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’m 65 and have tinnitus in both ears, a higher pitched tone all of the time. I have a vintage stereo system and listen almost daily. I refuse to let it interfere with my enjoyment of music. 
If it can be of use I found one exercise that I use before listening and usually before bed as the tinnitus will prevent me from falling asleep. I have no affiliation with this YouTube video or the Dr. but it worked for me. I do the exercise before listening and it will quiet the tinnitus for awhile ( varies in length ). Looking at the video comments and with most things YMMV.
Search a YouTube for “Stop Tinnitus: Quiet Your Brain With Your Hands - (Discovered by Dr. Alan Mandell, DC)

Good luck, enjoy your music.


Got tinnitus some 5-6 years ago, like someone walking over gravel, fluctuating with my heart beat...up to the level that I had sometimes problems falling asleep...however that never kept me away from enjoying music, in fact I continued to invest a considerable amount of money to get the equipment I deemed necessary to achieve the level of reproduction I was aiming for. Strange enough, one day in the early morning when going to work I realized that my tinnitus was gone, I mean totally gone, scary silent... no particular reasons, no medication. I was so happy with that little miracle... however, unfortunately, last year it started to come back again, but this time just a high whistle, although luckily not as bad as before, can live with this very well. Have serious hearing loss in my left ear as well. Yet I'm very well able to identify slight differences in sound like using different cables, like amplifier upgrades and so on. All I'm saying is don't let tinnitus spoil your listening experience too much (if at all). You may play a little louder, or let your brain do the job by focussing on an all other sounds except for the tinnitus generated frequencies. Currently being 63 years young, left ear limited to 11K Hz, right ear 14K Hz. Yet, I'm very well able to hear if a tweeter works properly or not. I hope that basically I get another 7-8 years or so to be able to enjoy the music, after that I will certainly scale down, simplify everything, so that when I'm gone, my children don't have to deal with moving some 1500 - 2000 kg of equipment around. :) On a different note, my tinnitus is more profound in my left ear, and after having read the above, it seems that a lot of people seem to experience the same. 
I have tinnitus. I went to see a loud Japanese band (Acid Mother's Temple) and afterwards the ringing didn't go away. I have been seeing bands since the late 70's and saw an awful lot of punk, industrial and free jazz concerts in small clubs. Worked in the basement of a hospital for years under the ventilation system. I took a hearing test and it was awful when was in the booth where I could hear how loud it was. I nearly cried. However I could hear into the noise fine and they said that my hearing was consistent with my age. I am sensitive to sounds like ambulances and such. I know this can get worse so I quit going to live music. I only go to the opera. I quit audio for a long time. This year I set my system back up but after I listen for awhile my tinnitus kicks up and gets louder.  I've been looking into equalizer or tone control possibilities. I hadn't though too much about ibuprofen or caffeine but should look into changing some of those habits. The hospital didn't offer much in the way of guidance, but I probably should go to a specialist.
So I'm 74 during the day I am not aware of the tinnitus (white noise)sort of a low grade hum sounds almost electrical in nature. However, when I listen to music at any level that humm becomes a bit louder so much so I thought it was coming from my gear ( my system is dead silent at all listening levels just music is audible), that is until I turn my gear off and the buzz remains. Getting old sucks. I am doing nothing about it sadly I have bigger fish to fry.  
@scott22
In layman’s terms, the reason it seems louder when you are playing music is because the tinnitus is "competing" with the music. Sadly, there is no cure, but sound enrichment (maskers) can help with coping. Also, benzodiazepines can help with tinnitus induced anxiety.