Overcoming Tinnitus as a Musician

[@sirderpsalot7005]

Thank you for making something like this. I've had tinnitus for several years, I believe I developed it from working a bar at a live music venue. It wasn't really a big problem for the longest time, I habituated, and life moved on. Music was just a hobby for me and I was studying physics at university. I graduated and sadly only came to then realize that it wasn't just a hobby, and was really the only thing I truly wanted to peruse in life. So I started working on it as a proper career and things were starting to make sense. Then unfortunately my tinnitus reared its head and came back into the forefront. I wound up at club one night with some friends without any hearing protection. I was there for less than an hour (I hate clubs haha) and that's all it took to significantly increase the severity of my tinnitus. It was no longer a mild case that was easily avoidable. My ears were screaming, I could hear it above the sound of my own voice. To make matters worse, I recently caught covid for the second time. This time around the symptoms were mostly upper respiratory which resulted in my ears getting clogged up and congested. Its been found that covid is capable of attacking inner ear cells and causing permanent damage, and sadly that seems to be my situation. I recovered from covid but the volume of the tinnitus has reached an extreme level. I'm only 23. There's gonna be so many more opportunists for my tinnitus to get worse and that terrifies me. Prior to the last couple incidents which aggravated the situation I was looking to get some experience with live performances as part of a blues trio (guitar and vocals). But now I don't know what to do. I can't let it get worse than this, because if it does... I need music in my life, I need to be able to play live, I need to peruse my dreams. I'm prepared to go forward still, even if it things will be trickier but as long as I can proceed safely and completely guard my ears from any further damage. When you began to wear ear protection on stage and you found your tinnitus was still getting worse and worse, was that because you were becoming more aware of it due to being isolated with the tinnitus by the ear protection? Or were your ears still getting damaged by the volume levels on stage despite your ear protection precautions?

[@InnerPieces]

Hey, thanks for sharing your story. I can definitely relate to a lot of what you said. It is scary how loud tinnitus can get, but things can improve. To answer your question, yes it was getting worse mainly because of the isolation of wearing earplugs and ear defenders at the same time which brought the tinnitus even more into focus. This was confirmed when my hearing test showed that my hearing hadn’t got any worse despite the increase in tinnitus. Now I only use my custom moulded earplugs which I keep in my pocket at all times (just in case I end up wandering into a club!) I’m really sorry that you are struggling with it. If you haven’t already, I would definitely consider getting a hearing checkup. This is the only way you can monitor what damage (if any) you may have done to your hearing. If it turns out that you have little or no hearing loss, then it should be possible to continue as a musician and things can improve with the tinnitus. But it is always good to see a specialist so that they can rule out any other possible causes.

[@sirderpsalot7005]

@@InnerPieces Hey! Thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. That's really reassuring to hear that your condition seemed to stabilise when you introduced hearing protection. I took your advice and got my ears checked up again. Turns out my ear drum was perforated from covid which might explain why its gotten (hopefully) temporally much louder. Going to see an audiologist and get a hearing check and enquire about some moulded earplugs that I can keep around encase of any extreme noise exposure like you said. I'm gonna keep trying. Every now and then it manages to sneak up and knock me down, but there's still some days were I can feel some degree of normality. There's musicians out there who have pushed forward in the face of much worse odds, and that doesn't mean my own problems are invalid by comparison, but it does inspire some hope. Thanks again for the reply, you've helped!

[@InnerPieces]

A perforated eardrum can definitely make tinnitus worse temporarily. I hope it settles back down again once it has fully healed. Take it easy my friend

[@koolchem6653]

@@sirderpsalot7005 I haven't heard of covid itself, causing eardrum to perforate. I'm wondering if it was caused by blowing your nose too hard. This happened to me when I was really congested, and I blew my nose pretty aggressively which ended up perforating my ear drum. I hope your tinnitus settled down a bit after it healed. Do you have an update?

[@SSRUNNER0]

I’m not an expert but from what I have read tinnitus is caused by overactivity in the dorsal cochlea nucleus. Hearing loss, amongst other things, can cause this overactivity. Medicines like benzodiazepines calm the brain and effectively calm the neural patterns that give rise to tinnitus. Susan shores device supposedly being released next year follow similar principles to lenire bimodial neuromodulation and disrupt this neural pattern treating and even curing some. Have hope :)

[@InnerPieces]

Sounds interesting, I had not heard of this

[@manuelakerlund1072]

I am studying music technology, which includes lots mixing and experimenting with sounds. Music is my life, but the tinnitus is getting worse and worse, even though I feel I'm being careful. I'm at the point where I can't even play electrical guitar UNPLUGGED without feeling that my ears are in danger. I'm so close to just give up, and that scares the shit out of me, because music is all I know and want in life. This video really did spark some optimistic thoughts in my mind. Thanks for putting it out here!

[@InnerPieces]

Really sorry to hear that Manuel. It’s a really tough journey, I recommend getting a hearing test if you haven’t already just to check things over. I totally get your concerns, I had similar with playing piano quietly. I had to keep reminding myself that if I was playing at such quiet volumes, it was perfectly safe for my hearing. Tinnitus is scary, but it is definitely possible to live with it and even thrive as a musician. I wish you all the best with it.

[@adoxographer]

You are an absolute inspiration. I can't thank you enough for putting together this video.

