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Tinnitus anyone?

Omega Man

Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat
Staff member
Tinnitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus Yeah tales of a misspent youth can tell part of the story. I've seen many threads recently on "what kind of earplugs" and "quietest helmet" recently and wonder if there are any other sufferers of this annoying malady and what do you do to "temper" off the effects. Ear plugs and helmets.....well if you have it- you know. OM
 
Tinnitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus Yeah tales of a misspent youth can tell part of the story. I've seen many threads recently on "what kind of earplugs" and "quietest helmet" recently and wonder if there are any other sufferers of this annoying malady and what do you do to "temper" off the effects. Ear plugs and helmets.....well if you have it- you know. OM

Got it...and would not wish it on anyone...

I use SOFT foam earplugs... no music or voice into my ear by any earplug or device.

I look at my GPS for directions....don't knew a voice to talk to me...and tell me about turns....

Full face helmet....

Large wind screen to reduce air bluffing or more wind noise...

I do find that the wind noise or engine sounds not filter by the plugs do act as a "masker" to some degree.

Hope this helps.
 
Tinnitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus Yeah tales of a misspent youth can tell part of the story. I've seen many threads recently on "what kind of earplugs" and "quietest helmet" recently and wonder if there are any other sufferers of this annoying malady and what do you do to "temper" off the effects. Ear plugs and helmets.....well if you have it- you know. OM

I've got it. Courtesy of standing by the guitar amplifiers speakers in the bars of my youth. I sing along with the various tones I hear throughout the day. :laugh

I wear an Arai and use 33db soft ear plugs and have been for about 30 years. Before that - cotton batten.
 
I've had it for just over a year. I'm thoroughly pissed about it. It never stops. As best I know, there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

I've always tried to protect my hearing since I was a kid. I hated having to yell at my grandparents to be heard. I was never a fan of loud music or loud bikes. I was about 18 when I started using ear plugs when riding and plugs or ear muffs with any power tool, lawn equipment, even the vacuum cleaner. I use ear plugs in movie theaters and at parties with live bands or DJs.

Its probably not a coincidence that it first appeared the day after I demonstrated my RT horn inside the garage. Yeah, I've got the "good" pair of stock horns.
:banghead
 
Got it

I manage it now, IÔÇÖm luckier than many in that regard. At its worst I was almost throwing up for days with sirens going off in my head around the clock after a fast cross country run with a loud helmet on a bike with horrible wind management.

It settled down after a couple of weeks and now IÔÇÖm very diligent about good quality ear plugs and bikes with minimal buffeting and noise.

At night I sleep with a fan on, the white noise masks the Tinnitus so I can sleep.

Good luck
 
I've had it for over 40 years. Real low frequencies from vehicles with large amps and speakers can be extremely annoying. Wind and road noise can be dealt with using foam or better yet custom ear plugs. BOSE noise canceling headphones allow me to enjoy music while blocking most extraineous sounds that affect my tinnitus. Years of wearing poor ear protection or none at all are to blame ( you do pay a price for being careless lazy).
RIDE SAFE
 
You rang?

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
 
Well this is interesting. It seems like there are quite a few poor Bas*^*ds suffering with this as it's quite annoying. Nothing new for me guys, it's been 20+ years it's just that I've never seen the subject brought up here on the forum.
For me, it's a cross between a whistling tea kettle and a summer night- at above conversational level. It's interesting on the use of ear protection most of you are trying. I need some music to temper it off a bit as regular earplugs or ear muffs turn the experience into a giant echo chamber.
Rad, it sounds like you and I are dealing with it in a similar fashion. :ear :banghead
 
Well this is interesting. It seems like there are quite a few poor Bas*^*ds suffering with this as it's quite annoying. Nothing new for me guys, it's been 20+ years it's just that I've never seen the subject brought up here on the forum.
For me, it's a cross between a whistling tea kettle and a summer night- at above conversational level. It's interesting on the use of ear protection most of you are trying. I need some music to temper it off a bit as regular earplugs or ear muffs turn the experience into a giant echo chamber.
Rad, it sounds like you and I are dealing with it in a similar fashion. :ear :banghead

Same here..... 25 years as a firefighter; sirens, air horns, and big diesels running flat out. I notice it most when I'm in a quiet setting. On the bikes, I have SENA SMH-10 headsets blaring music at the top volume.... no ringing noticed!
 
