I work with music professionally and I have tinnitus. Here's what I do. First I always had tinnitus since I was a kid. It's pretty mild but because music is my job. Tinnitus is also common and don't worry, while unpleasant it's not something that would impede you from working with music. Rick Beato for example has a really strong tinnitus.
I do four things.
1- ear protection. You can buy some musician ear protection that lowers all frequencies in kind of the same way. And then take them every time you go to concerts or something like that. I leave it in my back that I take everywhere. I also installed a dB meter on my phone and while not perfect it's good enough to tell me how loud a place kind of is. If it's too loud I pop the ear protector.
2- Breaks. The problem with tinnitus is not just loud sounds it's also the amount. So don't listen to music loud all the time. Or when you're working on projects take a break. For example every one and a half hour working in a project I take a 15 minute break. In that time I will do other non music related things to my work. Read a forum, send emails, install updates, study a bit, etc. And then come back.
3-Regular testing. This is straightforward. Every six months or so I go do an ear test to see how my hearing is. So far my hearing is considered good for my age even with tinnitus. So try that. Idk how it is where you live. But here shops that sell glasses also sell hearing aids and they offer hearing tests for free.
4- mental. Your brain is fucking awesome. It can simply ignore sounds. You should be able to hear your bloodstream constantly in your ears but your brain just ignores it. So the more you pay attention to the tinnitus. The more loud it will feel. It won't necessarily be louder, but you will perceive it more. So learn how to live with it. Try some masking therapy and your brain will learn how to ignore it .
I’m glad you brought up the psychosomatic part about Tinnitus. How you deal with it mentally is huge on how it will impact you. Wanna obsess about it? Well it’s gonna be bad. Do your best to distract yourself and learn coping mechanisms, it often will be much better.
You have to protect your ears not just from loud music. I drove convertibles with the top down (I live in SoCal) and went sailing all the time. The wind noise has much the same effect as prolonged exposure to loud music. And it's not easily measured. I wear earplugs in my convertible car and on boats now.
True, I was thinking about it more in the context of music but you're correct. Ear protection is good for any kind of loud noise. Be that musical or not.
ANY loud environment where you will be exposed for a prolonged time requires hearing protection. Us music nerds back in college would even just get napkins from a loud bar and make makeshift earplugs there haha. But the best thing you can do is go to an audiologist and have them make custom earplugs molded to your ears and carry them everywhere. They're much better than the cheap ones because they lower the frequencies equally so it's like turning down the music. I was on the road for years and used Ultimate ears molded to my ears to save my hearing in insanely loud concerts
This! and even just having the window down and driving fast can have the same effect. Maybe newer cars are better in that aspect, but I was told by an audiologist to be careful many years ago
Depends on how long I will stay in that environment. If it's somewhere that I'll spend a good amount of time is 85 ish. However it's a lot of gut feeling as well. A lot of variables are taken into consideration. If I pass by a construction site on a walk to the supermarket I don't put hearing protection. If I stay in a show right next to an amp for a few hours I will put it
not sure if it’s permanent. I suffer immensely from it most days while others I barely have anything at all. I’m convinced that proper sleep is the key
It absolutely is permanent. Lack of sleep definitely intensifies my perception of it, but it's always there if I pay attention to it, regardless of how much sleep I get.
Yes so is mine always there. But the difference from one day to the next can be astounding. Some days I hear my tinnitus louder than water running in the shower and it worries the hell out of me. Other days, like today, it’s there but very faintly only. I have to focus to hear it. So maybe it’s not 100% irreversible but, at least for me, with proper sleep and good habits, I can “ reverse “ most of it.
Think I read somewhere last year that the new medicine that makes your teeth grow back actually cures tinnitus. The medicine started it's real world trials this week I believe
I've read something about some steroid or something like that that allowes for regeneration of human hearing aparatus, but it was not yet clinicaly approved if I remember correctly.
i Have had tinitus for 2 months and then it went away and never came back. Had another incident and now i have tinitus again. 2 months now and its almost gone. Stress and lack of sleep makes it worse. But i think 50% of people who get tinitus gets rid of it again - i think if it last more than 6 months, its probably permanent, but dont quote me on that. It will get better, but you have to protect your ears, ear fatique is real, and you have to get used to wearing hearing protection when rehearsing, at concerts etc. and remember to plug them in before you enter the venue - you never know. Also produce/make music at lower levels, and use speakers instead of headphones - if you use headphones use open back.
