Mid 40s guys with constant ringing. Get in here. I have Questions.

[Ice-kub]

I find I have trouble with some womens high pitched voices. They are not only difficult to understand but about as irritating as sand in your shorts. I'd rather just spend my time alone.

I've wondered a few times if this is possibly an evolutionary selective hearing thing for the higher pitched sounds like kids and womens voice?

 

[30338]

Left ear is bad enough that I try to always be the driver so I can hear my wife. Kids and women, very hard to hear. Bought suppressors and hearing aids. No longer own any rifles with brakes. I have no issues with wearing hearing aids and it helps a lot.

 

[KevinInID]

This is where I am. Normal life I see no need but maybe I don't know what I don't know. It's the edge cases where I would want enhancement. Just like that set of stabilized binos or alpha glass. You need them when you NEED them.

Electronic hearing protection does just that, enhances sound. I saw an audiologist and got a set of custom molded electronic earplugs from Soundgear (there are several other brands out there). I can hear game with the earplugs better than without them. Volume is adjustable, turn the volume up or down as needed.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

Different brands of electronic hearing protection. They do work well, but I’m not happy with the wind noise. I’m currently trying passive ear plugs protection, and passed through for hearing conversations, etc. something like this from Axil:

X30i Earplugs

The X30i Earplug features a valve that opens and closes with a simple toggle switch. This lets you instantly transition between hearing and protecting at the same time or hearing protection only. The X30i Earplug product is designed to provide the wearer with hearing protection against two types...

goaxil.com

 

[8mille]

I just sucked it up. When the tinnitus started in earnest, I made a conscious effort not to let it bother me so it wouldn't drive me crazy. It is just there always like a little friend.

Hearing loss hasn't been too noticeable, especially compared to my loss of eyesight.

Same here. I double up ear protection at bench. Plugs on a string around my neck in the field- if there’s time to get them in. Otherwise I grit and bear it.

 

[jorswift]

I'm there with you. Loud music, loud exhaust, guns, firecrackers, small engines, etc. I have had ringing in my ears for sometime and slight loss of hearing in my left ear. Dr. said it was due to probably shooting without hearing protection. I cannot hear higher pitched tones. Last year, turned 40 and said it was the year for me. Went to Dr. got hearing aid for left ear and was game changer. Got one of the newer more fancy ones where I can change things from and app on my phone. Like the background noise at a restaurant or an event. I can even change it turn up for outside noise when hunting. I can now successfully say I can tell where that distant gobble comes from! I can listen to music through it, I can make phone calls through it. I can hear the TV without turning it all the way up and making the rest of my family uncomfortable. Now, if only I remember to where it more!

 

[mtg]

OMF summed it up well, and basically mirrors my experience. My tinnitus hit me in my mid 30s after a bad sinus infection. Ironically that that’s about when my dad remembers his starting. I’ve got my hearing aids two years ago, I’m now 49. A good audiologist will tune good hearing aids such that it’s only amplifying where you have loss. Further, I can turn up the volume if wanted while we’re all watching TV and they don’t have to get mad at it being so loud. They also have directional amplification adjustments, meaning I can adjust them via my phone app ito only amplify things in front of me or just to my side (this is really helpful when in the car and my wife in the passenger seat). The brand I have is Signia, and you should go and check out all the functions that they have on their website. Other brands have similar functions. No doubt the cost is steep. My med coverage actually had pretty good coverage, and it cost me less than half but still it was a chunk of change. Last, there have been links between hearing loss and dementia, there’s a number of studies out there about it. So I’m a big proponent of protecting what you got left and like the fact that my hearing aids only amplify where I need it, which in theory should help slow hearing loss down. That’s my two cents….

 

[z987k]

Amplified muffs work well for me in the duck blind (Howard Leight), upland is hard for me to have good ear pro.

Upland is the most difficult one. I wish shotgun suppressors were more of a viable thing. I've thought about an integral a bunch of times, but I think the weight would be terrible.
Would be nice to not destroy the dog's hearing to.

 

[sodaksooner]

My tinnitus went away when I quit drinking Diet Coke .
I’ve tried many hearing aids with terrible results.
The background noise in restaurants was unbearable.

I don't have tinnitus but I have heard that people have mitigated it with diet. Interesting stuff. Actually I think it was Mel Gibson that said he has had it really bad and was on Rogan a few weeks ago. Might be worth a listen to see what he did to mitigate it. Don't quote me but I think it was him.

 

[CRJR45]

I don't have tinnitus but I have heard that people have mitigated it with diet. Interesting stuff. Actually I think it was Mel Gibson that said he has had it really bad and was on Rogan a few weeks ago. Might be worth a listen to see what he did to mitigate it. Don't quote me but I think it was him.

To be fair I drank a lot of Diet Coke for a long time . Tinnitus was crazy bad , driving me nuts .
I quit cold turkey and a lot of joint pain and tinnitus went away , I was 52 . The worst part was my sis had been trying to get me to quit forever, so I had to listen to her -I told you so !

 

[Marshfly]

Electronic hearing protection does just that, enhances sound. I saw an audiologist and got a set of custom molded electronic earplugs from Soundgear (there are several other brands out there). I can hear game with the earplugs better than without them. Volume is adjustable, turn the volume up or down as needed.

Thanks Kevin. I'll ask about this today at my appointment. That might be exactly what I need.

