*Disclaimer: Go to the doctor if this happens to you. For anyone asking why I didn't go to the doc. I spent a huge part of my early life in and out of hospitals and doctor's offices. My mom smoked when she was pregnant with me (it was the olden days when people still believed the smoking doctors posters....grrrrrr) and they think that resulted in multiple health issues. There was one night where I recall my mom crying and kissing me goodbye thinking I was going to die in the hospital because the doc gave me penicillin not knowing I was allergic to it when I was having trouble breathing. Sometime in my 20's I decided to do something about it so I began down a healthy path of not eating shitty "food", working out, and really getting to know the root causes of my constant ailments. Now that I feel like a new person I suddenly find going to the doctor something I only do when I feel there is no other course of healing. I've learn to trust my body's ability to deal with most things and because of that I feel that it steps up when needed. I in no way recommend this to anyone else but for me it's just how I operate, as foolish and stubborn as this sounds. I didn't even go in to the doctor when I popped my rib during a Jiu Jitsu sparring session. Just tied a belt around my ribs for a month and hoped for the best. It eventually healed although I can feel it stick out a little still, I use it as a weapon now when I'm on top of an opponent. hehe. So yes if I end up a deaf old man with a punctured lung (due to the rib), I'll have no one to blame but myself but as of now everything seems to be healing or healed. Thanks for reading my lengthy explanation. Basically I'm just dumb and sick of doctors.
Trust me I have been to countless doctors regarding my Tinnitus (in germany) and its a subject they got no clue about, very little research regarding it and we basically dont know where its from. Just like "visual snow" same shit. Most people experience "tinnitus" sometime in their live though it usually fades away as it did for you. So its not tragic though the double voices is really strange though. Im not talkin about that obviously, got no clue what that is. Running to so many doctors in hope and shit has really damaged me as a kid. So I 100% understand your thoughts regarding doctors. Although not from the health standpoint which is nice though. Happy its all good4u now bro.
Although now when I think of it I sometimes (very very rarely) experience some kind of dropdown like you described where I have to relax for a minute or two until it passes. Everything goes very numb and tinnitus volume rises. Lasts like 2min or sth. So well, maybe it is connected. Who knows? Certainly not them doctors =D
Hi Mike. First of all thank you for your guitar and music knowledge you give us and, also, thanks for sharing your story. It must be really tough for you being in and out of hospitals for the health problems you mentioned. Most people can be or act "stubborn-ish" as you described, for different reasons though and obviously you keep its positive side only as it has made you a great guitar player, a motivating teacher but also apparently a good lad as well. If anything seems or feels wrong, though, please allow yourself some more space or give yourself one more chance to be examined from a person that may relieve your pain before anything irreversible occurs. We all know out of something bad there 's always a positive side and a lesson to be learned and so maybe the rib and the ear is just a sign. Dont get me wrong, as responsible adults obsiously each one of us is responsible for ourselves and our actions; no judgements here. Take care of yourself my friend. Nik
You seem like a different person in this comment compared to you in the video. Love your content man, glad you're getting better. Would love a scientific explanation on your symptoms
Just FYI, tinnitus is not understood. To put it in simple terms: There are people with no hearing loss that have tinnitus, as well as people with hearing loss but no tinnitus. The theory of dead hair cells is partially valid, but ultimately cant explain tinnitus. One key theory is that there is a part in the brain that has a gating function that is damaged and therefore the brain isnt able to fade out tinnitus. Anyway: Spread the message! Musicians have to save their hearing and auditory cortex when it is still healthy! So that means, you have to start protecting it the minute you start playing music. Dont play loud without any form of ear buds. Go all the way. If you find them uncomfortable, get custom made! Dont save your money on this, it will bite you in the ass long term. That is coming from someone who has had an acoustic trauma and would pay all the money he has and more to get rid of tinnitus.
In my case I got a bad tinnitus trough CMD its something where the neck and jaw muscles go hard and you are often not able to open your jaw..in some cases it heal but often it just reduce (when youre lucky) with physiotherapy and you can only live with it..ear secretion can also make tinnitus. It bothers me much, I protected always my hearing and now have it trough something like this..with 23y and not being able to make music since 2 years. I was to many specialist docs but they came not on this CMD, one time someone even said "all people have tinnitus and hear something thats normal"..When you have 3 diffrent tones and one which sound like an electricity cable which where never there i guess not lol.
Everything is true, what you say. Because I know exactly, what you're talking about. I wonder, why there is so few discussion about this in the music scene. People don't realize, that ear damage can't be repaired! I won't tell my story here (hearing problems can be caused also by other things than loud music). But i am lucky, that my left ear recovered (almost to normal level) after half a year of muffled hearing. And i thank god every morning, when i wake up with my ears being able to hear everything clearly. Take care!
I have tinnitus. It came from loud exposure from playing music, and i have anxiety also, good combination to have tinnitus. I learn to live with it, it becomes better for a long time, the sound go slowly and gradually to something u can accept. It still there actually. And the most important is, don't bother it, the more u notice, the higher the sound. If u have moved on, don't care bout it, its gone (actually it still there, itu just train the brain not to seek for it)
I’ve had tinnitus ever since I was probably 7 or 8. I literally do not know what caused it. I don’t remember any traumatic events or injuries that could have started it. Honestly I’ve gotten used to it and it doesn’t bother me anymore but I’ve always wondered how life would sound like without a constant EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE in my head 24/7 365
Multiple doctors have failed to explain my tinnitus combined with extremely sensitive hearing for my age. I hear a pretty loud ringing all the time - my entire life. I've had my ears carefully examined and there's nothing wrong with them physically. I just hear a ... sound... all the time unless other sounds are louder. I hate headphones - the ear was not designed to have vibrations pumped directly in. It doesn't surprise me that a pressure build up at low volume happened with ear buds.
It’s not really much different than all car companies that make cars that are capable of going much faster than legal speed limit. Is it dangerous to drive 120 miles per hour? Of course! Yet most modern car speedometers go to at least 110-120 mph and can go faster beyond that speed too. Should this even be a thing either? Probably not. But yet here we are. I guess the companies put that responsibility on the end user to use the product safely and correctly to prevent injuries or deaths.
Well, I used to listen to music normally with just one earbud in my right ear and my left ear open to the world. Until I noticed that I could not hear mosquitoes when I'm lying on my left ear, but if I roll over then I can clearly hear them. It's soo bad that I can hear mosquitoes under my bed through my pillow, mattress and base.. but not my right ear. I'd caution everyone to be very careful to NEVER use just a single in-ear headphone. I use Sennheiser wired buds.. so it is not even a brand specific phenomenon.
Sorry for butting in but......... I did that straight off to no avail. They stuck tubes up my nose and went the whole nine yards . After the ear test they said the news wasnt that great ( as though I didnt know that ) They showed me the graph where the frequencies are damaged/gone and explained that that was where the tinnitus "lived" . Just saying.
Good to know it healed for you. It was from just one episode of abuse to your ear, so it wasnt an accumulated silent (no pun intended) damage, although it was bad. In my case, I started to wear off my ears at age 6 by constantly listening to loud rock music on headphones. It wasnt clear sounding ipods or cellphones. I had a sony walkman and those noisy cassete tapes that I used to copy from copies of copies. It all sounded like a big ball of midrange. Now add to that the fact that it was mainly distorted guitar music, and I used the volume almost on full. At age 11 I started playing in garage bands and wasnt aware of the dangers of loud volume. Like every young person, I felt invincible, and thought that ear protection was for losers. At this stage, because I was young, I didnt feel any damage in the works. I kept playing in increasingly louder and louder bands, in rehearsal rooms with no acoustic treatment at all, just bare walls, with loud drummers, loud bandmates, and those shitty amps that sound like you're playing a guitar through a fucked up 5-inch speaker radio on eleven. When I wasnt playing, I was constantly using those filthy headphones on full volume. At age 24 I still thought my ears were OK. Then I had to make an audiometry and I learned that I had lost a good chunk of the upper frequencies. At the time, I could not hear anything above 14 or 15K. Now it has probably dropped to 12K, but Ive stopped measuring. This was the beginning of my awareness. Because in the years prior to that I was always hanging out with loud people who would talk screaming, I thought I could hear alright. Then I started to change my habits and talk to more "normal people". I suddenly realized I couldnt understand children very well. I couldnt understand "normal chicks" who talked in a normal way, and not in the drunken screaming way of the night people. I thought they were always whispering. But no, they were speaking normally. When I tried to join a group of people around a table to have a chat, I had to really focus on the conversation because I would miss on a lot of what was being said. It started to make me feel very frustrated. Then, as if it all had not been enough, I was dumb for one more occasion to rehearse with a loud drummer without ear protection. We played so loud that after the rehearsal I started to have tinnitus in both ears. It's been 4 years to this date of constant ringing. It never stops. Sometimes it gets better, sometimes the ringing gets really insane. I got some hearing aids but couldnt adapt to them as everything sounded metallic, and it didnt help with understanding speech much. So I completely cut all bands, loud environments, loud music, and completely changed my habits. Now I just play at home at very quiet levels. If I have to play out with a band, I'll really stick those earbuds into my ears as hard as I can. After some time of adaptation I think I'm doing better, although the ears themselves cant go back to where they were because the hair cells wont grow again. Your brain gets used to your condition. Its like a person who has a limp. With attention and some techniques I can understand pretty much everybody. Of course all the time I miss a bunch of words but I mostly get it all by the context, lip reading and the remaining words that I did hear. Kids, take care of your ears. Rock on, but safely. Best wishes to you all.
