Tinnitus

Author
Discussion

Narcisus

Original Poster:

8,188 posts

285 months

Sunday 14th April 2019
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I’m lying here in bed and it’s quiet. There are no external sounds as I type. A car goes by. I can hear a drip of a tap in the bathroom.

Yet it’s not quiet. I wonder to myself what it would be like to have silence and if I will ever experience it again ?

I’ve learned to live with it now but night time is when I feel it the most. Funny how you can just forget about something so profound that is with you all the time.....

thebraketester

14,607 posts

143 months

Sunday 14th April 2019
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Horrible isn’t it. :-(

anonymous-user

59 months

Sunday 14th April 2019
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In the olden days, I used to crave total silence and went to great lengths to attain it. Expensive fans, computers, room upgrades, etc.

I don't try so hard these days. Silver lining I guess

Ultra Sound Guy

28,748 posts

199 months

Sunday 14th April 2019
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I was a natural target for tinnitus! Working in recording studios and live venues, setting up sound systems, attending live gigs and standing too close to the sound source.
My hearing was very good and I was able to spot defects with systems quite easily.
Not sure when my tinnitus actually started but I remember the first time I noticed it!
I had just bought a new TV, old fashioned style with a crt. I remember thinking that the flyback whistle seemed very loud, I was even more surprised when I could still hear it on the way to work the following morning!
Since then I’ve had a constant high-pitched whistle in my ears. Sometimes very quiet, sometimes louder, but always the same whistle.
As I grow older it’s get a little more obvious when there are other sounds around as my natural ‘top-end’ response is diminishing but the tinnitus stays with me!
Funnily enough, when I am in quiet surroundings, or trying to sleep, I hardly notice it!
I’ve spoken with audio specialists at the hospital and it would appear that I’m stuck with it now! frown

h0b0

8,020 posts

201 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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Is it possible to get a custom noise cancelling head phone set and tune it to your particular tone? Send in the anti noise to your nuisance noise and silence may resume.

They could be worn like hearing aids.

anonymous-user

59 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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h0b0 said:
Is it possible to get a custom noise cancelling head phone set and tune it to your particular tone? Send in the anti noise to your nuisance noise and silence may resume.

They could be worn like hearing aids.
This is not possible as usually the noise is 'generated' internally.

You can mask the sound using white noise for instance. The mind pays attention to the louder noise due to prioritisation and you literally don't hear the T any more at all.


It's quite freaky in some cases as there is a certain noise level after the T disappears completely, and you can turn it on and off by slight variation in the noise level.

Ultra Sound Guy

28,748 posts

199 months

Monday 15th April 2019
quotequote all
h0b0 said:
Is it possible to get a custom noise cancelling head phone set and tune it to your particular tone? Send in the anti noise to your nuisance noise and silence may resume.

They could be worn like hearing aids.
Unfortunately, to get that to work, you must mimic the noise you wish to cancel, synchronise the cancelling signal to it and then invert it to be reverse phase! This is possible with external noise sources but, so far, there is no way to accurately obtain a signal from the tinnitus.

Narcisus

Original Poster:

8,188 posts

285 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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Like others I cant remember exactly when it started. I have an extremely high pitch whistle and a lower one that sounds pretty much like the sound you used to get when the TV had finished for the night smile


designforlife

3,737 posts

168 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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Rubbish isn't it, i'm 34 and i've had it since my 20s... one too many loud gigs and driving an mx5 for 5 years probably hasn't helped.

It has gotten noticeably worse in the last 3 or 4 years though.

Armitage.Shanks

2,371 posts

90 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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Another sufferer here. Noticed mine after I'd been to a cabaret and the woman singing had a really loud (over-amplified) shrill voice. I remember thinking that's painful to the ears. After that its always been there, white noise med-high pitch.

NDA

22,152 posts

230 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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Narcisus said:
Yet it’s not quiet. I wonder to myself what it would be like to have silence and if I will ever experience it again ?

I’ve learned to live with it now but night time is when I feel it the most. Funny how you can just forget about something so profound that is with you all the time.....
Yep - you're stuck with it. I have a tropical rain storm 24/7 - which, most of the time, I can ignore. But it can (and does) block out other frequencies. I recall watching a concert on TV - the trumpeter put his trumpet to his lips, his cheeks went out and..... nothing! Couldn't hear it all. Quite a bit of birdsong has gone too.

I forget about it around 90% of the time, you just live with it. Bloody nuisance.

But having seen a young fellow strapped into a wheelchair the other day - his body in permanent spasm (it seemed) - I think we are quite lucky if that's the extent of our physical problems.

TheAngryDog

12,489 posts

214 months

Monday 15th April 2019
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I've had it for years. It has gotten worse recently due to a condition I have with my eustachian tubes. I had an operation 2 weeks ago which has made the tinnitus worse in my right ear, but that was expected.

Narcisus

Original Poster:

8,188 posts

285 months

Monday 15th April 2019
quotequote all
NDA said:
Yep - you're stuck with it. I have a tropical rain storm 24/7 - which, most of the time, I can ignore. But it can (and does) block out other frequencies. I recall watching a concert on TV - the trumpeter put his trumpet to his lips, his cheeks went out and..... nothing! Couldn't hear it all. Quite a bit of birdsong has gone too.

I forget about it around 90% of the time, you just live with it. Bloody nuisance.

But having seen a young fellow strapped into a wheelchair the other day - his body in permanent spasm (it seemed) - I think we are quite lucky if that's the extent of our physical problems.
Agreed !

Narcisus

Original Poster:

8,188 posts

285 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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I discovered something a bit strange on Saturday with one of my more intrusive ‘tones’.

If I press my fingers to my ears so I can’t hear anything it just dies away then come back after 30 seconds or so.

NDA

22,152 posts

230 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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Narcisus said:
I discovered something a bit strange on Saturday with one of my more intrusive ‘tones’.

If I press my fingers to my ears so I can’t hear anything it just dies away then come back after 30 seconds or so.
That's odd.

My tinnitus, and I assumed everyones, was in the head rather than the ears. No difference to mine with ear manipulation!

Narcisus

Original Poster:

8,188 posts

285 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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Yeah it’s just that one tone. Still have a super high pitch and a tv has finished for the night tone but I don’t notice them as much.

Was very excited till it returned lol ! Still at least it’s something different.

peterperkins

3,200 posts

247 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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Similar things here.. It comes and goes.
I've been exposed to loud sounds and loud singing etc..

Anyway mine is a C#7 (2217hz) note playing in my left ear for the last few days.
I looked online and found this sound generator which allowed me to pinpoint what note it was.
Now I don't have perfect pitch but I had thought it was a C!

https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

Use the little drop down menu and or slider to match the tinnitus tone in your head to the sound generator, and find out what is going on in your head!!

Edited by peterperkins on Sunday 28th April 18:45

Narcisus

Original Poster:

8,188 posts

285 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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That’s great. My high is around 13000hz

anonymous-user

59 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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I have about three tones. Main one is at 13k. There is a much quieter tone which isn't loud enough to identify. And a third low tone which is probably pulsile, at around 120k which comes and goes depending on how good I am being at not fiddling with my ear.

Funk

26,498 posts

214 months

Sunday 28th April 2019
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Narcisus said:
That’s great. My high is around 13000hz
My tinnitus is similar, up around 14kHz. I had good hearing but at 40 mine's starting to roll off at 15kHz now.

Too many years of drumming without ear plugs/defence when I was a younger man...

Edited by Funk on Sunday 28th April 23:19