Tinnitus anyone?

racer7 · Jan 12, 2014

My firearms haven't done anything to hurt my ears that I can tell but I sure learned about using double protection when I lost an eardrum to a squash ball. I never shoot without ear protection except when hunting and that's a single shot most of the time.
Got one of those 375 H&H too- purchased for a trip to Africa that I had to cancel. In a Kevlar stock, it weighs a bit over 7 lbs with scope (they're typically about 11 lbs in wood) and kicks substantially. My reloading software just prints "OUCH!" when calculating it (its about 41 lb-ft or double a typical mid caliber magnum). I like the way it stops adrenaline charged forest rats in their tracks without destroying meat- something my 7 mags rarely do and why I first tested it on the rats. The only other thing I've used that matches it is a 12 gauge slug at close range.

Kutter · Jan 5, 2015

mule said:
Had it for years. Nothing really helps unfortunately. Less noise = less ringing and it seems to calm down a little after giving your ears a little rest.
Really the best thing is to just ignore it. Let it be your friend as your stuck with him. Alot of the surviving of it is just let it be and not think about it.

good luck

I ignore mine till somebody brings it up...thanks. I do find silence helps & use of good plugs at least don't put an amplifier on the ringing. I also sleep with the white noise of a fan. Having done the most riding w/o plugs in my time riding with them does seem very quiet and when I forget I pull over and take care of it because it is nice to be able to hear when I get to where I'm going.

ahd43 · Jan 5, 2015

Got it. Mostly in my left ear.

Reducing my caffeine intake helps calm it down.

M

PittsDriver · Jan 6, 2015

AHD43 said:
Got it. Mostly in my left ear.

Reducing my caffeine intake helps calm it down.

M

That's something I've never heard before. Interesting. I wonder why that would be? I have one of those super automatic espresso machines and make a 5 shot latte every morning - it's like my morning jumper cables applied directly to the brain.

Something interesting my doc told me - it's been shown that listening to one particular piece of classical music can reduce the effect of tinnitus. No idea why and I haven't looked in to it yet because you have to listen to it for like 4 - 5 hours a day and it doesn't work if you do it in your sleep, you have to be awake. Doh, if I listened to the same classical chart over and over again for 5 hours a day, staying awake would be impossible. But I thought it was interesting that you can trick your mind into somehow ignoring the void in higher frequencies that cause tinnitus by what you listen to.

My plan is to be very disciplined about protecting what hearing I have left. That's why I wear Sensaphonics or good quality foamy plugs always and why I carry the foamies around with me in case I'm caught in a noisy place.

HowardR1200RT · Jan 6, 2015

What?

Very intersting thread. Had it for probably 20 years. I assume it was caused by a combination of shooting sports and working on turbine aircraft for 40+ years. No longer hear birds or crickets to well but still try to wear ear protection when using power equipment to preserve what hearing is left. I guess its time to get a hearing aid as its getting more difficult to hear normal conversation. WHAT?

bdfbeemer · Jan 6, 2015

I have some nice hearing protectors from the audiologist. And I have used the cheapie foam plugs. Seems like it makes the ringing worse. Like it traps it in my head. Once you have it it is a pita. I just try to ignore it and use hearing aids when in important situtations.

bluegrasspicker · Jan 6, 2015

Ibuprofen will also make it worse

cehlbeck · Jan 6, 2015

PittsDriver said:
That's something I've never heard before. Interesting. I wonder why that would be? I have one of those super automatic espresso machines and make a 5 shot latte every morning - it's like my morning jumper cables applied directly to the brain.

Something interesting my doc told me - it's been shown that listening to one particular piece of classical music can reduce the effect of tinnitus. No idea why and I haven't looked in to it yet because you have to listen to it for like 4 - 5 hours a day and it doesn't work if you do it in your sleep, you have to be awake. Doh, if I listened to the same classical chart over and over again for 5 hours a day, staying awake would be impossible. But I thought it was interesting that you can trick your mind into somehow ignoring the void in higher frequencies that cause tinnitus by what you listen to.

