On Fri, 24 Jan 2003, Herb Rodriguez <Herb.Rodriguez@Colorado.edu> said,
> [...] I've not been to a doctor, so I can't tell if my case is mild or
> severe. I just know its become more noticeable as time goes on.
Since the kind of tinnitus we are discussing is categorized as "subjective" (that can sound dismissive, but the contrast is with "objective"
tinnitus, which people other than the sufferer can also hear -- there are actually rare cases of this), it's really your own judgement that counts,
here. There are some very interesting philosophical questions involved, but I won't let myself go in that direction!
> [...] I think just the sound waves and
> pressure being confined directly into the ears via the headphones may be a
> factor.
As would your degree of susceptibility to developing tinnitus and/or hearing loss; some people can endure very loud sound levels for long periods
with apparently no ill effect, while others' hearing can be damaged/altered with little exposure.
> [...] I remember hearing in high school or early college that when the ears are
> subjected to loud noises that cause ringing, the ringing will last as long
> as the time the original noise lasted. IE, a 2 hr rock concert results in 2
> hrs of ringing.
Sounds like a bit of Scholastic (as in mediaeval) reasoning to me: X number of these, so there must be X number of those over there. Tidy, but
tidiness is often wrong.
> Well, in the early days I tried to notice that and
> sometimes I thought that it was true. But you need relative quiet for the
> ears to recover.
That is certainly true. Transitory tinnitus and a temporary threshold shift can take a long time to dissipate/return to normal, and quiet is
certainly the best remedy.
> Would wearing ear plugs on a regular basis help?
Since I have some small degree of hyperacusis as well as tinnitus, I always carry earplugs with me, and put them in whenever I can reasonably
predict that I'm going to be exposed to even moderately loud sound: on public transportation, for instance, or even when I'm going to be walking
along a busy street. But since, as you and others pointed out, urban living is a noisy affair at the best of times, sometimets I get blasted
anyway.I just try to improve my odds.
On the other hand, if one very frequently wears earplugs, that can cause irritation to the ear canals (though I suppose that might subside
eventually), and one can experience a threshold shift in the other direction: when one takes the earplugs out, sounds will be (subjectively) even
louder than normal. But I'd rather that, than risk further damage to my hearing, if I can avoid it.
Windsor Viney
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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