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Tinnitus

I have recently developed tinnitus in my right ear; high pitched whine accompanied by a feeling of intermittent stuffiness in that ear. I went to an ENT doc and had an audiologist work up. Turns out my hearing is still good, overall: some high frequency loss in the right ear but overall not bad.
I have read some of the other tinnitus threads on A'gon. I am feeling afraid right now that this ailment will "ruin" my enjoyment of this wonderful hobby.
I am interested in how others of you with tinnitus are doing with your audiophilia. Are you still able to take pleasure in listening to music on your systems?
Thanks. I guess I just need some encouragement.
rebbi
jrb25
44 posts
 
I agree you will get used to it. I developed a constant high pitched whine in my right ear about 15 years ago resulting from a car accident, along with some high-frequency loss. Try to be patient and realize that like most you will probably learn to live with it without much effect on your quality of life. I was very upset then but now I almost never notice it-except right now as I write this!
sabai
2,027 posts
 
Rebbi,

Actually, the cause of tinnitus has nothing to do with hearing, although is seems that way. This is a neurological condition. Do you have a history of silver amalgam fillings?
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
986 posts
 
I often wonder how musicians, rock and classical alike, cope with their daily exposure to high decibels. One would assume that they all have tinnitus to some degree.
photon46
1,080 posts
 
I developed tinnitus about seven years ago, gets worse in the late autumn when barometric pressure starts fluctuating ahead of cold fronts. Like Roxy54 says, you learn to live with it and listen through it. Getting older with a healthy mental attitude means accepting that we can't do things at as high a level as we did when younger but still taking pleasure in doing them as well as we can. I can't lift as much weight in the weight room or run as fast as I did thirty years ago, but I still look forward to exercise every day. Same with listening to music in spite of tinnitus.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
The audiologist told me that because this is a brain thing as much as an ear thing, the more you attend to it the more you train your brain to focus on it. So yoga, meditation and other mindfulness practices can be helpful.
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