Double Bass Tinnitus and Practicing. Please HELP! (DB Forum Thread)

[lurk]

Thanks for the tip on the earasers. More comfortable and true to life sound than the etymotics I've been using.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Earasers are comfortable (and better than no protection). However, the attenuation curve shows that they may not be best for overall protection. With their baseline (unprotected ear) at 95-115 dB, you are getting a max reduction of 19 dB - or 26 dB with the 'euro' plugs - which I've not seen in the US. Still, if a concert or performance is louder than that, you are still risking damage from prolonged exposure. Assuming they're accurate with their curve of a 'typical' live concert, you're getting lots of exposure in the 90-100 dB range. For 2-3 hours at a crack this can do cumulative damage.

 

[Maple]

I haven't been in super loud environments in a long time. all the shows I see are in nice jazz halls and the gigs I play are small. The erasers are really natural sounding. But recently, I forgot them and instead used a backup pair of etymotics that were in my amp case and realized they too felt fairly neutral.

 

[Max George]

I'm an EB player, but this thread is one of the best I've found as I frantically search for ways to deal with a sudden spike in hearing issues. I can't necessarily say I'm finding comfort here, but at least hearing stories that make me feel like I'm not alone with this issue. And I'm finding some solace in the fact that folks in this thread have been so forthcoming about how this affects them...

The quick background is that I've been going to concerts all my life - I'm 33 now. I've seen a few hundred concerts and often like to be close enough to 'feel it'. Up until the last two years those were all attended with no hearing protection. I also played in bands (practicing/gigging multiple times a week) from age 14-23, again with no hearing protection. I don't remember a lot of 'ringing', but I was always on the drummer's right & noticed some loss of treble in the left ear over time. I know there is a lot of cumulative damage from all of this, but there are two specific events that seem to have caused more acute issues.

About two years ago I attended a metal show and forgot to bring protection. The PA mix was shrill and both drummers were hitting hard and doing lots of cymbal work. I rang for about 3 days after that and became worried. I wore protection at shows since then. Although it muffled the sound a bit, I was no longer experiencing ear fatigue after shows. Then in May of last year I was practicing at home with a delay pedal, and it started feeding back causing a very high pitched shrill while my left ear was pointed at the amp. It was painful and I noticed the onset of consistent low-level tinnitus and some hyper sensitivity to high end after that. The sudden shift at that time made me very aware of the change in my left ear, but it became very manageable and almost unnoticeable after a week.

Fast forward to about 2-3 weeks ago. I've started noticing the tinnitus more, despite carrying ear plugs everywhere and doing my best to practice bass & listen to audio at reasonable volumes. In particular, I'm noticing what seems like hyperacusis in the left ear that is fluctuating significantly. I woke up this morning and the sound of traffic, running water, the steam fan in our bathroom, and general background noises are particularly loud and more noticeable than usual. This hypersensitivity is also causing me to feel like there is a big imbalance in my hearing between left and right - it's almost making my right ear seem muted or plugged because the left sound so shrill and sensitive.

I have an appointment with an ear doctor today, but I'm fearing that this is no easy fix & that there may be no real solution. This tinnitus, hyperacusis, and imbalance is affecting my desire to play bass, listen to music, listen to podcasts, etc. It's affecting my ability to go out and be social. To be honest, it's causing lots of depression and has made me break down on more than one occasion. I understand this is a complex issue. I know that many issues with tinnitus & hearing loss are permanent & incurable. I also know that I've caused this by being naive and uneducated about the importance of protecting my hearing. Still, the thought of music becoming a lesser or non-existent part of my life is just gutting me. I'm trying to be hopeful that this first visit with a hearing specialist today will at least present some ideas about what's going on and how to start dealing with it. I guess we'll see...

Truth is, that hypersensitivity is very normal. You become defensive about your ears, as you should. The goal is to lessen the loss, and not increase the ringing. You will probably balance that out over time. I went through the exact same thing. I still carry earplugs everywhere, I sometimes wear them for just comfort. I wear earplugs and still play. I have realized that even if i can only play my EUB unplugged along with my mixer with small computer speakers, I will still enjoy it. But I still love my Upton.

 

[Jim Dombrowski]

Interesting article...

Full Page Reload

 

[BrotherMister]

I remember being at college in my teens and basically having it consistently drilled into us about wearing ear plugs. It's now something I do on about 98% of gigs I play and 100% of gigs I attend. I have ear plugs on my keys, in my car, in my cases and basically everywhere so I'm never at a loss for them. I actually think as a listener and performer you hear things a lot better because it takes that harsh top end off a lot of things. If anyone is in doubt about it give them some time, your ears will thank you for it and you'll get to the stage where you can just feel instantly what is too loud.

Anyway, last time I was getting my ears moulded the specialist told me I should be wearing them practising at home if it is going to be any sort of loud volume but that isn't really a problem practising. One thing people don't tell you is that your ear plugs will lose effectiveness over time, I think something like 3 - 5 years so I'm due getting it done again. Just as well there are no gigs at moment...

 

[Maple]

Since my last post I had a set of Westone plugs made. I’m using the 15db inserts. They definitely feel like they attenuate better than the earasers and are still pretty neutral.

 

[matthewbrown]

As a classroom teacher, the hearing loss and tinnitus I developed over years of playing loudly became a real liability for me. I invested in a pair of Bose HearPhones at first, and they worked, but not well. I eventually bought a pair of top-of-the-line Phonak hearing aids. I wear them almost all of the time, because hearing loss becomes worse when ignored -- your auditory nerves will reorganize if they don't receive stimulation. The tinnitus is part of the problem -- it masks certain frequencies crucial to speech discrimination.