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Tinnitus anyone?

Thankfully, I don't have it real bad. If I don't think about it, I don't hear anything. If I think about it, I hear a very high pitched tone, but not loud.

As far as loss is concerned, I do have some. My right ear is worse than my left. I noticed this one night when turning over in bed from one side to the other. All of a sudden, I could hear much more clearly.

As I've said in other threads, I'm a definite convert to full time earplug use while riding. I don't listen to music or any GPS. I sing to myself and pay attention to the ride.

I just use Max's green foam plugs, they work just fine for me. I use the same plugs when shooting trap.

I'm trying to preserve the hearing I have left and to keep the unpleasant internal noises from bothering me.
 
5 years now for me. varies from barely there, to quite distracting. high pitched hum, like a fluro ballast that has gone haywire. foam plugs, or Etymotics with iPod. They have a 30 db sound reduction to cut down further damage, and allows music to be played at a fairly low level as well.
i'll post specifics on it when i get home, but i found a vitamin regimen on-line that does seem to help. does not eliminate it, but i notice if i don't take them for a few days that the ringing gets worse.
years of loud concerts, mowers, chainsaws, etc, and no ear protection during 250,000 m/c miles were my causatives. wish i could go back and make preventative corrections, but no chance of that happening.
 
Have it here too and have for many years. I don't hear the ringing when I don't think about it. I find it more distracting when I'm in a quiet environment. My general hearing loss borders on severe in the higher frequencies. To compensate for the hearing loss I wear BTE hearing aids. I did not want to wear them--still don't--but the difference with/without is dramatic. Before I had hearing aids, I didn't realized how much I was missing (birds chirping, conversations, jokes, music, etc.). My audiologist is insistent that I protect what hearing I still have and stressed that noise induced hearing loss is cumulative, permanent, and irreversible. Before I ride, I always remove my HAs and insert the blue Hearos (33NRR). I just consider the ear plugs as part of my protective gear. :ear
 
I sympathize with all tinitus sufferers. I'm one of you. Often I'll suddenly hear the sound. It seems if I'm concentrating on things, talking with others and being busy, even reading some times, I'll not hear it. I made a point of listening carefully to one of several different tones in my case. After a while the tone to which I was listening intently seemed to fade and disappear temporarily. I figured I fatigued that particular tone. I was hoping to exercise it and strengthen the fibers which were causing the tinitus at that frequency. Don't know if it will work, but it sometimes keeps me amused. On the other hand, maybe I'm hallucinating.

Wear protection for your ears always. I use ear plugs on buses, city streets, stores with music, riding my K75 and other places. I don't need to add to the problem.

Ride safe.
 
I'm 62 and have a mild dose in my left ear centered at 1500-1600Hz. I've also got a 56db notch in my hearing, a half octave wide, at the same frequency. The 'hairs' in the cochlea corresponding to those frequencies are history. Most of my rock and roll years were spent behind the mixing console, which is the only reason I'm not deaf. My hearing loss and tinnitus came a decade after the rock years and I don't know the cause, but I did have extensive testing trying to find out.

Sometimes it bothers me, most times it does not. I can't use the telephone on that ear because 1500Hz is where intelligibility comes from, and if I put my head on the pillow with the bad ear facing up, I cannot hear crickets AT ALL.
 
Got mine from bout with pneumonia in 1969. Dr advice was go to bed with radio on.

That helps with mine, and in warmer weather I may run a fan instead.

Not sure what started mine, as I have worn ear plugs for many years while riding. I have also notice recently, a build up of wax in just one ear, to the point that i need to soften & clean about every other day. Not sure if the two are related? That ear, the waxy one...is about deaf, compared to the other?

Joys of aging I suppose!
 
There was a period of time maybe 12-15 years ago that, in addition to the amazon rainforest soundtrack in my head, I was getting these crazy roaring sounds that would go from one ear to the other. It would come out of nowhere. It sounded/felt like an F16 came roaring into one ear and out the other. I would reflexively duck my head when it happened. Only happend a couple of times a year, but, damn, was that a trip! Hasn't happened in many years now. Audiologist confirmed that happens sometimes with tinnitus.
 
I sure am grateful that tinitus and some hearing loss is all I have to deal with, at this point. I know someone who has a disease where they are slowly going blind. He's only in his 40's. Had normal vision up until about 3 years ago. He has maybe a year of sight left, then no more. I hate to even think about it. At least when your deaf you can still ride and drive, read, etc.
 
tinnitus

Have had it for years. Racing bikes and sports cars, rock n roll, neglect all contributed. When I went to see a specialist about it, he also found some hearing loss. He said I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you have some hearing loss. The good news, the hearing loss is at a frequency that affects the range with the voices of women and small childen. My glass is half full.
 
