Tinnitus, Listening Question

[wvu80]

5 hours ago, jimjimbo said:

6 hours ago, oldtimer said:

What I do with guests is give them the volume control.

Uh, no.

 

I thought what Oldtimer said was brilliant. 

 

Jim, what is it that makes you take the opposite tact?

 

I should qualify that on my AVR I have a limiter set so it can't be over-driven.

[wvu80]

4 hours ago, derrickdj1 said:

I would go easy if his tinnitus is real bad.  It does not get better and can get worse with loud listening.

 

That's what bothers me the most.  I would hate it if I screwed his hearing up even worse, or if I caused him some pain.

[wvu80]

2 hours ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

 My hearing chart as shown below shows this.  I have hearing loss in the dip but as you can see, the upper frequencies are nearly perfect.  Add in some boosted gain and I have super sensitive hearing in that range.  With most setups I simply cannot stand the frequencies on the top end.  8 khz and on up better be buttery smooth with no distortion and preferably with a rolloff or else I'll be putting my plugs in.

Thank you for sharing that.  It's very informative.

 

I know I would be conservative in a listening session, and your personal example helps me to understand that my friend Larry won't hear things the way I do, especially considering your personal chart where it indicates some specific frequencies may be more sensitive than others.  I would never have thought of that.

[BigStewMan]

A few years ago, when i finally got hearing aids (because I had been reported to HR at work and they started questioning my ability to hold my position) my boss asked me why i didn’t get hearing aids sooner. I told him that I’d never met anyone that i really cared what they had to say.  He looked stunned and realized that I may have been talking about him too. 

Then there was the time that a lady at work told me that a friend of her’s got hearing aids. I acted very sympathetic and asked if you get hearing aids from oral sex.  I’m surprised I’m still employed. 

[LarryC]

Which or how many of the above cases of tinnitus result from Meniere's disease, and how many are accompanied by hyperacusis (pathologic hypersensitivity to sound levels)?  I have both, in the left ear, which is profoundly deafened from Meniere's, so that ear hears very little and yet seems to be the source of a frequent rushing and hissing sound.  Moreover, an irritating sound can be worse, and aggravate the tinnitus, than a soft sound.  Sometimes it takes several minutes for problems to accumulate, and you may not hear about it from him for an hour or even a day or two.  It's all very complicated and kaleidoscopic, as this reference shows:

http://www.hyperacusis.net/what-is-it/4-types-of-sound-sensitivity/.  

 

Some of these conditions, like mine, will result in great irritation even from listening to quiet but hard-edged music.  That can be worse than just being too loud.  That's one reason I have all-tube amplification and prefer analog, since tubes seem to be easier on my ears than brittle SS digital sound.

 

I agree with the suggestions that he should be the one to decide how loud to play the music, and to determine what he wants to hear.  You might not be able to second-guess just what his problem is and what you should or should not do.  Just give him the remote.  He might even find your set unpleasant to listen to, or you might have to hunt around for what's best for him as well as at hat volume.

[LarryC]

1 hour ago, wvu80 said:

Thank you for sharing that.  It's very informative.

 

I know I would be conservative in a listening session, and your personal example helps me to understand that my friend Larry won't hear things the way I do, especially considering your personal chart where it indicates some specific frequencies may be more sensitive than others.  I would never have thought of that.

Some of that irritation might be due to distorted hearing, as well as greater sensitivity.  Meniere's can cause such distortion that the victim cannot discern what is being said even though he or she can hear it all too well.  There can also be "recruitment" which is a piling-on of sound, and this can worsen the ear's irritation and level of tinnitus.

[Paducah Home Theater]

9 hours ago, Schu said:

I thought tinnitus was the brains attempt to make sense/fill in of missing nerve impulses from the ear?

 

Pretty much.  When something is missing think of your brain kind of turning up the gain.  When it does this too much you get tinnitus.  Or at least that's my understanding of it.  

[JJkizak]

As I mentioned in another thread It can be caused by a sloppy tonsil removal procedure where they actually nick the ear/hearing nerve bundle next to the tonsil.

JJK

[ryanbellb]

Earplugs will help you to prevent hearing loss. If you use it then you will able to prevent your ears from any unwanted noises. It is one kind of safety equipment.

[dtel]

I don't know but I think the volume of the Tinnitus has something to do with environmental circumstances. I notice at times it's much worse than others, could it be affected by diet or something else ?

 

22 minutes ago, ryanbellb said:

Earplugs will help you to prevent hearing loss. If you use it then you will able to prevent your ears from any unwanted noises. It is one kind of safety equipment.

Welcome, and sorry but I have to say duh. 

I would guess in many cases like for me the damage  was done many years ago, I know when it happened to me, a job I had for years about 40 years ago, all that was required was a hard hat and steel toe boots unless OSHA was going to be around then it was also safety glasses, still nothing about hearing. 

