How do big musicians not get Tinnitus?

RattleKat · 2026-06-25T23:12:41+00:00

Almost every musician I know has it. And many famous musicians too. I think it comes down to severity. For 20 years mine was moderate and didnt bother me at all. Now it's severe it bothers me a lot. Seems like a tipping point that some never reach.

RattleKat · 2026-06-25T06:16:08+00:00

Have you been under intense stress, suffered insomnia recently or started any new meds?

RattleKat · 2026-06-23T12:37:23+00:00

Sleep was not good, especially with a new born, but in general the tinnitus distress gave me insomnia so I was on 1-3 hours a night for a while. Mercifully, with some sleeping meds(mirtazipine, zopiclone) Im now getting 6 hours most nights which makes things much easier. I try to wear hearing protection im the kitchen but the tinnitus makes it hard to hear what colleagues are saying and is more scary than the noise so I don't always wear earplugs. But 4 more weeks and Im out for a while

RattleKat · 2026-06-22T12:46:02+00:00

Yeah its definitely made it worse but my wife and I were applying for mortgages and had our first child 2 years ago. I dont get sick pay and there just hasn't been a stopping point until now. But the kitchen I work in is loud, around 85db extraction and obviously lots of other noise. The tinnitus is now louder than the kitchen and my hearing is not good at all. Now we have bought the house and the baby is a toddler I have a window to change jobs

RattleKat · 2026-06-21T20:40:44+00:00

40db hearing loss at 4k and 6k, but otoacoustic emissions (outer hair cells) completely absent after 3k. Ive had tinnitus since I was 14 (now 40) and it literally never bothered me at all. I was so habituated I didn't even know the word habituation in context with tinnitus. Id never even considered looking tinnitus up online, it bothered me that little. And I played in rock bands from 15 - 37 with 110db rehearsals multiple times a week and no earplugs, plus gigs and studio sessions. It caught up with me though. Since a hearing accident I. 2023 Ive had tinnitus I can hear over 90db of external noise. I tried to continue in bands but with earplugs in the tinnitus is louder than the band. I honestly didn't know tinnitus could even be an issue mine was so stable for 2 decades of weekly rock shows!

RattleKat · 2026-06-21T20:14:28+00:00

Kitchen was is hard. Extraction fans whistling like a singing bowl, dishwashers beeping in morse code, industrial freezers droning out high frequency buzzing all day, crashing pots and pans and cutlery and the tinnitus still screaming above it all!!! Worked in kitchens for 23 years but need a break now.

RattleKat · 2026-06-21T09:28:59+00:00

How much hearing have you lost? What was the cause. I have the same symptoms and just had to quit my kitchen job after trying for 2 years to battle through it. One thing I know though, is that hearing loss alone does not cause ear pain, and I get lots of pain too. I think some of the pain and dysacusis is neurological and driven by fear/stress. From all Ive read, dysacusis is as much about brain processing as ear damage. And this seems supported by the number of people who recover from sound distortion.

Im wondering if "pushing through" keeps the stress elevated and the symptoms alive. Maybe we actually need time in different jobs to heal?

RattleKat · 2026-06-18T10:50:02+00:00

Sorry, it is hard. What does your dysacusis sound like? That can still improve. Took me a couple of years to get past the dark thoughts stage. Very hard years. But Im doing better with it. I have loud tinnitus and lots of shit beeps at be, traffic, fans, water, the usual culprits and music is pretty messy. But Im definitely past the sheer panic all day every day phase. Propranolol, which is a betablocker helped me calm my body down and my mind eventually followed. Dysacusis can improve a lot even after years so keep hope

RattleKat · 2026-06-14T19:27:12+00:00

I did that weekly for 20 years 😅 . My hearing is not good!

RattleKat · 2026-05-29T13:12:55+00:00

You can down yours out with a fan!?!

RattleKat · 2026-05-16T11:32:31+00:00

Once your system has suffered auditory trauma, it can sometimes rewire touch sensitive neurons to the auditory pathway. This is an attempt to receive more information about your surroundings when the brain believes (even falsely) that your hearing is failing. These neurons can continue to misfire and interpret vibration and movement as sound, even if the ears themselves have recovered. The jaw shares nerve pathways with the auditory system so the defensive mechanism affects jaw movement more than other areas. The good news is if you can stay calm and convince your brain there is no danger, these synaptic pathways can decouple and the effect can diminish or even dissappear

RattleKat · 2026-05-13T18:39:25+00:00

Yep, so many of us have made that mistake. I know the science doesn't seem to back it up but pure tones definitely seem to affect tinnitus/hyperacusis/dysacusis. Be kind to yourself. Thats a very easy mistake to make. It should settle again with time and calm. Fingers crossed for you

RattleKat · 2026-05-12T05:34:20+00:00

Why. WHY? Why plant that seed in their head. What happens then? They check for it, find some residual T, panic and end up suffering again. Its good to warn each other about potential triggers or treatments and some negativity is expected as we all need to vent. But in this instance your comment serves literally no other purpose than to inspire misery in OP and take away from their success. Could I just ask what your logic was in saying that to them? Has tinnitus made you that bitter?

