Tinnitus from Being a Musician — After 9 Months Getting Used to It (Struggling Some Days)

[Max Voorhees]

Hey everyone,

I've been a lurker on Tinnitus Talk for a few months. I've read many posts about noise-induced tinnitus, success stories, and some not-so-hopeful ones. I just wanted to introduce myself and share how I got my tinnitus.

I've been a musician since I was 14 (30 now). I used to go to shows in my youth and not wear earplugs. When I lived overseas, I used to go to clubs a lot and played a lot of live gigs (still no hearing protection). I would listen to music with earbuds on the bus and would turn the volume up to not hear the bus noises. My Samsung phone at the time would even tell me when the noise levels were too loud to listen safely, but I always ignored it (I wish I did now, but that was then, oh well).

I came back to the United States in 2020 to visit for 3 weeks, and my return flight to China (where I was living) got canceled because of COVID-19. Some friends of mine got together for a Jam session and decided to make a band out of what we had since I was stuck in the United States.

We practiced in a small studio space for about 2 years before playing shows. We started playing music through stage speakers/monitors but then switched to an in-ear system to be able to record our practices and songs. The headphones I wore didn't cancel any noise, and with a drummer in a small space and me blasting the volume in my headphones in my ears to hear over him, led to me developing my tinnitus. My tinnitus started in June 2022, and I had to cancel playing in our biggest show at the time yet because of how much it freaked me out.

I went to an ENT and got the ol' "you gotta live with it" spiel and that was it. I switched to noise isolation in-ear monitors and wore gun-range earmuffs over them to give me pristine noise isolation. I also use a personal mixer with a noise limiter on it and play at the lowest level possible, but I've read here that that isn't even safe.

When we play shows and the mixer isn't a viable option, I double up ear protection with Eargasms in my ears and the gun-range earmuffs over that. I'm probably getting about a 34-36 dB reduction with the combo. I'm in a precarious situation where our band is really starting to gain traction professionally and we could be living off our music within the next year or so. If this is the case, my dream would be coming true. The only thing is that I'm not sure, even with my precautions in place, that I won't end up messing my ears up more and having to end it later down the line with worse tinnitus/hearing damage than before.

I'm not worried about ending my own dream but more so ending the dreams of my fellow bandmates if I were to quit. I can't see myself doing anything else in life that would be more enjoyable than playing music and living off it for the rest of my life. I have read about many musicians that play with tinnitus and live with it, but I'm at an impasse and don't know what to do.

To add insult to injury, this past Sunday I was watching TV and lost hearing in my left ear for about 20-30 seconds and then it swiftly faded back in. I'm having trouble figuring out if this was SSHL, or if it was an episode of fleeting tinnitus. Sometimes it happens a few times a week, or it doesn't happen at all.

I went to the immediate care and they referred me to another ENT for a follow-up on my first visit, although I'm going to go to a different ENT than before.

I guess I'm just looking for some guidance as to what my options are. Should I give it all up? Have any other musicians experienced anything similar? I've read a few posts about musicians on here but none really answered my questions.

Sorry for the huge wall of text but I needed to get a lot of this off my chest. I have tinnitus in both my ears but it's much louder in my left and not noticeable in my right unless I'm going to sleep. I use white noise on my phone to help mask it for sleep.

I'm doing well coping with I think, but some days/weeks are worse than others.

Anyways, thanks for coming and listening to my TED Talk. Any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[Michael Leigh]

I guess I'm just looking for some guidance as to what my options are. Should I give it all up? Have any other musicians experienced anything similar?

Hi @Max Voorhees.

Many people are able to habituate to noise induced tinnitus within 6 to 18 months from onset, with or without seeking medical help. It all depends how much this condition affects the person. Providing they don't do anything to make it worse, once habituation has been reached, it will usually remain stable for many years.

Hyperacusis is having an oversensitivity to sound and affects a lot of people (but not all) that develop noise-induced tinnitus. Like tinnitus, hyperacusis comes in different levels of severity.

Please keep in mind, the more you subject your ears to loud music or use any type of headphones, even at low volume, the more you risk making your tinnitus worse, and also hyperacusis if you have it. These conditions are not something to take lightly because they can become very debilitating.

I have read about many musicians that play with tinnitus and live with it, but I'm at an impasse and don't know what to do.

It is true many musicians that have tinnitus are able to continue playing music in their band and probably use headphones for mixing music. Be under no illusion, the reason these people are able to continue with what they're doing is because their tinnitus has not reached a critical level of severity yet. If it should, I assure you they will not be able to continue playing loud music and using headphones due to the immense distress tinnitus can cause.

