, luckily for me.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
You are me, apart from the singing bit!! Motorcycles, live concerts etc. I've had tinnitus since my teens, but it suddenly got worse a couple of years ago, for some reason. Where I sit at work has a lot of ambient noise, industrial air-con, generators next door etc, and I think it is louder than I realised. 12 hours a day of that is as bad as a couple of hours of real loud noise.
I have protected my ears for the last ten years or more, but at 52 I think the real damage was done long ago, just like yours.
I'm 37. My ears always seem to have recovered (although at times it's taken a few days). That sounds bad but I have been very careful over the last 10 years or so, and before that it was just the occasional gig. Just the last couple of months it has become an issue. I am sitting here on the sofa with the BTCC on TV and I can hear this oppressive high pitched whine slightly centre of left 
Not good as I rely on my ears for my job...
Not good as I rely on my ears for my job...Mine is also more to the left side, though I get a complete orchestra, whining, singing, bells ringing and waves crashing. Also get starlings singing too, like a huge flock twittering away.
To be honest I rarely notice it nowadays, but a couple of years ago I got really messed up over it, laying in bed all night listening to it getting louder and louder......
To be honest I rarely notice it nowadays, but a couple of years ago I got really messed up over it, laying in bed all night listening to it getting louder and louder......
I went to the doctors with mine about 25 years ago and initially was dismayed to find it was permanent and there was no treatment. I learnt to live with it and how to avoid things that made it worse.
One thing to avoid for me is reading about it and talking about it to others and on forums like this!
Mine is now ringing like ten thousand crickets on a warm summers evening. Need some serious distraction.
Think I'll go and wash my car in the rain.
One thing to avoid for me is reading about it and talking about it to others and on forums like this!
Mine is now ringing like ten thousand crickets on a warm summers evening. Need some serious distraction.
Think I'll go and wash my car in the rain.
I tend to sleep with a small electric fan on, even at work where the ship is air-con. It gives enough noise to cover the sound, or at least distract from it. Now we live in Asia it is more practical, don't see many fans in UK houses. 
You can buy white noise generators, built into alarm clocks, and I might buy one of those one day. ..
You can buy white noise generators, built into alarm clocks, and I might buy one of those one day. ..
Have you seen your GP about it recently? The reason I ask is that a few months ago I started having a very slight problem with my throat and ears, I put it down to hayfever. It never really went away though, and around a month ago my throat got really phlegmy and my ears felt like they were filling with goo as well. The tinnitus "whistle" that I get now and then was more or less omnipresent, alongside a rushing noise. I guess this is the pressure of the fluid on the delicate inner ear bits.
I saw my GP who said there was an infection in one ear, and it was causing both inner ears to react. I was surprised because I didn't have any pain or discharge from the ear at all. (Synopsis: GP prescribed antibiotic drops which didn't seem to do much, then got tablets which seemed to work. Infection came back, got 2nd lot of tablets+drops, which I'm just finishing).
TL;DR: go and see your GP, you may have an ear infection that you don't know about. I think my earphones might have been partly to blame in my case, so it may be that your ear plugs are causing it.
I saw my GP who said there was an infection in one ear, and it was causing both inner ears to react. I was surprised because I didn't have any pain or discharge from the ear at all. (Synopsis: GP prescribed antibiotic drops which didn't seem to do much, then got tablets which seemed to work. Infection came back, got 2nd lot of tablets+drops, which I'm just finishing).
TL;DR: go and see your GP, you may have an ear infection that you don't know about. I think my earphones might have been partly to blame in my case, so it may be that your ear plugs are causing it.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
I remember one particular occasion when I went to see Motorhead at Brixton Academy - the music was so loud, I came out the gig with the feeling that I had bits of carpet nailed over my ears - basically couldn't hear much.
This was a further worry when, the next morning I awoke to ears that didn't feel much better - still had 'fluffy' hearing and this was also accompanied by a high-pitched whine too. Took a further day to get back to normal
This is entirely normal when going to see Motorhead. They don't even go as low as 11.This was a further worry when, the next morning I awoke to ears that didn't feel much better - still had 'fluffy' hearing and this was also accompanied by a high-pitched whine too. Took a further day to get back to normal
Zad said:
Have you seen your GP about it recently? The reason I ask is that a few months ago I started having a very slight problem with my throat and ears, I put it down to hayfever. It never really went away though, and around a month ago my throat got really phlegmy and my ears felt like they were filling with goo as well. The tinnitus "whistle" that I get now and then was more or less omnipresent, alongside a rushing noise. I guess this is the pressure of the fluid on the delicate inner ear bits.
I saw my GP who said there was an infection in one ear, and it was causing both inner ears to react. I was surprised because I didn't have any pain or discharge from the ear at all. (Synopsis: GP prescribed antibiotic drops which didn't seem to do much, then got tablets which seemed to work. Infection came back, got 2nd lot of tablets+drops, which I'm just finishing).
TL;DR: go and see your GP, you may have an ear infection that you don't know about. I think my earphones might have been partly to blame in my case, so it may be that your ear plugs are causing it.
