Hello, I'm Pedro and I've been with tinnitus for about three weeks. The story goes like this:
I've been an audiophile for 20 years or so. I own a decent set of headphones and a headphone amp, but never was a big fan of the headphone experience, always preferring loudspeakers. I tend to be careful with volume and never had hearing issues. So, last January I had to send my amplifier for repairs. In the meantime I resorted to headphones. So a couple of days before getting my amp back, I'm listening with headphones to a track that was recorded/mastered at a low volume level. Keep scrolling my iPad and I guess I wasn't too focused on what I was doing when I pressed my finger on a track that was the exact opposite of the previous one. Loud and compressed. BOOOM. I immediately took off the headphones. I felt nothing at the time. no pain or ringing. A couple of days later I wake up to this extremely high pitch in my left ear, with crickets just below it. Its been like this for the last three weeks. Sometimes I perceive it louder (waking up, driving, quiet rooms) than other times. Also, I'm more sensitive to noises (doing the dishes, etc.).
For me, the best course of action seems to be to try to habituate as fast as possible and not expect miracles. Took a hearing test at Costco, turns out my hearing is good to excellent for my age (53). There is a small dip in the graph with my left ear, where the tinnitus is, but still well whiting normal. The audiologist recommended against hearing aids. Went to the ear specialist on Friday, told me not to get my hopes up too much about the ringing.
I've been reluctant to go into a forum like this, but its been good to just write this here. Best wishes to all.
I've been an audiophile for 20 years or so. I own a decent set of headphones and a headphone amp, but never was a big fan of the headphone experience, always preferring loudspeakers. I tend to be careful with volume and never had hearing issues. So, last January I had to send my amplifier for repairs. In the meantime I resorted to headphones. So a couple of days before getting my amp back, I'm listening with headphones to a track that was recorded/mastered at a low volume level. Keep scrolling my iPad and I guess I wasn't too focused on what I was doing when I pressed my finger on a track that was the exact opposite of the previous one. Loud and compressed. BOOOM. I immediately took off the headphones. I felt nothing at the time. no pain or ringing. A couple of days later I wake up to this extremely high pitch in my left ear, with crickets just below it. Its been like this for the last three weeks. Sometimes I perceive it louder (waking up, driving, quiet rooms) than other times. Also, I'm more sensitive to noises (doing the dishes, etc.).
For me, the best course of action seems to be to try to habituate as fast as possible and not expect miracles. Took a hearing test at Costco, turns out my hearing is good to excellent for my age (53). There is a small dip in the graph with my left ear, where the tinnitus is, but still well whiting normal. The audiologist recommended against hearing aids. Went to the ear specialist on Friday, told me not to get my hopes up too much about the ringing.
I've been reluctant to go into a forum like this, but its been good to just write this here. Best wishes to all.