I sure am grateful that tinitus and some hearing loss is all I have to deal with, at this point.
Amen to that. "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself", I don't know who said that but it seems appropriate. The research I have found along the way of this irritating affliction runs in many directions. I have mostly heard :D there is nothing that can be done about it. I have heard :D of people, in desperation, turning to quackery doctors who claim they can help- most almost dieing from the treatment. I have also heard of suicide for those that just can't take not having peace and quiet.
While I didn't think this thread would be so popular, hopefully those affected can gain some insight as to others have dealt with an endless summer night.. Gary
 
Me too;

60 now, got the noisy ear phenom about 10 years ago. Racing m/x for Yamaha in the late 60s and 70s with 2 stroke expansion chamber exhaust started my ear downfall, I figure. Very noisy back then. Then I took up a lifelong flying bug as very young pilot with no ear protection in VERY noisy small airplanes! Still love jet noise, my Daughter flies for the Navy, F18s. She wears hearing protection helmet:). Them Navy Fighter helmets must be BETTER than out m/c helmets? She's young, hopefully not getting this later in life. ME, I cannot withstand earplugs, tried'em all and they are simply not comfy, even the custom made ones. I HAVE found "custom homemade" foam pads that cover the whole ear inisde the helmet work best for me. Never seen anybody selling'em however, just made my own:). Most helmets have an ear cavity built into the helmet foam and many put speakers here. I too have a BlueTooth helmet. The homemade foam pads can be covered with any preferred cloth, from silk to anything you like, feels nice. Wife sews well, so her talent shined for me. The pads can be whatever size ear you have, to cover whole ear. Mine are probably 4" wide and slip right in AFTER the helmet is on my head. Pads are thin, maybe quarter inch and soft(comfy) enough and cut noise by quite a tad. MY personal fix to earplugs:). I find the busier I am, the less I hear the noise in my ears. Sitting at this computer, its quite noisy. Randy
 
I agree with those that are grateful for nothing worse. I have that and some Arthritis , so it can always be worse.

BTW. tonight my ears are screaming! I had a glass of red wine with supper, noticed the last time I did it seemed worse?....anyone else notice this ? or any thing else that seems to increase it ?
 
I've got it too, along with degenerative disk disease in my lower back and arthritis in my neck, knees and hip. When I am backcountry camping is where the tinnitus bothers me the most, and the other stuff bothers me getting there. :D


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I can't remember a time when I didn't have it. Worse for me when it is quiet. It's something I've learned to live with over the years. I've been wearing ear protection since being in the Navy we won't talk about how many years ago.
 
A few more thoughts

1. Obviously tinnitus is a VERY common problem for us older folk. (Yes, me too.) It is really a shame there are not more younger folks reading this. Religious use of ear plugs for ANY noisy activity from an early age would prevent MOST tinnitus.
2. Hearing loss in the highest frequencies is simply a fact of life, even for people in their 20's who have the rare good sense to use hearing protection. Like all things human, the highest frequencies you can hear disappear at varying rates. (A friend my age - mid 60's - hears at least as well as I despite making a living running a chainsaw as a faller and, in the earlier years, punching holes in the muffler for more power before earplugs were even invented!) Not all smokers die from their habit either, but the odds are not good.
3. I'm thinking ear plugs should be one of those things we ALWAYS have in our pocket. I've certainly cursed myself when I went to a movie without them!
4. DO find earplugs that work for you (there is no universal best solution) and use them properly. As noted, both tinnitus and hearing loss can always get worse - and probably will. Slowing the process is always worth doing if you are not totally deaf.
5. Listen for the "bass drum effect" after you have installed your earplugs. If a few marching steps sound like a bass drum in your head, those ear plugs are doing their job. If not, they are not properly seated and you are getting little to no benefit. I learned to always do this after putting on the MC helmet. PIA to start over, but not as much of a pain as pulling to the side of the road to start over.
 
Tinnitus and Meniere's disease

As I said in second post, I have tinnitus...and didn't realize that the ringing was in both ears until I had Meniere's disease of the inner ear...(you can google it for better worded details) After my surgery to get my life back... my episodes of the Meniere's are very few and far between now... I sense the coming of an attack...and simply park it.. five minutes, five hours or couple of days... did so on a trip back from Alaska in the middle of nowhere... but found a cabin and a bed.

Weather is a factor!

During experimental tests at Shea Clinic in Memphis Tn, to find possible treatment for my tinnitus and meniere's ... I was completely sedated, but awake...then I learned that one ear ringing was louder than other... both ears did stop ringing during the test... the medication was injected hoping to end both...however in about an hour after the IV was pulled... it slowly returned. I did lose hearing in my right ear....but still have the tinnitus...the Meniere is manageable...but I am very lucky to have mild attacks...I know folks that crawl from room to room with knee pads because they can't stand during severe Meniere episodes...

Long rides (500 miles or more), I really pay my dues....

I have read countless articles and tried everything.... to no avail with my tinnitus.....
If I had to describe Meniere's disease to you ... it like putting on grandma glasses when I was a kid....things not to clear.
Sadly tinnitus and Meniere's are somewhat related....don't be confused with "you have inner ear problems" play it safe and get checked...Meniere's caught early can be managed.
 
I've had it as long as I can remember (I'll be 65 in a few months). I have several continuous tones and several that come & go. Kind of a symphony in my head. I notice it more when it's quiet but I don't think much about it...it's just there. I can imagine how upsetting it would be if it just started happening to someone. The advice to consult an ENT is good, esp. for sudden onset. It can be an indication of some severe problems. I also have a fairly severe hearing loss in both ears that requires fairly potent hearing aids. For me it's at least partly genetic...it runs in the family and can't be blamed on anything specific. I had my audiologist set one of the programs to max noise suppression and volume to about 1/4 normal to use when riding and that seems to work for me like ear plugs work for others with better hearing. Without the HAs I'm pretty deaf...wouldn't be able to hear horns or sirens or funny noises from the bike. Anyway, do protect your hearing...hearing aids are not a cure and are expensive and a real hassle.
 
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