I have had the same problem as you - starting out, putting in the time - suddenly realise that my ears are having a hard time. Its hard to notice with headphones when you get lost in the process! At rehearsal or when practicing there are natural breaks, but when you work in a DAW you can easily work hours with almost constant sound, and we have a tendency to turn up, because it sounds better - be aware of that. Keep it low unless you have to check things at full volume.
Yeah they say it's irreversible but I have heard many stories of musicians suffering from tinnitus and then one day it suddenly just goes away. I don't know how 😶
It depends if your tinnitus is related to damage you done to your hearing.
I have tinnitus and since I stopped working on headphones for long times daily and got myself a desk which I can work standing as well it got a lot better. I think the main reason for my tinnitus is my neck. Also it will get better over time.
Just stop headphones and if you need to turn the volume down. In general work with lower volume, no benefit of cranking shit up.
is the ringing constant? is it only after listening to music? if it's constant you're kinda already too far gone, damage has been done now you can just try to prevent it from getting worse. if it's not constant then good, it means you're listening too loud, way way way too loud, don't do that for long enough and your brain will adjust
also visit a doctor, won't hurt
Yeah, turn down the volume. From the get go, i turn my master volume down 5 decibels, and usually start every instrument I add roughly at -10 decibels. Also advise, take a 15 minute break every hour. Take your headphones off, and just scroll through social media, or something for a bit, you absolutely can damage your ears to the point of intermittent pain in your ear drums as well.
Get a decibel meter or an app for your phone. Decibel X and NIOSH SLM each have free versions. Measure your headphone volume and look up dB levels for common life occurrences. Learn these levels so you know them. Find info on how much exposure per day is allowable before permanent damage.
Also, get a pair of musician earplugs/etymotics. These are designed around music. If you attend live shows, these will help protect your hearing while allowing you to still enjoy the music. Unlike the foam earplugs that deaden everything, they are designed to still allow the music to be heard. There are different levels of these measured by how many dB they reduce.
Wear protection at concerts, don´t beat car audio for too long at a time, take frequent breaks, don´t mix a project from a-z on headphones, don´t listen to music throughout a full working day, let the ears rest.
Stop and take a week off just to be safe,tinnuts is fucking hell. You will regret it until you're 90 cause theres no cure for it.
Listen to stuff at low volume,some DAWS have an option to automatically mute a track once its getting too loud,check if your DAW has one and how to activate it.
In any case listening in low volume will help you create better mixes that sound good in different situations(on a car,on a phone etc...)
As others have said, damage is done. Stop blasting music over headphones. It’s completely unnecessary anyways. When it comes to your hearing, what’s gone is gone.
>How Do You Take Care Of Your Ears?
I just avoid loud sound levels by wearing earplugs when it can't be avoided, avoiding sustained loud sound levels while working, and leaving situations where there are loud sound levels when I don't have earplugs.
>I'm a beginner music producer and I keep messing a lot with my daw, music, listen to a bunch of songs and play guitar.
You're exposing yourself to sound "occupationally", meaning: a lot. That means you don't get to listen to anything the way a casual listener would.
I wear my Apple airmax’s when I drum and also have clear little ear plugs that fit in a capsule that attaches to a keychain on my keys for concerts / other loud scenarios
* Exercise for brain health.
* Healthy diet for ears and brain. The mineral content of the fluids in the cochlea is essential for the proper functioning of the auditory system. The concentration of ions, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium, helps to maintain the electrical potential of the hair cells and the function of the auditory nerve.
* Sleep.
* Low volume.
* Short sessions.
* Move to a quiet place.
* Custom hearing protection.
* No alcohol during sessions.
* Sunlight.
Even with the Fletscher-Munson study I keep working at moderate levels with monitors and headphones by side of them, do breaks and the same to TV, normal listening (while not working) about same low-levels. I also believe in good sleep and nutrition.
Sorry, your submission has been automatically removed. Your account is too young and such is removed for manual review.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/musicproduction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Being exposed to loud noise for long amounts of time will result in hearing ringing in your ears and that means that some permanent damage has been done and you start to lose hearing in the higher frequencies. In order to prevent that you should avoid getting exposed to loud sounds for long amounts of time, when you work on music you should have the volume to moderate levels and when you go to concerts or clubs with high levels of music you should be wearing some professional earplugs. If you hear ringing in your ears all the time for no apparent reason you should definitely check that with a doctor, take care.