[@InnerPieces]

That’s very kind, thank you ☺️

[@PecktheTownCrier]

Great perspective, great advice. Thanks so much.

[@mori3504]

i'm 14 with tinnitus a singer and musician...thanks for the video

[@InnerPieces]

No problem, I hope you find some relief.

[@Berte_1]

How are you now?

[@HAazh1]

Hi Andrew, very good video. Well done.

[@InnerPieces]

Thanks Hashir 😊

[@pauljakeman]

Thanks for this video buddy, great advice. I’ve been living with this tinnitus for far too long and just coping. Through next year I hope to get it sorted. I know there’s no cure but at least if I can shut it more into the background that will help.

[@InnerPieces]

Sorry to hear that. Tinnitus is tough, but it’s definitely possible for things to improve. Good luck on your journey with it all.

[@pauljakeman]

@@InnerPieces thanks buddy, will check out your other videos in the series soon too. My tinnitus is the high pitched tone one.

[@dallassurfersclub8872]

Just have it in my left ear. I wear Etymotic musicians earplugs. My intrusive thoughts are: is the tinnitus necessarily a frequency you are losing? OMG, this is horrible. etc. I have super sensitive hearing. Hope it gets better for you.

[@InnerPieces]

@@dallassurfersclub8872 it’s not easy, I hope you find some relief

[@jidiplaygames1244]

Thank you for this video man

[@InnerPieces]

😊🙏

[@jidiplaygames1244]

@@InnerPieces The video is very well done. And it has helped me to... accept this, thing, this ever tormenting, untouchable thing that's tinnitus, xD

[@InnerPieces]

That’s really kind. We’ve got to take everyday as it comes, but accepting things is definitely the place to start. Take care

[@mixmeister9985]

Great video 👍

[@InnerPieces]

Thanks 😊

[@AndJusticeForAll...1985]

I have hyperacusis as well. Severe. I miss music so bad, so bad so bad. I feel lost without it. Im trying TRT right now. People pronunciation of the S sounds sharp and like a squelch. Ive given up on music. Don't know what to do.

[@InnerPieces]

Sorry to hear that. I hope things improve for you. Stick with the TRT, it can be quite effective for a lot of people. Look after yourself

[@sireel]

Thanks for the video. I'm a musician who recently came down with bad tinnitus. Do you wear ear plugs when you play with a band at rehearsal and/or gigs?

[@InnerPieces]

Sorry to hear that. Yeah, I have some custom made musicians earplugs which I wear during gigs and rehearsals.

[@grahamkey8496]

Hi, you mentioned hyperacusis briefly in the middle of your talk. For me this is by far a bigger issue than tinnitus. Would you say your TRT treatment cured your hyperacusis?

[@InnerPieces]

Hi Graham, TRT definitely helped me to get it in control. Although my hyperacusis was not that extreme thankfully

[@chrisk6488]

@@InnerPieces some people say that TRT may hide some danger.. Is this true?

[@InnerPieces]

@chrisk6488 what do you mean? I’m not sure I understand

[@chrisk6488]

@@InnerPieces I have read on some site that TRT treatment if not done properly by a specialist, can create a bigger problem with tinnitus..

[@InnerPieces]

@chrisk6488 I’ve not heard anything like that to be honest. TRT is basically just learning how the brain perceives tinnitus. But, yeah I would definitely advise going through it with a specialist who knows what they are doing

[@eagleeggs3862]

I have mild tinnitus, it effects my sleep mostly. But mentally I was at the place you where desrcibing about giving up music all together. I got ear plugs and the ear defenders, to play to see if that helps, even a pulsing meternome you can strap on your body. How do you mange your practice times. with out it getting worse? how long do you play for.

[@InnerPieces]

Hi Stephen, thanks for your comment. These days, the band practices I attend are a lot quieter than during my younger carefree days. A lot of the musicians I work with have hearing issues of their own and in general are a lot more aware of the risks. So basically we practice at a much quieter volume and take regular breaks. Currently I am in a wedding band but we all live miles away from each other, so we don’t rehearse very often at all, but when we do, it’s quite a long practice over several hours to make the most of it. When we gig, we have our own sound guy and many of my band mates use in ear monitors, so stage noise is kept to a minimum where possible.

[@Fingaphunk3000]

Thanks for making this Andrew...great advice and inspiration for anyone with T

[@InnerPieces]

Thanks Russell :)

[@billycan8852]

Very interesting thanks for Sharing Andrew .

[@InnerPieces]

My pleasure 😊

[@joeylodes]

Gentamicin did me in. Blazing tinnitus for over 5 years now. Ironic because I was neurotic about protecting my ears my whole musician life. Be careful about what antibiotics and other medications Docs give you. Stay strong 💪 everyone.

[@InnerPieces]

Yeah, I think there are quite a lot of drugs that are ototoxic, it’s something that’s definitely worth knowing about. Thanks for commenting. I hope you find some peace

[@SSRUNNER0]

I have tinnitus and I listen to your piano videos to sleep.

[@InnerPieces]

😊 thank you for watching.

[@SSRUNNER0]

Do you have instagram?

[@InnerPieces]

@inner_pieces_music

[@SSRUNNER0]

I got you I’m 20s.xx.xx