Anyone with tinnitus or hearing loss who is into "high-end" audio?


Over the last few years I have developed tinnitus and also have some hearing issues.  I am a long time music and audio fanatic.  Years ago I built my own Hafler amp.  Before that I had a great AR system.  Presently, I have, what I believe, is a pretty nice system in a dedicated listening room (about 60,000.00).  My question is if there are others of you out there in similar situations concerning your hearing issues as they relate to your love and reproduction of great sounding music?  What are your experiences? Have you found anything that helps and do you have any advice? I would venture to say that we all experience some degree of hearing loss, or hearing anomalies as we age...whether we realize it or not.  Thanks, Jim 
pfeiffer
I had minor tinnitus and it went away completely after I began taking vitamin D supplements. It could be coincidence but nothing else regarding my health routine was altered.

Best of luck.
I have the same issues as @prof . My tinnitus waxes and wanes but usually doesn't interfere with a listening session. It can be distracting since there are high frequency sounds happening from different directions.

I have Hyperacusis as well; high frequencies can cause stabbing head pain. When it flairs up, I'll start skipping through the Qobuz library until I can find some tolerable music. Sometimes I'll have to stop my listening session.
Both conditions happened as a result of a virus.

 
Interesting thread.  For the first time ever, I started listening to freq sweeps about a month ago.  I was pretty shocked by the results.  I have sensitivity to frequencies around 2400, 4800, 10000 and no hearing above about 15000.  My right ear drops out for the most part between 5800-7000.  I wonder if that dropout is due to my dj’ing years since my right ear was always used to cue the next track.

I have slight tinnitus which has oddly increased over the past two weeks (maybe not so odd after reading other posts in this thread).  I’ve been on prescribed oxy, aspirin, Tylenol, vitamin c and vitamin d the past 2 weeks due to a broken leg.

So I guess I would have to say that my hearing isn’t quite as good as I thought it was but I have learned how to be a better listener over the years through my audiophile experiences.

None of this detracts from the enjoyment that I get out of music.

Put on some good headphones and google frequency sweep or tone generators.  You might be surprised by how bad your hearing is.  On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t...
I have had tinnitus for years which manifests as a high pitched constant tone. It actually sounds more like white noise. Like others have stated it varies in intensity. I won't allow it to impact my musical enjoyment however. I often wondered, if you could just generate a signal 180 degrees out of phase with the tinnitus frequency, would that cancel it out? The current thinking is that tinnitus is a result of hearing loss at a specific frequency and the brain's attempt to restore that frequency manifesting itself as an audible sound. I simply asked my wife the PhD for that description.
I'm glad you made this post, and feel enlightened as to how many listeners are experiencing this.  I have had significant tinnitus and hearing loss in one ear for over twenty years (the other ear is going strong).  It was a radical paradigm shift: My initial response was increased anxiety and agitation at having a constant array of noises, swooshes, clicks, etc.  That goes away as you become accustomed to it.  Do what your doctor says, in order to minimize future changes in your hearing.   Unless they tell you to give up alcohol and caffeine.  In that case, nod your head and ignore them.

The biggest impact on my life has to do with human speech.  I avoid certain loud environments, because background noise interferes with my ability to decipher speech. 

A much rarer issue is bouts of vertigo which come every 5 years or so.  Those are debilitating, but only last for 24 hours.

As an audiophile, I would say the pros/cons are that I can't hear the noise floor of my system.  That saves a lot of money right there.  I can get by with $15,000 instead of $50,000.  I still perceive imaging, but it is noticeably weighted to one side; still there and beautiful, but different.  However, one ear functions perfectly, and I still have no tolerance for crappy equipment.  I really, really enjoy full range speakers, regardless of one side of my head being wonky.