My plan is to be very disciplined about protecting what hearing I have left. That's why I wear Sensaphonics or good quality foamy plugs always and why I carry the foamies around with me in case I'm caught in a noisy place.

That's called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy or TNT. I started it in the summer of 2013. The audiologist recommended a white or pink noise along with an inexpensive sound machine at night. It does work...to a point. But my tinnitus was pretty bad and then in November of 2013 I ended up with hearing aids with tinnitus noise generators. In other words, I have a constant low white noise that forces my brain to ignore the tinnitus and the hearing aid part helps with my hearing loss which is not as bad as once thought once the tinnitus was "ignored". My audiologist says to avoid those hearing booths at places like Costco as they are there to sell hearing aids. She said start with a doctor or audiologist. My wife is convinced that my hearing aids are the best money we ever spent. I agree with her.

71243 · Jan 6, 2015

AHD43 said:
Got it. Mostly in my left ear.

Reducing my caffeine intake helps calm it down.

M

That's odd as I have it as well, and just finished reading a site that claims caffeine [reduces] the sound ? Although I have read both, it makes it worse & reduces it. Same with red wine, some say better some say worse ?...I don't think they really know :scratch

I have tried that Lipo-Flavanoid advertised on TV...No help. The strange thing is how the noise changes. Sometimes barely noticeable , and sometimes [like now] my ears are screaming !! I have worn ear plugs [when riding] for many years, but I also worked in a noisy environment [fleet garage/machine shop] most of my life........I sure wish they would find some relief for it.

PittsDriver · Jan 6, 2015

cehlbeck said:
That's called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy or TNT. I started it in the summer of 2013. The audiologist recommended a white or pink noise along with an inexpensive sound machine at night. It does work...to a point. But my tinnitus was pretty bad and then in November of 2013 I ended up with hearing aids with tinnitus noise generators. In other words, I have a constant low white noise that forces my brain to ignore the tinnitus and the hearing aid part helps with my hearing loss which is not as bad as once thought once the tinnitus was "ignored". My audiologist says to avoid those hearing booths at places like Costco as they are there to sell hearing aids. She said start with a doctor or audiologist. My wife is convinced that my hearing aids are the best money we ever spent. I agree with her.

I don't know... sometimes it's handy to say "I did hear you say that..."

dennisdarrow · Jan 6, 2015

Wondering how many VETS are effected by this condition. If so, the VA will rate you and provide one with therapy and aids...............For me, 9 years of some pretty loud weapons from time to time; but also, headsets clamped to my head in order to intercept commo.............What it got me was heavy duty tinnitus and loss of the ability to actually hear high freqs. When the rating process was ongoing, very little was mentioned about the 40 years of riding with ZERO ear protection, nor the 30 years of teaching "shop" classes with all the machines making a bit of a racket 6 hours per day................

Anyway, folks above have advised to make the condition your best friend and IGNORE...........Yes, if I think of it, there it is........those fingernails on the chalkboard combined with the scream of pulling nails out of a board just never go away...........BUT a ceiling fan at night, the window open to hear the nighttime sounds, and just let my mind wander to somewhere else all help "forget" about it...........The hearing aids DO help hear mumbled dialog on TV and YES, for sure do cancel out the tinnitus screaming to a certain degree............lolol...........it's a lot easier to put up with than the shrapnel still moving around against my spine................God bless.......Dennis

Omega Man · Jan 6, 2015

Nice to see that I have a few fellow sufferers, I don't think I've heard from any women that have the condition :scratch

not that I'm wishing it upon them. As you who don't suffer from this can tell, it's a PITA or ear as it may be.
At night I listen to 75M ham radio which seems to mask off some of the problem. If you happen to have a short-wave radio handy there is some interesting that may help you nod off.
:snore

OM

markaz · Jan 6, 2015

Listening to 75M can have lots of strange effects on you...