Rafael Zengo sorry about that buddy. i’m 17 and i play loud music but never above halfway. i only play guitar at volume 2 (almost whisper level) so i don’t have to go through that
Thank you for sharing, Rafael. Me and others will remember your story, the moment we consider listening to music loudly (undetected damage WILL be dangerous in the long run). I hope you can find some remedy to your situation (maybe EQ-ing songs to compensate the way your ears handle frequencies?), and above all keep enjoying the music you love. Keep rockin' man! \m/
I'm in a similar position. I'm 20 and my left ear is a good 15db+ quieter than my right ear and it has permanent ringing. Not from loud music though, but from a series of surgical procedures due to burst ear drums, damaged ossicular chain parts and the complications of the surgeries to repair them. I also have a lot of trouble hearing in conversation and have plenty of awkward interactions because of it, but these days I don't feel too ashamed of saying to people "Sorry I'm a bit deaf, could you repeat that." It's amusing hearing the way you describe adjusting to your condition with using context and piecing together the remaining words that you did hear because I do the same thing. Glad to hear I'm not alone. I hope you can save the hearing you still have. Maybe one day medical science will be able to restore our hearing to what it once was.
Yes kids, please take care of your ears when you're young. When you much older and can afford those expensive tube amps, your hearing will go down hill too, but at least the tube amp loudness isn't going to bother you.
To everyone saying “go to the doctor”, there’s nothing they can do except say “yup, there’s damage”. I was referred to a specialist about my tinnitus, and they just shrugged. I supposedly have “great” hearing, but I have ringing in both ears and sometimes even muffled static in one. I also cannot distinguish speech if there are too many people talking. Yet, “great hearing”.
Similar status with me. Luckily my tinnitus is very quiet and only periodic. But i also hate, if there are too many people talking loud in a room. Then i use ear plugs to dampen the volume. That works fine for me. Take care!
That reminds me of my professor from highschool. Great hearing but he had nerve damage from clubbing when he was younger. Due to nerve damage, he had difficulty understanding speech.
A lot of people understand hearing as just the ability to hear tones. But hearing loss can take many forms, poor speech in noise recognition is a form of hearing loss.
The Darth Vader voice can come from having a blocked Eustachian tube. Sometimes if you’ve had a cold/flu or sinus issues, the Eustachian tube can have difficulty in opening and allowing the air pressure to equalise on both sides of the ear drum. I’ve had it happen a number of times and it’s pretty weird, they symptoms can be pain, muffled hearing, hearing your own voice super loud right inside your own head! It can take a few months from time to time to settle down and you might have got a bit unlucky and had this on top of the original problem with the ear ringing caused by the headphones. Anyway, glad that you are on the mend!
@@JM-fo1te You think that it is great that a lot of people cant afford health care because of greedy doctors and insurance companies? It wont be so fuckin funny if it happened to you, would it? Dont be a selfish bastard. We need national healthcare now, we are falling behind other nations. We need to start giving a damn about out own citizens.
If you say it was worth it, then it must be a very mild form of tinnitus, because if you'd have it real bad, you'd NEVER say that. Severe tinnitus is hell, believe me.
AC/DC Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX in 2000 The 21 gun salute 🫡 I think caused some permanent damage to my hearing. Seemed like after that I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying in a crowd.
I've had tinitus for 30 years. Ever since I started going to live metal concerts. Hetfield damn it! Lots of headphones on 10 as well. Lawn mowers. Chainsaws. Never had that split tone modulation harmony thing.. That sounds terrifiing.
Chronic tinnitus for 8 years now , last 5 very severe after a run in with a Long Island, NY hospital who gave me ototoxic antibiotics while knowing I already had tinnitus. Made it 1000x worse. Protect yourselves and research every med your doctors prescribe you. Once those inner ear hair cells are damaged , that’s it. So be careful.
Man i fell asleep on my left arm a couple years ago and for the next 2 weeks i couldn’t even play a power chord. We all gotta be careful. Good video man
It's diplacusis where your hearing tune is not healthy and can't listen to anything normally. It's currently happening to my right ear a week after an ear infection. I am hoping so much that it will cure in 2 weeks or so because listening to music while relaxing is one heaven moment I don't want to lose.
Glad to hear you recovered. I had diplacusis last month, and it has been slowly getting better. Really want to work on music, but trying my best to just take it easy on my ears for a while. I seemed to have developed hyperacusis as well. I can feel the soundwaves from a few sounds in my left ear, and it is awful. Not painful, just uncomfortable.
I'm hard of hearing and I love music and playing it almost as much as you do. That fear of losing your hearing scares me everyday. Thank you so much for your video as well as others man your the definition of a good teacher/person/ etc. Keep it up please
I had a similar problem. At first I thought it was loud music. Around 15 days later I went to see the doctor, turns out it was a really bad ear infection. Took me 4 weeks to heal entirely. I heard those weird harmonies in people's voices, too. Weird stuff... I'm glad you healed. Be more careful in the future. 😁
Thank God. My heart sank, when you told us what had happened. Who knew you had to have an advanced degree in Audiology, in order to properly operate ear buds! This is a great service to others, so they might avoid the same.
Huh... When I was 16 I went to a concert and literally for the first time ever I forgot my ear plugs. Now, they usually give you some shitty free ear plugs, but this was a really small venue so they didn't. I was already a bit late so I didn't have the time to go back home and my friend kept saying that I'm gonna be okay. Well, standing next right to a huge stack of Marshall amps sure didn't help a lot... It's been 3 years now and my left ear is still ringing. It sometimes makes these weird ass noises, but I got used to it. Apparently my hearing is still 100% fine which is surprising, but I can tell you one thing. You'll never learn to appreciate silence enough until you get tinnitus. Tinnitus sucks.
I remember reading decades ago that using one in ear monitor along with a stage monitor was messing up artists hearing. Perhaps the unequal SPL was partly to blame. I'm glad you are doing better.
It's called tinnitus and hyperacusis. Tinnitus (the ringing) is incurable but may just go away on its own, hyperacusis (the sensitivity/numbness) is "curable" through certain types of sound therapy. Consider yourself extreeeeemely lucky that the ringing went away. For many (including myself) it doesn't go away
Great advice dude. Glad it's getting better for you. I suffer from tinnitus from years of playing out. But what's really weird, I have had hearing test done and I surprisingly have most of my hearing intact. I started wearing lite hearing protection at gigs now. Even in ear monitors at low volume will block out quite a bit.
Had somewhat similar, albeit not painful experience. One day tweeter had died in the right channel of my sound system. It had 3-way speakers, so it wasn't too horrible sounding, as only uppermost frequencies were lost on the right. Months went by, I delayed servicing that speaker again and again, while continuing to use the sound system daily, and when I finally did it after about 2 years, I realized that my ears have adjusted themselves to the lack of high frequencies on the right and my positional hearing was totally screwed now, and right ear become hyper sensitive to high frequencies. Still not sure was it physiological or psychological, but it did take about a year to fully go back to normal. Cheers!
I have a problem with my hearing..this recent 4th Ole July 2022, I couldn't afford fireworks...so I dragged out my Ole Big Bang (calcium carbide) cannon....instead of using it ..I took apart coffee cans and taped them together and use fuse to fire it off....after several shots, one blast was far more of a humongous BOOM and got me in the ears even though I was 10 feet away.. I had it pointed away from me but still .. I quit. This is 3 days later and I still have strange sensation in my head.. I'm unable to tune my guitar via " harmonic" over tones on the 5th and 7th fret......I have the " long tube to the ear" sort of sound in both ears....and the "windy sound"....and/ or water in the pipes ( upstairs in my apartment) sort of sound......I can hear some...I can't drive my car with my woman turning on the radio! Certain sound frequencies hurt my head......
My God, Mike... This sounds absolutely horrific! I've had issues with my eustacian tubes and results of childhood ear infections, but nothing as frightening as what you had to endure. After reading why you did not seek medical attention, I can somewhat understand. While I still see merit in this video and appreciate that you shared it, I find it slightly irresponsible to promote "safely enduring" any injury to your hearing. I heard a story from an audiologist and confirmed it with an ENT about a musician who never cleaned their ears, developed a waxy blockage, got an infection under the wax, and went almost completely deaf before it was finally cleaned and healed. I'm very thankful that your hearing eventually returned to normal and I hope that you put tens of thousands more shows under your belt before you notice even the slightest change in your hearing. 💜🎸
I usually have one earbud in when I hear music in public... I’m definitely going to stop doing that now! I had no idea it did damage to my hearing. Thank you for the video! I hope you continue to feel better!
