Will It Ever Be Possible to Listen to My Favorite Song Again?

[Dabard]

Hey all. Quick background information: I gave myself tinnitus the spring of 2018 when I listened to Yes's "Close to the Edge" on a pair of bright headphones. I listened too long and ignored the pain in my ears thinking it was nothing. Now I have tinnitus. Thankfully I have actually learned to live with that but now I have another problem.

I cannot, under any circumstances listen to that song, my favorite song, again without my tinnitus spiking afterwards and feeling the (temporary) symptoms of hyperacusis. (Plates, crinkling paper, etc irritate my ears and smaller sounds are more noticeable and sharp.)

I just tried today with a much more friendly remaster of the song that's a lot less harsh, everything seemed great, but sure enough after listening my tinnitus flared up and I was feeling the hyperacusis. I thought maybe I could build up a tolerance and be able to listen on occasion but now I fear if I kept listening I'd end up giving myself irreparable, unlivable hyperacusis.

What do you guys think the cause of this is? Do I have minor hyperacusis effected by the specific range of that song? Is it just misophonia? Is there a way to combat this through TRT or other means or do I just need to pack it in and never listen to it again to avoid making my life a living hell?

 

[Jomo]

I hope you aren't wearing headphones... sell them.... otherwise I will tell you that music really shouldn't cause your tinnitus to get louder...

I listen to music at various volumes (not super loud of course) and have had no issues.... you probably have hyperacusis and that is going to take at least a year to improve...

Make sure you listen to white noise when you sleep to help desensitize your tinnitus.

You are going to need to expose yourself to sounds (be smart about it of course) a little at a time. Accidents are bound to happen but as time goes on they will help you improve.

The first year is rough but I promise in time you will adapt to it and your hyperacusis will improve. Just hang in there and stay positive. Best of luck.

 

[Dabard]

Hey, this is encouraging news, I appreciate the input! I guess I must have some sort of selective Hyperacusis (is that a thing?) Since most other noises don't bother me at all. Just that song specifically and one other one I heard recently.

-and don't worry, I threw my headphones in the trash immediately after I started getting trouble.

Maybe I can give the softer remaster a listen once and a while to teach my brain it's not harmful or something. If anyone else has advice on that sort of thing I'd love to hear it!

 

[Flamingo1]

Hey, this is encouraging news, I appreciate the input! I guess I must have some sort of selective Hyperacusis (is that a thing?) Since most other noises don't bother me at all. Just that song specifically and one other one I heard recently.

-and don't worry, I threw my headphones in the trash immediately after I started getting trouble.

Maybe I can give the softer remaster a listen once and a while to teach my brain it's not harmful or something. If anyone else has advice on that sort of thing I'd love to hear it!

I think it's the particular frequencies in THAT song that produced the damage in your ear and that the hair cells for those frequencies are what got traumatized. I got tinnitus in part by mixing and listening at high volume to a few of my songs Now I can listen to anything else but when I put those songs on, my ear starts to feel full right away.

 

[Dabard]

I think it's the particular frequencies in THAT song that produced the damage in your ear and that the hair cells for those frequencies are what got traumatized. I got tinnitus in part by mixing and listening at high volume to a few of my songs Now I can listen to anything else but when I put those songs on, my ear starts to feel full right away.

I think you're right on the money there. It's unfortunate but that's what I get for being dumb with headphones.

Maybe some day I can get around it, but for now it seems like I just have to bide my time. Such is life.

 

[Jomo]

Come to think of it when I first got it there was a song I felt bothered my hyperacusis. It took some time for it to get better... what bothered me was this specific drum hit that had almost like a bell with it. So with that being said for now you may wanna take it easy... stick with White Noise and give it time.

 

[Bill Bauer]

What do you guys think the cause of this is?

Are you using headphones to listen to the song? Or are you using speakers and a very low volume?

 

[Dabard]

Aa

Are you using headphones to listen to the song? Or are you using speakers and a very low volume?

The latter, I've ditched my headphones.

 

[Dabard]

Come to think of it when I first got it there was a song I felt bothered my hyperacusis. It took some time for it to get better... what bothered me was this specific drum hit that had almost like a bell with it. So with that being said for now you may wanna take it easy... stick with White Noise and give it time.

Yeah, I thought a year might be enough time but it looks like it might take a few more. Ah well, at least there are other songs to listen too in the meantime.

 

[HeavyMantra]

Sure, you can EQ the song to remove the frequencies you don't like.

 

[GlennS]

Sure, you can EQ the song to remove the frequencies you don't like.

You could also try pitch-shifting the entire song down. Maintaining quality is hard to achieve doing that but it might help. Jon Anderson's vocals could tolerate some lowering

 

[Emperor-Drax]

I listen to music on my hi-fi system - something that makes people go "hi-fi? So 80s..."

