Tinnitus Masking Test

[Ritchie]

Hey, please can you all help me with my research experiment? Will take 1 minute!

I'm researching which frequency ranges affect us the most.

Below is a short video with 7x 10 second clips of rain.

Ranging from 'Very Hard' to 'just stopped'.

Generally, the harder the rain, then the higher frequencies are much louder.

The audio is Raw and untreated, but afterwards I pick out natural frequencies in each sound and boost, or cut them.

Obviously we are all different, and our tinnitus is different between us all, but I'm wondering if there is a 'frequency window' that tinnitus sits within for most of us.

I personally find rain is one of the best Natural Tinnitus Masking sounds, so I'm very curious to see what intensity of the rain works the best for the majority of tinnitus sufferers.

Watch the clips, then please comment below which number worked best.

Thanks and this will help me a lot in creating more Masking Sounds! x

Video link-

 

[TheDanishGirl]

For me both 1,2, and 3 masks my tinnitus, but none of them completely, unless I raise the volume to an uncomfortable level....it masks it maybe 80-90%.

I find high frequency shower sounds work best for me.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Thanks and this will help me a lot in creating more Masking Sounds! x

Hi @Ritchie

These sounds of rainfall, are good for sound enrichment. Anyone that has tinnitus sound enrichment is advisable especially at night. Using these sounds or any other to totally mask tinnitus (cover it up) so it can't be heard is not a good idea. If one tries to do this then they will never learn to habituate to the tinnitus. The brain cannot habituate to tinnitus unless it can hear it. Therefore, it is best to set "sound enrichment" slightly below the tinnitus. I particularly liked the sound of rainfall number 4.

Should I mask my tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a complex condition and if hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) is present it is even more. Many newbies have difficulty coping with tinnitus and understandably, getting rid of this constant intruder, that has suddenly invaded their life becomes paramount on their mind. In an attempt to do this, they will usually try every means possible to distract themselves from the tinnitus which will include masking it completely with another sound so that it can't be heard.

However, tinnitus is quite resilient, any attempts to mask it completely are usually unsuccessful. As soon as the masking sound is removed or stopped temporarily, the brain will immediately focus back on it and often, it appears to be louder and more intrusive. This causes stress especially for someone new to tinnitus. For anyone that doesn't know, the more stressed we are the tinnitus becomes more intrusive, and the louder the tinnitus is the more stressed we are. It can become a vicious circle.

Anyone that is seasoned to tinnitus and has habituated, knows that trying to mask it completely so that it can't be heard is not achievable. A much better way and preferred method that Hearing Therapists advise tinnitus patients, is to use sound enrichment. One can use music or nature sounds from a sound machine and set the volume slightly below the tinnitus. By doing this, the brain over time will learn to no longer see the tinnitus as a threat and gradually push the noise further into the background giving it less importance, which is called habituation.

In-ear or BTE (behind the ear) white noise generators can also be used as part of TRT. They do a similar thing. By setting the volume slightly below the tinnitus, over time the brain habituates to the white noise and gradually pushes the tinnitus further into the background.

Michael

PS: in my opinion, anyone that has tinnitus, especially when it was caused by loud noise exposure, it is not a good idea to use headphones, even at low volume to play music or white noise for sound enrichment.

 

[glynis]

@Ritchie ,
Hello Ritchie!
lovely to see your sound video's on here ,
Tinnitus Talk members will love them too....
Love glynis

 

[jay777]

They do not work for me.

 

[dingaling]

Doesn't work for me either

 

[Ritchie]

TEST RESULTS-


TINNITUS RAIN MASKING EXPERIMENT


Hi All,


Interesting results!


Here are the numbers-


Total people took part = 325


Clip 1- 109 votes

Clip 2- 36 votes

Clip 3- 26 votes

Clip 4- 30 votes

Clip 5-70 votes

Clip 6- 19 votes

Clip 7- 19 votes


16 people found none of them worked at all, and a handful of people found it actually made their Tinnitus worse! ( sorry about that!!)

Number 1 ( the highest pitch) was the clear favorite, with 5 also a strong favorite.
I'm still digesting the many comments and input from you all, and I thank you massively for taking part and giving me such good feedback.