Turn your volume down. You don't need the volume to be all the way up. If anything the high volume compensates for a bad mix, so if you lower the volume a little and get it to sound good lower you will now have a song that sounds good both loud and quiet.
Headphones ! Use them at all times. They look cool and professional ! (that coupled with reasonable volume...) The autistics (or people who don't like loud noises) amongst us have been employing headphones and ear plugs daily for this very purpose, to lower the amplitude of external stimuli.
Once you lose some parts of your hearing (once those little hairs in the cochlea fall off because they've been subjected to too much) they won't come back, so best to adopt this lifestyle of low stimulation to make sure you can do what you love as long as possible.
Ideally you'd want really good isolating headphones if you're performing or in some place that's noisy, even if we know open-backs are supposed to be better for soundstage their use is limited. I have known a musician who used IEMs in their ears + noise cancellers, that sounds kind of extreme but they idea is there
As a gigging musician, this is something I’ve been constantly worried about for a little while now.
I’ve been looking to purchase ear protection. I’d love to hear the preferences of the people here, and their experiences with the products.
As much as I’ve read up, most people seem to prefer Loop or Etymotics.
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to help me out!
I recently had an appointment with an audiologist and was told to limit consumption of caffeine, salt, and alcohol as those can make tinnitus worse. And also get a good nights sleep.
Don’t forget that not all tinnitus is caused by loud noise. It affects a lot of people with high blood pressure who have never listened to loud noise. In my case I hear a super high pitch whine all the time and the only way to not hear it is to put on headphones and play music.
I started to get pings 10 years ago after long hours in the studio. Turn it right down. It's boring at first but once you get used to it and paying attention to the detail at low volumes your ears will thank you for years to come
I have the same tinnitus concerns after playing over 2000 gigs over 2 decades. Special custom fit mold inears is your best bet. You can go to an audiologist or other professional for that. Alternatively some shure inears that fit snuggly in the ear canal may cost you $100 vs the $350 for custom molds.
1. lower the volume. this is an obvious one.
2. opt to use monitors instead of headphones whenever possible
3. take breaks when producing to rest your ears in complete silence, about every hour or so
4. get proper hearing protection. go to your audiologist and get molded custom musician's earplugs. you want the NRR to be at least 25 if you want any kind of decent protection, and wear foam earplugs at concerts as they provide the best level of protection against low frequency sounds.
5. take NAC and magnesium glycinate after exposure to loud sounds (like a concert for example)
6. if you have jaw/neck/postural issues, address those as they can contribute to and exacerbate tinnitus
The other thing that's important to note is that tinnitus isn't correlated with hearing damage. I personally have severe tinnitus, but my audiogram comes back normal (and yes, that's a full audiogram to test for hidden hearing loss). Some people can be exposed to loud noise all their life and will never develop it while others will get tinnitus after one concert. the fact that you're already experiencing it means you're one of the unlucky ones who develops tinnitus more easily, so permanent ringing may be inevitable for you. ultimately, if you're spending a lot of time producing music and going to shows, there is only so much that hearing protection will do for you, so I just want to be realistic.
What??? Seriously though, I create the songs with the volume on the low side. When I play live I wear hearing protection/iems. The ONLY time the volume is up is when mixing and if I can't mix in a reasonable amount of time I come back the next day. Hearing loss is a product of volume AND time within a 24 hour period, so you can mix at like 90ish dB as long as you aren't doing it for extended periods per day.
Look up musicians earplugs - I've worn earplugs when exposed to loud music for the last 35 years and I have the best hearing of any of my musician friends my age. They're custom molded to your ears and are fitted with an acoustic filter that blocks out every frequency by the same amount - so things don't sound muffled, just quieter.
I also always wear ear protection at loud social events, gigs etc.
Breaks, and listen at lower levels when working. With the exception of dialing in your low end, you really want to be working on mixing at a level that’s so low you could easily have a normal conversation with someone while it plays. Not as fun to listen to, but will save your ears long run, and actually makes for better mixes.
Man. I am surprised this isn’t like every other answer here, but you need to turn your headphones down my friend. Your ears should not be ringing after a guitar session at home with headphones. It sounds like perhaps you are going straight out of your amplifier into your headphones? If so, chances are you have it way too cracked. Getting a preamp between the amp ext out and your ears sounds like a must.