I've had tinnitus for as long as I can remember...a 24x7 symphony in my head. I also have a severe hearing loss in both ears & wear hearing aids. For me it's not that big of a deal, just one of those things...I don't pay any attention to it except when someone mentions it. I'm sure it affects people differently, tho. If it came on all of a sudden I'd imagine it would be pretty aggravating. I don;t think anyone really knows what causes it. Masking it seem to be the best treatment. Or learning to ignore it.

BCKRider · Jan 7, 2015

I too have tinnitus and some hearing loss. What sort of surprises me is that I can hear at all! Worked in a very noisy green bean cannery one summer as a college student. Learned to shoot a shotgun before earplugs were even heard of. When my ears were ringing the next day, did try shoving cotton in my ears the next time out shooting - which is pretty ineffective, but better than nothing. Have also played in high decibel bands and for 8 years conducted school bands - all too loud to be safe for my hearing. Also liked listening to loud music on the stereo.

Too late I learned to use ear plugs for most of the high db level activities: riding a motorcycle, shooting a gun, running a chainsaw. I also use them now when I mow the lawn and sometimes forget to take them when we go to a movie, which can also be painfully loud.

Don't know about the comment about women. My wife is about as hard of hearing as I, and done few of the noisy things I have. But man do we not communicate if we are not looking at each other when we speak. We've only been married 38 years, so perhaps we will figure this out.

My hunch is that most of the folk on this thread are older guys. How do we get the message across to the younger riders? Or are they doomed to repeat our errors?

I can sometimes ignore tinnitus, or it goes away - like right now. Hearing loss is permanent.

71243 · Jan 7, 2015

BCKRider said:
I too have tinnitus and some hearing loss. What sort of surprises me is that I can hear at all! Worked in a very noisy green bean cannery one summer as a college student. Learned to shoot a shotgun before earplugs were even heard of. When my ears were ringing the next day, did try shoving cotton in my ears the next time out shooting - which is pretty ineffective, but better than nothing. Have also played in high decibel bands and for 8 years conducted school bands - all too loud to be safe for my hearing. Also liked listening to loud music on the stereo.

Too late I learned to use ear plugs for most of the high db level activities: riding a motorcycle, shooting a gun, running a chainsaw. I also use them now when I mow the lawn and sometimes forget to take them when we go to a movie, which can also be painfully loud.

Don't know about the comment about women. My wife is about as hard of hearing as I, and done few of the noisy things I have. But man do we not communicate if we are not looking at each other when we speak. We've only been married 38 years, so perhaps we will figure this out.

My hunch is that most of the folk on this thread are older guys. How do we get the message across to the younger riders? Or are they doomed to repeat our errors?

I can sometimes ignore tinnitus, or it goes away - like right now. Hearing loss is permanent.

Are you sure your wife isn't just ignoring you ?..... :whistle

And it is unlikely we'll get the message across to the younger riders.....

Old saying;.........By the time a man is old enough to realize that perhaps his father was right....he has a son that thinks he's wrong.

rangerreece · Jan 7, 2015

71243 said:
Are you sure your wife isn't just ignoring you ?.....

And it is unlikely we'll get the message across to the younger riders.....

Old saying;.........By the time a man is old enough to realize that perhaps his father was right....he has a son that thinks he's wrong.

Ironic: My dad was of the, "ear plugs! Who needs earplugs?" Generation, still is. I on the other hand was a Boy Scout, all about doing it the right way to included hearing protection on the range, Army for 22 years. I think in the mid to late 80's all the Vietnam vets were retiring with hearing damage and the army in typical army fashion went overboard to fix that problem; with uber hearing protection, at one point hearing protection cases and plugs were an inspect-able uniform item, the case would dangle from our left breast pocket. Unfortunately, no amount of hearing protection in training would compensate for the loss of hearing in combat. Despite all the measures I took and still take, I gots de ole tinnitus plague too. Ranger mortman, then helicopter pilot, 5 combat tours. I still have pretty good hearing despite my tinnitus.

