Tinnitus

[joshisrad]

Every once in a while if I am producing for a couple hours I will hear ringing noise in either ear come and then go. Maybe more than once, but never more than three times in the session.

Is this the start of tinnitus?

Should I take a break from producing for like a month or something?

Does anyone here experience this and/or have tinnitus?

[joshisrad]

Moreover, how do you protect your ears when you use headphones to produce on?

[Eat Bass]

idk. ringing in your ears for a few seconds usually just means someone is talking shit behind your back. but usually thats just random. if you notice ringing after you have a long session, id suggest you use your monitors more often and listen at lower volumes when using monitors and headphones.

there is no protection when using headphones. just learn to produce at low volumes. thats the only precaution you can take. that and give your ears breaks. no 8 hour sessions with loud as shit music the entire time.

[joshisrad]

Talking shit? Lol.. I don't get it. My headphones are open air, Audio Technica AD-700s. So I can hear everything in the room.

I will try and produce softer I guess, but it's hard to hear the oomph of the bass sounds I design at low low volumes. I usually mix with the Windows system volume anywhere from 2 to 6 though... should I mix with it at 1?

I definitely don't do 8 hours sessions but I will go for like three hours at a time. Thankfully when my gf is around she draws me away from it.

I got no money for nice monitors right now

[pompende]

its always good to keep the levels low if you're in an extended session. ultimately, though, you are going to have to do the mixdown at a relatively high volume.

short bursts of ringing like you have described are totally normal and you have almost certainly experienced it for your entire life. sounds like you are just noticing it more when you produce because you are paying close attention to what you are hearing.

http://www.tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm

[joshisrad]

"short bursts of ringing like you have described are totally normal and you have almost certainly experienced it for your entire life. sounds like you are just noticing it more when you produce because you are paying close attention to what you are hearing."

I've definitely been hearing it all my life and the psychology behind your theory makes total sense. And it doesn't sound the same as after I've been to a concert, that kind of ringing is much different. Thanks much.

[3rdeye]

it's your spirit guides

[JBoy]

Ive got it and my ears ring constantly but only hurt or ring really loudly after exposure to really loud noises. Just watch yourself and look after yours if they start to hurt at any point.

[khybot]

I read that RESO has Tinnitus... It might be worth talking with an ear doctor; i'd be interested to hear what they have to say.

[joshisrad]

Yeah mine don't hurt. Thankfully.

Weird that Reso has tinnitus. His tunes are ace.

[JBoy]

Just watch out though mate, mine started off with sporadic ringing then they just got worse.

[pompende]

I read that RESO has Tinnitus... It might be worth talking with an ear doctor; i'd be interested to hear what they have to say.

many ENTs and otologists will tell you that you have to live with it.

i recently attended an excellent lecture on tinnitus and hyperacusis given by this gentleman Most of it centered on Jastreboff's research and Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.

This is an excellent resource, so i'm providing the link again:
http://tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm
this will tell you everything you could ever want to know about tinnitus. if you can be bothered to read it.

Just watch out though mate, mine started off with sporadic ringing then they just got worse.

yes it started out like that coz everyone in the world has that.
as i recall, you spent some time in the military... ever see any combat?
whatever the origin of your persistent tinnitus: the reason its a problem for you is that you have developed a powerful emotional response to hearing the ringing.

you can get rid of your problem for the cost of your time and a white-noise generator. altho, if you didn't click the link the first time idk why you would now.

[butter_man]

Ive had it ever since them mushrooms :s

[weedlefruit]

Yeah I have this myself, takes very little to set it off but I did have a ruptured tymp a few years back so my left ear hears about 60% normal anyways.

When it comes to mixing and producing, you don't want to be doing it loud of course but also, contrary to what people seem to suggest, you will get a better idea of levels at a mid range volume.