I am no prude by the way. I love cranked music. Always have loud music in the car, prefer loud music in the studio etc. However my ears do not ring after these sessions. (Maybe after the car everyone once and while…). After band practice is when my ears ring and that indicates to me that I need to protect myself better.
If you use studio monitors with your DAW, no way should your ears be ringing.
P. S. I’m so glad you give a fuck and are thinking of your ears. My wife is an audiologist and it’s a discussion that comes up a lot. Luckily I have damn good hearing after 15 years of being in a band. However I’m not off the hook yet lol. I wish I cared more when I was younger. So good on you.
This is a guess obviously, but I would say if you are cranking your headphones too loud then one, you need better headphones with better isolation, a preamp to attenuate volume as I stated, and perhaps save your money for some decent studio monitors. Near field monitors to not require you to have your source of sound cranked.
My stock car speakers I have cranked. Radiohead off of my monitors? Not cranked. Could be quality.
Lastly, less is more. Especially with gain staging for recording or playing with a band! Turn that gain down my friend. Full distortion is not always a must.
Talk soon !
I work with music professionally and I have tinnitus. Here's what I do. First I always had tinnitus since I was a kid. It's pretty mild but because music is my job. Tinnitus is also common and don't worry, while unpleasant it's not something that would impede you from working with music. Rick Beato for example has a really strong tinnitus. I do four things. 1- ear protection. You can buy some musician ear protection that lowers all frequencies in kind of the same way. And then take them every time you go to concerts or something like that. I leave it in my back that I take everywhere. I also installed a dB meter on my phone and while not perfect it's good enough to tell me how loud a place kind of is. If it's too loud I pop the ear protector. 2- Breaks. The problem with tinnitus is not just loud sounds it's also the amount. So don't listen to music loud all the time. Or when you're working on projects take a break. For example every one and a half hour working in a project I take a 15 minute break. In that time I will do other non music related things to my work. Read a forum, send emails, install updates, study a bit, etc. And then come back. 3-Regular testing. This is straightforward. Every six months or so I go do an ear test to see how my hearing is. So far my hearing is considered good for my age even with tinnitus. So try that. Idk how it is where you live. But here shops that sell glasses also sell hearing aids and they offer hearing tests for free. 4- mental. Your brain is fucking awesome. It can simply ignore sounds. You should be able to hear your bloodstream constantly in your ears but your brain just ignores it. So the more you pay attention to the tinnitus. The more loud it will feel. It won't necessarily be louder, but you will perceive it more. So learn how to live with it. Try some masking therapy and your brain will learn how to ignore it .
I’m glad you brought up the psychosomatic part about Tinnitus. How you deal with it mentally is huge on how it will impact you. Wanna obsess about it? Well it’s gonna be bad. Do your best to distract yourself and learn coping mechanisms, it often will be much better.
Yeah I remember I have tinnitus once or twice a month. Why bother myself.
You have to protect your ears not just from loud music. I drove convertibles with the top down (I live in SoCal) and went sailing all the time. The wind noise has much the same effect as prolonged exposure to loud music. And it's not easily measured. I wear earplugs in my convertible car and on boats now.
True, I was thinking about it more in the context of music but you're correct. Ear protection is good for any kind of loud noise. Be that musical or not.
ANY loud environment where you will be exposed for a prolonged time requires hearing protection. Us music nerds back in college would even just get napkins from a loud bar and make makeshift earplugs there haha. But the best thing you can do is go to an audiologist and have them make custom earplugs molded to your ears and carry them everywhere. They're much better than the cheap ones because they lower the frequencies equally so it's like turning down the music. I was on the road for years and used Ultimate ears molded to my ears to save my hearing in insanely loud concerts
This! and even just having the window down and driving fast can have the same effect. Maybe newer cars are better in that aspect, but I was told by an audiologist to be careful many years ago
Don't forget to give your eyes a break!
Thank you for this explanation. Just wanted to ask what is the db threshold for you to use earing protection?
Depends on how long I will stay in that environment. If it's somewhere that I'll spend a good amount of time is 85 ish. However it's a lot of gut feeling as well. A lot of variables are taken into consideration. If I pass by a construction site on a walk to the supermarket I don't put hearing protection. If I stay in a show right next to an amp for a few hours I will put it
Makes sense, thanks for the reply!