It's too late for ear plugs.

Tinnitus may not be "curable" but if you have any hearing left it should be protected by whatever means possible. My ringing never stops but is tolerable and I have ~ 35% high freq loss R&L. I do find that even when I'm as well protected as possible,e.g. I ran a chain saw yesterday for 2 tanks of gas & even with very good earmuffs I got some increased ringing.
"It's too late for ear plugs" has an ominous "ring" to it? I think some encouragement is better.;)
 
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 agree with Mule. It used to drive me absolutley crazy. My family had a limestone quarry and I started working there when I was around 12. Lots of noise, machinery, dynamite, etc. Then years of loud music, guns, etc. Anyhow, it's pretty bad. In fact, sad to say, years ago, I thought about suicide. It was driving me batty, and I thought, if I have to "listen" to this the rest of my life, I might as well put an end to it now. Anyhow, about 10 years ago, I started a meditation practice. At first, the "noise" level of the tinnitus went through the roof. However, after using the tinnitus as an object of meditation, my "relationship" to it has changed. It as been really cool to experience this. I won't get all "new agey" with it, but instead of hating the tinnitus, I have actually been able to use it as tool. It's still there, loud as ever, but doesn't cause me suffering any longer.

Now, let's burn some incense and stare at some crystals... :blush
 
I've had it for about 15 years. Unless I'm riding just a few blocks, soft ear plugs are worn. When using the snow blower, lawn mower, weed whacker, and even the vacuum, I wear ear protectors in an attempt to preserve the hearing that I have left. Mine began when filling a bicycle tire and didn't realize the inner tube was caught between the rim and the tire. The pop or explosion of the inner tube wasn't too bad, but it did cause some damage. But the final straw was three days later, when descending into Manchester airport. The change of elevation pressure, combined with the injury a few days earlier, made the landing extremely painful and unbearable for my ears. For the following three weeks while in England, I had massive, loud tinnitus, which eventually has settled down, but is always present. :banghead
 
I've had it for about 15 years. Unless I'm riding just a few blocks, soft ear plugs are worn. When using the snow blower, lawn mower, weed whacker, and even the vacuum, I wear ear protectors in an attempt to preserve the hearing that I have left. Mine began when filling a bicycle tire and didn't realize the inner tube was caught between the rim and the tire. The pop or explosion of the inner tube wasn't too bad, but it did cause some damage. But the final straw was three days later, when descending into Manchester airport. The change of elevation pressure, combined with the injury a few days earlier, made the landing extremely painful and unbearable for my ears. For the following three weeks while in England, I had massive, loud tinnitus, which eventually has settled down, but is always present. :banghead

I have had it (moderate to severe) for over forty five years. Better now that I have it in both ears. I had and traveled with a "rock n roll" band for seven years then became a Jet Pilot for the next thirty five years. After retiring I just had to have loud Harleys. All made their contributions.

I have had it (very high pitch) twenty four seven and sometimes wondered if I could stand it another day. There is no cure. Stay rested and take a multiple vitamin B Complex will help some. Do not feel alone as many people suffer from this malady.

Jack
 
Tinnitus may not be "curable" but if you have any hearing left it should be protected by whatever means possible. My ringing never stops but is tolerable and I have ~ 35% high freq loss R&L. I do find that even when I'm as well protected as possible,e.g. I ran a chain saw yesterday for 2 tanks of gas & even with very good earmuffs I got some increased ringing.
"It's too late for ear plugs" has an ominous "ring" to it? I think some encouragement is better.;)

Ditto this....

Tinnitus is from damaged nerve cells in the inner ear. It's not an absolute, all or nothing condition. Catch it in time and you can at least reduce the likelyhood of further damage and worse tinnitus. It's never too late to start paying attention to protecting your eyes, ears, and lungs.
 