weschmann · Jan 7, 2015

DennisDarrow said:
Wondering how many VETS are effected by this condition. If so, the VA will rate you and provide one with therapy and aids...............For me, 9 years of some pretty loud weapons from time to time; but also, headsets clamped to my head in order to intercept commo.............What it got me was heavy duty tinnitus and loss of the ability to actually hear high freqs. When the rating process was ongoing, very little was mentioned about the 40 years of riding with ZERO ear protection, nor the 30 years of teaching "shop" classes with all the machines making a bit of a racket 6 hours per day................Quote

I'm one of those Vets. I got too close to the back side of a couple of claymores during my time overseas..... Been issued hearing aids from the VA just recently, and have been very happy with their support in spite of all the negative press the VA is receiving......I'm in the same boat with high frequency hearing loss. but then again, my hearing loss was noted at my discharge time, after taking the discharge physical in Ft. Lewis Washington. I didn't ask the VA for help until just recently after talking to a VA rep. who pushed me to access the VA system for help. Back in those days though, I didn't even think of asking for help, and went through most all of my working life at a bit of a disability.

rangerreece · Jan 7, 2015

Also been on the backside of a couple of claymores, love that claymore.. VA acknowledged my hearing loss, but claimed it was non-service related, because I was issued earplugs... Sooooo there's that. Still waiting on a claim submitted two years ago on a different issue, (gave up on the hearing and back damage years ago, now just trying to get the VA to recognize that I have had 4 dependents since 2010 they think I am the committed bachelor and adjust my disability check accordingly, lots of back pay coming if they ever decided to process my claim) . Don't want to pay a lawyer $1000 to get back $100.

dennisdarrow · Jan 7, 2015

weschmann said:
I didn't ask the VA for help until just recently after talking to a VA rep. who pushed me to access the VA system for help. Back in those days though, I didn't even think of asking for help, and went through most all of my working life at a bit of a disability.

Right there with you in the not asking for anything from the VA.....Right after I got my medical discharge from the army, went to the VA hospital in OKC for some help............Sorry but I just did not relate with the drunks, homeless, and bums that were in the waiting room with me..........Then to top it off the medicine they practiced was pathetic...........

So, fast forward MANY MANY years and I knew that the little bit of disability rating I got upon my discharge HAD to have gotten worse so it was time for a re-eval...............NO back in those days they did not even know what PTSD was.............So, once after the eval started it took two years; but instead of 20% rating with the VA am now 160%.....lol......yes they only go to 100...........REALLY NICE BACK PAY CHECK for those two years...............Anyway, not bragging about the money, NOR NOT EVEN MY SERVICE.......(don't care for folks that carry what they did on their shoulders for all are heroes; but I don't go around blowing my own horn nor brag about it).....BUT I do want to spread the message that the VA NOW........NOW.......is really good medicine and there to help you...........

I still wonder how many guys hang out here that never got rated nor get the help for their problems from serving our country but should be receiving it...................God bless........Dennis

NOT OUT TO CHANGE THE THREAD..........perhaps another thread???????????

BCKRider · Jan 8, 2015

Since I was never in the military, have wondered about the hearing damage from those of you who were in combat. Clearly, that was the norm - and I rather doubt that "insert earplugs" was high on the priority list, if you did have earplugs.

The Canadian government has been taken to task for the poor services they offer to soldiers who return from battle with various problems: PTSD which has lead to several suicides, less than great treatment for amputees, long waiting lists for any kind of treatment. That MAY be changing, and it seems it is changing in the US as well. I believe our governments when they engage in wars should tally in not only the possible deaths, the cost of equipment, but the cost of those who survive but are physically or mentally damaged.

Since politics are forbidden on this forum, I won't speak about our recent wars. I trust that asking great care for surviving veterans of these wars is not political but just the right thing our two countries should do.

Back to a lighter but still important topic: How do we get young people to take hearing protection seriously? If you, as a parent, are introducing your kid to shooting a gun, using a chainsaw, or riding a motorcycle; do it yourself and insist they do it. Explain how you got your tinnitus and hearing loss. Explain how hearing loss is mostly cumulative. How one day they might like to hear one day what their spouse or child or grandchild said when they were not face to face with you at 5 feet. No guarantees but worth a try.

Tinnitus anyone?

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