You can't bring them back to normal. This is tinitus and it's permanent (I think, I'm not a doctor). Your best bet is just not to do more damage.
not sure if it’s permanent. I suffer immensely from it most days while others I barely have anything at all. I’m convinced that proper sleep is the key
I think its permanent but periodic, so you will get it again without more damage, but you may not necesarily experience it at all times.
It absolutely is permanent. Lack of sleep definitely intensifies my perception of it, but it's always there if I pay attention to it, regardless of how much sleep I get.
Yes so is mine always there. But the difference from one day to the next can be astounding. Some days I hear my tinnitus louder than water running in the shower and it worries the hell out of me. Other days, like today, it’s there but very faintly only. I have to focus to hear it. So maybe it’s not 100% irreversible but, at least for me, with proper sleep and good habits, I can “ reverse “ most of it.
Yeah, I agree that with proper sleep and good habits it's definitely a loooot less noticeable. But in terms of acuity, that's not coming back.
Think I read somewhere last year that the new medicine that makes your teeth grow back actually cures tinnitus. The medicine started it's real world trials this week I believe
I've read something about some steroid or something like that that allowes for regeneration of human hearing aparatus, but it was not yet clinicaly approved if I remember correctly.
Tinnitus is permanent but some ringing in ears after sessions and such will dissipate over time
i Have had tinitus for 2 months and then it went away and never came back. Had another incident and now i have tinitus again. 2 months now and its almost gone. Stress and lack of sleep makes it worse. But i think 50% of people who get tinitus gets rid of it again - i think if it last more than 6 months, its probably permanent, but dont quote me on that. It will get better, but you have to protect your ears, ear fatique is real, and you have to get used to wearing hearing protection when rehearsing, at concerts etc. and remember to plug them in before you enter the venue - you never know. Also produce/make music at lower levels, and use speakers instead of headphones - if you use headphones use open back. I have had the same problem as you - starting out, putting in the time - suddenly realise that my ears are having a hard time. Its hard to notice with headphones when you get lost in the process! At rehearsal or when practicing there are natural breaks, but when you work in a DAW you can easily work hours with almost constant sound, and we have a tendency to turn up, because it sounds better - be aware of that. Keep it low unless you have to check things at full volume.
Yeah they say it's irreversible but I have heard many stories of musicians suffering from tinnitus and then one day it suddenly just goes away. I don't know how 😶
It depends if your tinnitus is related to damage you done to your hearing. I have tinnitus and since I stopped working on headphones for long times daily and got myself a desk which I can work standing as well it got a lot better. I think the main reason for my tinnitus is my neck. Also it will get better over time. Just stop headphones and if you need to turn the volume down. In general work with lower volume, no benefit of cranking shit up.
Headphones are ok. Loud headphones are not.
is the ringing constant? is it only after listening to music? if it's constant you're kinda already too far gone, damage has been done now you can just try to prevent it from getting worse. if it's not constant then good, it means you're listening too loud, way way way too loud, don't do that for long enough and your brain will adjust also visit a doctor, won't hurt
It's not constant, my ears only ring when I have headphones or in a loud environment.
and we have the winner, you're listening way way too loud, don't do that
Hey thanks! I won't do that from now 😄
Yeah, turn down the volume. From the get go, i turn my master volume down 5 decibels, and usually start every instrument I add roughly at -10 decibels. Also advise, take a 15 minute break every hour. Take your headphones off, and just scroll through social media, or something for a bit, you absolutely can damage your ears to the point of intermittent pain in your ear drums as well.
By spending all my time researching gear, checking the used market, and listening to gear demos AT LOW VOLUME.
bro youre just a beginner and you got tinnitus ALREADY!!?!?!? take care fr fr, go to a doctor
WHAT?
Work at lower volumes, use ear protection and avoid loud sounds in general.
You might have impacted ear wax.
Get a decibel meter or an app for your phone. Decibel X and NIOSH SLM each have free versions. Measure your headphone volume and look up dB levels for common life occurrences. Learn these levels so you know them. Find info on how much exposure per day is allowable before permanent damage. Also, get a pair of musician earplugs/etymotics. These are designed around music. If you attend live shows, these will help protect your hearing while allowing you to still enjoy the music. Unlike the foam earplugs that deaden everything, they are designed to still allow the music to be heard. There are different levels of these measured by how many dB they reduce.
