Do You Still Listen to Music?

[The_T]

Some new phones nowadays have a warning when the volume goes beyond safe levels the volume bars start going red , first white colored bars in safe levels till 60% then starts to become red so they are doing "something" about it

True, but I heard that it's possible to turn off this warning. Not sure though. But still, I don't think that many takes this warning seriously until they get tinnitus. But it shows that someone, more than us, knows that high sounds are dangerous, so that's something.

But stores, even grocery stores play music nowadays, and some places at moderate to almost high levels.

 

[MidnightOilAudio]

Absolutely I still listen to music. I mix on a daily basis as well. The key is safe listening levels. You can get a dB meter on Amazon for like $20. Absolutely worth it.

I was lucky enough to learn the proper safe way to mix when I was just starting out. Low -moderate listening levels (72-75dB peaks at the listening position), and to take lots of breaks. These principles weren't put in place to stop T from developing but rather because listening at low levels presents a more realistic picture of what's coming out of your speakers (the louder it gets, the more the low and high frequencies appear exaggerated - our ears frequency sensitivity is not linear from 20hz to 20khz) and the many breaks are because we have short teerm aural memory. Taking breaks allows your ears to reset and when you come back to your mix session things immediately jump out at you as being "wrong".

Just to clarify, I did not get my T through audio engineering. I did listen to music for pleasure way too loud for many years, and that probably predisposed me to T, but what finally did me in was a sinus & ear infection 7 months ago. T ever since.

 

[Optic Axis]

Yes I still listen to music and do the odd bit of DJ mixing now and again. Not at the volumes I used to do though. When in the car or van I do have the music fairly loud, enough to mask the tinnitus. It is about the only bit of relief I get from it now since the sound of the sea doesn't even mask it anymore.

 

[Richard zurowski]

I listen to music all the time at a safe level. I'm not going to let tinnitus stop me from doing things that I like in life.

 

[uae96]

In my initial stage I had hyperacusis as well and I bought noise cancelling headsets and played music in really low and maybe it was a contributor that has improved my h so much

 

[RaZaH]

Yes, all the time...I mix at stupid low levels and have always done so , after getting T I produce everything on these tiny little Avantone speakers and move to my bigger Adams for final tweaks, my large monitors and sub have not been turned on since I got T.

 

[Georgia]

I will always listen to music, just not too loud, its even therapeutic for t sufferers.
@uae96 I feel like if we stop enjoying one of the simplest arts like music we are just letting t take away one of the most beautiful things we have

 

[matfromaust]

I still listen to music, I love music. I've spent countless hours on my own just listening to it away from the world, I don't think I could ever give it up.

I don't know if this part of the reason for my tinnitus or not, I always listened to it on a medium loud than an out right loud, so I could hear if anyone was coming sort of thing.

Now I listen to it on a lower volume, if I have ear buds in I can hear and understand what's on the television kind of level.

 

[mohamad-m]

Yes I listen to classical music but some type of musical instruments will hurt my ears but my favorite one is a saxophone and accordion my favorite song is stereo love from Edward maya

 

[DudeMannDude]

Music is fantastic, I listen to it everyday. I just turn down the volume and only listen to about one album a day and let my ears rest.

 

[Hariz Nonis]

Is it really safe to listen to music using headphones? The last time I really, really listened to music using headphones was about 2 months Before T started for me. I guess mine wasn't started by the music, but I am afraid

 

[DudeMannDude]

Is it really safe to listen to music using headphones? The last time I really, really listened to music using headphones was about 2 months Before T started for me. I guess mine wasn't started by the music, but I am afraid

Well, you should be fine if you keep the volume very low, but I think it is better to listen to music over speakers.

 

[uae96]

Since I wrote this , I've been listening to music through my head phones daily , ofc lower volume , I don't think it affected my t

 

[Fungus]

I live out 'in-the-sticks' which has much more sound in it than you may think....cows,sheep,roosters, machinery(very noisy), wind, and 'planes, helicopters and fake fights from thee distant army station.
Maybe my tinnitus is a bit different from some folk, but I still love listening to music at a volumes above my tinnitus (but never to ear-damaging or 'distortion' 'noise recruitment' levels). I DO hope I'm not fooling myself !

If I am going to a concert or am going to an area where sound is going to be loud I wear ear plugs.

I have had tinnitus for over a year related to viral ear damage, blocked Eustachian tunes and ETD and had nasty hyperacusis at first, but that is no longer an issue.

As i think we vary such a lot in cause(s) for our tinnitus and the effect it has on us, there really can't be any general rule that all should follow, apart from not at volumes which can further damage hearing or upset the tinnitus/hyperacusis in each of us.

I see the ability to enjoy music as a big plus in a condition which can be a major challenge to conquer.

