Tinnitus

[Pat C]

I have been suffering from tinnitus for the past 4 yrs now and it seems like its getting worst. How many of u guys r also suffering from the same thing and how r u dealing with it?

 

[Fred W]

What? :huh:

Yeah, I'm 55 and I've had it for years. One ear is worse than the other, so when I sleep I keep the good ear on the pillow and the birds don't wake me so early.

Use the best earplugs that you can when riding and when using power equipment (lawnmowers, chain saws etc.). For me that is either Howard Leight Max or EARsoft Gripper foam earplugs (I have larger ear canals, and many other brands don't work). Insert them fully and make sure they do not contact the inside padding of your helmet (or else they will conduct the sound).

Dealing with it: Say what a lot.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I have a very good friend who had really bad tinnitus in one ear. It was aggravated by all the close quarter shooting drills we did in SWAT training. A couple years ago, he had surgery and something was replaced with a new part made out of titanium I think. He says his hearing is much bettern now. Something to look into I think.

Now...I could be wrong about him having Tinnitus, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was.

 

[garyahouse]

Tinnitus... when I was in the eighth grade, I got smacked upside the head by a bully. That ear was ringing most of the rest of the day. Now that I'm nearly 57, there are no bullies around, and the ringing in the ears is permanent. Dealing with it? I try to protect my ears. I listen to music at lower levels. I still attend concerts occasionally, but always wear ear plugs when I go. On the bike, I've got my Klipsch s4i's in my ears. They block road noise while providing me a link to my iPod. As a teacher, I get to say, "Pardon me??" a lot. I explain to anybody that wants to know that I have hearing damage from 20 years as a machinist and too many rock concerts. And if that wasn't the cause, it certainly didn't help. Who knows the cause? I know all kinds of people who did what I did, but don't have tinnitus. My mother's had it most of her adult life. Dad had it when he got to be about 80. So---

I'm wondering if it's hereditary.

Cures? Not that I know of.

For what it's worth, for most of us, once ya enter the 50's, things start to go wrong. And as dad used to say, "Son-- it don't get no better." So enjoy how well you can hear right now. Most likely, it will never be this good again.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[ionbeam]

If your ears suddenly starts to ring, please see a doctor and rule out some things like a blood circulation disorder, there could be several underlying issues. If you do have tinnitus -- I'm sorry, you're stuck. Put on the headphones and listen to soft music.

 

[TheZsdad]

Cherry Bomb was tossed into the gas station restroom I was using at age 18. Been dealing with it ever since.

I tend to just ignore it since I have no other option. Strangely I do not hear ringing but more like crickets and birds

gone fuking mad. Ear plugs do help from really pissing off the birds and bugs but the only thing that really helps

is Makers Mark. I've tried it in the ears but by mouth works better. :to_become_senile:

 

[marcusorelius]

Tinnitus SUCKS! Was a big factor in my little brothers suicide. Now I have a friend who has had OCD bad & he has now gottin tinnitus make'n the ocd worse, he's just a vegtable hardly leaving his apartment.

 

[RossKean]

I have tinnitus and significant high frequency hearing loss. Loud music in my younger days, target shooting without hearing protection, machines (bikes and lawnmowers etc.) and a genetic predisposition. Not quite there for hearing aids but, like Fred, I say "What" a lot.

Ross

 

[FJReady]

Lots of rock concerts, friend's dad's kick ass stereo (when parents not home), big fan of NHRA top fuel racing (nothing louder that I know of) working on flight line at Eglin AFB test wing and riding motorcycles for years without hearing protection has really done a job on my hearing. Oh, almost forgot- I emptied a couple clips through a Browning .380 into blocks of gov't surplus cheese once w/my brother. Ears rang LOUDLY for days after that!

So now I say 'huh' alot as others have said. And I've been trying to prevent further damage by always wearing earplugs now when I ride. Been doing that for about 5 years now.. Seems to have stopped the tinnitus from worsening but it doesn't make it go away. I've got it 24/7.

Every chance I get, I tell folks who choose not to wear ear plugs when riding that they may regret that choice someday.

I can't imagine what riding a bike with little or no helmet and open pipes does to your ears.

 

[Pat C]

Tinnitus SUCKS! Was a big factor in my little brothers suicide. Now I have a friend who has had OCD bad & he has now gottin tinnitus make'n the ocd worse, he's just a vegtable hardly leaving his apartment.

Sorry to hear about your brother, but your post made me feel worse. I think I will have a drink.