My ears have been destroyed over the years of playing loud in bands. Unfortunately, I have some pretty bad tinnitus and my ears are super sensitive. Even earplugs don’t work all that great for me and over ear muffs are the only way I can get threw shows and rehearsals. It sucks because so much of the sound is taking away, but I’ve gotten use to it and have gotten much better with it.
One night when I was in quarantine I was listening to some real loud music because what else to do anyways one night when I took off my headphones I started to hear a ringing noise it was not the usual high ringing sound so I didn't think much of it. And when I woke up the noise was still there, at 17, it was utterly disgusting to think that I might have damaged my hearing, couple sleepless nights thanks to my teary ears; I found out that that sound was coming from the combi boiler. Biggest relief I have ever lived in my life. Anyways thanks for reading a useless text
Disclaimer, there is no real cure for tinnitus but here's my case, just sharing...I had tinnitus at one point in my life. Severe, one ear and right high pitched sound. It totally destroyed me when I went to the doctor and he said that there was nothing I could do... In my case it was something in my sinus???. All it took was to clean my sinus with those saline powder and warm water for a whole week and it went away. I read this advice by someone and it worked for me. Now, I clean my sinus at least twice a week ( even if not needed ) and I never wear any kind of headphones or earbuds, only for zoom meetings. I hope my advice could hopefully help someone.
I was wearing Sony MDR-V600 Headphones and listening to my MP3 playlist on repeat, very LOUD, and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning and now have had a constant ringing in my ears for the past 10 years
Hey man, thanks so much for sharing this! I had a very similar thing that happened to me and I literally thought I had to stop music for good. I'm glad to hear that it finally got better!
Dude, I had that same harmonizing thing in one ear, but I think (at least in my case) it had to do with excessive wax since I had that problem before. One thing I noticed during the years that contributed to ear blockage was using earbuds, now I avoid them as much as possible and use mostly over the ear headphones. Maybe using those specific earbuds had something to do with it? in any case, i'm glad you got better :)
I just woke up with that harmony effect one day; my left ear was hearing everything in a slight pitch lower. It was really prominent when listening to any kind of monophonic melody with no backing music. Lasted about a day and a half and then just disappeared. Put it down to an ear infection.
I woke up with borderline severe tinnitus after a gig about 13 years ago. I was a drummer with no tinnitus at all before that morning. It's a very long story...Anyway, I woke up and heard this horrible sound. I actually went looking through the house to find it. So, after finally realizing realizing it was coming from my left ear. I flipped out!! Again this is a long story... So, I was diagnosed with borderline "severe tinnitus". I sold my four drum kits and had to stop drumming! I also had to see a psychiatrist to be put on medication to help me calm down and to be able to sleep at night. I still see this doctor four times a year to talk about how I am doing and to renew my meds. It never went away, but I have learn to live with it. But, that was the end of drumming after 30 years. Talk about a void in my life! Again, no warning at all for me. It was just there when I woke up that morning. I did see many specialist. I had the opportunity to talk with one of the leading experts(Doctor) in the country by phone after it happen. Anyway, please take care of your hearing everyone. Tinnitus is not fun... Peace.
Dang man! Thanks for the heads up! Unfortunately I've drummed without hearing protection since I was about 4 (I am now 21) and I have minor tinnitus, although It's not very bothersome, just a little jarring when it does occur. But there was a time I thought I lost hearing in one ear (there was water in my ear and I had no idea until it began making me feel ill) and I was terrified for about a month. I think I would rather go blind in all honesty. (The solution to this is just ear drops if anybody has this problem)
Glad I watched this.. I'm someone who really enjoys the sound of music slowed down A LOT to the point that that 1 hour can turn into 4 and also adding multiple layers of reverb. I just noticed that my ear feels like someone is cupping it with their hand..
Norton Sonics earplugs. These saved my ears so many times. They are the best earplugs, because they have a very tiny channel that runs straight through so that the sound energy is greatly attenuated, but it doesn't clobber all the high frequencies. So you don't get that standard _stuffy_ feeling that normal earplugs give you. I learned about them decades ago, so I have them to thank for my hearing being intact today. As for the solution to listening to that one channel over and over, I was expecting to hear the suggestion of just listening it in MONO. That way you get the left track in both ears, and your brain receives perfectly balanced sound energy. If you don't have the settings to do this on your player, then you can build the mono version of the track using Audacity. Piece of cake. THANKS for sharing your lesson learned. It's like telling people to not stare at the Sun during an eclipse.
Pleased to hear that you feel better, hearing loss and tinnitus are awful (I have mild hearing loss due to often not wearing earplugs at shows and turning the speakers up), I try to look after my ears nowadays but I still love the music loud
One night several years ago I got too close to the speakers of a loud band and afterward I had most of the hearing issues you've described. It took a couple days for that to go away. It was scary. I have ongoing tinnitus and two days ago I woke up hearing two tones in my left ear when I whistle. I'm researching that, and hoping it's temporary.
I'm sorry this happened and hope it keeps improving. I might he overcompensating but I never practice with headphones. I don't even turn on the amp and honestly there hasn't been one song or solo I've tried to learn that I haven't gotten down. My cover band does about 250 songs and they think I'm nuts the way I learn material but 2 of them are half deaf so there you go. I know this isn't for everybody but I feel that 40yrs of learning this way has saved me a world of grief.
I years ago I had to play a show after a middle ear infection which caused my Eardrum being penetrated, which caused a pitch shit of an half note up on my left ear. My right ear was normal. Imagine hearing everything harmonized a half step up. Horrible. Stayed like that for weeks.
I had this happen at a noise show standing next to an amp without hearing protection. I’m just now able to play guitar again in my room, the show was in 2019. It’s been total hell. Make sure you protect your ears always.
appreciate the transparency. what you describe sounds similar to people who were deaf learning to hear for the first time. likely you healed some. but also likely you did permanent damage. the brain does all sorts of filtering, and when sudden and drastic changes to our hearing ability occur, it takes time for our brain to adjust its filtering process accordingly to "make sense out of the new mix" of info it is getting.
Tinnitus is no joke, and can ruin not only your musical career... but also mess your life up pretty bad. It can be caused by things that aren't even sound oriented. So, musicians.. when you take a new medicine.. check WAY AT THE BOTTOM (death gets top and so on, the health industry does not consider a life of crickets screaming in your ears a big deal) of the warnings where it might say "ringing in ears". If you see that, ask you doc if there is another version of the medicine.
Any improvement since? Thanks for sharing this. I bought a Marshall Jubilee mini and a half stack and had it to the left side of my desk. Got carried away one night two weeks ago and have had muffled hearing in left ear since. I'm hoping it heals up in time.
This actually reminded me of something I was hardly even conscious of anymore because I got used to it. During highschool I would always have a single earphone in while doing basically anything so I could listen to music but also talk to people and stuff and despite not really blasting music like I started to later on it still really messed up my right ear. Makes it hard to understand people because of that difference in volume, sometimes have to turn my head to people to let my left ear hear what they're saying better.
I played music and worked in the music industry my entire life. I went completely deaf in my right ear right before Christmas. When people talked to me on right side i heard a bunch of garble. I was diagnosed with a severe ear infection. After that was cleared up my ear came back BUT I still cannot hear any higher frequencies in that ear. the cut of point is at about 1.6 k. I was also a live audio monitor engineer for 30 years in the country music business before we used in ears. The strange thing is the ear that i beat up with a cue wedge is my left ear. I have a small bit if tinnitus in my left hear but can hear fine in that ear. I'm still praying that my right ear comes back 100%.. Right now it's mid range and lower. I also had to go home and leave work a couple of times during the ear infection period due to dizzy spells and nausea because of the dizziness. take care of your ears.
I’ve been having something similar to this for a month now, something in my head just keeps telling me it’ll never get better but at the same time I try to tell myself it will so it’s these constant battle in my head.
A good tip I found out actually is if ear plugs are too deafening for your band or anything, a pair of earbuds (not headphones) will deaden the sound just enough to where it's not damaging.
I've had a severely blocked ear for the past week and now I constantly feel delirious and off balanced. I had my ear rinsed by my doctor and actually blacked out because the dry wax is far too close to my ear drum. Now my right ear is doing the bulk of my hearing, everything I hear is either too quiet or too loud and bassy for one ear to handle. When something like an ambulance with a siren is driving past its too much for my good ear and I have to block it completely or its unbearable. I'll never ever, ever take my hearing for granted and how important it is to my life.
I did this once to my own ear, I accidentally damaged or punctured it with a q tip, and music just cant be enjoyed when you have those added crazy distorted notes, everything sounds insane and just terrifying. It took about 2-4 weeks for it to go away and I was terrified it was permanent
I think listing song in mono using one or both ears is not dangerous to your hearing; a specially if you listen music at low volume (40-60db). What probably happen was pressure built up in middle part of your ear (the part with three little bones that transmit sound to the inner ear). Ear buds can do that if the Eustachian tube does not balance pressure between both sides of the ear drum properly. That type of hearing lost is usually reversible
i had that too .. way back july of 2018 not wearing any ear protection is really a bad idea and from that point i had this tinnitus and im freaking out anxiety and depression attacking me but after how many months thanks god but tinnitus o had right now is not too loud any more .. its there i know but not really too much . but some times when i go l to sleep i freak oit feeling i hear it aging even its not there .. but things happen just protect our ear .. we cant fix it if we damage it already ..
