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 have mild tinnitus and high-frequency hearing loss in both ears.   Probably from too many concerts too close to the stacks...

I can still hear differences in equipment and music presentation.   I’m sure I’m not hearing everything, but I can hear enough.   So what.   I hear what I hear and that’s good enough for me.   This isn’t a contest.   When I hear differences that I assess as an improvement that’s great.   If I can’t hear any difference it doesn’t matter.

Trust your ears, not other people’s ears.    If you hear a difference and it matters to you, good.   If not, just think of the money you’ll save!
I’ve had moderate tinnitus for 20 years due to acoustic trauma (loud machinery and concerts). It came on suddenly and I stopped listening to music for about 3 years. I also have some high frequency hearing loss. Over time I habituated to the tinnitus and most of the time I am not aware of it. I enjoy my system very much and listen almost every day. I have custom molded earplugs that I use in loud environments. I will probably need hearing aids at some point in the future. When the tinnitus is bothersome I use a masking device like this:
https://generalhearing.com/consumer/tinnitus-products/tranquil-i/tranquil-i-ric/
@falconquest
"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."   

Exactly right.
The treatment for tinnitus,I give some explains ,that make you feel better after a while: take vitamines A and B and acetylcysteine. vit.A: gives you better vigilance. Vit.B:awakens the nervous system. Gives better contact from one nervesynapse to another. NAC:drains mucus that is also present in the auditory system. Have a good hi-fi - (high-end) system dat delivers natural sound.:a good balance between hig,mid,and low. Don’t use extra sub-woofer(s). Don’t put your music to loud..Look for silence at certain moments.Tinnitus, you can only soften it , but it can be worth it. Have nice music-moments:enjoy it!
Hi all,
I have a strange  story. I’ve had tinnitus from a left ear infection at age 25 which gave me a 4K hertz notch. Not too bad, I can detect soundstage...only noticed it when it’s quiet. Left ear was basically 90%. I’m 53 now and this past December while waiting for my first tube amp, my left ear started picking up a lot of bass for about a week and then all the low tones collapsed...completely disappeared. It was heartbreaking as I could not detect soundstage and had trouble focusing on who said what in a small group conversation. Left ear was at 30%...super depressing.

I live near the Keck/USC hospital and they have a decent otolaryngology department. Got checked out, all sorts of audio/speech/bone test...steroid injection through the ear drum and oral prednisone. Nothing. I was told by the doctor that that was all they could do. Hearing sensitivity would change daily. Sometimes 30%...sometimes 20%. If I plugged my right ear I could hear only tones...mumbling.

My younger brother was staying with my wife and I over a two week period in January and was studying to become a naturopath. He studied theology in seminary school and has a masters in music but decided to follow his new passion. A case study patient of his had dropped out and he needed to fill a spot so I said what the heck.
It required a commitment to not having coffee and certain supplements for 3 years. I asked if this could bring back my hearing. He believed it could. So I agreed to give it a try while not hoping for much. 
Over the next 3 days he asked a lot of questions. Each session lasted about 30+ minutes...questions about my entire physical/medical history going back as far as I could remember. ‘Am I generally a thirsty person...do I prefer ice water vs room temperature’...do I generally feel cold...types of food I seek out etc., etc..

He mentioned that the ‘remedy’ was akin to a silver bullet approach to addressing the root cause and that I would have substantial physical reaction. He said I would definitely know when it happened and that it’s simply the body kick-starting itself to recover.

My remedy was Lycopodium (green moss). Another person with the same symptoms might need a completely different remedy due to their history. The dose was a single teaspoon of a diluted solution in distilled water. 
I got an mild upset stomach that evening but nothing happed for two weeks. More questions. A week later...a bigger dose and another upset stomach but nothing for two weeks. My brother was perplexed and decided to consult with his teacher...but next day (Sunday) I felt extremely tired and took a nap. Woke up with vertigo. Went back to lie down and started feeling ill. I threw up violently and stumbled back to bed. This was at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis so I avoided going to work on Monday as a precaution even though I felt completely fine. I decided to go back to work Tuesday. Got in my truck and it sounded funny. It’s a 2020 Tacoma...should be perfect. Got to work and realized my hearing was at 70%.

And I felt really good...like 15 years younger. No hyperbole. Tinnitus was extremely faint. Also my eczema was gone and I was no longer constantly clearing my throat. This is difficult to explain but I felt unusually well-balanced. I would usually get up from bed in the middle of the night and stumble to the bathroom. Now I could get up as if I was wide awake and perfectly balanced. It almost felt unnatural. So this is was 53 was supposed to feel like.

Unfortunately, this lasted for 3 months. 3 months of holographic soundstage from my stereo...3 months of a left ear that was at 70% was more than I ever imagined. But the tinnitus slowly came back. The hollowness in my left ear grew stronger. Now I’m back at 30%. 
So now I’m back on the Lycopodium. But it gave me hope that there is more to our bodies’ ability to recover than we know.

I feel that listening to music makes me feel better. I still do enjoy it. My ability to lock onto timbre and and nuance is still there. I’m going to remain hopeful for now. I’m going to try everything.