 

[lonerider]

Mine started around 1970 when I bought my first .44 and shot full power loads through it with no hearing protection. Then 32 years as an industrial mechanic around very noisy machinery 8 hours a day. Couldn't wear protection there or I'd have been run over by the automatic equipment. Sounds like the shrieking noise cicadas make in the trees summer evenings, but 24/7/365. When I'm talking to someone, I've found I rely a lot on watching their lips when they're speaking to me. I've heard some cures advertised, but don't know if they are legit or snake oil. My sympathy to anyone afflicted with it; for me, at this point, it's bearable but not enjoyable.

 

[marcusorelius]

Sorry to hear about your brother, but your post made me feel worse. I think I will have a drink.

sorry didn't mean to do that! Hang in there! I have a chronic condtion too ya just gotta play the cards yer given & hope for better days!~

 

[juniorfjr]

I've been dealing with it for about 5 years now. Started when I was 52, it comes and goes and for no apparent reason. Ringing like hell right now. Sounds like white noise in the background. The days I wake up and it's not ringing are so pleasant. Good luck and if anyone knows of a remedy, I want to know about it.

 

[Pat C]

I have a very good friend who had really bad tinnitus in one ear. It was aggravated by all the close quarter shooting drills we did in SWAT training. A couple years ago, he had surgery and something was replaced with a new part made out of titanium I think. He says his hearing is much bettern now. Something to look into I think.

Now...I could be wrong about him having Tinnitus, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was.

If u could talk to your friend about the surgery I would appreciate it, I willing to try anything.

 

[majicmaker]

It's a "Getting Older Thing". I have it too. Nothing you can do about it. That's what my Doctor friends tell me. There are all sorts of people dealing with a lot worse.

I count my blessings that can still ride this bike. Life is good! :clapping: WHAT?!

 

[Bounce]

Years in a mainframe computer room where noise samples of the day said we weren't at risk. This was years before they came out with duration of exposure also being an issue. Add to that years of shooting without protection, and most excellent rock concerts, culminating in an impatient drive home with a new Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag that begged me to stop at the pond without going by the house for hearing protection (Hi, LR). That single even degraded my left ear more than my right and that's been the case ever since.

I'm now 57 and REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is an always thing. Large groups of people or other significant background noise make it where I can't understand the conversations going on around me. That's been the case since the 80's. Slowing its progression means hearing protection ALWAYS (riding, mowing the lawn, power tools, shooting, etc.).

 

[rogdeb]

I first noticed the "permanent ringing" in both ears when I was 40 -- so been dealing with it for 27 years now. It's now "my friend" who I only notice when I don't concentrate on other things This coupled with some high frequency hearing loss ....... well ..... I don't suffer alone as it's an all too common ailment.

 

[majicmaker]

Years in a mainframe computer room where noise samples of the day said we weren't at risk. This was years before they came out with duration of exposure also being an issue. Add to that years of shooting without protection, and most excellent rock concerts, culminating in an impatient drive home with a new Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag that begged me to stop at the pond without going by the house for hearing protection (Hi, LR). That single even degraded my left ear more than my right and that's been the case ever since.

I'm now 57 and REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is an always thing. Large groups of people or other significant background noise make it where I can't understand the conversations going on around me. That's been the case since the 80's. Slowing its progression means hearing protection ALWAYS (riding, mowing the lawn, power tools, shooting, etc.).

Add to that, being in aviation my whole life. Four years of which was standing about 50 feet from an F4 Phantom at Full Afterburner at the Catapult waiting for something to go wrong so I can fix it in 5 minutes. The noise and vibration cooked your gizzards. It wasn't fun! WHAT?!

 

[canucklehead-biker]

49 now, had it since my 20's - from all the usual causes (shooting, explosions, machinery, engines, rock 'n roll, and also flying without hearing protection). Some days the screeching and howling is really bad, other days it seems to fade into the background - but it is always there. Even with earplugs in, ears will ring and buzz at the end of a long day on the bike.

Dealing with it?

- always ride with either Howard Leight MAX earplugs (the orange ones) OR a set of E.A.R. custom-molded earphones (if I have to have intercom, tunes, GPS etc). Sometimes wear the MAX plugs in the house for a day, and find that when I do finally take 'em out my hearing seems better, but that is most likely just an illusion. Overall, it isn't getting any worse, but isn't getting better either.

- had physio/IMS once for a neck problem and after treatment the tinnitis pretty much disappeared for a week or so and then slowly came back. Maybe muscle/tendon/nerve tension aggravates it?

- have read that small doses (3mg/day) of Melatonin can help. Never tired it, but thinking I might.

Griff