Thanks for the video, we all know that listening to very loud music can damage your hearing, but most of us don't know that listening to distorted or highly overdriven sound even at low volume can do just as much damage, ask any recording or live sound mixer and they will tell you that the more distorted your sound the lower you will be in the mix, why? because the distorted instrument will make all the other instruments or tracks sound distorted too. Sloppy Guitar players are the worst culprits for this, too many hide their flaws by using way too much overdrive, on a single string solo it's ok but then they start banging out of tune chords and it makes the whole band sound like cr*p.
I’ve had tinitus since 6th grade. Went to a school for ADHD children. They didn’t really learn how to control their loudness that well. It’s been around 5 years now and it is still ringing. However, I have come to terms with it. Now I usually just fall with my radio playing softly next to me. Something that also is weird happened to me too. After swimming 3 years ago, my right ear started to act like i had an earplug really far in. It kept doing that here and there until a year later, it permantly stayed. Fast forward 2 years and it is still there. However it has gotten milder. It is almost unnoticable. Only times i’ve noticed it, is when i have my good ear on the pillow, and the bad one up. The music i listen to is almost like it is not there. It’s pretty annoying. Thinking of going to a doctor soon. Thanks this video helped.
You are speaking to the converted here. I lost frequencies from loud guitar and shooting without ear protection in the Air Force way back. Some folk seem to get by ( Lemmy comes to mind :) but for me I have continuous tinnitus and the frequency loss affects me badly in noisy areas or when my wife speaks to me sometimes. Just be aware when it doesnt sound right. Just walk away. I didnt. I remember seeing Deep Purple here in Cape Town many years back and I could not hear Ian Gillan singing . There was just a vibration . Too late though. BE CAREFUL ! It doesnt go away !!!
Wish i saw this video before learning to play guitar. Now dealing with hyperacusis which is miserable and comparable to tinnitus. Good news is hearing regen meds which could possibly help us all will be here in 5-10 years.
I had something like this except I had mine from a terrible cold with my ears plugged with fluid. It started with ringing then moved to where I would my own breathing in my head, things I would say would resonate in my head. I did then have the the sensitivity in my ear too.
I’m going through this as well normal day to day things like trafic passing by is unbearable. Happened due to band practice with drummers and guitars blasted through an amp in a very small room. I feel nauseous and off balance. As the singer in music college youd think they’d teach us to wear ear protection while with a band but I honestly didn’t ever think of it. I would of if had known. Hope I can somehow heal too.
Dude thats happened to me before with the demon voice! This is why i dont wear in ear buds anymore, i think what happens is that over time it pushes the earwax back and onto your eardrum and fucks it up, i got some of this stuff called murine to clean out my ear when it happened but yeah it sucked
Hi I’m 22 and had a bad infection which left me with ringing in my left ear. Turns out I have genetic hearing loss. I have worn earplugs going to gigs. I have customed ear plugs now I wear them on the tubes, bars, drumming, raving anything. On your iPhone you can turn down the volume when you listen to music through the settings. If anyone has tinitus I feel you it can be annoying. Mines triggered by stress but defiantly wear ear plugs!!
I always had the lead guitar guy on my right in a high school band for years. I still have a small difference in frequency response between ears. I'm 62 now. My dad had great hearing till 83. He went to a shooting range and lost most of his hearing. It hasn't come back after 5 years. Kids and musicians take care of your ears. They can heal slightly, slowly when you are young. Don't ask me about eyes.
I had no idea that could even result from something so simple but it's good to know! As a graphic designer it reminds me a bit of those images you should never look at because it can completely fuck with your ability to accurately see color for potentially months.
The thing is, it can't! Slowing down music and/or fading the music to one headphone does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not a word of it is true! Sounds like he has/had an ear infection, and he should have gone to the doctor. Probably still should.
Tapping your fingers at the base of your skull, where neck meets skull. Tap on the skull at this point not hard, just lightly with both index fingers. It can help, although there is no cure for tinnitus, it does help. I'm a 57 years old player of 42 years. I thought I'd beat it cos I never had any ringing. Then, about a year ago the high pitch squeeling started. So I tried the tapping on my skull......low and behold, it works!!! You have to repeat it every day cos in my case it always comes back. Good luck to you
I have that ringing, crickets or what sounds like an old gas heater burning. I had one ampliifer feedback off another amp and it was loud. That's been over two years ago. I protect my hearing now, but this is still hanging around. It's not bad all the time, but I'm sensitive to loud voices and sounds now. People really need to protect their hearing.
Your description reminds me of the TH-cam joking about when you make a mistake while using a delay pedal, haha... Sorry to hear that. Good that you're back on your feet! :)
I think I have that same strat! American deluxe hss? Honestly IMO the best modern strat model by fender aside from the frets which dented fairly quick on mine
I had something similar i was producing on bad headphones and i turned the volume up way too much to hear the bass. Since then i have a tinnitus which isnt too bad to be honest so it healed. Also for weeks after that i had this bass in my ear like you woud listen to music and just high cut everything off. Everyone who damages their hearing once never goes back to do the same, especially with us musicians.
I think the way YT stretches the sound is by chopping up the audio, meaning that there is like 0.05 seconds of sound then 0.01 sec of silence - then again 0.05 sound 0.01 silence (it is only an example). That silence or stutter is very unnatural and the way it physically affects the ear and perhaps how the brain perceives it as well can be damaging with prolonged exposure. I guess another way of making a parallel would be by pressing with a hand on your skull and apply different amount of pressures, kinda like sound waves do in nature. Now take a electric toothbrush and press it on your head, isnt that disturbing ? I`m not a doctor, just my 2c
I have the same problem. It happened before I knew what glory holes were. I put my ear up to it to see if I could hear what was on the other side and got quite the surprise instead.
two time I had something weird happen to my hearing .. suddenly everything was out of tune, like if I listened to Zeppelin or something it sounded like it was being played on an old out of tune piano and while I was listening to my speakers this sound wasn't in front of me but behind me to the left at about an arms length it's called diplacusis
Don't buy Apple Earpods because they're for posers, I understood completely. Thanks, Markiplier.
stfu...tht markiplier skit aint funny. never was.
Ghost I agree. They are garbage. There is no way to keep them in your ears!!
@@jeffbuckley4453 Because he looks like Markiplier? I thought that too, but never actually saw a comment saying it :)
@@jeffbuckley4453 fuck off
@1234 LMAO
My biggest fear, to go deaf and never be able to Listen to music or me playing guitar
THIS
Between being like 13 and 16 years old, I suffered from pretty bad anxiety due to that fear.
well everyone's fear is to lose vision, go deaf and lose sense of touching
*Laughs in Beethoven*
There is worse. You could hear a super loud ugly noise all the time
*Disclaimer: Go to the doctor if this happens to you.
For anyone asking why I didn't go to the doc. I spent a huge part of my early life in and out of hospitals and doctor's offices. My mom smoked when she was pregnant with me (it was the olden days when people still believed the smoking doctors posters....grrrrrr) and they think that resulted in multiple health issues. There was one night where I recall my mom crying and kissing me goodbye thinking I was going to die in the hospital because the doc gave me penicillin not knowing I was allergic to it when I was having trouble breathing. Sometime in my 20's I decided to do something about it so I began down a healthy path of not eating shitty "food", working out, and really getting to know the root causes of my constant ailments. Now that I feel like a new person I suddenly find going to the doctor something I only do when I feel there is no other course of healing. I've learn to trust my body's ability to deal with most things and because of that I feel that it steps up when needed. I in no way recommend this to anyone else but for me it's just how I operate, as foolish and stubborn as this sounds. I didn't even go in to the doctor when I popped my rib during a Jiu Jitsu sparring session. Just tied a belt around my ribs for a month and hoped for the best. It eventually healed although I can feel it stick out a little still, I use it as a weapon now when I'm on top of an opponent. hehe. So yes if I end up a deaf old man with a punctured lung (due to the rib), I'll have no one to blame but myself but as of now everything seems to be healing or healed. Thanks for reading my lengthy explanation. Basically I'm just dumb and sick of doctors.
Trust me I have been to countless doctors regarding my Tinnitus (in germany) and its a subject they got no clue about, very little research regarding it and we basically dont know where its from. Just like "visual snow" same shit. Most people experience "tinnitus" sometime in their live though it usually fades away as it did for you. So its not tragic though the double voices is really strange though. Im not talkin about that obviously, got no clue what that is.
Running to so many doctors in hope and shit has really damaged me as a kid. So I 100% understand your thoughts regarding doctors. Although not from the health standpoint which is nice though.
Happy its all good4u now bro.
