Should I Quit My Music Internship?

[Foamearplugssuck]

Hey all--

I have an internship at a radio station, and I've been doing a lot of concert/studio session photography, meaning that I am often next to loud, live music. I've had tinnitus for the past two weeks, and I'm very worried that it's permanent. Since I'm young and hoping to work in the music industry, this thought is absolutely devasting and has been giving me much anxiety.

I want to give my ears the best shot at recovering from tinnitus, and I think that means I should probably quit the internship and spend the rest of the summer in relative silence. However, when I brought this up to my parents, they scoffed and said I was being over dramatic and that quitting would look bad on my resume.

The other day I went to an audiologist, and while she didn't directly say to quit the internship, she was concerned about it. I got fitted for custom earplugs but they're going to take a couple weeks to come in. In the meantime, I'm wearing foam ear plugs [that don't fit into my ears because my ear canals are narrow and curvy] underneath Bose noise canceling headphones. I'm still worried though that its not enough and that I really should just stop the internship.

Though, this is the first internship I've gotten and it would really help me reach other opportunities in the music/photography realm. So, I dont want to quit because I'd like to have a career after college. But, it clearly isnt worth losing my hearing over.

Any thoughts or suggestions? [Thanks!]

 

[Strife_84]

So, I dont want to quit because I'd like to have a career after college.

You answered your own question.

Don't give up just yet. See how it goes.

I am myself at situation where I am thinking if I quit my musical dreams too. I have 5 released tracks on Spotify, with a small German label.

I love music. But I am already thinking about backup plan and I admit it's hard.

But I have not given up yet.

Suggestion, give your ears time and see where your condition goes.

But in the end, you are the only person who can decide what and what not to do with your life.

 

[Autumnly]

I'd say don't continue it. Live music can be incredibly loud and could definitely interfere with your ears healing. You've only had tinnitus for two weeks, there's still a chance it could go away so give your ears a break and give them the best chance to heal.

Your health is much more important than a perfect resume, you won't be able to work if you're too sick. You'll be able to find other ways into this field that are less damaging. Also, if you're already dealing with tinnitus now, ask yourself if you really want to work in this field or if there aren't other music and photography related jobs you could imagine yourself doing that aren't as damaging to your health.

You're definitely not being over-dramatic, your family simply doesn't understand how severe tinnitus and pain-hyperacusis can get.

 

[Bill Bauer]

You answered your own question.

OP did answer it. I agree with OP that this internship is not worth making his/her T permanent. Personally, I would also not take this risk.

@Foamearplugssuck check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/learn-from-others-mistakes.29437/

I didn't read all the above comments, but did peruse a fair amount of it, and ran across many good points on both sides of the argument. What strikes me is there seems to be an underlying assumption (of course I may be wrong on this) that all brains and neurological systems are created equal. The way I see it, that's simply not the case, so everybody's way of dealing with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is going to have to be highly individualized.

I read a book many years ago called "Adrenal Syndrome". A lot of the book touched on the residual resiliency of people's adrenal glands as they respond to life's stresses. Very low resiliency often resulted in months/years of chronic debilitating exhaustion following a stressful event(s) in their lives. Very high resiliency indicated essentially the opposite. The author broke this down into some rough numbers:

25% of people have low resiliency, meaning normal life stressors will often send them into some degree of a tailspin.
25% of people have high resiliency, meaning that no matter how severe a stressor comes into their lives, they will be able to cope without becoming debilitated to any degree.
50% of people fall somewhere inbetween.

I believe there are some kind of corresponding numbers for a person's brain and neurological resiliency as well, which can greatly affect the ability to cope with tinnitus. (I believe adrenal resiliency also plays a major role in our ability to cope). -- Based on these assumptions, it's pretty easy for me to conclude that what may be overprotection for one person will be underprotection for another, and vice versa.

I think the main point to understand for someone new to tinnitus is that their path forward is going to be a lot of "testing the waters". Generally, IMHO, it's going to take a few weeks or months to get important insights that will help us achieve a healthy balance. In all likelihood, most people are going to learn from experience when their over-protecting or under-protecting.

I've come to believe however, that in those early months, if one is going to err in either direction, it should be toward overprotection. It just seems to me the consequences of underprotection (which could result in permanent injury) in those early times are much more dire than the consequences of overprotection--which as I understand, generally results in temporary setbacks.

Doing a number of things to better support the brain and neurological system and the body's stress response (adrenal glands) is quite high on my list of recommendations I would make to anybody with tinnitus. Doing so might even prevent phonophobia or OCD, etc., as we go through our learning curves -- Just my 2 cents worth.

Relative newbies to tinnitus are likely to find all the information/opinions above quite confusing. So here are a few common-sense rules to follow:

1. The best protection of all is avoidance. Even the best earplugs can't guarantee complete hearing protection so those relatively new to tinnitus are best advised to avoid prolonged loud noise exposure - especially amplified sound at for example live concerts and sports events. This may involve lifestyle changes.

2. When in doubt, use hearing protection. In the many tasks we all do through the week, some will inevitably involve exposure to noise - which may be at higher levels than we at first realise - so using hearing protection for many of these is only sensible.

3. Build quiet into your day. It's not a good idea to be wearing hearing protection all the time - so you need to give your ears a break by ensuring that there will be quieter times during your day when hearing protection isn't necessary.This may involve changing your routine. Use soft masking noise and light music (not using headphones) to avoid "silence" where tinnitus is most noticeable.