Anyhoo, I healed well enough that I can finally blare out the score to ID4 and it never affects me.

So I think with some more healing time, and maybe investing in some decent quality speakers, a pre-amp and a power amplifier (or an integrated amplifier), you can crank that thing up to a decent level and appreciate it once again.

Only do this when you feel comfortable to do so. No need to rush.

(Oh right, you do have speakers. Well this message will be more for the headphony folkies then).

 

[Dabard]

I listen to music on my hi-fi system - something that makes people go "hi-fi? So 80s..."

Anyhoo, I healed well enough that I can finally blare out the score to ID4 and it never affects me.

So I think with some more healing time, and maybe investing in some decent quality speakers, a pre-amp and a power amplifier (or an integrated amplifier), you can crank that thing up to a decent level and appreciate it once again.

Only do this when you feel comfortable to do so. No need to rush.

(Oh right, you do have speakers. Well this message will be more for the headphony folkies then).

A lot of really encouraging news in this thread, good to hear! Here's hoping a relisten will be something I can look forward to down the line. In the meantime maybe I'll play with a pitch shift version.

 

[Contrast]

What sensations in your ears do you feel?

Burning, pain, aching or noises sounding too loud?

 

[fishbone]

Hey all. Quick background information: I gave myself tinnitus the spring of 2018 when I listened to Yes's "Close to the Edge" on a pair of bright headphones. I listened too long and ignored the pain in my ears thinking it was nothing. Now I have tinnitus. Thankfully I have actually learned to live with that but now I have another problem.

I cannot, under any circumstances listen to that song, my favorite song, again without my tinnitus spiking afterwards and feeling the (temporary) symptoms of hyperacusis. (Plates, crinkling paper, etc irritate my ears and smaller sounds are more noticeable and sharp.)

I just tried today with a much more friendly remaster of the song that's a lot less harsh, everything seemed great, but sure enough after listening my tinnitus flared up and I was feeling the hyperacusis. I thought maybe I could build up a tolerance and be able to listen on occasion but now I fear if I kept listening I'd end up giving myself irreparable, unlivable hyperacusis.

What do you guys think the cause of this is? Do I have minor hyperacusis effected by the specific range of that song? Is it just misophonia? Is there a way to combat this through TRT or other means or do I just need to pack it in and never listen to it again to avoid making my life a living hell?

I tried listening to this song and my ears could not handle it. Don't listen to this song with headphones. This song has lots of guitar in it and for those that have tinnitus, guitar sounds....especially metal guitar is not helpful at all. I blasted my ears for decades with heavy metal and concerts/loud songs/sounds and my ears are forever damaged. I still listen to some rock jams but at very low volumes. TRT can be helpful I had it done over 20 years ago.

 

[JohnFox]

If concerns about being able to listen to your favorite song is your biggest worry, count yourself blessed. For a lot of us in here our Tinnitus is a scourge that has left us with concerns about maintaining our sanity. I only wish it was just about having to give up on hard rock music.

 

[Telis]

Let me get this straight... one song bothers your ears, no others? Are f//ing serious? This is why no doctors take tinnitus and hyperacusis seriously.

And you post about it??? It's one song, move on if it's causing you so much pain. One god damn song, move on then, it's not that big of a deal.

 

[Dabard]

What sensations in your ears do you feel?

Burning, pain, aching or noises sounding too loud?

Full feeling in ear and aching sensation. It's died down again though. I think I'll be fine so long as I steer clear of it for a good while.

I tried listening to this song and my ears could not handle it. Don't listen to this song with headphones. This song has lots of guitar in it and for those that have tinnitus, guitar sounds....especially metal guitar is not helpful at all. I blasted my ears for decades with heavy metal and concerts/loud songs/sounds and my ears are forever damaged. I still listen to some rock jams but at very low volumes. TRT can be helpful I had it done over 20 years ago.

That song in particular actually uses a lot of really harsh sounds and mixing. The guy who did the remaster I listened to actually had a lot of complaints about that. Which is why he changed it. Needless to say if I ever feel comfortable giving the song a listen again I'm going with the remaster.

 

[Contrast]

Let me get this straight... one song bothers your ears, no others? Are f//ing serious? This is why no doctors take tinnitus and hyperacusis seriously.

And you post about it??? It's one song, move on if it's causing you so much pain. One god damn song, move on then, it's not that big of a deal.

i'm sure there's a specific frequency range or combinations of several frequencies that can produce the same result.


he just doesn't know.

 

[another sean]

Either try running it thru a LPF (Low Pass Filter) and cut off everything above 2khz and see if that helps and if so, gradually work your way up. I have trouble listening to any music thru speakers but I can get away with it better when playing a vinyl record without any speakers and instead using a toothpick and paper cone to play the music. kinda like an old gramophone.