[MC39693]

I did a lot of work for about 14 years in and around refineries, with lots of noise and some places requiring double hearing protection.  I did not have any problems and was religious about wearing hearing protection.  Then, I went to one too many concerts.  It wasn't so much the band/sound system, but the crowd noise.  I have what I think is slight tinnitus in both ears but it does come and go.  Really interesting, I never hear it in the shower or other places with running water ... must be something to do with the frequency?

 

For people who wish to listen to my meager system I pretty much keep hold of the volume controls.  No need to test the limits of glass in the basement windows/door.  I may have to get a sound meter to check how loud I listen, but I really try to keep it down, although sometimes when the boss is away ...

[thebes]

1 hour ago, MC39693 said:

I may have to get a sound meter to check how loud I listen

I've heard there is an app for that so you may not even have to buy a sound meter. I have an old Rat Shack meter I use . I listen practically near-field so 80 db is plenty for me.

[joessportster]

On 12/12/2016 at 9:41 PM, rebuy said:

My system sounds good at low volume or high volume.

Loud speakers do not have to be turned up loud to sound good

if they are set up properly. 

I tend to listen louder when alone--but when the room is occupied with others

I generally do not turn it up too loud unless asked.

At moderate volume levels--my system has Great Sound Texture.

This is not purely dependent upon speaker set up. Some Equipment has a SWEET spot where things just come to life. It is in fact difficult to build a system that sounds good at both extremes.

[joessportster]

3 hours ago, ryanbellb said:

Earplugs will help you to prevent hearing loss. If you use it then you will able to prevent your ears from any unwanted noises. It is one kind of safety equipment.

While Earplugs have been available for YEARS Hearing was not nearly the consideration it is today. It was considered wimpish to wear hearing protection back in the day and if you were in the military as I was they certainly did not put emphasis on hearing protection.  Many Businesses are only now acknowledging the danger to hearing and still fight with all there might to keep from admitting anything that may affect hearing of there employees.  Then there are those Jobs where hearing Protection is a HAZARD in and of itself Railroad for instance, You would be AMAZED how quiet a moving train can be in a maintenance yard without hearing protection. Put in Ear plugs and you may just be the next fatality of a train rolling up slowly to couple just as you pass between 

[dtel]

7 hours ago, MC39693 said:

Then, I went to one too many concerts.

That's what my mother blamed it on but I know it was from work in the shipyard many years ago.

 

Like Joessportster said hearing protection was not a big concern as it is today, but when your around 20 or so years old your superman and you think it's fine you find out when you're older it was not fine. At 61 you find all the mistakes you made when you were younger.

[T2K]

6 hours ago, joessportster said:

Then there are those Jobs where hearing Protection is a HAZARD in and of itself Railroad for instance

 

They finally wised up. Hearing protection is required. After they documented employee hearing loss for years and notified every train & engine service employee the results of their test they offered a voluntary hearing loss settlement. The offer came only after they learned of a class action lawsuit. So basically they prohibited hearing protection, required hearing tests that revealed hearing loss, sent you documentation of the results then (voluntarily) paid you for the hearing loss they caused. It was an attorneys retirement dream.

The company asked brilliant questions like: What are your hobbies? My humorous side wanted to answer firing cannons and setting off C4. But I went with crocheting and stuffing goose down pillows.

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

 

[Bosco-d-gama]

I too suffer from hearing loss/tinnitus, worse on the right. I have a hearing aid for the right ear. For myself using the hearing aid is disorienting as the receiver picks up sounds more posterior than lateral/anterior. So the sound enhancement provided seems to offer environmental artifact noises my mind is unable to reconcile. I can not spatially locate noises easily. If I hear something of interest I must search it out if I intend to investigate it. I tried hearing aids in both ears and was so disoriented I would get a little dizzy. The only time I use the hearing aid now is amongst crowds to try and hear conversation. The rest of the time I go without. It simply sounds better. Oh how I miss listening to the sounds associated with dawn. Can’t hear birds unless they’re real close. Bummer.

[MEH Synergy]

On 12/12/2016 at 9:38 PM, dtel said:

So let's get this straight, everyone here has searched for many years finding the best sound they can considering, most here also have some kind of hearing damage.

Interesting indeed...... 

[oldtimer]

No one is perfect...

[YK Thom]

I have been fortunate and blessed with better than average hearing. It sometimes amazes my wife and coworkers when I notice things that they just can’t. Used to constantly inform my now retired GM his phone was ringing from several rooms away. That being the case I am mindful of keeping it that way. I don’t listen to  excessively loud music with the home set up or headphones. I really don’t need to and don’t find it enjoyable.  I have serious concerns about the kids today though; they seem to live with earbuds and headphones cranked so high I can hear what they are listening to. I predict widespread premature hearing loss amongst the younger generation is going to be a massive health issue in the near future.