You will have to make the decision whether to continue playing music in a band and using headphones, even at low volume, based on what I have mentioned above. Please go to my started threads and read: New to Tinnitus, What to Do? Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? Hyperacusis, As I See It. The Habituation Process, How to Habituate to Tinnitus.

Click on the link below and read my thread.

I wish you well,
Michael

What Is Severe Debilitating Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Jack S.]

@Michael Leigh, I am a scientist and engineer in addition to being a musician and music enthusiast. There is no science to back up your claim that headphones of any type are harmful. My experience is the opposite. I am able to safely listen to music, and use them with instruments in my studio without any negative effects. Use of quite good 'mid-fi' speakers at equivalent sound pressure levels sometimes do irritate my tinnitus when headphones do not. More important to me is the fidelity and content of what is being listened to. To me, it is also important to use a very high quality 'open back' over ear phone, I use the Sennheiser HD820 and find it benign and wonderful to listen to.

Sound Therapy is best administered through headphones, in my opinion. I have used speakers to create background noise while sleeping with positive outcomes. But only when I began using inexpensive earbuds did Sound Therapy begin to show both relief and remedy to my hyperacusis, and it happened quickly. Pink Noise is commonly used in Sound Therapy, I suggest watching YouTube videos by Dr. Ben Thompson regarding Sound Therapy and Hyperacusis.

I am not as risk averse as you seem to be. I believe it is more important for us to carefully experiment, and determine if benefit might be found with different approaches. Making emphatic claims that every patient will be harmed by headphones is simply bad advice.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Michael Leigh, I am a scientist and engineer in addition to being a musician and music enthusiast.

On your profile it reads cause of tinnitus: hearing loss and damage. You may or may not have noise-induced tinnitus.

My comments about playing audio through any type of headphones, even at low volume, are for people that have noise-induced tinnitus. I have counselled and corresponded with many people that have this condition and unfortunately, a lot of them have made their tinnitus worse using headphones, earbuds, headsets, noise cancelling and bone conduction headphones even at low volume. Please type headphones in the search box at the top of this page and read the posts.

With respect, the reason most (but not all) people with noise-induced tinnitus are adversely affected when using headphones, has nothing to do with science, it has everything to do with the way the auditory system has been affected after noise trauma. If memory serves me correctly, you recently wrote a post mentioning that your tinnitus was made worse playing sound therapy through earbuds.

Being a scientist does not make you more knowledgeable than anyone else about noise-induced tinnitus. In my opinion, it is living with the condition for a least 3, preferably 5 years and to have experience of it being mild, moderate and severe. It also helps to have corresponded and counselled people that live with noise induced tinnitus and hyperacusis. Once a person has acquired this, they will have an in-depth and full understanding of how noise-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis can affect a person's mental and emotional wellbeing.

Making emphatic claims that every patient will be harmed by headphones is simply bad advice.

My comments about headphones are for people that have noise-induced tinnitus. Please read my post history. I have said that people with noise-induced tinnitus risk making their tinnitus worse if they use any type of headphones even at low volume. Some people with noise-induced tinnitus are not affected by headphone use. However, the risk is always there.

I have never said people that have other types of tinnitus, not noise induced, will make their tinnitus worse using headphones. If you are going to quote what I say, then please do so accurately.

Thank you,
Michael

 

[Stuart-T]

@Michael Leigh, I am a scientist and engineer in addition to being a musician and music enthusiast. There is no science to back up your claim that headphones of any type are harmful.

Are there any studies at all to compare the relationship between headphone use and tinnitus?

There may well be no science to prove one claim over another. But since headphones focus high sound levels directly at the eardrum - claiming that cautionary advice has no basis in science, while technically correct, may well be dangerous, since tinnitus sufferers may well read your comments and do what they please with their headphones and suffer because of it.

I appreciate that headphone use worked for you - but 1 anecdote is not sufficient to overturn good advice.

I would phrase it differently and say that while there are no studies linking headphone use with incidence and severity of tinnitus, headphone users and particularly those with tinnitus should consider carefully whether they want to expose their ears to sound through headphones.

 

[Jammer]

On your profile it reads cause of tinnitus: hearing loss and damage. You may or may not have noise-induced tinnitus.

My comments about playing audio through any type of headphones, even at low volume, are for people that have noise-induced tinnitus. I have counselled and corresponded with many people that have this condition and unfortunately, a lot of them have made their tinnitus worse using headphones, earbuds, headsets, noise cancelling and bone conduction headphones even at low volume. Please type headphones in the search box at the top of this page and read the posts.