Different brands of electronic hearing protection. They do work well, but I’m not happy with the wind noise. I’m currently trying passive ear plugs protection, and passed through for hearing conversations, etc. something like this from Axil:

X30i Earplugs

The X30i Earplug features a valve that opens and closes with a simple toggle switch. This lets you instantly transition between hearing and protecting at the same time or hearing protection only. The X30i Earplug product is designed to provide the wearer with hearing protection against two types...

goaxil.com

I ordered 2 sets of Axil plugs. They were back in the box to be returned within 10 minutes. I thought they totally sucked. Uncomfortable as hell compared to my AirPods and had terrible white noise when turned to enhance mode. That is actually what started this journey as I bought them specifically for turkey season since the 20 gauge isn't suppressed.

 

[wh0cansay]

Ditch all forms of caffeine, your tinnitus is very likely to improve if you do.

 

[Ozarkansas]

This thread should be required reading for any member with kids, or who’s in their 20s. It’ll get yall scared straight.

My dad was an ENT doc so I was never allowed to shoot or run equipment without hearing protection. I’m very thankful for that now.
My dad is also deaf in one ear from getting Mumps as a kid, so as long as I’ve known him he’s had a high-dollar hearing aid/hearing protection device that he puts in his good ear. Growing up, we were taught to immediately point to any noise we heard while hunting, since he couldn’t determine where it was coming from without help.

 

[7mm-08]

I highly endorse you doing everything possible now and into the future to protect your hearing. If you do end up with hearing aids, which I did a few years ago, consider buying them at Costco. They are WAY more economical than the $7,500 price tag you see discussed commonly.

 

[Marshfly]

This thread should be required reading for any member with kids, or who’s in their 20s. It’ll get yall scared straight.

My dad was an ENT doc so I was never allowed to shoot or run equipment without hearing protection. I’m very thankful for that now.
My dad is also deaf in one ear from getting Mumps as a kid, so as long as I’ve known him he’s had a high-dollar hearing aid/hearing protection device that he puts in his good ear. Growing up, we were taught to immediately point to any noise we heard while hunting, since he couldn’t determine where it was coming from without help.

I hunted a lot as a kid and young adult in Louisiana. In the 80s and 90s nobody wore hearing protection hunting. We did a lot of projects with power tools. My father was getting pretty bad by the time he died when I was 21 at 50yo. When we moved out here to MT 4 years ago and I dove back into hunting I made it a point to do everything in my power to protect my kids' and wife's hearing since I knew where I was headed if I didn't do it right from here on out. Suppressors were bought. Protection was used when not hunting. I doubt any of them will ever, in their lives, shoot an unsuppressed rifle.

You said a lot brother.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Any of you guys get the on/off tinnitus? I can not have any ringing for a long time and then sitting in my house randomly its like someone hit a tuning fork and the ringing comes back for a bit. Not really bothersome, but is odd when its starts ringing out of nowhere.

 

[Caseknife]

I’m at the funny stage where your brain tries to fill in words that weren’t heard. So “Would you like a Coke with that?” Turns into, “Would you like to poke a cat?” lol

Damn autocorrect

 

[fwafwow]

I'm always on the lookout for a tinnitus solution, or mitigation. The posts above about caffeine (I drink quite a bit in the morning) and other dietary changes prompted me to do a few quick PubMed searches. It seems that the studies on the topic are mainly observational, and that the conclusions about diet association are mixed. The study below actually says that caffeine may decrease tinnitus.

As with many things, YMMV, and it's pretty easy to cut out caffeine to see if there is a change for you. Same with eating more fruit, fiber and dairy.

FWIW/FYI here are two paragraphs (minus footnotes) from the study linked below. First about caffeeine, then the overal conclusion. (Bold emphasis is mine.)

The association between caffeine intake and tinnitus remains contentious. Our findings indicate that caffeine has a positive effect on tinnitus incidence. Some suggest that caffeine might effectively decrease tinnitus incidence, possibly because of its anxiety-reducing effects. Conversely, some scholars argue that individuals with tinnitus often experience insomnia, in which caffeine consumption could worsen, thus exacerbating tinnitus symptoms. Recent observational studies have revealed no link between caffeine consumption and depression or anxiety levels. Furthermore, additional dose analysis revealed a J-pattern association between caffeine intake and psychiatric disorders, with about 2–3 cups per day associated with decreased risk. Caffeine, which acts as a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, can mitigate anxiety when it is ingested at a daily dose of 10 mg/kg. Genetic analysis also suggested a correlation between caffeine consumption and reduced tinnitus incidence. This effect is achieved through adenosine receptor blockade, dopamine release promotion, acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition and sympathetic nerve stimulation.​

Diet-based strategies for tinnitus prevention are anticipated to play a significant role in chronic tinnitus management. Existing evidence suggests that consuming fruit, dietary fibre, caffeine and dairy may be associated with a reduced incidence of tinnitus. The primary underlying mechanisms may involve the protective effects of these diets on blood vessels and nerves, as well as their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, it is crucial to interpret our findings cautiously because of the overall low quality of the evidence available. In the future, further well-designed, large-scale, cross-population cohort studies are warranted to complement and verify the relationship between dietary intake and tinnitus. Additionally, focusing on the dosage and categorisation of each dietary intake would provide valuable insights.​

Association of 15 common dietary factors with tinnitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies - PMC

A systematic analysis was conducted to investigate the association between tinnitus incidence and daily dietary patterns. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[riversidejeep]

WHAT ?

 

[Samson7x]

Any of you guys get the on/off tinnitus? I can not have any ringing for a long time and then sitting in my house randomly its like someone hit a tuning fork and the ringing comes back for a bit. Not really bothersome, but is odd when its starts ringing out of nowhere.

That is most likely an outer hair cell in the cochlea dying off. Luckily, you have thousands more!