So now for PART 2 of the Test/Experiment-


I'm creating 7 individual videos of each clip, but longer versions. Say 1 hour. Obvs I don't need you to watch for 1 hour for the test!! But I know some of you will appreciate the longer versions for sleep etc.

I'm going to be dramatically boosting certain frequencies within each one. The ones that I think was helping to mask your T.
I know for sure, that no matter what I do, what works for some won't work for others, but by you guys giving me more amazing feedback like in Part 1, then this will only help me to produce better material for us all.


I'll be uploading them to my youtube page and will post links here as I go.

Again thanks for taking part! X x

 

[Ritchie]

Hi @Ritchie

These sounds of rainfall, are good for sound enrichment. Anyone that has tinnitus sound enrichment is advisable especially at night. Using these sounds or any other to totally mask tinnitus (cover it up) so it can't be heard is not a good idea. If one tries to do this then they will never learn to habituate to the tinnitus. The brain cannot habituate to tinnitus unless it can hear it. Therefore, it is best to set "sound enrichment" slightly below the tinnitus. I particularly liked the sound of rainfall number 4.

Should I mask my tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a complex condition and if hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) is present it is even more. Many newbies have difficulty coping with tinnitus and understandably, getting rid of this constant intruder, that has suddenly invaded their life becomes paramount on their mind. In an attempt to do this, they will usually try every means possible to distract themselves from the tinnitus which will include masking it completely with another sound so that it can't be heard.

However, tinnitus is quite resilient, any attempts to mask it completely are usually unsuccessful. As soon as the masking sound is removed or stopped temporarily, the brain will immediately focus back on it and often, it appears to be louder and more intrusive. This causes stress especially for someone new to tinnitus. For anyone that doesn't know, the more stressed we are the tinnitus becomes more intrusive, and the louder the tinnitus is the more stressed we are. It can become a vicious circle.

Anyone that is seasoned to tinnitus and has habituated, knows that trying to mask it completely so that it can't be heard is not achievable. A much better way and preferred method that Hearing Therapists advise tinnitus patients, is to use sound enrichment. One can use music or nature sounds from a sound machine and set the volume slightly below the tinnitus. By doing this, the brain over time will learn to no longer see the tinnitus as a threat and gradually push the noise further into the background giving it less importance, which is called habituation.

In-ear or BTE (behind the ear) white noise generators can also be used as part of TRT. They do a similar thing. By setting the volume slightly below the tinnitus, over time the brain habituates to the white noise and gradually pushes the tinnitus further into the background.

Michael

PS: in my opinion, anyone that has tinnitus, especially when it was caused by loud noise exposure, it is not a good idea to use headphones, even at low volume to play music or white noise for sound enrichment.

Hey Michael,

Thanks for your detailed reply, and yes I agree 100% with everything you said. You hit the nail on the head!
What Ive found interesting through doing this experiment is peoples different interpretation and expectations around the work masking. I guess this comes from us all being around the world in different places and having slight different meanings to certain words
Personally I perceive the word masking to be exactly how you have described 'sound enrichment'. Its a sound to 'blend' with the T, which in turn masks it, either partially or completely. And regarding when stopping, Ive had it both ways, sometimes my T has gotten worse when stopped listening, and sometimesI'm not aware of it at all!

Its crazy as we are all so different when it comes to this, but there are also a lot of similar patterns, triggers and aids that we share in common.
I found it interesting that there were 2 clips that were clear favourites for the huge majority that took part. I knew that what works for one and not for others rule would apply here, but I didn't expect the clear bias here.

I think that I also have hyperacusis. Not been tested, but recently I have become VERY sensitive ti high pitched and loud sounds, to the point they can hurt my ears. If Im in a noisy enviroment like a busy bar or something, its not my T thats an issue, but I physically feel uncomfortable with the sound. Its hard to describe.
Anyway, thanks again for your input!

Ritchie

 

[Ritchie]

PART 2

Here's one for all the ones who preferred clip 1.

I cut out everything below 200Khz.

There's a 3Db boost at 2.5Khz, and a 6Db Boost from 7500 to 20000Khz.

It's quite extreme and not comfortable for my ears, but I'm personally sensitive to this frequency range. It actually triggered my T pretty bad while creating this!