With respect, the reason most (but not all) people with noise-induced tinnitus are adversely affected when using headphones, has nothing to do with science, it has everything to do with the way the auditory system has been affected after noise trauma. If memory serves me correctly, you recently wrote a post mentioning that your tinnitus was made worse playing sound therapy through earbuds.

Being a scientist does not make you more knowledgeable than anyone else about noise-induced tinnitus. In my opinion, it is living with the condition for a least 3, preferably 5 years and to have experience of it being mild, moderate and severe. It also helps to have corresponded and counselled people that live with noise induced tinnitus and hyperacusis. Once a person has acquired this, they will have an in-depth and full understanding of how noise-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis can affect a person's mental and emotional wellbeing.

My comments about headphones are for people that have noise-induced tinnitus. Please read my post history. I have said that people with noise-induced tinnitus risk making their tinnitus worse if they use any type of headphones even at low volume. Some people with noise-induced tinnitus are not affected by headphone use. However, the risk is always there.

I have never said people that have other types of tinnitus, not noise induced, will make their tinnitus worse using headphones. If you are going to quote what I say, then please do so accurately.

Thank you,
Michael

Keep doing what you're doing Michael. I agree with your advice. Only people affected by acoustic trauma and who subsequently have gotten tinnitus and then found that their tinnitus is exacerbated by headphone use of any type can understand.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Keep doing what you're doing Michael. I agree with your advice. Only people affected by acoustic trauma and who subsequently have gotten tinnitus and then found that their tinnitus is exacerbated by headphone use of any type can understand.

Thank you for your encouraging words @Jammer. As long as I am able to carry on with what I am doing, I will continue to do so.

Are there any studies at all to compare the relationship between headphone use and tinnitus?

This will not be easy to find @Stuart-T. I have conducted my own studies and research into the relationship between headphone use and people that specifically have noise.induced tinnitus. It has been gathered over many years corresponding and counselling people with this condition.

One of the main reasons their tinnitus increased after habituation is further exposure to loud noise and returning to using headphones, earbuds, AirPods, headsets. Not everyone with noise-induced tinnitus that uses these devices will make their tinnitus worse. However, the more they use headphones even at low volume, the more they are putting themselves at risk of making their tinnitus permanently worse. This can happen at any time after habituation has been reached. Please type headphones in search box at the top of this page and read the posts from forum members about headphone use. I have also covered this in my thread: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

Michael

 

[Leila]

Hi there @Jammer and sorry to hear that working on your dream coming true has turned into such a hardship.

I think @Vassili has been in a similar situation and had to stop playing music for quite a while. I remember him saying his condition has improved a lot with time and lots and lots of silence. Since I haven't seen him around much lately I hope he has been able to get his old life back.

I hope the same will be possible for you!

As a fellow hyperacusis / noxacusis sufferer I also know how painful and frustrating it is to live with these conditions. I have never been much of a musician but I love music and miss listening to my favourite songs whenever and as loud as I like. It must be so much harder for people like you who have the gift of combining individual sounds and turning them into something worth listening to to be limited in their creativity.

There isn't really a lot of good advice to give other than listen to your body. Well, that's a lie because of course there is but unless you're suffering from these very conditions, advice is just empty words because you've got nothing to relate it to. You are already aware that you are at risk, so it is up to you to decide how far you are willing to push your limits and what consequences you might be willing / able to live with.

I wish you all the best!

 

[Mister Muso]

Hello musicians. I have had to give up rock concerts and most of my music-making since my tinnitus became severe 4 years ago. Over the past year I've played a few low-key gigs - wedding services, a little acoustic folk group with two friends - and I can tolerate using headphones with earplugs underneath. I've not had any serious spikes or fullness issues from any of that. I've been to some quieter concerts using foam earplugs and I've left if the volume has gone much over 90 dB. Again no issues or setbacks.

So last night I went to rehearse with a new band that use IEMs. Thought I'd try it out as everyone gets to set their own monitor levels. However, my ear piece didn't fit that well, and the guy next to me (on my bad-ear side) was singing so loudly it hurt my ears. Bottom line, I came home with elevated tinnitus and fullness in my bad ear, which I can still feel the next day. And the drummer wasn't even present last night.

Has anyone with tinnitus and hyperacusis been able to use IEMs safely? Or maybe I need to try my usual headphones-over-earplugs trick next time (if there is a next time)?

I would like to hear people's experiences.