Like Jack, I have it in both ears, for 30+ years. For me it is a constant steady tone, very high pitch, like a constant whistle. My other way to decribe it is, recall the old tube type TVs from the 50s and 60s, when you turned the volume all the way down the TV "whistled" at a very high pitch. That's it for me, both ears, 24/7/365, never stops. I don't have high blood pressure. Never was in a band. No cycle or car racing with open exhausts. No jobs around excessive loud noises. Been riding since I was 14 (55 now) and almost always wore full face helmets. Almost all my bikes have produced sound close to stock, and been riding behind fairings/windshields since the late 70's. Maybe that was it, turbulent noise. I do sing in two large choral groups, but that is not loud either.

I do not wear earbuds or listen to music while I ride, aside from the dicking around with the volume and music selections, I find it is only more noise that I must overcome later. To get decent music quality I end up with too much volume, and it distracts me from my riding.

I do feel though, that when I wear earplugs, it makes the ringing "in my head" amplified/concentrated, even long after I take the earplugs out. So my goal with my upcoming R1200RT custom/project (I am building my version of a R1200RS) is to make a much quieter cockpit than my current R1100RS. That and a really quiet helmet. And perhaps some expensive, custom fitted/formed earplugs. The little squishy foam earplugs of any type only make the ringing worse for me. I fact, when I wear earplugs when visiting my customers manufacturing facilities, as I walk each foot-fall sounds like a dull hammer blow in my head. So I usually just press the earplugs only in far enough to make it look like I have them in.

In my opinion I have to live with it. I have not sufferred any actual hearing loss, and I can easily differentiate the pitch within a few frequencies either side of what I hear. If there was a cure, I would jump on it. But I doubt there is anything short of somehow training my brain to "not hear" the exact pitch that is the tone. Maybe someday we'll have noise cancelling implants, something that creates the exact pitch/tone we "hear" but 180 degrees out of phase to cancel the noise out. Still, I feel what I have is not actually a pitch caused by outside sound waves, its in my head unfortunately. Probably there till I hear, and breathe no more. Then finally, sweet silence.
 
Tinnitus may not be "curable" but if you have any hearing left it should be protected by whatever means possible. My ringing never stops but is tolerable and I have ~ 35% high freq loss R&L. I do find that even when I'm as well protected as possible,e.g. I ran a chain saw yesterday for 2 tanks of gas & even with very good earmuffs I got some increased ringing.
"It's too late for ear plugs" has an ominous "ring" to it? I think some encouragement is better.;)

The problem with riding with earplugs is that they cut out too much sound. My tinnitus is like the old emergency broadcast system all the time. From what I can tell it affects midrange sounds, so if there is background sound, I have problems with conversations. Mine was cause my playing in rock bands with guitarists that use marshall stacks.
 
Anyone suffering from tinnitus (an increasing percent of the population) should see an ENT (Ear-Nose-Throat) specialist, AKA otolaryngologist. As said above, there isn't a cure but you want to be sure what the cause is since there are a couple of very unpleasant possibilities.

Mine continues to worsen inspite of ear plug use for everything from riding to lawn mowing to running a power drill. Years of riding without ear plugs (who knew?) and teaching woodworking are the culprits, plus now I've got Menier's disease which causes dizzy spells and worsens tinnitus.

Otolaryngology will be a booming field in coming years. Today's youth will be lining up at the doc's office in 20 years. Let's hope they find a cure.

pete
-"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde
 
I agree with Mule. Anyhow, it's pretty bad. In fact, sad to say, years ago, I thought about suicide. It was driving me batty, and I thought, if I have to "listen" to this the rest of my life, I might as well put an end to it now.

Sorry to hear that; but glad you found a way to cope. If mine had stayed at the intense level it was I might well have found myself in the same position.

It is such a strange malady; as I sit here typing, the sound in my ears just gets louder. I know the sound has not changed, it is just that reading this thread makes me think about the noise and I then of course hear it. In a few minutes it will go away again as my brain ignores it as I do something else.
 
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