Although now when I think of it I sometimes (very very rarely) experience some kind of dropdown like you described where I have to relax for a minute or two until it passes. Everything goes very numb and tinnitus volume rises. Lasts like 2min or sth. So well, maybe it is connected. Who knows? Certainly not them doctors =D
Hi Mike. First of all thank you for your guitar and music knowledge you give us and, also, thanks for sharing your story. It must be really tough for you being in and out of hospitals for the health problems you mentioned. Most people can be or act "stubborn-ish" as you described, for different reasons though and obviously you keep its positive side only as it has made you a great guitar player, a motivating teacher but also apparently a good lad as well. If anything seems or feels wrong, though, please allow yourself some more space or give yourself one more chance to be examined from a person that may relieve your pain before anything irreversible occurs. We all know out of something bad there 's always a positive side and a lesson to be learned and so maybe the rib and the ear is just a sign. Dont get me wrong, as responsible adults obsiously each one of us is responsible for ourselves and our actions; no judgements here. Take care of yourself my friend. Nik
You seem like a different person in this comment compared to you in the video.
Love your content man, glad you're getting better. Would love a scientific explanation on your symptoms
holy shit. that story about the rib is bad ass
Just FYI, tinnitus is not understood. To put it in simple terms: There are people with no hearing loss that have tinnitus, as well as people with hearing loss but no tinnitus. The theory of dead hair cells is partially valid, but ultimately cant explain tinnitus. One key theory is that there is a part in the brain that has a gating function that is damaged and therefore the brain isnt able to fade out tinnitus. Anyway: Spread the message! Musicians have to save their hearing and auditory cortex when it is still healthy! So that means, you have to start protecting it the minute you start playing music. Dont play loud without any form of ear buds. Go all the way. If you find them uncomfortable, get custom made! Dont save your money on this, it will bite you in the ass long term. That is coming from someone who has had an acoustic trauma and would pay all the money he has and more to get rid of tinnitus.
In my case I got a bad tinnitus trough CMD its something where the neck and jaw muscles go hard and you are often not able to open your jaw..in some cases it heal but often it just reduce (when youre lucky) with physiotherapy and you can only live with it..ear secretion can also make tinnitus.
It bothers me much, I protected always my hearing and now have it trough something like this..with 23y and not being able to make music since 2 years.
I was to many specialist docs but they came not on this CMD, one time someone even said "all people have tinnitus and hear something thats normal"..When you have 3 diffrent tones and one which sound like an electricity cable which where never there i guess not lol.
Everything is true, what you say. Because I know exactly, what you're talking about. I wonder, why there is so few discussion about this in the music scene. People don't realize, that ear damage can't be repaired! I won't tell my story here (hearing problems can be caused also by other things than loud music). But i am lucky, that my left ear recovered (almost to normal level) after half a year of muffled hearing. And i thank god every morning, when i wake up with my ears being able to hear everything clearly. Take care!
I have tinnitus. It came from loud exposure from playing music, and i have anxiety also, good combination to have tinnitus. I learn to live with it, it becomes better for a long time, the sound go slowly and gradually to something u can accept. It still there actually. And the most important is, don't bother it, the more u notice, the higher the sound. If u have moved on, don't care bout it, its gone (actually it still there, itu just train the brain not to seek for it)
I’ve had tinnitus ever since I was probably 7 or 8. I literally do not know what caused it. I don’t remember any traumatic events or injuries that could have started it. Honestly I’ve gotten used to it and it doesn’t bother me anymore but I’ve always wondered how life would sound like without a constant EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE in my head 24/7 365
Multiple doctors have failed to explain my tinnitus combined with extremely sensitive hearing for my age. I hear a pretty loud ringing all the time - my entire life. I've had my ears carefully examined and there's nothing wrong with them physically. I just hear a ... sound... all the time unless other sounds are louder. I hate headphones - the ear was not designed to have vibrations pumped directly in. It doesn't surprise me that a pressure build up at low volume happened with ear buds.
Slow it down with Audacity instead, with "high-quality stretching". Way, way cleaner and easier to listen to!
That's incredible. After listening to slow-down like Mike includes here for decades, I can't believe it can be so good! Audacity++
@Songs for the Blind youtube-dl paste.url.here --extract-audio --audio-format mp3. Hardly what I'd call extra steps not worth the effort.
Dani .Smith How did I go this long without ever noticing that little check box?? That's a world of difference, thank you!!!
I love audacity!
@Songs for the Blind not worth saving your ear from pain?
Thanks for warning people about this. Hope your hearing continues to improve
It’s strange that these earbud companies even allow the earbuds to reach a volume level that could damage your hearing.
It’s not really much different than all car companies that make cars that are capable of going much faster than legal speed limit. Is it dangerous to drive 120 miles per hour? Of course! Yet most modern car speedometers go to at least 110-120 mph and can go faster beyond that speed too. Should this even be a thing either? Probably not. But yet here we are. I guess the companies put that responsibility on the end user to use the product safely and correctly to prevent injuries or deaths.
2:50 anyone also tapping their ear ?
Well, I used to listen to music normally with just one earbud in my right ear and my left ear open to the world. Until I noticed that I could not hear mosquitoes when I'm lying on my left ear, but if I roll over then I can clearly hear them. It's soo bad that I can hear mosquitoes under my bed through my pillow, mattress and base.. but not my right ear.
I'd caution everyone to be very careful to NEVER use just a single in-ear headphone. I use Sennheiser wired buds.. so it is not even a brand specific phenomenon.
Dude, thanks for sharing the story, but did it not occur to you to see a doctor at any point?
American healthcare
Sorry for butting in but......... I did that straight off to no avail. They stuck tubes up my nose and went the whole nine yards . After the ear test they said the news wasnt that great ( as though I didnt know that ) They showed me the graph where the frequencies are damaged/gone and explained that that was where the tinnitus "lived" . Just saying.
Lindsay Ross Sorry that that happened to you, best wishes
Other than tell you "yes, you've damaged your hearing" there's nothing they can do
@G L ... if you can afford it.
Good to know it healed for you. It was from just one episode of abuse to your ear, so it wasnt an accumulated silent (no pun intended) damage, although it was bad.
In my case, I started to wear off my ears at age 6 by constantly listening to loud rock music on headphones. It wasnt clear sounding ipods or cellphones. I had a sony walkman and those noisy cassete tapes that I used to copy from copies of copies. It all sounded like a big ball of midrange. Now add to that the fact that it was mainly distorted guitar music, and I used the volume almost on full.
At age 11 I started playing in garage bands and wasnt aware of the dangers of loud volume. Like every young person, I felt invincible, and thought that ear protection was for losers. At this stage, because I was young, I didnt feel any damage in the works. I kept playing in increasingly louder and louder bands, in rehearsal rooms with no acoustic treatment at all, just bare walls, with loud drummers, loud bandmates, and those shitty amps that sound like you're playing a guitar through a fucked up 5-inch speaker radio on eleven. When I wasnt playing, I was constantly using those filthy headphones on full volume.
At age 24 I still thought my ears were OK. Then I had to make an audiometry and I learned that I had lost a good chunk of the upper frequencies. At the time, I could not hear anything above 14 or 15K. Now it has probably dropped to 12K, but Ive stopped measuring.
This was the beginning of my awareness. Because in the years prior to that I was always hanging out with loud people who would talk screaming, I thought I could hear alright. Then I started to change my habits and talk to more "normal people". I suddenly realized I couldnt understand children very well. I couldnt understand "normal chicks" who talked in a normal way, and not in the drunken screaming way of the night people. I thought they were always whispering. But no, they were speaking normally. When I tried to join a group of people around a table to have a chat, I had to really focus on the conversation because I would miss on a lot of what was being said. It started to make me feel very frustrated.
Then, as if it all had not been enough, I was dumb for one more occasion to rehearse with a loud drummer without ear protection. We played so loud that after the rehearsal I started to have tinnitus in both ears. It's been 4 years to this date of constant ringing. It never stops. Sometimes it gets better, sometimes the ringing gets really insane.
I got some hearing aids but couldnt adapt to them as everything sounded metallic, and it didnt help with understanding speech much. So I completely cut all bands, loud environments, loud music, and completely changed my habits. Now I just play at home at very quiet levels. If I have to play out with a band, I'll really stick those earbuds into my ears as hard as I can.
After some time of adaptation I think I'm doing better, although the ears themselves cant go back to where they were because the hair cells wont grow again. Your brain gets used to your condition. Its like a person who has a limp. With attention and some techniques I can understand pretty much everybody. Of course all the time I miss a bunch of words but I mostly get it all by the context, lip reading and the remaining words that I did hear.
Kids, take care of your ears. Rock on, but safely. Best wishes to you all.