4. Don't stress about stress. Tinnitus newbies are forever being told that the thing which makes tinnitus worse is stress. But while it's true that how you are feeling at a particular moment can make tinnitus temporarily louder, it won't have a lasting effect. But prolonged loud noise exposure can make tinnitus permanently louder. So don't stress about stress - but do be concerned about noise.

If you get spikes and/or ear fullness following being exposed to noise at that radio station, then it Definitely makes sense to quit. If this doesn't happen, then there is a higher chance that you will be ok. But the chance that you will not be ok will still be there.

What it boils down to is that you shouldn't "do the crime" if you aren't prepared to "do the time."

 

[Digital Doc]

If the earplugs are not fitting into the ear canal, then they won't be effective. You should try some slim fit types for hearing protection that can go into a narrower ear canal while you wait for the custom ones.

Bose noise canceling headphones don't do a great job of hearing protection, and you would be better off with ear muffs.

Have you measured the db's of this workplace? Are they > 85 db's? Is this an OSHA violation?

Realize that there are other ways to work in the music industry other than next to a blasting speaker. These include the business aspects such as at a record label, or as a manager which you can look into.

The basic fact is if you avoid further exposure to this level of noise, at this internship or elsewhere, this should get better over the next few months. If you persist in this, this has potential to never go away, and considerably worsen.

 

[Luman]

You should tune into (musician and producer) Rick Beato's live YouTube Q&A sessions, and also see the old ones where he talks about his tinnitus - he knows a lot about tinnitus as he's had it for years. I am sure that he'd love to help you with advice.

 

[Foamearplugssuck]

Thank you all for your replies! They have been very helpful.

@Digital Doc I have the smallest earplugs available to me, but my ear canals are much smaller than average and curved, so it's difficult to get foam earplugs in :/

I measured the dBs of the concert I was working at, and they were in the 80-90 range. However, it was an acoustic set, so depending on the band, they could be much louder. Since I work at a radio station/concert venue, I'm not sure if that would be a violation of anything as I'm exposed to those levels for an hour, max.

Alas, I'd honestly rather quit the music industry than be on the business side. My passion is in creating things and making art, and while I definitely appreciate the people who do work in the music business, it's just not where I want to be.

 

[Digital Doc]

Thank you all for your replies! They have been very helpful.

@Digital Doc I have the smallest earplugs available to me, but my ear canals are much smaller than average and curved, so it's difficult to get foam earplugs in :/

I measured the dBs of the concert I was working at, and they were in the 80-90 range. However, it was an acoustic set, so depending on the band, they could be much louder. Since I work at a radio station/concert venue, I'm not sure if that would be a violation of anything as I'm exposed to those levels for an hour, max.

Alas, I'd honestly rather quit the music industry than be on the business side. My passion is in creating things and making art, and while I definitely appreciate the people who do work in the music business, it's just not where I want to be.

Did you try these types of earplugs?

https://www.amazon.com/Macks-Dreamg...s&qid=1560010601&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

The OSHA requirements do not change if you work at a radio station, and at 80 they are fine, and 90 they are not.

"What are the warning signs that your workplace may be too noisy?
Noise may be a problem in your workplace if:

• You hear ringing or humming in your ears when you leave work.
• You have to shout to be heard by a coworker an arm's length away.
• You experience temporary hearing loss when leaving work."

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/noisehearingconservation/

 

[Foamearplugssuck]

Did you try these types of earplugs?

https://www.amazon.com/Macks-Dreamg...s&qid=1560010601&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

The OSHA requirements do not change if you work at a radio station, and at 80 they are fine, and 90 they are not.

"What are the warning signs that your workplace may be too noisy?
Noise may be a problem in your workplace if:

• You hear ringing or humming in your ears when you leave work.
• You have to shout to be heard by a coworker an arm's length away.
• You experience temporary hearing loss when leaving work."

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/noisehearingconservation/

Those are the types of earplugs I've been trying to use. It's really hard to get them in, and they always pop out, no matter how far I push them in or how long I let them expand for.

And thanks for the OSHA info! I doubt that the concerts are below 80 dB all the time. I wish this industry wasn't so....loud lol.

 

[daiso]

Thank you all for your replies! They have been very helpful.

@Digital Doc I have the smallest earplugs available to me, but my ear canals are much smaller than average and curved, so it's difficult to get foam earplugs in :/

I measured the dBs of the concert I was working at, and they were in the 80-90 range. However, it was an acoustic set, so depending on the band, they could be much louder. Since I work at a radio station/concert venue, I'm not sure if that would be a violation of anything as I'm exposed to those levels for an hour, max.

Alas, I'd honestly rather quit the music industry than be on the business side. My passion is in creating things and making art, and while I definitely appreciate the people who do work in the music business, it's just not where I want to be.

If your passion is not music, then it's not worth the risk. Internship accelerates career, but you can always wait for another opportunity. Damaged ears are permanent. If you decide to continue your internship, I suggest you use highest rating ear muffs for best protection. I did and still use earplugs, both custom and high end plugs, but nothing compares to ear muffs for actual protection and peace of mind.

 

[Ken219]

Aside from my wife and children I would give up everything else not to have tinnitus!

 

[JohnFox]

But, it clearly isnt worth losing my hearing over.

That's it. Believe me, losing your hearing, and more to the point, getting permanent tinnitus is not worth it. Your still young. I got permanent tinnitus after having lived most of my life. I can't imagine having what I have now as a young person with my whole life ahead of me. It's not too late to choose another career. You can still enjoy music, but on your own terms. If you have a career in the music industry, I would imagine the risk of being exposed to noise induced tinnitus over the years would be great. Think hard on this one.