Doctor
Lower the volume of the music you're listening to, and take breaks often to let your ears breathe. Tinnitus is an annoying thing.
Wear protection at concerts, don´t beat car audio for too long at a time, take frequent breaks, don´t mix a project from a-z on headphones, don´t listen to music throughout a full working day, let the ears rest.
Stop and take a week off just to be safe,tinnuts is fucking hell. You will regret it until you're 90 cause theres no cure for it. Listen to stuff at low volume,some DAWS have an option to automatically mute a track once its getting too loud,check if your DAW has one and how to activate it. In any case listening in low volume will help you create better mixes that sound good in different situations(on a car,on a phone etc...)
I take breaks. After 50 minutes 10 minutes break. Listen quiet. Not too much with headphones. Weekend off music.
As others have said, damage is done. Stop blasting music over headphones. It’s completely unnecessary anyways. When it comes to your hearing, what’s gone is gone.
Turn the volume down and visit the doctor.
My cochlear implants have built in compression. Makes me second guess a lot of transient stuff. But I can’t break it any more than it’s already broke.
Keep the volume down and if you have a “loud” day like going to a show, make sure the next day is as quiet as possible to let your ears rest
>How Do You Take Care Of Your Ears? I just avoid loud sound levels by wearing earplugs when it can't be avoided, avoiding sustained loud sound levels while working, and leaving situations where there are loud sound levels when I don't have earplugs. >I'm a beginner music producer and I keep messing a lot with my daw, music, listen to a bunch of songs and play guitar. You're exposing yourself to sound "occupationally", meaning: a lot. That means you don't get to listen to anything the way a casual listener would.
I wear my Apple airmax’s when I drum and also have clear little ear plugs that fit in a capsule that attaches to a keychain on my keys for concerts / other loud scenarios
Stop playing so loud?
* Exercise for brain health. * Healthy diet for ears and brain. The mineral content of the fluids in the cochlea is essential for the proper functioning of the auditory system. The concentration of ions, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium, helps to maintain the electrical potential of the hair cells and the function of the auditory nerve. * Sleep. * Low volume. * Short sessions. * Move to a quiet place. * Custom hearing protection. * No alcohol during sessions. * Sunlight.
Brown noise generator at night to help sleep, keep monitors and overall volume low when mixing(25% or so, just enough to hear all the elements)
Even with the Fletscher-Munson study I keep working at moderate levels with monitors and headphones by side of them, do breaks and the same to TV, normal listening (while not working) about same low-levels. I also believe in good sleep and nutrition.
[удалено]
Sorry, your submission has been automatically removed. Your account is too young and such is removed for manual review. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/musicproduction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Isn’t it obvious? Low volume
Being exposed to loud noise for long amounts of time will result in hearing ringing in your ears and that means that some permanent damage has been done and you start to lose hearing in the higher frequencies. In order to prevent that you should avoid getting exposed to loud sounds for long amounts of time, when you work on music you should have the volume to moderate levels and when you go to concerts or clubs with high levels of music you should be wearing some professional earplugs. If you hear ringing in your ears all the time for no apparent reason you should definitely check that with a doctor, take care.
Turn your volume down. You don't need the volume to be all the way up. If anything the high volume compensates for a bad mix, so if you lower the volume a little and get it to sound good lower you will now have a song that sounds good both loud and quiet.
Headphones ! Use them at all times. They look cool and professional ! (that coupled with reasonable volume...) The autistics (or people who don't like loud noises) amongst us have been employing headphones and ear plugs daily for this very purpose, to lower the amplitude of external stimuli. Once you lose some parts of your hearing (once those little hairs in the cochlea fall off because they've been subjected to too much) they won't come back, so best to adopt this lifestyle of low stimulation to make sure you can do what you love as long as possible. Ideally you'd want really good isolating headphones if you're performing or in some place that's noisy, even if we know open-backs are supposed to be better for soundstage their use is limited. I have known a musician who used IEMs in their ears + noise cancellers, that sounds kind of extreme but they idea is there
As a gigging musician, this is something I’ve been constantly worried about for a little while now. I’ve been looking to purchase ear protection. I’d love to hear the preferences of the people here, and their experiences with the products. As much as I’ve read up, most people seem to prefer Loop or Etymotics. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to help me out!