Rafael Zengo sorry about that buddy. i’m 17 and i play loud music but never above halfway. i only play guitar at volume 2 (almost whisper level) so i don’t have to go through that
Thank you for sharing, Rafael. Me and others will remember your story, the moment we consider listening to music loudly (undetected damage WILL be dangerous in the long run). I hope you can find some remedy to your situation (maybe EQ-ing songs to compensate the way your ears handle frequencies?), and above all keep enjoying the music you love. Keep rockin' man! \m/
I'm in a similar position. I'm 20 and my left ear is a good 15db+ quieter than my right ear and it has permanent ringing. Not from loud music though, but from a series of surgical procedures due to burst ear drums, damaged ossicular chain parts and the complications of the surgeries to repair them.
I also have a lot of trouble hearing in conversation and have plenty of awkward interactions because of it, but these days I don't feel too ashamed of saying to people "Sorry I'm a bit deaf, could you repeat that."
It's amusing hearing the way you describe adjusting to your condition with using context and piecing together the remaining words that you did hear because I do the same thing.
Glad to hear I'm not alone. I hope you can save the hearing you still have. Maybe one day medical science will be able to restore our hearing to what it once was.
Yes kids, please take care of your ears when you're young. When you much older and can afford those expensive tube amps, your hearing will go down hill too, but at least the tube amp loudness isn't going to bother you.
Ear problems are a musician's worst nightmare. I've had some issues myself. Glad you're doing better.
To everyone saying “go to the doctor”, there’s nothing they can do except say “yup, there’s damage”. I was referred to a specialist about my tinnitus, and they just shrugged. I supposedly have “great” hearing, but I have ringing in both ears and sometimes even muffled static in one. I also cannot distinguish speech if there are too many people talking. Yet, “great hearing”.
Similar status with me. Luckily my tinnitus is very quiet and only periodic. But i also hate, if there are too many people talking loud in a room. Then i use ear plugs to dampen the volume. That works fine for me. Take care!
That reminds me of my professor from highschool. Great hearing but he had nerve damage from clubbing when he was younger. Due to nerve damage, he had difficulty understanding speech.
A lot of people understand hearing as just the ability to hear tones. But hearing loss can take many forms, poor speech in noise recognition is a form of hearing loss.
I’m happy you recovered. If your video inspires one person to protect their hearing, you’ve done a big service.
The Darth Vader voice can come from having a blocked Eustachian tube. Sometimes if you’ve had a cold/flu or sinus issues, the Eustachian tube can have difficulty in opening and allowing the air pressure to equalise on both sides of the ear drum. I’ve had it happen a number of times and it’s pretty weird, they symptoms can be pain, muffled hearing, hearing your own voice super loud right inside your own head! It can take a few months from time to time to settle down and you might have got a bit unlucky and had this on top of the original problem with the ear ringing caused by the headphones. Anyway, glad that you are on the mend!
Adrian Davies yes. This is the most accurate theory so far in my opinion. I had that allot as a kid too.
Why didn't you go to the doctor?
American healthcare
Cause Murica???
@@8tonystark8 lol commie.
Other than tell you "yes, you've damaged your hearing" there's not really anything they could do
@@JM-fo1te You think that it is great that a lot of people cant afford health care because of greedy doctors and insurance companies? It wont be so fuckin funny if it happened to you, would it? Dont be a selfish bastard. We need national healthcare now, we are falling behind other nations. We need to start giving a damn about out own citizens.
Chronic tinnitus and non-repairable hearing loss after an Iron Maiden concert in 1987. To answer your question, yes it was worth it.....
No it wasn't.
If you say it was worth it, then it must be a very mild form of tinnitus, because if you'd have it real bad, you'd NEVER say that. Severe tinnitus is hell, believe me.
AC/DC Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX in 2000
The 21 gun salute 🫡 I think caused some permanent damage to my hearing. Seemed like after that I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying in a crowd.
I've had tinitus for 30 years. Ever since I started going to live metal concerts. Hetfield damn it! Lots of headphones on 10 as well. Lawn mowers. Chainsaws. Never had that split tone modulation harmony thing.. That sounds terrifiing.
Chronic tinnitus for 8 years now , last 5 very severe after a run in with a Long Island, NY hospital who gave me ototoxic antibiotics while knowing I already had tinnitus. Made it 1000x worse. Protect yourselves and research every med your doctors prescribe you. Once those inner ear hair cells are damaged , that’s it. So be careful.
Man i fell asleep on my left arm a couple years ago and for the next 2 weeks i couldn’t even play a power chord. We all gotta be careful. Good video man
Wow thank you for this. Glad to say I’ve never suffered from what you have but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this warning
It's diplacusis where your hearing tune is not healthy and can't listen to anything normally. It's currently happening to my right ear a week after an ear infection. I am hoping so much that it will cure in 2 weeks or so because listening to music while relaxing is one heaven moment I don't want to lose.
The same thing is happening to me right now. Did it get better for you?
Glad to hear you recovered. I had diplacusis last month, and it has been slowly getting better. Really want to work on music, but trying my best to just take it easy on my ears for a while. I seemed to have developed hyperacusis as well. I can feel the soundwaves from a few sounds in my left ear, and it is awful. Not painful, just uncomfortable.
I'm hard of hearing and I love music and playing it almost as much as you do. That fear of losing your hearing scares me everyday. Thank you so much for your video as well as others man your the definition of a good teacher/person/ etc. Keep it up please
I had a similar problem. At first I thought it was loud music. Around 15 days later I went to see the doctor, turns out it was a really bad ear infection. Took me 4 weeks to heal entirely. I heard those weird harmonies in people's voices, too. Weird stuff...
I'm glad you healed. Be more careful in the future. 😁
Thank God. My heart sank, when you told us what had happened. Who knew you had to have an advanced degree in Audiology, in order to properly operate ear buds! This is a great service to others, so they might avoid the same.
Huh... When I was 16 I went to a concert and literally for the first time ever I forgot my ear plugs. Now, they usually give you some shitty free ear plugs, but this was a really small venue so they didn't. I was already a bit late so I didn't have the time to go back home and my friend kept saying that I'm gonna be okay. Well, standing next right to a huge stack of Marshall amps sure didn't help a lot... It's been 3 years now and my left ear is still ringing. It sometimes makes these weird ass noises, but I got used to it. Apparently my hearing is still 100% fine which is surprising, but I can tell you one thing. You'll never learn to appreciate silence enough until you get tinnitus. Tinnitus sucks.
I remember reading decades ago that using one in ear monitor along with a stage monitor was messing up artists hearing.
Perhaps the unequal SPL was partly to blame. I'm glad you are doing better.
It's called tinnitus and hyperacusis. Tinnitus (the ringing) is incurable but may just go away on its own, hyperacusis (the sensitivity/numbness) is "curable" through certain types of sound therapy. Consider yourself extreeeeemely lucky that the ringing went away. For many (including myself) it doesn't go away
Same here, damaged my ears with sub woofers.
Same. My ringing is loud. I constantly need noise in the background. Doesn’t help that my ears are always congested most of the time.
It's called diplacusis, not hyperacusis.
Great advice dude. Glad it's getting better for you. I suffer from tinnitus from years of playing out. But what's really weird, I have had hearing test done and I surprisingly have most of my hearing intact. I started wearing lite hearing protection at gigs now. Even in ear monitors at low volume will block out quite a bit.
Had somewhat similar, albeit not painful experience.
One day tweeter had died in the right channel of my sound system. It had 3-way speakers, so it wasn't too horrible sounding, as only uppermost frequencies were lost on the right. Months went by, I delayed servicing that speaker again and again, while continuing to use the sound system daily, and when I finally did it after about 2 years, I realized that my ears have adjusted themselves to the lack of high frequencies on the right and my positional hearing was totally screwed now, and right ear become hyper sensitive to high frequencies. Still not sure was it physiological or psychological, but it did take about a year to fully go back to normal.
Cheers!
Did it pass?
I have a problem with my hearing..this recent 4th Ole July 2022, I couldn't afford fireworks...so I dragged out my Ole Big Bang (calcium carbide) cannon....instead of using it ..I took apart coffee cans and taped them together and use fuse to fire it off....after several shots, one blast was far more of a humongous BOOM and got me in the ears even though I was 10 feet away.. I had it pointed away from me but still .. I quit. This is 3 days later and I still have strange sensation in my head.. I'm unable to tune my guitar via " harmonic" over tones on the 5th and 7th fret......I have the " long tube to the ear" sort of sound in both ears....and the "windy sound"....and/ or water in the pipes ( upstairs in my apartment) sort of sound......I can hear some...I can't drive my car with my woman turning on the radio! Certain sound frequencies hurt my head......
Hmmm, strange, i hope you get better!
I love hearing pls no
My God, Mike... This sounds absolutely horrific! I've had issues with my eustacian tubes and results of childhood ear infections, but nothing as frightening as what you had to endure. After reading why you did not seek medical attention, I can somewhat understand. While I still see merit in this video and appreciate that you shared it, I find it slightly irresponsible to promote "safely enduring" any injury to your hearing. I heard a story from an audiologist and confirmed it with an ENT about a musician who never cleaned their ears, developed a waxy blockage, got an infection under the wax, and went almost completely deaf before it was finally cleaned and healed. I'm very thankful that your hearing eventually returned to normal and I hope that you put tens of thousands more shows under your belt before you notice even the slightest change in your hearing. 💜🎸
Audio artifacts from slowed music can follow a waveform that is very harsh to your ears.
