Anyone with tinnitus or hearing loss who is into "high-end" audio?


Over the last few years I have developed tinnitus and also have some hearing issues.  I am a long time music and audio fanatic.  Years ago I built my own Hafler amp.  Before that I had a great AR system.  Presently, I have, what I believe, is a pretty nice system in a dedicated listening room (about 60,000.00).  My question is if there are others of you out there in similar situations concerning your hearing issues as they relate to your love and reproduction of great sounding music?  What are your experiences? Have you found anything that helps and do you have any advice? I would venture to say that we all experience some degree of hearing loss, or hearing anomalies as we age...whether we realize it or not.  Thanks, Jim 
pfeiffer
I am 66 years old, I have no tinnitus issues but after a lifetime of noise exposure in industrial work environments my hearing tests indicate very significant hearing loss above 4k in both ears.

I have habitually used tone bypass in the past but I now crank up the treble. It helps a great deal. I have been told that hearing aids do not boost missing frequencies but instead indiscriminately simply making everything a lot louder.

 In the past when using firearms or near heavy (loud) equipment I always used both ear plugs and ear muffs at the same time. Evidently those precautions were not sufficient.


I’ve had tinnitus, worse in my left ear, for the past two years. Mine sounds like a constant hiss; a sink on full blast. It’s not super loud but as others have mentioned, stress, caffeine, lack of sleep all make it worse. I notice that I listen to music “through” the tinnitus; I always hear the tinnitus on top of the music, but when I am engaged in the music I am able to tune the tinnitus out.

I will say this: tinnitus can be extremely distressing at first, but I advise those in this initial phase of experiencing it to take heart that the brain is an amazing organ, and you too can adapt to it. I know it’s there, and it can bother me at times, but in the grand scheme of things it is quite tolerable. I remember a time when it felt like it never would be, and I wish someone had told me what it was like to reach the other side.
@zm 
Good advice. The initial phase can be crushing, but habituation is possible.

For those in the US, consider joining the American Tinnitus Association (ATA). They raise money through contributions from many sources to fund research. For about $40 you can join and get their quarterly magazine which describes the latest research and coping strategies. The UK has a similar organization, the BTA.   
I’m not trying to brag, in fact I might be a freak of nature, but I can hear up to 19kHz. I’m 62, my last hearing test was about five years ago and I only had some hearing loss in the low frequencies.
When I was younger, the high pitched whine of a tube TV was intolerable. I could also hear the pilot tone of a department store’s alarm system.

Having such sensitive hearing isn’t always a blessing, it’s been difficult to tune my audio system just right and early digital and CD players were torture.
Now I have mild tinnitus and severe hyperacusis. I really enjoy listening to my system but there are some albums I’ll never be able to listen to. With hyperacusis comes pain from high frequencies, and as one member mentioned, the sound of kitchen cabinets and pots banging hits me in the brain.

Going to the symphony is such a pleasure, taking in the full spectrum of sound. Meanwhile, playing recorded music isn’t always enjoyable.


I am 71 and have had tinnitus for a long time.  I was the crew chief for am M60 machine gun as a Sergeant in the Army, then loud rock from the late 69s and early 70s did me no good.  That said I will forever remember seeing Duane Allman, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison to name a few.

I recently have gone to hearing aids and the help a good bit.  I accept my limitations, and now embrace the music my system provides.  My desire to critique and analyze is gone and I just fall into the music I love (which is very esoteric).

I know I haven't been able to hear above 14k for many years and accept that getting old is Not for the weak, LOL