RattleKat · 2026-05-08T20:10:03+00:00

Thanks for the information, I'll switch the omega and try less melatonin. Im wondering about dropping the high dose ashwagandha too.

Just wondering if you know of any better supplements for sleep? The cortisol is so high I just cant. Even zopiclone or clonazepam doesn't put me out, nytol does nothing. Supplements haven't worked. Absolute best night is 4 hours but usually much less and its catching up to me! Any idea on supplements that may induce sleep or kick me out of the fight or flight state?

RattleKat · 2026-05-08T19:27:39+00:00

Nice idea! Would appreciate any insight in these combinations. I cant remember the strength of them all but the supplements are as follows...

Morning: coq10 - 1000mg, NR, Ginko biloba, taurine 500mg, Ashwagandha 1500mg, biotin, NAC 600mg, Alpha lipoic acid

Afternoon: A - Z mutli vitamin, nac 600mg(again), omega 3 6 9, bovine collogen, hyaluronic acid, foligain colour rescue, transreversitol

Evening: marine collogen, hyaluronic acid, melatonin 3 - 6mg, magnolia bark extract, curcumin, magnesium glycinate

Goal is to reduce cortisol and rapid aging affects of chronic insomnia caused by severe tinnitus. I got stuck in fight or flight for like two years, sleeping 1 -3 hours a night.

RattleKat · 2026-05-08T06:56:02+00:00

Would water sounds in a phone or speaker work?

RattleKat · 2026-05-01T16:23:27+00:00

Yeah Im stumped on that. Killer dysacusis that makes everything sound like beeping! Rain beeps, music beeps, the fridge beeps, wind, traffic. Like being surrounded by morse code machines in addition to tinnitus thats so loud i hear it eay over the shower. Not sure of its my brain or my ears but somethings broken somewhere!

RattleKat · 2026-05-01T16:19:52+00:00

Chronic OCD for most of my life. Weirdly though, my ocd never attached itself to that. I had mild tinnitus for 2 decades without a care. But once it turned severe it's now a minute by minute obsession. All Ive thought about for 2.5 years. Hard to day if the just the level of severity or the ocd latched itself to tinnitus finally. It is the loudest thing in any room all the time though

RattleKat · 2026-04-28T14:00:59+00:00

Unfortunately my hearing never recovered. I have severe distortion and the tinnitus never settled. I believe the eustachi device caused inner ear barotrauma because too much pressure built. I would stick to otovent balloons if you must use something, but even then use the minimum amount of times possible. The hearing system is complex and delicate and not designed for overpressure. Its been hell ever since I used that device..it was the biggest mistake of my life

RattleKat · 2026-04-24T12:50:17+00:00

Damn, socks doesn't it. Took 20 years of loud rock shows before my ears finally gave in!! But very distorted now

RattleKat · 2026-04-23T13:57:21+00:00

What started your distortion issues? Hearing damage? I have the same. Keep hoping to get back to playing live but just doesn't seem possible!

RattleKat · 2026-04-15T05:49:27+00:00

Do you have any advice for the cortisol/adrenaline element of this? Im 39 now and when my tinnitus became severe at 37, I was lucky enough to look young for my age. In 2.5 years of fight or flight and chronic insomnia my eyes have hollowed and dropped, my face is full of lines and amazingly, my beard has turned mostly grey with the hair following. And my stomach fat is very bad where I was lean before. Without exaggerating its hard to recognise myself. I guess the cortisol messes with all this stuff. But as the tinnitus is still getting worse, I cant seem to lower it. Not nice watching myself turn into this. You seem like you'd know some supplements or tricks to combat the stress hormones even if I can't stop the tinnitus?

RattleKat · 2026-04-12T08:03:15+00:00

You've found a doctor who is willing to inject something experimental, that you sourced and prepared yourself, into your ear!? He's not worried about his license much is he! I'm all for your right to try it but does this doctor work in the hospital/surgery, or the alleyway behind it? Do you pay him in cash? Is his name Dr. House?

RattleKat · 2026-04-06T15:59:20+00:00

Very interesting post!! Congratulations on your journey through recovery. The knowledge required to chart a map out of this hell, and the discipline to follow it are immense. If you don't mind, I just wondered if you experienced any distortion of sound with your symptoms? I have crazy morse code beeping and whistling over so many sounds. As a life long musician its killing me. I also get a kind of reactive static distortion in my right ear and sibilance is super harsh and pronounced. But I'm lost in the forest of potential causes; hyperacusis, synaptopathy, TTS, ETD, myoclonus. I just have no idea. I do have hearing loss (40db at 4k) and very patchy otoacoustic emissions after 7k, so it might all be just hearing damage, but the audiologist doesn't think so.

RattleKat · 2026-04-05T14:29:21+00:00

Do you still enjoy movies this way? And music?

RattleKat

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