I usually have one earbud in when I hear music in public... I’m definitely going to stop doing that now! I had no idea it did damage to my hearing. Thank you for the video! I hope you continue to feel better!
My ears have been destroyed over the years of playing loud in bands. Unfortunately, I have some pretty bad tinnitus and my ears are super sensitive. Even earplugs don’t work all that great for me and over ear muffs are the only way I can get threw shows and rehearsals. It sucks because so much of the sound is taking away, but I’ve gotten use to it and have gotten much better with it.
One night when I was in quarantine I was listening to some real loud music because what else to do anyways one night when I took off my headphones I started to hear a ringing noise it was not the usual high ringing sound so I didn't think much of it. And when I woke up the noise was still there, at 17, it was utterly disgusting to think that I might have damaged my hearing, couple sleepless nights thanks to my teary ears; I found out that that sound was coming from the combi boiler. Biggest relief I have ever lived in my life. Anyways thanks for reading a useless text
Disclaimer, there is no real cure for tinnitus but here's my case, just sharing...I had tinnitus at one point in my life. Severe, one ear and right high pitched sound. It totally destroyed me when I went to the doctor and he said that there was nothing I could do... In my case it was something in my sinus???. All it took was to clean my sinus with those saline powder and warm water for a whole week and it went away. I read this advice by someone and it worked for me. Now, I clean my sinus at least twice a week ( even if not needed ) and I never wear any kind of headphones or earbuds, only for zoom meetings. I hope my advice could hopefully help someone.
I was wearing Sony MDR-V600 Headphones and listening to my MP3 playlist on repeat, very LOUD, and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning and now have had a constant ringing in my ears for the past 10 years
Wow man. Cheers for the heads up. I do the same thing.
Hey man, thanks so much for sharing this! I had a very similar thing that happened to me and I literally thought I had to stop music for good. I'm glad to hear that it finally got better!
Dude, I had that same harmonizing thing in one ear, but I think (at least in my case) it had to do with excessive wax since I had that problem before. One thing I noticed during the years that contributed to ear blockage was using earbuds, now I avoid them as much as possible and use mostly over the ear headphones. Maybe using those specific earbuds had something to do with it? in any case, i'm glad you got better :)
I just woke up with that harmony effect one day; my left ear was hearing everything in a slight pitch lower. It was really prominent when listening to any kind of monophonic melody with no backing music. Lasted about a day and a half and then just disappeared. Put it down to an ear infection.
Thanks for the heads up, like you I never thought that could hurt an ear. Glad your back to normal. Cheers
I woke up with borderline severe tinnitus after a gig about 13 years ago. I was a drummer with no tinnitus at all before that morning. It's a very long story...Anyway, I woke up and heard this horrible sound. I actually went looking through the house to find it. So, after finally realizing realizing it was coming from my left ear. I flipped out!! Again this is a long story... So, I was diagnosed with borderline "severe tinnitus". I sold my four drum kits and had to stop drumming! I also had to see a psychiatrist to be put on medication to help me calm down and to be able to sleep at night. I still see this doctor four times a year to talk about how I am doing and to renew my meds. It never went away, but I have learn to live with it. But, that was the end of drumming after 30 years. Talk about a void in my life! Again, no warning at all for me. It was just there when I woke up that morning. I did see many specialist. I had the opportunity to talk with one of the leading experts(Doctor) in the country by phone after it happen. Anyway, please take care of your hearing everyone. Tinnitus is not fun... Peace.
Dang man! Thanks for the heads up! Unfortunately I've drummed without hearing protection since I was about 4 (I am now 21) and I have minor tinnitus, although It's not very bothersome, just a little jarring when it does occur.
But there was a time I thought I lost hearing in one ear (there was water in my ear and I had no idea until it began making me feel ill) and I was terrified for about a month. I think I would rather go blind in all honesty. (The solution to this is just ear drops if anybody has this problem)
same thing happened to me on a smaller scale, but i don't know how i did it. im really glad you healed, i hope my ears heal as well
Glad I watched this.. I'm someone who really enjoys the sound of music slowed down A LOT to the point that that 1 hour can turn into 4 and also adding multiple layers of reverb. I just noticed that my ear feels like someone is cupping it with their hand..
Same double voice thing happened when I had a middle ear infection. Take care, and long live your/our ears!
That happened to me too but it was like a half step down and delayed. I thought I was gonna lose my hearing
Norton Sonics earplugs. These saved my ears so many times. They are the best earplugs, because they have a very tiny channel that runs straight through so that the sound energy is greatly attenuated, but it doesn't clobber all the high frequencies. So you don't get that standard _stuffy_ feeling that normal earplugs give you. I learned about them decades ago, so I have them to thank for my hearing being intact today.
As for the solution to listening to that one channel over and over, I was expecting to hear the suggestion of just listening it in MONO. That way you get the left track in both ears, and your brain receives perfectly balanced sound energy. If you don't have the settings to do this on your player, then you can build the mono version of the track using Audacity. Piece of cake.
THANKS for sharing your lesson learned. It's like telling people to not stare at the Sun during an eclipse.
I've had tinnitus for as long as I can remember, it really does suck
Ever since September of last year when I shot my 44 mag w/o earplugs in I've always had a ring in my left ear, it sucks quite a bit.
Pleased to hear that you feel better, hearing loss and tinnitus are awful (I have mild hearing loss due to often not wearing earplugs at shows and turning the speakers up), I try to look after my ears nowadays but I still love the music loud
One night several years ago I got too close to the speakers of a loud band and afterward I had most of the hearing issues you've described. It took a couple days for that to go away. It was scary. I have ongoing tinnitus and two days ago I woke up hearing two tones in my left ear when I whistle. I'm researching that, and hoping it's temporary.
I'm sorry this happened and hope it keeps improving. I might he overcompensating but I never practice with headphones. I don't even turn on the amp and honestly there hasn't been one song or solo I've tried to learn that I haven't gotten down. My cover band does about 250 songs and they think I'm nuts the way I learn material but 2 of them are half deaf so there you go. I know this isn't for everybody but I feel that 40yrs of learning this way has saved me a world of grief.
I years ago I had to play a show after a middle ear infection which caused my Eardrum being penetrated, which caused a pitch shit of an half note up on my left ear. My right ear was normal. Imagine hearing everything harmonized a half step up. Horrible. Stayed like that for weeks.
I have that EXACT issue right now. Really bums me out and makes me not always trust myself when I’m transcribing or playing. :(
@@TheArtofGuitar i feel you
I had this happen at a noise show standing next to an amp without hearing protection. I’m just now able to play guitar again in my room, the show was in 2019. It’s been total hell. Make sure you protect your ears always.
Glad you doing better my bro
appreciate the transparency. what you describe sounds similar to people who were deaf learning to hear for the first time. likely you healed some. but also likely you did permanent damage. the brain does all sorts of filtering, and when sudden and drastic changes to our hearing ability occur, it takes time for our brain to adjust its filtering process accordingly to "make sense out of the new mix" of info it is getting.
Excellent advice, thanks! So glad to hear that your ear was able to heal. I imagine that experience would be both confusing and frightening!
I watched your video about the last lick in the crazy train solo and it helped out a lot. Thank you for making that
So true. I removed one earbud to lay down n a pillow and slept for 4 hours. It wasn’t loud but something about the one ear made me loose deep lows.
Tinnitus is no joke, and can ruin not only your musical career... but also mess your life up pretty bad. It can be caused by things that aren't even sound oriented. So, musicians.. when you take a new medicine.. check WAY AT THE BOTTOM (death gets top and so on, the health industry does not consider a life of crickets screaming in your ears a big deal) of the warnings where it might say "ringing in ears". If you see that, ask you doc if there is another version of the medicine.
Very true. Also beware of drugs called "ototoxic".
Any improvement since? Thanks for sharing this. I bought a Marshall Jubilee mini and a half stack and had it to the left side of my desk. Got carried away one night two weeks ago and have had muffled hearing in left ear since. I'm hoping it heals up in time.
This actually reminded me of something I was hardly even conscious of anymore because I got used to it. During highschool I would always have a single earphone in while doing basically anything so I could listen to music but also talk to people and stuff and despite not really blasting music like I started to later on it still really messed up my right ear.
Makes it hard to understand people because of that difference in volume, sometimes have to turn my head to people to let my left ear hear what they're saying better.
Glad you're better now! Stay safe!
I played music and worked in the music industry my entire life. I went completely deaf in my right ear right before Christmas. When people talked to me on right side i heard a bunch of garble. I was diagnosed with a severe ear infection. After that was cleared up my ear came back BUT I still cannot hear any higher frequencies in that ear. the cut of point is at about 1.6 k. I was also a live audio monitor engineer for 30 years in the country music business before we used in ears. The strange thing is the ear that i beat up with a cue wedge is my left ear. I have a small bit if tinnitus in my left hear but can hear fine in that ear. I'm still praying that my right ear comes back 100%.. Right now it's mid range and lower. I also had to go home and leave work a couple of times during the ear infection period due to dizzy spells and nausea because of the dizziness. take care of your ears.
