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tinnitus sucks


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Just FYI, you guys watching gunshots at reference levels, your ears hate you.  :)  I caught a good case of tinnitus earlier this year, keeps getting worse.  Was in a 3-gun competition and I couldn't get my ear plugs in real deep due to being humid.  Thought it would still be ok but it wasn't.  Audiologist confirmed that I damaged my hearing in the 2-4kHz range plus I hear this ringing non-stop in my left ear.  Danged rifles.  Anyway, please be careful, that is all.  :)  

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tinnitus is not reversible... the brain trying to make sense of signals that are missing.

 

I should know, I've suffered from it for decades... I can hear at least 3-5 different frequencies 24 hours a day... 7 days a week.

 

Nothing is worse than when it's extremely quite... at night. the sound is absolutely defining.

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I don't know if it would have helped, but acoustic over-the-ear protective headphones are available at hunting stores, that advertise 30 db sound level reduction.  Perhaps someone else wearing those from the start could help prevent or reduce the sequelae of gunshots in the future.

 

Also, what I hope for in your case, is that you don't develop a hard case of Meniere's, with vertigo, nausea, and vomiting, and/or a whole kaleidoscope of inner-ear symptoms. It's a TERRIBLE disease, and incurable, though it supposedly "burns itself out" in a  couple of decades. :(

 

Personal, non-professional belief:  I'd advise wearing the 30=db headphones while flying (because of the noise) and around other loud sounds, and AVOID violent jolts and shocks to your head and inner-ear system.  Those tissues may now be weakened and vulnerable.  That's what happened to me.

Edited by LarryC
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I don't know if it could have helped, but acoustic over-the-ear protective headphones are available at hunting stores, that advertise 30 db sound level reduction.  I'd think that wearing those from the start would help prevent or reduce the sequelae of gunshots.

They alone don't do any good with rifle shots, the sound goes right through them and makes it worse by acting like a megaphone, plus a good cheek weld will often raise them up and break the seal. Pistol, yeah, doubling up and wearing both plugs and phones, yeah, but rifle is a different beast.

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I've had it now for 10 years and it does indeed suck. If I get a headache of any kind, it gets worse. Some days are better than others, too. Mine is from all the concerts from late 70's into the 00's, being in car audio for 20 years, and playing in bands. I even used ear plugs and headsets most all the time but it still crept in. Nothing like hearing that damn tone all of the time and trying to listen to music.

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Yes, it does suck!  One ear started ringing after mowing the yard about 10 years ago... and never stopped.  Now I use in the ear protection while mowing but will often double up with muffs too.  When I used to bench rest shoot with my Dad the over the ear muffs seemed to work fine.  Black powder seemed worse though.

 

I did find a software application years ago that would generate frequencies that I could adjust to where it almost seemed to make the ringing stop.  Somehow it was negating the noise in my head.  The problem was that it turned out to be pretty loud and I have no doubt that it would cause further damage to my hearing.

 

Some people can't take the noise but I find this helpful to distract me from the 9-10 kHz shriek in my ear:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2JBMRE  Those relaxation machines are also good for blocking out noise from the neighbors who are trying to piss you off.  Of course, it also helps knowing that I could completely overwhelm their noise with a little help from Klipsch.

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I had a nasty ear infection last year and damaged my vestibular nerve in my ear. My right ear rings constantly. I did have an ear test and showed no hearing loss. I've been wearing earplugs for 15 years, riding and racing motorcycles, mowing grass, work. The rare quiet times make it more prevalent.

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The rare quiet times make it more prevalent.

I live out in the middle of nowhere, my back yard is like a 300 acre field. My house is super insulated too plus all interior walls are insulated. Extremely quiet, much quieter than anyone in a subdivision or city is used to. If you walk inside my house and close the doors it feels like a sound isolation booth. It bothers me more in this situation. If I am just hanging out by myself in the house I have to turn on music or else I would go insane.

Edited by MetropolisLakeOutfitters
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It does suck, have had it for years.

 

I read somewhere certain foods can cause it to get worse for a short period ? I don't remember where I read that, so don't know if it's really true, but I do know the severity changes for me at times.