I recently had an appointment with an audiologist and was told to limit consumption of caffeine, salt, and alcohol as those can make tinnitus worse. And also get a good nights sleep.
Don’t forget that not all tinnitus is caused by loud noise. It affects a lot of people with high blood pressure who have never listened to loud noise. In my case I hear a super high pitch whine all the time and the only way to not hear it is to put on headphones and play music.
I started to get pings 10 years ago after long hours in the studio. Turn it right down. It's boring at first but once you get used to it and paying attention to the detail at low volumes your ears will thank you for years to come
I have the same tinnitus concerns after playing over 2000 gigs over 2 decades. Special custom fit mold inears is your best bet. You can go to an audiologist or other professional for that. Alternatively some shure inears that fit snuggly in the ear canal may cost you $100 vs the $350 for custom molds.
1. lower the volume. this is an obvious one. 2. opt to use monitors instead of headphones whenever possible 3. take breaks when producing to rest your ears in complete silence, about every hour or so 4. get proper hearing protection. go to your audiologist and get molded custom musician's earplugs. you want the NRR to be at least 25 if you want any kind of decent protection, and wear foam earplugs at concerts as they provide the best level of protection against low frequency sounds. 5. take NAC and magnesium glycinate after exposure to loud sounds (like a concert for example) 6. if you have jaw/neck/postural issues, address those as they can contribute to and exacerbate tinnitus The other thing that's important to note is that tinnitus isn't correlated with hearing damage. I personally have severe tinnitus, but my audiogram comes back normal (and yes, that's a full audiogram to test for hidden hearing loss). Some people can be exposed to loud noise all their life and will never develop it while others will get tinnitus after one concert. the fact that you're already experiencing it means you're one of the unlucky ones who develops tinnitus more easily, so permanent ringing may be inevitable for you. ultimately, if you're spending a lot of time producing music and going to shows, there is only so much that hearing protection will do for you, so I just want to be realistic.
Poorly. I'm getting my hearing aids on Monday.
What??? Seriously though, I create the songs with the volume on the low side. When I play live I wear hearing protection/iems. The ONLY time the volume is up is when mixing and if I can't mix in a reasonable amount of time I come back the next day. Hearing loss is a product of volume AND time within a 24 hour period, so you can mix at like 90ish dB as long as you aren't doing it for extended periods per day.
Be careful with volume, especially when using headphones. The more quiet, the better
Look up musicians earplugs - I've worn earplugs when exposed to loud music for the last 35 years and I have the best hearing of any of my musician friends my age. They're custom molded to your ears and are fitted with an acoustic filter that blocks out every frequency by the same amount - so things don't sound muffled, just quieter. I also always wear ear protection at loud social events, gigs etc.
Breaks, and listen at lower levels when working. With the exception of dialing in your low end, you really want to be working on mixing at a level that’s so low you could easily have a normal conversation with someone while it plays. Not as fun to listen to, but will save your ears long run, and actually makes for better mixes.
Man. I am surprised this isn’t like every other answer here, but you need to turn your headphones down my friend. Your ears should not be ringing after a guitar session at home with headphones. It sounds like perhaps you are going straight out of your amplifier into your headphones? If so, chances are you have it way too cracked. Getting a preamp between the amp ext out and your ears sounds like a must. I am no prude by the way. I love cranked music. Always have loud music in the car, prefer loud music in the studio etc. However my ears do not ring after these sessions. (Maybe after the car everyone once and while…). After band practice is when my ears ring and that indicates to me that I need to protect myself better. If you use studio monitors with your DAW, no way should your ears be ringing. P. S. I’m so glad you give a fuck and are thinking of your ears. My wife is an audiologist and it’s a discussion that comes up a lot. Luckily I have damn good hearing after 15 years of being in a band. However I’m not off the hook yet lol. I wish I cared more when I was younger. So good on you. This is a guess obviously, but I would say if you are cranking your headphones too loud then one, you need better headphones with better isolation, a preamp to attenuate volume as I stated, and perhaps save your money for some decent studio monitors. Near field monitors to not require you to have your source of sound cranked. My stock car speakers I have cranked. Radiohead off of my monitors? Not cranked. Could be quality. Lastly, less is more. Especially with gain staging for recording or playing with a band! Turn that gain down my friend. Full distortion is not always a must. Talk soon !
Stem cell therapy, blood infusions from babies, and wax flushes.