I have always played in bands but developed the dreaded T , would people think I should continue but obviously wear ear protection.
I was in the in the studio yesterday and had the foam inserts and over the ear defenders, the band thought I was mad .
I really don't wanna stop doing something I love and become a hermit
Cheers people
Read some of the other threads about the impact that severe tinnitus is having on other people's lives and then ask yourself if you want to be in a similar position. If you want to carry on playing music, invest in the most expensive ear protection you can lay your hands on and use it everytime. Musicians are particularly to susceptible to hearing damage and the tinnitus that can go along with cumulative exposure to loud noise, but there are plenty of examples of people continuing to play, professionally or otherwise. They're playing with fire IMO, but I can understand why they / you don't want to give up something you love.
The other thing to be aware of..is when /If you have Tinnitus..stay well away from any ear clinics and their microsuction equipment....the noise from the equipment will just damage the nerves in the cochlear still more.
Believe me I found out the hard way.
What would you suggest if you have a wax blockage that can't be shifted through olive oil / proprietary drops?
what they don't tell you is..just ask yr normal doctor to remove the superficial wax that he can extract himself then persist with a good brand of ear drops that has hydrogen peroxide as an ingredient..then just allow normal water shower water in your ear and eventually it will all come out...why this message is not promulgated more I don't know..I suspect that its because microsuctioning has become a lucrative business..infact so much so that like dentists & vets..many of the stand alone operators have been enticed with large cash sums to sell out to consortiums who run them all with the purpose of serious profit.
Every hearing professional I've ever spoken to has advised me to steer clear of hydrogen peroxide based drops - these professionals weren't trying to sell me their services to clear out my ears and didn't have any vested interest in the ear-drops industry - just ENT consultants, hearing therapists, hearing aid dispensers and the like. The message I got was that the Otex-type drops are basically just bleach and are to be avoided.
I agree with you, there is a whole industry that's sprung up around earcare, filling the space that's been vacated by the reduction / withdrawal of these services from the NHS. I can understand why, there's a lot of demand for it & they can charge upwards of £50-100 for 15mins work.
It seems that there are ear drops and ear drops..the safe ones contain a harmless medical grade oil...plus a % of hydroxy esters gen peroxide..the combination just softens wax and allow it to wash out with warm water. A typical one available here in NZ is called Waxsol made in France.
I guess I'm just anxious to pass on the fact that the microsuction noise is sufficient in some cases where you already have ear damage, to make the condition much worse and its simply not worth the risk.
hi 6 monkeys. ive been playi ng for over 50 years and tinnitus came on after 1 gig. since then ive hardly played much maybe once a month instead of 12 times a month but wear ear plugs when I do they cost £200.00 moulded to my ears with filters. I seem to have bought nearly all the filters you can get! 17db reduction,19,21,25 and also filters that are just plugs with no allowance to let sound through the theory is you hear through the mastoid bon a 40% reduction of sound.BUT, I still feel the tinnitus has got worse and believe me its loud, about 80db but it does go down sometimeshave it in both ears and sadly after my last gig I felt the plugs weren't in properly although I checked them and now the T is loud in both ears where before was loud in one its asoul band I play with now 11 piece but im seriously thinking of stopping sadly. it will be a terrible decision to make since ive been playing since I was 16 here and abroad but im going crazy with T, it has ruined my life completely I hope this is just a spike but I think my palying days are numbered hope you find this helpful. I have 2 sets of plugs by the way take care cheers
You make an interesting comment about the fact that sound can reach the ear nerves by bone transference...and that's what I have found since microsuctioninh noise stuffed both of my ears..If I sit in my car with the motor running and with both ears blocked off I can hear the motor as a distorted sound ...and it's coming from bone transference.
I never stopped playing in bands. It saddens me that people are still influenced by negative thinking ‘advisors’ on this issue.
Of course we should take sensible precautions, but don’t let T ruin your life by stopping doing the things you enjoy.
Here’s my story...I hope it helps.
We encourage the use of hearing protection in loud situations, and we encourage people to continue doing things they love, so I think you're taking the right approach, 6spidermonkeys.
You can find out more about hearing protection at plugem.co.uk
Warmest wishes
Nic (BTA Communications Manager and Forum Administrator)
Hi, I have played the drums for about 40 years but had an acoustic blast and have had T for over 6 months now. I decided to stop playing as I was getting so worked up about what damage the music would do that my T got worse. So try good ear protection and not worry!
Suddenly, my tinnitus became overbearingly loud in one ear!
Louder tinnitus in one ear
Musical Ear Syndrome 
