Tone Deaf...?

[katie culbertson]

Hi guys,

I'm new on this forum but not new to tinnitus! Mine is due to radiation treatment in my throat from cancer. I am not cancer free, but hav ea very loud ringing in my ears that sometimes hurts badly. I am DJ/music producer about to start music school, and lately when I write music I seem to have lost my sense for what's in key and what's not (which used to be my biggest strength.)

Should I find a different career? Any thoughts? Experiences?

 

[GregCA]

What kind of damage has the radiation done to your hearing? Do you know?
Is that reversible/temporary?
Have you done a hearing test, and if so, what does it look like?

Are you able to compare 2 pitches/tones and determine which one is higher than the other? If so it may be a matter of retraining your brain with a new reference point.

Does music sound ok to you? Is that still enjoyable?

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Katie,

Welcome aboard!

My first concern is that you conquer cancer; that is life-threatening obviously.

If you still truly enjoy music, you should continue. However, at the same time you may want to work on a back-up plan. Best of luck!

 

[katie culbertson]

You guys rock! Thanks for the replies.

@GregCA -- I think it really is a matter of retraining my ear to go off of a new reference point, and be even more vigilant with virtual ways of tuning. The music sounds amazing to me, it's definitely still my passion!

Thx Joe & Mike... I definitely have a backup plan of working in the health field somehow... just wondering if any other musicians had conquered a "moderate" version of tinnitus like me and still had successful careers before I spend a bunch of time in music school.

I'm gonna go ahead and go for it and hope for the best! I am cancer free and healthy so I'm going to continue to persue the dream.

Together we can conquer this guys!! Later

 

[katie culbertson]

@GregCA The kind of damage is in the mid range I did have a hearing test they said it's mild to moderate damage in the mid range which is why it's from radiation. It's a rare range to lose, can't lose it from hearing loud sounds.

It's definitely not reversible but shouldn't get any worse as long as I watch it with loud noises (HA! I'm a DJ 40 hrs a week as is. But I try!)

 

[GregCA]

@GregCA The kind of damage is in the mid range I did have a hearing test they said it's mild to moderate damage in the mid range which is why it's from radiation. It's a rare range to lose, can't lose it from hearing loud sounds.

Hmmm I'm not so sure about that: the profile for long term noise exposure (not a trauma) is typically a notch down at around 4 kHz.
If the notch is around 2 kHz there is also another avenue to explore: middle ear issues (it's called a Carhart Notch - which is generally around 2 kHz but it can be around that value give or take).

Is there any rationale that would explain that radiation damages only the part of the cochlea responsible for the mid frequencies? Wouldn't it make sense that it would damage all frequencies?

It's definitely not reversible but shouldn't get any worse as long as I watch it with loud noises (HA! I'm a DJ 40 hrs a week as is. But I try!)

Yes being careful with loud noises is always a good idea. I hope you can keep it in check.
Good luck!

 

[fhs]

If you don't want tinnitus to be much worse you have to always wear at least 25dB+ musician earplugs or find another profession. Don't take my advice lightly. You don't want tinnitus so loud that you can still hear it on the freeway with the windows down and music blasting.

 

[Bobby B]

find another career for the time being
you re young you can do it

in the future, when we will have better medical options you can always go back to music

 

[GregCA]

just wondering if any other musicians had conquered a "moderate" version of tinnitus like me and still had successful careers before I spend a bunch of time in music school.

I have severe T and keep playing my drums. They're e-drums so I can control the volume to keep it relatively low.
So far I haven't noticed any adverse effects on my T, but then again I don't have noise induced hearing loss, so my type of T may be different from the more common noise-induced T.
I find that playing music helps me boost my morale.
I don't have a successful career in music though. I'm not a professional: I just play for fun.

 

[SilverSpiral]

I really have a hard time imagining what you describe specifically, but my guess would be that possibly, if your loss is in the mid range, since many of the most apparent melodic/harmonic aspects of music are usually in the mid range, this may be why you feel "tone deaf"? You may not be hearing things in the mid range as you used to, so it influences your sense of key and whatnot. Your intuitive abilities when making music may be (temporarily?) hindered because of the lack of mid range, basically throwing your perception off enough to change your experience when making music? If this is the case, then it could improve in time as you adapt to your new hearing.

In any case you say music still sounds enjoyable, so if it still sounds good, you must be hearing pitches/tones in music not too badly...

I had a bad acoustic trauma, and music doesn't sound very good at all now. Besides my normal T, I now hear sharp resonances/whistles/modulated high pitch sine waves (however you want to describe it) on top of outside sounds. It makes everyday white noise sources such as electronics, distant traffic, rain/showers, sound horrible, and attempting to mask the constant T tones redundant. Music is the absolute most devastating place to hear these distortions though of course.

So if you can still enjoy music, enjoy it! Best of luck, but be careful.