Cheers Zad - this is the hope I am clinging to. I have (foolishly) been using the same pair of disposables for a few weeks so I am hoping something is lodged or there is an infection (have a slight dull ache in my left ear but could be psychosomatic!). Going to make an emergency appointment tomorrow - it will take 3 weeks to get to see my GP otherwise and it is affecting my work. I spent most of today teaching with my muso earplugs in because it felt like the ambient noise was drilling into my head.I saw my GP who said there was an infection in one ear, and it was causing both inner ears to react. I was surprised because I didn't have any pain or discharge from the ear at all. (Synopsis: GP prescribed antibiotic drops which didn't seem to do much, then got tablets which seemed to work. Infection came back, got 2nd lot of tablets+drops, which I'm just finishing).
TL;DR: go and see your GP, you may have an ear infection that you don't know about. I think my earphones might have been partly to blame in my case, so it may be that your ear plugs are causing it.
I get ringing most days, my right ear sometimes feels numb. Spoke to my gp who is an ear specialist and he checked me out. Said that I was fine, had the hearing of someone in their 20's, I'm 41 so that's a bonus. He didn't even seemed concerned about the years of shooting guns and the rpg blast damage I suffered! Thing is I still can't hear my missus talking to me if the kitchen fan and oven are on, must be selective deafness!
I have pretty bad tinnitus - like a louder version of the noise an old-fashioned TV makes with the sound turned off.
It seems to get worse in increments. To be fair I've been pretty cruel to my ears over the years, but when you're young you think you're invincible.
My hearing is actually not that bad if there's no background noise, but any of that and I can't hear squat, or rather I can but the background noise just seems louder.
What I find oddest is that the deafer I get, the more sensitive to loud noise I am; I would expect the converse to be true.
It seems to get worse in increments. To be fair I've been pretty cruel to my ears over the years, but when you're young you think you're invincible.
My hearing is actually not that bad if there's no background noise, but any of that and I can't hear squat, or rather I can but the background noise just seems louder.
What I find oddest is that the deafer I get, the more sensitive to loud noise I am; I would expect the converse to be true.
Fozziebear said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
Why did he think you had ringing then?
Didn't say much, said it could be the years of loud noises, seemed to skirt around it. He did say I could consider a hearing aid if it started to annoy me, but I said I wasn't to worried. You can't test for tinnitus, as nobody can hear it but you. There is no hearing aid on earth that can remove the sound of tinnitus. All you can do is cover it with another noise.
NiceCupOfTea said:
Zad said:
Have you seen your GP about it recently? The reason I ask is that a few months ago I started having a very slight problem with my throat and ears, I put it down to hayfever. It never really went away though, and around a month ago my throat got really phlegmy and my ears felt like they were filling with goo as well. The tinnitus "whistle" that I get now and then was more or less omnipresent, alongside a rushing noise. I guess this is the pressure of the fluid on the delicate inner ear bits.
I saw my GP who said there was an infection in one ear, and it was causing both inner ears to react. I was surprised because I didn't have any pain or discharge from the ear at all. (Synopsis: GP prescribed antibiotic drops which didn't seem to do much, then got tablets which seemed to work. Infection came back, got 2nd lot of tablets+drops, which I'm just finishing).
TL;DR: go and see your GP, you may have an ear infection that you don't know about. I think my earphones might have been partly to blame in my case, so it may be that your ear plugs are causing it.
Cheers Zad - this is the hope I am clinging to. I have (foolishly) been using the same pair of disposables for a few weeks so I am hoping something is lodged or there is an infection (have a slight dull ache in my left ear but could be psychosomatic!). Going to make an emergency appointment tomorrow - it will take 3 weeks to get to see my GP otherwise and it is affecting my work. I spent most of today teaching with my muso earplugs in because it felt like the ambient noise was drilling into my head.I saw my GP who said there was an infection in one ear, and it was causing both inner ears to react. I was surprised because I didn't have any pain or discharge from the ear at all. (Synopsis: GP prescribed antibiotic drops which didn't seem to do much, then got tablets which seemed to work. Infection came back, got 2nd lot of tablets+drops, which I'm just finishing).
TL;DR: go and see your GP, you may have an ear infection that you don't know about. I think my earphones might have been partly to blame in my case, so it may be that your ear plugs are causing it.
I've had a inner ear infection myself a few times, a week ago actually was the last time. You know something is amiss, something is not quite right, almost as if you had your hand over your ear, but there is no pain, none of that 'underwater' sound you get if you ear is actually blocked with goo. As Zad says, an inner ear infection fills your ear with goop internally, damps the ear drum down. Antibiotics cure it, and the doc can see it by looking in your ear hole, but it can take a week or even two for the shyte to clear away inside your ear, so don't be surprised or worried if it is still a bit duff after you've finished the antibiotics.
And wash your ear plugs man! Soap and water will do it, but after a few days just throw them away and use some fresh ones. (Buy them by the 100, off Ebay)
I had a set of proper ear plugs, custom made, moulded rubber, but they were next to useless, didn't keep noise out unless I pushed them into my ear gently all the time.
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