Fungus

 

[STi]

I listen to octane everyday...sirius xm channel 37!..just not loud

 

[hurtingdream]

Yes but at a low volume. Music is amazing

 

[Hariz Nonis]

locked Eustachian tunes and ETD

Have you ever taken a flight with your Eustachian Tube issues?

 

[Fungus]

Hi Hariz,
I haven't taken a flight yet, but plan to do so in the New Year.
I first had grommets and I now have semi-permanent middle ear ventilation via T-tubes through my eardrums as my Eustachian tubes have not recovered. Flying therefore should be a breeze, as my middle ears have permanent openings to the outside.
Flying with Eustachian tube dysfunction where the tubes may remain blocked even on Valsalva is a very painful experience and, when I had an episode some years back related to a common cold, I perforated an eardrum on the plane on coming in to land. Pre-treatment with decongestants may help some folk under these circumstances.

Fungus.

 

[Hariz Nonis]

@Fungus whoa did the perforated eardrum heal on its own? That's my biggest concern with flying, and I'm going overseas in a few weeks too.
Also,did the flight cause any spikes in your T?

 

[Hardwell]

@Hariz Nonis where are you travelling to pal?

 

[Nick Pyzik]

Music was everything to me before I developed this hidden hearing loss I have. I don't have hearing loss but it's almost like my ears are numb now to sounds and music. I don't receive any enjoyment from it whatsoever.

 

[Fungus]

Hariz, my eardrum did mend of its own accord and with no significant hearing loss of scarring. I guess that I must have had a 'glue ear', though I didn't really have many symptoms of an ear problem until I was on the plane and couldn't 'pop' my left ear. Building up to the perforation was very painful, but the pain eased a lot after the eardrum perforated with the release of a little bit of blood-stained fluid.

I was told that perforation is very uncommon on modern flights. Also, if you have mild problems with the Eustachian tubes, pre-treatment with decongestants may help. If your problems are severe and/or you need to fly may mean you would require grommets or the more long-term T-tubes to fly without pain. Pilots have T-tubes if they develop Eustachian tube dysfunction.

At the time I had my perforation, I didn't have tinnitus, nor did I develop tinnitus after for some years. It probably indicated that I had potential ear problems, though.

Good luck with the flight. I'm sure you WILL be able to do something to make flight possible and comfortable.

Nick, I'm sorry to hear that you have hearing issues which have tarnished your love for music. Hopefully it will eventually recover.

 

[Hariz Nonis]

@Hardwell I'm in Singapore and I'm flying to Indonesia, which will be about 3-4 hour flight

 

[Hariz Nonis]

@Fungus I did use a nasal spray for about two months from September to November, so idk if that helps in any way. I would like to ask some more, did you find out about your perforated eardrum on your own? And since you said it healed on its own, did you see an ENT or a doctor?

 

[Dutchy]

There's a physical difference in headphones VS speakers,playing either at a low volume makes the headphone come out worse for your ears,there's a restriction to your ear by the mere blockage of the headphone itself.Not so much the volume but the way the music is send into your brain,testing with my industrial hearing protection made me REALLY realize this.

 

[Fungus]

Hariz, I had pretty much worked out what had happened....couldn't 'pop' the ear with Valsalva, pressure and pain getting worse and worse, and then relief after some fluid released.
I saw my GP on the following day who spotted the perforation and gave me antibiotics. He sent me to ENT, but the appointment was about 6-8 weeks after, by which time the perforation had healed. Hearing tests showed no real hearing loss.
I have glaucoma, so I can't take the decongestants ahead of a flight, so I'm happy that I have the ear tubes now to allow air in.
I hope your flight goes well,

Fungus.

 

[Asvalian]

I used to listen to loud music a total of 1 hour a day with headphones, (30min from home to work, and viceversa) and play videogames with headphones at a moderate volume, I did that for around 5 years... if I only knew that this could cause T, I would have stopped using headphones altogeher. Now I only use speakers at home, and I rarely listen to music, it just makes me cry when I hear my favourite songs with the stupid EEEEEEEEEEEEE between, it reminds that I was once able to listen "all" the details, all the instruments, damn that was great while it lasted.

 

[AnxiousJon]

I only use certain speakers. The poor speaker in this has a range my ears like http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-VN-72...&qid=1451182906&sr=8-1&keywords=Olympus+722pc. I upload my mp3s to it. It has a comforting ambiance to it; it helps the music stay in the background and helps me sleep. Also listen to lectures on it. Also i use another set of small computer speakers that sound nice but very much lack treble.

 

[A.A]

I listen to music on daily basis, I used to listen very loudly through my headphones as well, it didn't make my T. worse but it hasn't faded either. Now, I try to limit it and only listen at moderate volumes, but I don't think I will ever stop.

 

[Taylorslay]

Yes but not everyday.