Go to the doctor the next time. It always could be worse than you think, it's worth it
And what do you expect a doctor to do? You cant fix hearing losses
Next time?
@@mouloudo you can fix it in some cases but most of all prevent it... he was very lucky to have his hearing back at all after the shows he played.
I’ve been having something similar to this for a month now, something in my head just keeps telling me it’ll never get better but at the same time I try to tell myself it will so it’s these constant battle in my head.
How is it now
A good tip I found out actually is if ear plugs are too deafening for your band or anything, a pair of earbuds (not headphones) will deaden the sound just enough to where it's not damaging.
I've had a severely blocked ear for the past week and now I constantly feel delirious and off balanced. I had my ear rinsed by my doctor and actually blacked out because the dry wax is far too close to my ear drum. Now my right ear is doing the bulk of my hearing, everything I hear is either too quiet or too loud and bassy for one ear to handle. When something like an ambulance with a siren is driving past its too much for my good ear and I have to block it completely or its unbearable. I'll never ever, ever take my hearing for granted and how important it is to my life.
Hey Louie, has it gotten any better ?
I did this once to my own ear, I accidentally damaged or punctured it with a q tip, and music just cant be enjoyed when you have those added crazy distorted notes, everything sounds insane and just terrifying. It took about 2-4 weeks for it to go away and I was terrified it was permanent
I think listing song in mono using one or both ears is not dangerous to your hearing; a specially if you listen music at low volume (40-60db). What probably happen was pressure built up in middle part of your ear (the part with three little bones that transmit sound to the inner ear). Ear buds can do that if the Eustachian tube does not balance pressure between both sides of the ear drum properly. That type of hearing lost is usually reversible
Sorry that happened, thankfully you healed, and thanks for the warning.
i had that too .. way back july of 2018 not wearing any ear protection is really a bad idea and from that point i had this tinnitus and im freaking out anxiety and depression attacking me but after how many months thanks god but tinnitus o had right now is not too loud any more .. its there i know but not really too much . but some times when i go l to sleep i freak oit feeling i hear it aging even its not there .. but things happen
just protect our ear .. we cant fix it if we damage it already ..
Thanks for the video, we all know that listening to very loud music can damage your hearing, but most of us don't know that listening to distorted or highly overdriven sound even at low volume can do just as much damage, ask any recording or live sound mixer and they will tell you that the more distorted your sound the lower you will be in the mix, why? because the distorted instrument will make all the other instruments or tracks sound distorted too.
Sloppy Guitar players are the worst culprits for this, too many hide their flaws by using way too much overdrive, on a single string solo it's ok but then they start banging out of tune chords and it makes the whole band sound like cr*p.
Thanks for sharing your story, Mike!
Shoot that’s crazy! Literally went through hell! Glad you’re better man!
I’ve had tinitus since 6th grade. Went to a school for ADHD children. They didn’t really learn how to control their loudness that well. It’s been around 5 years now and it is still ringing. However, I have come to terms with it. Now I usually just fall with my radio playing softly next to me. Something that also is weird happened to me too. After swimming 3 years ago, my right ear started to act like i had an earplug really far in. It kept doing that here and there until a year later, it permantly stayed. Fast forward 2 years and it is still there. However it has gotten milder. It is almost unnoticable. Only times i’ve noticed it, is when i have my good ear on the pillow, and the bad one up. The music i listen to is almost like it is not there. It’s pretty annoying. Thinking of going to a doctor soon. Thanks this video helped.
I've heard that open-back or on-the-ear headphones are safer than closed over-the-ear headphones or ear pods.
You are speaking to the converted here. I lost frequencies from loud guitar and shooting without ear protection in the Air Force way back. Some folk seem to get by ( Lemmy comes to mind :) but for me I have continuous tinnitus and the frequency loss affects me badly in noisy areas or when my wife speaks to me sometimes. Just be aware when it doesnt sound right. Just walk away. I didnt. I remember seeing Deep Purple here in Cape Town many years back and I could not hear Ian Gillan singing . There was just a vibration . Too late though. BE CAREFUL ! It doesnt go away !!!
Luckily mine did for now. I wear earplugs at all gigs now. Thanks for sharing friend.
Best excuse not listen to my wife, thank you sir, you saved my life.
Wish i saw this video before learning to play guitar. Now dealing with hyperacusis which is miserable and comparable to tinnitus. Good news is hearing regen meds which could possibly help us all will be here in 5-10 years.
I had something like this except I had mine from a terrible cold with my ears plugged with fluid. It started with ringing then moved to where I would my own breathing in my head, things I would say would resonate in my head. I did then have the the sensitivity in my ear too.
Thanx for sharing your story, people should be aware of the need for hearing protection.
I’m going through this as well normal day to day things like trafic passing by is unbearable. Happened due to band practice with drummers and guitars blasted through an amp in a very small room. I feel nauseous and off balance. As the singer in music college youd think they’d teach us to wear ear protection while with a band but I honestly didn’t ever think of it. I would of if had known. Hope I can somehow heal too.
update?
Have you healed
Dude thats happened to me before with the demon voice! This is why i dont wear in ear buds anymore, i think what happens is that over time it pushes the earwax back and onto your eardrum and fucks it up, i got some of this stuff called murine to clean out my ear when it happened but yeah it sucked
Hi I’m 22 and had a bad infection which left me with ringing in my left ear.
Turns out I have genetic hearing loss. I have worn earplugs going to gigs.
I have customed ear plugs now I wear them on the tubes, bars, drumming, raving anything.
On your iPhone you can turn down the volume when you listen to music through the settings.
If anyone has tinitus I feel you it can be annoying. Mines triggered by stress but defiantly wear ear plugs!!
I always had the lead guitar guy on my right in a high school band for years. I still have a small difference in frequency response between ears. I'm 62 now. My dad had great hearing till 83. He went to a shooting range and lost most of his hearing. It hasn't come back after 5 years. Kids and musicians take care of your ears. They can heal slightly, slowly when you are young. Don't ask me about eyes.
He didnt ware protection at the range
I had no idea that could even result from something so simple but it's good to know! As a graphic designer it reminds me a bit of those images you should never look at because it can completely fuck with your ability to accurately see color for potentially months.
The thing is, it can't! Slowing down music and/or fading the music to one headphone does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Not a word of it is true! Sounds like he has/had an ear infection, and he should have gone to the doctor. Probably still should.
Tapping your fingers at the base of your skull, where neck meets skull.
Tap on the skull at this point not hard, just lightly with both index fingers.
It can help, although there is no cure for tinnitus, it does help.
I'm a 57 years old player of 42 years. I thought I'd beat it cos I never had any ringing. Then, about a year ago the high pitch squeeling started.
So I tried the tapping on my skull......low and behold, it works!!!
You have to repeat it every day cos in my case it always comes back.
Good luck to you
I have that ringing, crickets or what sounds like an old gas heater burning. I had one ampliifer feedback off another amp and it was loud. That's been over two years ago. I protect my hearing now, but this is still hanging around. It's not bad all the time, but I'm sensitive to loud voices and sounds now. People really need to protect their hearing.
Your description reminds me of the TH-cam joking about when you make a mistake while using a delay pedal, haha... Sorry to hear that. Good that you're back on your feet! :)
Glad you're better!
I'm a metalhead, and I always play metal and blast my metal music and I've been doing that for a long time now it's finally caught up to me.
Man ....
I think I have that same strat! American deluxe hss? Honestly IMO the best modern strat model by fender aside from the frets which dented fairly quick on mine
I had something similar i was producing on bad headphones and i turned the volume up way too much to hear the bass. Since then i have a tinnitus which isnt too bad to be honest so it healed. Also for weeks after that i had this bass in my ear like you woud listen to music and just high cut everything off. Everyone who damages their hearing once never goes back to do the same, especially with us musicians.
I think the way YT stretches the sound is by chopping up the audio, meaning that there is like 0.05 seconds of sound then 0.01 sec of silence - then again 0.05 sound 0.01 silence (it is only an example). That silence or stutter is very unnatural and the way it physically affects the ear and perhaps how the brain perceives it as well can be damaging with prolonged exposure. I guess another way of making a parallel would be by pressing with a hand on your skull and apply different amount of pressures, kinda like sound waves do in nature. Now take a electric toothbrush and press it on your head, isnt that disturbing ? I`m not a doctor, just my 2c
I have the same problem. It happened before I knew what glory holes were. I put my ear up to it to see if I could hear what was on the other side and got quite the surprise instead.
Tinnitus sucks dude, glad you got better
two time I had something weird happen to my hearing .. suddenly everything was out of tune, like if I listened to Zeppelin or something it sounded like it was being played on an old out of tune piano and while I was listening to my speakers this sound wasn't in front of me but behind me to the left at about an arms length it's called diplacusis
Anytime he hit the kick or snare? Dang you had a rough night