CDP caused tinnitus?

I sometimes noticed a definate "tinnitus effect" when listening to my system. Aside from the fact that I am getting older, I believe this ocassional experience of high frequency ringing may manifest from the superior playback ability of high-end equipment, thus perhaps revealing mastering errors. For example, I have the new B&W 802D's that, with the diamond tweeters, register way beyond "normal" human hearing in the high frequency range... and I have an excellent Wadia CD player also. I especially notice this with certain jazz piano music, especially when accompanied by delicate brushed cymbals, i.e.,in jazz trios. It almost sounds like a cell phone is quietly ringing in another room. This phemomena does not happen on all my CD's but only on some which leads me to my above opinion concerning mastering issues.

I highly doubt the tinnitus was caused by any electronic device/playback, but as previously suggested, may be aggravated by certain frequencies. I know, as I had tinnitus for years until I discovered the cause (acoustic neuroma)and got treatment. As someone else suggested, do go get it checked out. It's probably nothing, but sometimes it could be a sign of something more serious, and the earlier you treat it the better off you are, especially if you are an audiophile and love music. Trust me, I lost roughly 255-30% of my hearing in right ear (and thats lucky) because I waited several years to get checked.

Jeffkad,

What is "acoustic neuroma", and what was the treatment?

Rob

I've been watching this thread with interest, as I'm a tinnitus sufferer myself. I do think a new digital source or DAC would be likely to help; in a situation very similar to yours, it did for me. I still can't listen to my iPod at even low volumes (using AIFF files and AKG K501s) because of the experience you describe, but I can now listen comfortably through my speakers and headphones--and at higher volumes than before--using a Sony Playstation One. The Playstation aside--it's all I could afford to experiment with, and it's good enough I'm sticking with it for a while--I've since also listened to a number of other highly resolving digital systems I _loved_, with no tinnitus aftershock.

Tinnitus can be temporarily exacerbated by a lot of things--from music to coffee to alcohol--but Ckoffend is right: it happens when the tiny hairs in your inner ear that convey the highest frequencies are permanently flattened over, and a "detailed" CDP or system that emphasizes--or overemphasizes--those frequencies is going to hit them harder. For me, I find myself gravitating toward--and saving for--gear that is a little gentler in its presentation. For example, I'm now looking forward to swapping my K501s for a pair of Sennheiser HD600s, which I heard last weekend at Lyric Hi Fi through an Antique Sound Lab headphone amp with a Pioneer Elite DVD as the source: THAT's the sound I'm looking for, and I didn't feel it lost anything in terms of resolution. I could have listened for hours. Good luck with the medical and audiophile aspects of this.

Acoustic neuroma is benign brain stem tumor. It grows slowly, sometimes over decades, with symptoms ranging from tinnitus to gradual/complete hearing loss to balance problems to facial nerve spasms or weakness. The tumor rests on a block of nerves that include auditory, balance and trigeminal (facial) nerves. Although it probably won't kill you, if it grows large, it can certainly mess you up. There are two treatment options: surgery and radiation. There are two very distinct schools of thought on each, and doctors who specialize in either will push their specialty and denegrate the other. I chose radiation treatments (mild, no nausea or hair loss or stuff like that)at Johns Hopkins and, knock on wood, 5 yrs later, I'm doing great, and only lost some of my hearing and can still enjoy my audiophile habit. Sorry to go off topic, but if it helps anyone, I'm glad to help. Jeff