Ear problems

[HA_DA_JA]

I woke up last night about 3am and I could hear this soft high pitch ringing like the fridge or some electrical device. I went to mentally find it in my head which item I had left on so I could get out of bed and turn it off. I could not think of what it was. I covered my ears and then it hit me that it was in my head - well my ears to be more precise. Is this what is know as tinnitus?
I was able to go back to sleep but the soft ringing is still there.
Is this fixable or am I stuck with it?

[jkhuri44]

yeah, sounds like tinnitus.

Just be careful around volume...buy some moulded earplugs if you dont have them, but i personally found, avoiding loud volumes to be the best medicine.

my tinnitus doesnt bug me as much anymore as soon as i avoided live shows all together. I only go to watch classical, jazz,. and stuff with good live engineering. helps avoiding retarded rock/metal volumes at pubs, etc

[Sammas]

Everyone has tinnitus to some degree, whether it is very minor hearing loss or simply the sound inherent from your body functions. A lot of the time it isn't noticeable due to ambient environmental noise.

Related to your body, there are a bunch of things that can cause it beyond hearing loss. Caffeine, alcohol, changes in blood pressure, blocked sinuses/eustachian tubes/middle ears.

Or... damage to your hearing.

[Kurt]

I read somewhere that most classical musicians, especially violinists, have hearing loss and/or tinnitus. I live in and for retarded volumes, my PA with rock and metal bands tends to be quieter than nightclub volumes.

I help out in my brother-in-laws mechanical workshop, there was a car on the dyno last week that topped 120db. Even with plugs in that's bloody uncomfortable.

Mmy point being that you can't always predict or control volume. You can be careful and reduce risk but over a lifetime you will sustain damage.

yeah, sounds like tinnitus.

Just be careful around volume...buy some moulded earplugs if you dont have them, but i personally found, avoiding loud volumes to be the best medicine.

my tinnitus doesnt bug me as much anymore as soon as i avoided live shows all together. I only go to watch classical, jazz,. and stuff with good live engineering. helps avoiding retarded rock/metal volumes at pubs, etc

[Thirteen]

If you are exposed to loud noise make sure that you are keeping your magnesium levels up.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8135325

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/03/31/22775.aspx

[abbeyquail]

As someone who deals with TMJ, I second the magnesium advice.