 

[PDodge]

Full feeling in ear and aching sensation. It's died down again though. I think I'll be fine so long as I steer clear of it for a good while.

That song in particular actually uses a lot of really harsh sounds and mixing. The guy who did the remaster I listened to actually had a lot of complaints about that. Which is why he changed it. Needless to say if I ever feel comfortable giving the song a listen again I'm going with the remaster.

Did Steve Wilson remix it? PPTREE albums sound soooo good

 

[Dabard]

Did Steve Wilson remix it? PPTREE albums sound soooo good

Actually no, but I just checked that one out. It's also pretty good!

Also maybe I'll run the vocal solo on that track through the frequency filter and groove to it once and a while. That sounds pretty nice, actually. That part isn't too harsh and it's the bit that strikes me in the soul the most, god it's good.

 

[Dabard]

Update after a long while: My t is fairly acceptable but will still spike in reaction to frequencies from that song and a select few others. Conclusion I've come to is that I have some form of hyperacusis to those frequencies which initially damaged me. Maybe reactive tinnitus as some people phrase it. I'm going to be taking an active effort to use pink noise and self therapy to habituate myself to those types of sounds. It hasn't gotten any better or worse. -but I haven't really put any effort into improving things. I'll take a more active role in my own treatment and update people on my progress some day.

 

[Dabard]

I hope you aren't wearing headphones... sell them.... otherwise I will tell you that music really shouldn't cause your tinnitus to get louder...

I listen to music at various volumes (not super loud of course) and have had no issues.... you probably have hyperacusis and that is going to take at least a year to improve...

Make sure you listen to white noise when you sleep to help desensitize your tinnitus.

You are going to need to expose yourself to sounds (be smart about it of course) a little at a time. Accidents are bound to happen but as time goes on they will help you improve.

The first year is rough but I promise in time you will adapt to it and your hyperacusis will improve. Just hang in there and stay positive. Best of luck.

You were right on the money. I didn't understand the nature of my hyperacusis as it seemed to be limited to those higher frequencies found in the song. I was so scared of making things worse that I never really put in the work to treat my hyperacusis. Earlier this year, I started seeking out pink noise, specifically high-frequency pink noise that actually correlated with the pitches I'm sensitive to and the pitch of my tinnitus. I also sought out songs covering similar ranges.

After just a few weeks. I can listen to the song again with no issues! Hyperacusis can dog you for a long time if you do nothing to treat it, but man, once I did the results came in fast! Very happy right now.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

You were right on the money. I didn't understand the nature of my hyperacusis as it seemed to be limited to those higher frequencies found in the song. I was so scared of making things worse that I never really put in the work to treat my hyperacusis. Earlier this year, I started seeking out pink noise, specifically high-frequency pink noise that actually correlated with the pitches I'm sensitive to and the pitch of my tinnitus. I also sought out songs covering similar ranges.

After just a few weeks. I can listen to the song again with no issues! Hyperacusis can dog you for a long time if you do nothing to treat it, but man, once I did the results came in fast! Very happy right now.

So you just listen to pink noise under your tinnitus volume?

 

[Stacken77]

After just a few weeks. I can listen to the song again with no issues!

This is just awesome news and gives others the hope that we so desperately need. Hyperacusis is tough.

Earlier this year, I started seeking out pink noise, specifically high-frequency pink noise that actually correlated with the pitches I'm sensitive to and the pitch of my tinnitus.

Please, do tell us how you practically implemented the sound therapy with pink noise and or music. Did you listen to it for a few minutes each day? Did you increment the duration gradually? Did you face any spikes when you listened in the beginning?

All the best, and congratulations to your improvements!
Stacken

 

[Dabard]

This is just awesome news and gives others the hope that we so desperately need. Hyperacusis is tough.

Hey Stacken, I'll quote what I told you already:

"The thing is, I didn't go about it too strategically.
It began when I was listening to music on youtube while hyperfixated on a video game and decided to flip on a few of the songs I was sensitive to. I realized when I was so focused on the game my symptoms of spiking weren't nearly as present. -so I went ahead and sought out some pink noise specifically in the frequency and played it slightly above my tinnitus level from my phone for about 10-20 mins before I went to sleep. I did this a few nights out the of the week and the results came in fast.

I think there's a component of overthinking that contributes to hyperacusis' severity. -by approaching it with less scary pink noise instead of the song itself, I found my brain re-acclimating to the sound really quickly. Since H is partially neurological in function I really think how you approach it mentally effects how your brain can re-adapt."

TLDR: It wasn't the specifics of the method that mattered to much for me, just re-acclimating my brain to the frequencies of the sound, which I really never did before due to overprotectiveness, did most of the heavy lifting towards improving my condition.