Are People That Used to Have Super Hearing More Likely to Get Tinnitus?

[Hotaru]

Prior to tinnitus, my hearing was super-human. It was a blessing and a curse, since I could always hear everything and tuning it out would be quite a task. My parents and friends would always be like, "Wow, how do you even hear that? That's amazing!" Was anyone else like this before tinnitus?

 

[Reinier]

Yep. Me too. Even at middle age, I was able to hear the smallest distortion in Hi-Fi systems that other people didn't notice.

 

[Owen]

Yes, totally. Everything and anything used to irritate me.

In my late teenage years, I used to design passive cooling systems for my PC as the fan noise was too irritating and I'd even have to switch off switch mode power supplies as the high pitched whine was too much. Even now, when my tinnitus completely disappears for a few minutes, which it does almost every single day, I can still hear a pin drop.

 

[Alue]

Me too. I think it seems likely. When the brain loses an auditory input in a certain range (however small) it can overreact. People that have hypersensitive hearing and hyperactivity of that part of the brain may be prone to getting tinnitus. The brain latches on to that loss of auditory input and will not let go.

 

[Fangen]

Not sure. I know that I have had some kind of light hearing loss in my left ear since I was a teenager due to LOTS of talking on the phone for many years. I would like to say that my hearing are pretty "active". I react to most of the sounds, think of a cat or dog that hear something and focus on it to see what it is. Sort of how I am. I still kind of am but can't say I have noticed that behavior anymore. But I have never really liked loud sounds too much, or I don't felt the need to have everything very loud Music being the exception, hence sort of why I am here Noise-induced from a concert..

 

[Reinier]

But I have never really liked loud sounds too much, or I don't felt the need to have everything very loud

I always enjoyed sound very much. Not high levels, but the fact that we are able to hear such extremely low vibrations in the air. If I am not mistaken we are able to hear single molecules vibrating! (Not any more for me though)

 

[Fangen]

I love sounds too, even though too much makes my ears quite tired. I noticed that in my meetings at work, that it's all good until 40-45 min and the talking seems to be "louder", or more that my ears are getting tired and want relief. Meetings never goes over an hour so that's good. But yeah, I loved to listen to music in my bed and just "be". Now I never do that, my bedroom is sound-proofed pretty well and the ringing seem to amp up in there. Don't dare to listen to music in headphone that much even at low levels. I miss putting my Beats on and just let the music flow, that was the best thing to and from work. I miss that a lot.

 

[Reinier]

Yes I recognise ears getting tired. Before my NIHL tinnitus and hyperacusis I never realised this could happen to hearing. Getting tired! Let us hope that 2016 is a great year for initiatives into hearing disorders.

 

[AnxiousJon]

Yeah, very sensitive hearing. When someone turned on the old glass TVs(remember those?) I could hear the high pitch(quite loud) sound they created when they were powered on; no one else was bothered or seemed to notice it. I still surprise people with my ability, even with noise going on in my ear.

 

[Reinier]

When someone turned on the old glass TVs(remember those?)

Yes. I remember. And I remember I too was able to hear this frequency. (I am a technician, so I know why this frequency is generated in these old TV's) . In our lounge we still use one. I do not have a flat screen HD, LCD, plasma, LED etc...

The frequency you are talking about was 15625 Hz in Europe and I don't remember what the exact frequency for the NTSC system in America and Canada was. Slightly lower. That much I do know. So 15625 Hz or close to this frequency is a pretty high frequency!

So the TV in our lounge is still generating this 15625 Hz. But I can't hear it

 

[Heather415]

Yes! Thats kinda amazing you would ask that, because I was just talking about this to a friend. I use to hear everything! "Even a mouse pissing on cotton down the street", as someone put it to me once Oh, how life throws these funny curveballs at us, huh?

 

[Owen]

I would have thought that the connection isn't just in individuals hearing being more sensitive, but in actually noticing it and how one emotionally responds to it. I've known a lot of people that once you point out a sound, they can hear it, but just don't notice it until they try and focus on it.

I definitely suffer and suffered from misophonia long before tinnitus appeared.

I suppose if you think about it, it makes sense that those people that are predisposed to tune into these sounds are the ones on the forum. Others that can easily switch off, or don't notice these external sounds are likely to be less bothered by noises that are generated in their own auditory systems too and hence probably don't even worry about them and look for support forums.

 

[Reinier]

I've known a lot of people that once you point out a sound, they can hear it, but just don't notice it until they try and focus on it.

