The Whistle Helps Deal With Tinnitus

rkottke · Post by **rkottke** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:28 am

I have tinnitus, the constant ringing in the ears. I have seen a number of physicians about it and short of iffy surgery, there is no real help. But because of my love of Celtic music I started to learn to play the Tin Whistle. Then to my great surprise, I found that when I play the Whistle, I do not notice the Tinnitus. I know that it is still there but I just do not notice it and that is a great relief. But as an additional bonus, learning to play the Whistle forces you to truely listen to the music which also causes me not to notice the Tinnitus.

ChrisLaughlin · Post by **ChrisLaughlin** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:48 am

Funny... whistling has begun to give me Tinnitus. Seriously.
Chris

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 10:12 am

I am both sorry and glad, Kot. I know that is a condition that can drive one insane. I really feel for you.

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 10:26 am

Well I'm glad you can find something to get rid of the ringing. I get tinnitus sometimes when I have bad allergies (it must put pressure on my ears or something, go figure) and I know how it can drive you totally bonkers. O.o

mgwhitehead · Post by **mgwhitehead** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:57 am

Serendipity. This subject keeps pestering me. I've had tinitus for 20+ years and gotten pretty good at ignoring it. My sister woke up recently completely deaf in one ear except for the worst case of tinitus I've ever heard of. Doc says she'll probably never hear out of that ear again. Fortunately they can "kill" the ear to make the tinitus go away. But all this talk about tinitus makes me notice mine more. I never notice it when I'm playing or listening to music though.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:57 am

rkottke wrote:I have tinnitus, the constant ringing in the ears. I have seen a number of physicians about it and short of iffy surgery, there is no real help. But because of my love of Celtic music I started to learn to play the Tin Whistle. Then to my great surprise, I found that when I play the Whistle, I do not notice the Tinnitus. I know that it is still there but I just do not notice it and that is a great relief. But as an additional bonus, learning to play the Whistle forces you to truely listen to the music which also causes me not to notice the Tinnitus.

I wasn't so fortunate. Mine is near-constant regardless of circumstance. Fortunately its so high-pitched that it doesn't actually block out normal tones such as the whistle or the radio, so I can work through it, but it never really goes away.

Know what I really miss? Quiet nights. We live way out in the country so there's no planes, sirens, vehicles or much else. I really loved just sitting outside on a warm evening and listening to a nice, peaceful nothing. Except now, even in the dead of winter, I have this constant background noise of about 10 million crickets.

OutOfBreath · Post by **OutOfBreath** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:59 am

All this talk about tinnitis makes me very glad I wore good-quality hearing protection back when I used to shoot a lot. I had a brief sample of tinnitis when I developed bad infextions in both ears when I was in my early twenties. It was so loud I could barely hear people talking over it. Sounded like I had a jet engine running wide open in each ear.

The doc gave me antibiotics and when the infection left so did the tinnitis but I learned enough from those few days that I never listened to music as loudly afterwards (before, I'd sometimes relax on the floor with one big stereo speaker pointed at each ear from a couple of feet away and the volume up loud enough to shake the windows...and fall asleep).

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:33 pm

I too suffer from tinnitus. Probably got it from 20 years of service in the U.S. Navy as a radioman- but who knows. Fortunately, I would call my case "mild" as it were- always there of course, but not too bad yet. It of course seems worse at night, when I lie down to sleep- since that is when it is quietest.

All the Best,

Tom

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:26 pm

I showed this thread to a friend of mine who suffers from this ailment.

He wanted me to post a message for him, so here goes:

--Larry's message starts here--

I bought 2 CDs one is a river running the other is rain. I found them at
Target. Tell the guys on the message board that when I listen to them at
night it helps with the crickets. I listen to it when working the help desk
with headphones (right ear only) and I can hardly hear the squeel.
They have me some samples to pickup on my way home but it will thak a week
to get into my system.
Larry

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 4:43 pm

rkottke wrote: Then to my great surprise, I found that when I play the Whistle, I do not notice the Tinnitus. I know that it is still there but I just do not notice it and that is a great relief. .

Congratulations! You have discovered the so-called "masking device":

http://www.bixby.org/faq/tinnitus/coexist.html

I've had tinnitus since 1971. Went totally deaf in my right ear in the course of about one hour, then experienced severe rotary vertigo to the point where I couldn't even walk. Spent a couple of days in the college infirmary, and saw a couple of experts. Soon, I got back about 85% of my hearing, lost the vertigo and was left with the tinnitus.
Most of the time, I don't even think of it unless someone reminds me (thank you very much

). In time, I believe most people do get pretty used to it. I do find that it gets louder when I'm very tired.

antstastegood · Post by **antstastegood** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 5:00 pm

I've got some relatives with this condition. I don't have it, except sometimes when I'm sick. I know it must be just a matter of time, cause I play the whistle, and ring in a handbell choir.

Will O'B · Post by **Will O'B** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 5:07 pm

Wow. I didn't realize so many other people suffered from this condition. It's driven me crazy for over 30 years. Mine probably stems from driving the tractor on the farm while growing up and then doing my tour of duty in the military. It's usually more pronounced after I finish playing the whistle indoors.

With me, the noise changes periodically. It goes from a ultra high pitched constant piercing siren-like noise, to a consistant loud chirping sound (exactly like having several cicadas living in my ears), to a high pitched tinkling bell-like sound, to a lower pitched humming tone. Each of these variations lasts for weeks at a time before changing to the next. There is never really a time, however, when some noise is not present. As you all know, what is especially maddening about tinnitus is that you can't lessen it by putting your hands over your ears or going to a different location - - it's always there (but I agree with brewerpaul that you tend to get used to it and don't notice it quite so much when you're not thinking about it.) An audiogram shows that I have a hearing loss to the higher frequencies, and I also have trouble hearing speech if there is a lot of background noise (makes it hard to hold an intelligent conversation while listening to a session, for instance).

I know what you are all going through, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone!

Will O'Ban

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 5:42 pm

A few times, I have actually heard snippets of people who were talking about me at the exact moment. Doesn't make me rich but livens up parlor conversation I reckon (to so state). i think it goes hand-in-hand with being an artiste.

It also goes hand in hand with paranoid schizophrenia. (In my case, anyway.)

I quit playing my first expensive whistle, a Harper, because I was getting some ringing after practice. I make sure I don't sit near a wall if I'm using a loud whistle. That's helped. It's also helpful to play a lower pitched whistle, like a Bb if d whistles aggravate the situation.
Tony

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 5:49 pm

Now I know why Tony enjoys those whistle parties so much!!!

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:23 pm

[quote="TonyHiggins]It also goes hand in hand with paranoid schizophrenia. (In my case, anyway.)
[/quote]

Ours too... :roll:

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The Whistle Helps Deal With Tinnitus

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