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I read somewhere certain foods can cause it to get worse for a short period ? I don't remember where I read that, so don't know if it's really true, but I do know the severity changes for me at times.
Variability can be a hallmark of tinnitus, unfortunately.  Mine has partially "burned itself out," but I used to have aggravated upsets that lasted for several days at a time, calmed down, and then got re-aggravated.  The foods that can aggravate it can be recalled with "CATS" -- caffein, alcohol, tobacco, and salt.  Heavy salt intake can worsen mine, but coffee does not and I don't smoke.  Any alcohol, however, sets me off for days to weeks, so I have to stay far away from even social drinking.  Yuk!
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The foods that can aggravate it can be recalled with "CATS" -- caffein, alcohol, tobacco, and salt.  Heavy salt intake can worsen mine, but coffee does not and I don't smoke.  Any alcohol, however, sets me off for days to weeks, so I have to stay far away from even social drinking.  Yuk!

I can confirm that when I drink too much it gets worse. Of course that usually means that I am more likely to watch the entire Metallica concert at high levels as well. ;)

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Variability can be a hallmark of tinnitus, unfortunately.

I typically have a constant fairly high tone. Sometimes though, this tone that is of about half the typical frequency will appear out of nowhere and is very loud. Typically I can put my finger in my ear for about 10 seconds and it goes away for some reason.

And yeah I said finger/ear in a singular fashion, which also sucks because it isn't symmetrical. It's my left ear, which looking back is due to cell phone and compensated rifle use. I can hear good out of my right but in certain situations it is disorienting because it is not symmetrical.

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Just FYI, you guys watching gunshots at reference levels, your ears hate you. :)

 

Gunshots at reference level may not be nearly as loud as real gunshots up fairly close.  Maximum intended output from a home theater set up with Audyssey -- or specified by THX -- would be 105 dB above 80 Hz at reference level (or up to 115 dB below 80, although there isn't that much to gunshots below 80, unless we're talking cannons).   

 

My understanding is that real gunshots are just about un-recordable, unless the gun is far from the microphone.  The impact of a gunshot up close causes the diaphragm to "bottom out" making a little pop.  If you see live or recorded news footage up fairly close to a real shooter, you hear a pop, not a bang.  That's why close up gunfire in a movie is faked, and of lower SPL than the real thing.  I don't know how far away a gun has to be for the diaphragm to not bottom out.

 

I know fake gunfire can be unpleasant, though.  I had to turn the sound down while watching Loopers (Looper??) -- twice.

 

All in all, as far as THX obedient sound reproduction is concerned, I'd be more worried about Rock and Roll or Metal, etc., since it lasts much longer, with a shallower peak-trough, than gunshots.  

 

There is an OTC medicine for mild tinnitus called something like Lipoflavanoid.  Who knows if it works?

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Just FYI, you guys watching gunshots at reference levels, your ears hate you. :)

 

Gunshots at reference level may not be nearly as loud as real gunshots up fairly close.  Maximum intended output from a home theater set up with Audyssey -- or specified by THX -- would be 105 dB above 80 Hz at reference level (or up to 115 dB below 80, although there isn't that much to gunshots below 80, unless we're talking cannons).   

 

My understanding is that real gunshots are just about un-recordable, unless the gun is far from the microphone.  The impact of a gunshot up close causes the diaphragm to "bottom out" making a little pop.  If you see live or recorded news footage up fairly close to a real shooter, you hear a pop, not a bang.  That's why close up gunfire in a movie is faked, and of lower SPL than the real thing.  I don't know how far away a gun has to be for the diaphragm to not bottom out.

 

I know fake gunfire can be unpleasant, though.  I had to turn the sound down while watching Loopers (Looper??) -- twice.

 

All in all, as far as THX obedient sound reproduction is concerned, I'd be more worried about Rock and Roll or Metal, etc., since it lasts much longer, with a shallower peak-trough, than gunshots.  

 

There is an OTC medicine for mild tinnitus called something like Lipoflavanoid.  Who knows if it works?

 

I do not know if this helps or not, I might give it a try, thanks….http://www.lipoflavonoid.com

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