I agree. This is a reason why I believe you can "improve" healthy hearing. When I was young I "trained" my hearing.
Naturally you need a healthy hearing to hear sounds in the first instance. So your ears need to be able to pick sounds up. But focus and realising a sound is there is in my opinion something that happens in our brain. So unfortunately at the moment my brain is focussed on my T )-:

 

[RaZaH]

yep

 

[Dan Seg]

Yes. I remember. And I remember I too was able to hear this frequency. (I am a technician, so I know why this frequency is generated in these old TV's) . In our lounge we still use one. I do not have a flat screen HD, LCD, plasma, LED etc...

The frequency you are talking about was 15625 Hz in Europe and I don't remember what the exact frequency for the NTSC system in America and Canada was. Slightly lower. That much I do know. So 15625 Hz or close to this frequency is a pretty high frequency!

So the TV in our lounge is still generating this 15625 Hz. But I can't hear it

REINER,

15,734 Hz is the Scan FReq. in the NTSC system ,
and yes I can hear this thing full speed ! if one TV is put on in a different room,
my head turns around like a dog would do ! ..

even with my bad --T-- the TV is still there, ....
actualy my --T-- is very close Freq. to this NTSC scan .

at the begining I was assuming my PC monitor was generating this Freq,
but then I found out later that it was in my HEAD !!! this is when I freaked OUT !..

I had this for 4 years , then after 2 years of Prozac it got down ,
but last August 2015 it came back hard ....
some days its bad, some others its lower ...

Nobody , or No doctors are having a cure for this yet !
we send people to the god dam MOON ! but we do ZERO for Tinnitus ...
jesus Christ !


cheers,

DAN

 

[Reinier]

Nobody , or No doctors are having a cure for this yet !
we send people to the god dam MOON ! but we do ZERO for Tinnitus ...
jesus Christ !

Thanks. I was wrong. Thinking about it the frequency in the NTSC system should be higher. I used to repair the TVs.
PAL that is.
Yesterday there was a medical program on the BBC. Also tinnitus was one of the subjects. Very disappointing this was.
I can try to summarise what was said: It is not exactly clear what happens with tinnitus. Most tinnitus originate from hearing loss. Some new drugs are perhaps available in the near future. You shouldn't worry. It is very unlikely that tinnitus is harmful. Not very encouraging that the subject was so superficial. Well at least it was mentioned.

 

[derpytia]

I wouldn't say that I had super hearing before T. But I was a musician so I was trained to listen for sounds and therefore 'heard' things people didn't really pick up on or pay attention to.

 

[liquefact]

I believe that there is a clear correlation bw Tinnitus and Hyperacousis. Some people like me have lowered hearing thresholds or loudness discomfort levels (my LDL is ~85db, hence H) which means i cannot tolerate loudness as much as others (average LDL is ~90db). Low hearing threshold means that it's easier for the quieter sounds to pass this threshold so that they'll be heard.

As a result of some hearing damage, brain notices that there are some missing/corrupt signals and lowers that threshold with the intention of hearing more, resulting in H, oversensitivity to sounds. For some people this lowering is also enough for them to start hearing the background noises in the ear, but for the lucky ones it's not as it's not lowered enough to make the ringing audible.

IMO that super hearing is lowered hearing threshold and yes, if you are good at hearing things other people don't hear, you're more likely to have T and H after an inner ear damage.

 

[Fangen]

Just a quick update.

I was just at the ENT for my first appointment and test.
I have perfect hearing, above average. So no hearing loss from the concert, not sure if that is a good or bad thing. That proves that I had good hearing from before like I have suspected.

 

[Owen]

Just a quick update.

I was just at the ENT for my first appointment and test.
I have perfect hearing, above average. So no hearing loss from the concert, not sure if that is a good or bad thing. That proves that I had good hearing from before like I have suspected.

I posted the following in another thread and I thought it relevant to you:

...Incidentally, the type of hearing test you will most likely have received is pure tone audiometry. This type of hearing test is useful to determine whether or not you would benefit from hearing aids and to tell if severe noise induced trauma is a likely cause.

In practical terms, multiple inner ear hair cells cross over each other in terms of their ability to respond to certain frequencies, so even if some are damaged, your ability to hear certain frequencies could be seemingly unaffected.
If no tinnitus is present, your brain is still receiving signals coming from the damaged hairs, but is ignoring them and hence filtering them out. Where tinnitus is present, your brain continues to pick up on those signals from damaged hairs and respond to them with a ringing or similar.

Even this is not a catch all though, as there are a number of reasons for tinnitus that do not originate from the inner ear...

 

[Fangen]

Where tinnitus is present, your brain continues to pick up on those signals from damaged hairs and respond to them with a ringing or similar.

Hey Owen, thanks for the response!
Damaged or dead? That is more the question I wondered, I know the ENT couldn't answer it of course. I felt that if my hearing is not damaged, and that the noise trauma haven't caused "too much" damage on the ear, then maybe there is some hope that the inner ear cells might be damaged but not "dead". I guess I want to hope while I don't want to hope at the same time.

