Music and Tinnitus

I had T for c.10yrs at a level where it didn't cause me any problems or distress - no way of knowing exactly what caused it, but in my case it was more than likely due to accumulated noise exposure from gigs/clubs etc - I did play in a band for about 18mths or so as well. I naively assumed that I had tinnitus and that was all there was to it - it never occurred to me that the T could get worse. Oh my good Christ, I know differently now. My advice to you would be to stop playing in bands and do whatever you can to prevent the T developing into anything worse - avoid loud environments (90db+), protect your hearing when you do find yourself in loud environments and be careful to not strain to hear – if you do that, your brain turns up the volume but that turns your T up as well.

With your hearing loss, has your audiologist suggested hearing aids? Without them, your brain will go looking for the frequencies it’s missing out on and when it doesn’t find them, it’ll fill the gaps with whatever it can find – hence you hear the swirling whistle.

It would be a shame to give up something you really love doing. Have you tried out your new earplugs yet? I think if you notice a difference between the way your ears feel after a gig wearing them, then stick with them. If you feel your tinnitus is getting worse, or your hearing is worse, maybe you could talk to your doctor about it, hearing loss and tinnitus can be common with musicians, but the ear plugs could help stop it from getting worse.

I have been a musician from the age of 5...

I developed mild Tinnitus in my 40's which has progressed into Musical ear syndrome ( MES) with disabilitating hearing loss requiring two aids...

Ironically the music I hear are my favourite classical pieces Mozart, Beethoven and Handel...

Not really an answer to your question though...

Carol..