So, please, I am no expert, nor a doctor. We are all different and this will have different results for many of us. There are lots of variables to how effectively the sounds can work.

I'm a professional drummer and Music Producer ( with T) that understands Sound and has the ability to create and manipulate them.


I recommend, wearing headphones. Start at a low volume, then adjust it to what sounds comfortable. Try reading something. If you put it on and concentrate on weather its working or not, then most likely it won't work. Give it 10 mins or so.


I found people's interpretation to the word 'masking' differs. Also that some of you got 100% masking while others only got partial. Again, there are variables to this, and at the end of the day it's our brains perception of sound, and our ability at any moment to successfully blank it out, or accept it being there or not. And as we all know, that can depend on many things like stress, diet, illness etc.



What can you do for me?


It's really important to me that you do 2 things-


1. Hit the thumbs up, or thumbs down button on the you tube video if it was good or not.

2.Leave a Comment on the actual YouTube Video. It will make my life so much easier, as I had to scroll through 325 comments from 9 different FB groups and forums in test 1. Having it in one place will save me so much time.


Thanks again, and I hope this gives some relief to you.

 

[Ritchie]

Tinnitus Masking Experiment - CLIP 2

Only 36 out of 325 preferred this one, so not as popular as clip one!

Ive boosted 1500Hz and 11,000Hz. while making a cut at around 380Hz and everything below 200Hz

Again the clip is 1hour as I know some will appreciate it. Not many people commenting on the last one so I don't know if you guys want me to continue or not, as without the you're feedback its difficult to gauge what is working and whats not..? Please let me know!! And I hope this bring some relief to you! x x

 

[glynis]

@Ritchie,
Thank you Ritchie for your dedication to help others.
This one for me is to loud but others might find it better.
Keep up your great work on here and Tinnitus Hub facebook group.
Love glynis

 

[Ritchie]

@Ritchie,
Thank you Ritchie for your dedication to help others.
This one for me is to loud but others might find it better.
Keep up your great work on here and Tinnitus Hub facebook group.
Love glynis

Thanks glynis,

wht do you mean by too loud? Couldn't you turn the volume down to a comfortable volume? or do you mean the specific frequencies are uncomfortable?

 

[Ritchie]

Tinnitus Test- CLIP 3

1700Hz Boost, 13,000Hz Boost

Sub 200Hz Cut

Again, not the most popular clip from the original test with 26/325 vote. But with the frequency boosts and compression, this will have a different effect for most of you. I personally quite like this one, as it has different layers of sound such as the actual rainfall, and also drips from the roof onto the palm trees etc. There are also some bird sounds in the distance, but I know some of you love that and some hate it.
As always, please leave a comment on the actual YouTube video even if you didn't like it, or it didn't work. This helps me massively with me research and improving my work!
Hope you enjoy!

 

[Ritchie]

Hi all,
Sorry for delay, had a crazy busy week last week!
30/325 preferred this clip. It was a difficult one to loop the video, so sorry for that, but I have Boosted everything above 9,000Hz on this one, as well as taking out a few nasty frees picks up by the mic.
There is a few birds chirping in the background so please be aware if this is something that is triggering for you.
As always, please take the time to leave a comment on \youtube for me as it really does help me gather results and keeps me motivated!
Hope you all sleep well tonight!
Next will be CLIP 5 which was a huge favourite of everyones! x

 

[Ritchie]

Masking Test Part2- CLIP 5

One of the more popular ones at 70/325 people.

Boosted everything from 7500Hz -20,000Hz, and an extra 3Db boost at 12,800Hz.

 

[Ritchie]

This is the 6th clip in this Tinnitus MaskingTest. Ive boosted 6400Hz and everything above 10,000Hz. The rain was beginning to stop here, and the birds were quite active, so this is a very different sound to the other clips.
As always please be aware of triggering sounds and volumes if you are sensitive to this, and please leave a comment below if it works or not.

This one scored a low 19/325 in the original Test.

 

[glynis]

Thank you @Ritchie from TT and TH facebook group.
Love glynis

 

[Ritchie]

Thank you @Ritchie from TT and TH facebook group.
Love glynis

Thanks Glynis... x x