 

[Owen]

Hey Owen, thanks for the response!
Damaged or dead? That is more the question I wondered, I know the ENT couldn't answer it of course. I felt that if my hearing is not damaged, and that the noise trauma haven't caused "too much" damage on the ear, then maybe there is some hope that the inner ear cells might be damaged but not "dead". I guess I want to hope while I don't want to hope at the same time.

I know what you mean about hope - it is definitely a double edged sword. One option sets you up for disappointment, whilst the other removes optimism. Do keep in mind, that in some people, even if cells are dead, the brain can and does switch them off sometimes - that is effectively what our brains do normally throughout our lives as more and more inner ear hairs die.

If the tinnitus does subside, you won't care that a few of the inner ear hairs are dead anyway. Like everyone else on this forum, it is the symptom of tinnitus that bothers you, not that anatomically you may have lost a few hearing hairs.

I wish for you that it does subside. You are very early in the recovery process, so give it time.

There is hope, so hold on to that hope on those days when it is troubling you.

 

[Hotaru]

I know what you mean about hope - it is definitely a double edged sword. One option sets you up for disappointment, whilst the other removes optimism. Do keep in mind, that in some people, even if cells are dead, the brain can and does switch them off sometimes - that is effectively what our brains do normally throughout our lives as more and more inner ear hairs die.

If the tinnitus does subside, you won't care that a few of the inner ear hairs are dead anyway. Like everyone else on this forum, it is the symptom of tinnitus that bothers you, not that anatomically you may have lost a few hearing hairs.

I wish for you that it does subside. You are very early in the recovery process, so give it time.

There is hope, so hold on to that hope on those days when it is troubling you.

If the hairs aren't dead, can they grow back?

 

[Fangen]

If the hairs aren't dead, can they grow back?

Inner ear cells don't grow back. If they did none of us would have T.
However, if they are damaged then they might be able to repair themselves and T can be reduced or gone completely. They are sensitive for damage in the future, and it takes less trauma to damage them next time.

 

[Sgguy46]

i have super hearing too even now

 

[Alue]

Hey Owen, thanks for the response!
Damaged or dead? That is more the question I wondered, I know the ENT couldn't answer it of course. I felt that if my hearing is not damaged, and that the noise trauma haven't caused "too much" damage on the ear, then maybe there is some hope that the inner ear cells might be damaged but not "dead". I guess I want to hope while I don't want to hope at the same time.

You can have significant hearing damage without it ever being expressed in an audiogram.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2812055/

You can also have damage to high threshold auditory nerves without it ever showing up on an audiogram.

It's really unfortunate how limited your average audiogram is.


Edit: I don't mean to smash hope. I too am hoping my recent tinnitus fades away. It's just I did an audiogram 1 day after my acoustic trauma and I was told I was perfectly fine, then the loud tinnitus set in a few days later. The audiogram results prevented the doctor from taking the trauma seriously and putting me on prednisone right away.

 

[liquefact]

You can have significant hearing damage without it ever being expressed in an audiogram.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2812055/

You can also have damage to high threshold auditory nerves without it ever showing up on an audiogram.

I believe this is called hidden hearing loss, which does not show up in the regular audiogram or oto-acoustic tests.

 

[Zug]

I used to teach at a University, my nickname at the time was "The Eye of Sauron". The students used to say I could see when they were doing something wrong even with my back turned. In truth, I could hear everything...

Not after the "acoustic shock" thing. I still got what is considered "normal" hearing, but it's not what it used to be (and there's a valley on the region of the shock).

 

[Nucleo]

Edit: I don't mean to smash hope. I too am hoping my recent tinnitus fades away. It's just I did an audiogram 1 day after my acoustic trauma and I was told I was perfectly fine, then the loud tinnitus set in a few days later. The audiogram results prevented the doctor from taking the trauma seriously and putting me on prednisone right away.

Unfortunately this happens all too often.

An audiogram does not mean anything tinnitus related but medical professionals still regard it as the golden standard of all things hearing related without question.

 

[Alue]

Unfortunately this happens all too often.

An audiogram does not mean anything tinnitus related but medical professionals still regard it as the golden standard of all things hearing related without question.

Worst thing was it only went up to 8kHz. I did another audiogram later that went up to 12kHz and it showed me starting to drop off at the high frequencies. My T is somewhere around 14kHz and working with a frequency generator I can tell where it starts to drop off around that range.

I never realized it till I got this condition, but audiograms seem archaic. Mine was done following an acoustic trauma, but they only tested to 8kHz, when most acoustic traumas cause high frequency hearing loss first.