If you mix at high volume all the time, then play back your tune quietly you'll find that something is probably too loud that you missed before. But the same happens the other way mixing quiet to loud

Almost everytime I've mixed at a high volume level and then listened back quieter, the snare or hats could be too loud for example, but because everything was balring out at me it was just a wall of noise, all the low end high energy sounds will be coming through more than higher frequencies so you don't get a good reperesentation of the sound but at low levels the opposite happens, highs will bounce through so you need to find a sweet spot

I've read it described like painting, if you're looking really close at the image (loud volume) and paint, you'll stand back and notice the relationship between colours isn't quite right, somethings too dark or too bright because you didn't look at it as a whole. Same thing happens with sound as many books will tell you and as i've heard from engineers also

Although i'm sure someone will dispute almost everything i've said


*edit
Went off topic a little bit, what i mean to say is, mixing loud is bad for a couple of reasons, not just for your ears! Your ears will get tired over the course of a session too so is good to have a break, listen to something else for a bit

[JBoy]

I read that RESO has Tinnitus... It might be worth talking with an ear doctor; i'd be interested to hear what they have to say.

many ENTs and otologists will tell you that you have to live with it.

i recently attended an excellent lecture on tinnitus and hyperacusis given by this gentleman Most of it centered on Jastreboff's research and Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.

This is an excellent resource, so i'm providing the link again:
http://tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm
this will tell you everything you could ever want to know about tinnitus. if you can be bothered to read it.

Just watch out though mate, mine started off with sporadic ringing then they just got worse.

yes it started out like that coz everyone in the world has that.
as i recall, you spent some time in the military... ever see any combat?
whatever the origin of your persistent tinnitus: the reason its a problem for you is that you have developed a powerful emotional response to hearing the ringing.

you can get rid of your problem for the cost of your time and a white-noise generator. altho, if you didn't click the link the first time idk why you would now.

Yes mate ive spent a lot of time around loud noises from various situations, also am i missing something what link is this?

EDIT: Seen the link silly me.

[pikeymobile]

I've had it for about 8 years now thanks to years of using shitty earphones at silly volumes on mp3 players back in college. It's a constant ringing, occasionally it'll get louder and every few months it'll change pitch. I can't use in ear earphones at all now as they hurt so much at any volume, and walking in the wind is a special kind of agony. Luckily I've still got pretty much full hearing in both my ears so it hasn't deteroriated my hearing much overall, and most of my mother's side of the family has tinnitus, apparently it can be a naturally occuring thing. Doctors said I most likely had it all my life but only noticed it after ravaging my ears with music. Getting decent headphones and speakers helped loads though, means I can listen to music at reasonable volumes and still hear everything properly.

Almost everyone hears ringing in a quiet room though, I remember reading research on it, something about your brain making up sounds cos it can't hear anything (sort of like when you see shit in sensory deprivation tanks or dark rooms)

[JBoy]

I've had it for about 8 years now thanks to years of using shitty earphones at silly volumes on mp3 players back in college. It's a constant ringing, occasionally it'll get louder and every few months it'll change pitch. I can't use in ear earphones at all now as they hurt so much at any volume, and walking in the wind is a special kind of agony. Luckily I've still got pretty much full hearing in both my ears so it hasn't deteroriated my hearing much overall, and most of my mother's side of the family has tinnitus, apparently it can be a naturally occuring thing. Doctors said I most likely had it all my life but only noticed it after ravaging my ears with music.

Almost everyone hears ringing in a quiet room though, I remember reading research on it, something about your brain making up sounds cos it can't hear anything (sort of like when you see shit in sensory deprivation tanks or dark rooms)

Sounds like mine a lot really, gets worse after i listen to music even at a quiet volume and gets worse to the point of pain. Quite annoying because one of main passions in life is music.

[pompende]

EDIT: Seen the link silly me.

sorry for being a smartass about it. anyway that's actually good science despite how bad the website looks. and i think its relatively easy to read.

[joshisrad]

Bookmarked last night immediately majorly appreciate the link. So much better than wikipedia.

Someone should make a website that is a compendium of shit like that so people dont have to resort to google and getting a ton of shitty ass internet marketing amateur websites that are obviously trying to push a shitty product and make spare change with adsense

[AxeD]

Fact: when Skrillex was born, 17 people got tinnitus.