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Tinnitus

johnny [staff]
Posts: 1013
Hey guys!

Wanted to start a topic on this - does anyone of you suffer from tinnitus? It's a common ailment with musicians. Those who don't know what it is - it's a constant buzzing or ringing in your ear or ears. I personally don't suffer from it but the guitarist from my band does. What I would like to know is does anyone here play in a band and has tinnitus, how do you make sure it does not get worse?
2nick3
Posts: 533
I have it. Too much time on rifle ranges in the Marine Corps, and not always with adequate hearing protection…

My “gig” is in the Praise band at my church, and we use Aviom's for personal monitors, so I have control over my own mix (not cheap, but very very cool). I wear a set of over-the-ear headphones (Sennheiser HD 280 Pros) and keep the volume in my ears down low, since I'm not having to compete with the sound in the house. I also stand where I am blocked by the acoustic shield we have around the drum kit, to keep the outside volume from them down even more.

There have been a few times I've played through an amp as both PA and my monitor. I have an Orange Crush BXT50 for that, and I'll stand right in front of it, so I can feel the sound with my legs but my ears aren't right in line with it. And I stay out of line with the guitar amps, as well. No drummer in those situations, thankfully.

I practice sometimes without plugging in, so I have an OK sense of what things should feel like through the bass itself, so I don't always have to hear myself perfectly to know what I'm doing.

Volume down, ear protection if it's going to be too loud, and you have to treat it just like any other chronic injury. If you have a bad ankle and want to play soccer (football, to most of the world), you take precautions. Same thing here.

It's a pain, and has gotten worse for me over time. I'm finally ready to get in and have my ears looked at, hoping that there is something that can be done to help with it.
Duncan
Posts: 11
I played with a metal band in the 90s and unsurprisingly we played very loud. By the time i was 19 I already had minor hearing damage and tinnitus. Since then I started turning the music down and Used hearing protection for every show i played and i havent noticed my hearing get worse in the past 20 or so years.recently ive been use ear plugs called hearos you can get off musicians friend. With them i can still hear everythin just fine and if anything they make the music sound better.
Duncan
Posts: 11
I played with a metal band in the 90s and unsurprisingly we played very loud. By the time i was 19 I already had minor hearing damage and tinnitus. Since then I started turning the music down and Used hearing protection for every show i played and i havent noticed my hearing get worse in the past 20 or so years.recently ive been use ear plugs called hearos you can get off musicians friend. With them i can still hear everythin just fine and if anything they make the music sound better.
Goll65
Posts: 27
This isn't something that usually affects bassists. The higher notes are going to do more damage. If your playing in a band and your guitarist plays a lot of high end solos, or you stand right next to the crash cymbal you might need to be careful. Otherwise you should be OK, and like others said its chronic so it will come on slow. If you notice anything happening start taking precautions.
Marko1960
Posts: 3143
I've got it, a constant hiss, high pitched whistle like a steam kettle, you just live with it, you have no choice. Top tip, always wear ear protection!

Btw, it was the lead guitarists fault
2nick3
Posts: 533
Quote:
Btw, it was the lead guitarists fault

A universal truth, that!
Marko1960
Posts: 3143


This is the man responsible!
I have it on and off. I think most of the damage was done during the late 70's and the 80's. I went to many metal concerts, like Motörhead, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Judas Priest, Van Halen…
purplez
Posts: 189
Quote:
This is the man responsible!

I am not even going to watch that.



2nick3
Posts: 533
Quote:
Quote: This is the man responsible! I am not even going to watch that.

I wish I hadn't…

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