I found this site after being utterly fed up and frustrated. A little back story first:
I'm 53, male and I live in England. About a decade ago I noticed after a gig I attended as a punter that the usual "ringing in the ears" was taking longer than usual to go away, then after a few more weeks realised it actually hadn't gone away at all. I also found myself struggling to hear people talk clearly, missing bits of the conversation especially if there was a lot of background noise. I've been in and out of bands quite a lot over the years, mainly rock and metal. Playing on stage was not that much of an issue as it's never really that loud however rehearsals (being in an enclosed space) was much louder so I started wearing earplugs.
Unfortunately I think it's too late. I have professional grade earplugs which I've used for a couple of years but the damage is done. I've got considerable hearing loss in both ears for certain frequencies (around the same as most peoples voices) so struggle to hear conversations sometimes, but it's the tinnitus that sometimes feels like it's driving me absolutely mental. I'm waiting for an appointment to have some hearing aids that I hope will help calm it down some, and I use things like Aerospex bone conductor earphones to "pipe" music into my head quietly when it get's really bad and I've just stopped going to gigs as it's not worth the risk. I use an app called Calm which provides all sorts of 'distraction' noises (running water, rain, fire, white/brown/pink noise) and even bought a pendulum ticking clock for the wall at home simply so there is some background sound when I'm in bed, but sometimes there are times I just want to scream and punch walls I'm so frustrated. I play walking football regularly (or at least usually, as I broke my ankle a few weeks ago in a supposed "non-contact" sport lol!) and even struggle to hear the whistle sometimes, though getting out in the open with other fat old men (😜) does help!
All I can hope for is that the hearing aids help calm things down some. Does anyone have any other suggestions for things I can do?
Cheers.
Written by
MagikalMeeps
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YES ! You are already doing all the right things. Hearing aids will help because the real world will magically become louder and crisper and the Tinnitus fades a bit into the background.
But, it will take some time for you to habituate.
What's habituation? Just imagine you are going into your bathroom and switch the light on. A fan starts up. But you don't hear it because you are habituated to it.
Like you and most people on here, we all want to punch walls in. I had hearing aids fitted and they help a great deal. Use them with an app and I have various frequencies of white noise and it does take the edge off for sure. I sleep within them in and they become a crutch without a doubt. Hope they work for you.
By the sounds of it your story mimics mine; loss in the hearing range of speech and increased T. I wear hearing aids in both ears now. As others have said you need to learn to habituate - I have been wearing HA since Jan and I would like to feel I'm beginning to get there, but the time it takes is different for all. My hearing loss was probably occupational in nature. It's good you are getting the test and hearing aids, it sounds positive. Best of luck with it all but sounds very much the right path.
Welcome (although I'm not sure anyone wants to be here!)
A similar story to mine. Years of bands with no hearing protection, The ringing that used to go away not going away. The playing with earplugs but still struggling. The giving up on going to gigs because of the noise.
My T has been going on since the late 80s. When it started, the audiologist at the hospital put me on a talking therapy course where we were guided to making a friend of our tinnitus and just accepting it was there. From what I've heard of CBT it seems similar. It's definitely worth a try if you can find a suitable course/group/therapist.
I've recently got NHS hearing aids after telling the doc the tinnitus was beginning to mask outside sounds.. I can't say they've done anything to help my tinnitus but have helped in social situations where there is a lot of background noise.
You might want to join the musicians tinnitus support group. It meets every month on Zoom. I went to a session last month and I thought it was very good. I would have gone this month had I registered in time. I'll be there next month though.
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