A Music Lover’s Guide to Tinnitus

Music is life for many people out there. That is just a fact. Music helps people relax, it helps people get in touch with themselves, and it helps people have fun. All these things are even more applicable to musicians themselves. Music is a way for people to express their emotions when simple words just are not enough. Now, if you add tinnitus into the equation, it can make the life of a music lover or musician very difficult.

Tinnitus is that annoying ringing sound in the ears, something which doesn’t fit too well with music of any sort. However, the bottom line is that many people who love music, especially those who create it and play concerts, tend to suffer from tinnitus. Whichever way you put it, this is not an easy thing to deal with. We’re here today doing a music lover’s guide to tinnitus. We want to talk about everything under the stars related to the topic of tinnitus and music, so let’s get right to it.

Musicians and Tinnitus

You probably know that loud noises can cause tinnitus. This is a bigger problem for musicians and music lovers than most would like to admit. It is one thing to be an avid listener of music, because preventing tinnitus from developing can be as simple as just turning the volume down and making sure that the music is not too loud.

However, this is a different story for musicians. The fact of the matter is that a large percentage of musicians suffer from tinnitus when compared to people who don’t create music, especially those who play shows next to those ultra-loud speakers. The longer musicians perform in these shows, the greater their chances of developing some form of tinnitus.

There are a lot of musicians out there, both dead and alive, who have documented cases of tinnitus. Their loud music has had a negative effect on hearing. Some musicians who suffer from tinnitus include Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Young, Will.i.am, Bob Dylan, Trent Reznor, and many others; this is just a small list of musicians who have it.It has been shown that people or bands who play heavy rock and metal music are at great risk for developing tinnitus and it is usually always caused by being in a close vicinity to loud sounds without proper hearing protection.

How Music Lovers Can Prevent Tinnitus

The sad thing about this whole topic is that many feel that music is at its best when it is loud; there is just no denying that. Quiet music is just not the same as when you can listen to it at a very loud volume. It is a safe bet to assume that most people feel this way. This is, of course, detrimental when it comes to hearing, especially over time.

Loud music over time will almost certainly result in the development of tinnitus if proper hearing protection is not used. The point here is that you can still enjoy your music. You don’t have to listen to it so quiet that you can’t understand the words, but nonetheless, you do need to be mindful of the volume. When it comes to musicians, the only real preventative measure to take is to wear high-quality hearing protection.

You can’t be in front of massive speakers all day long and expect there to be zero consequences. If you want to continue listening to music, and even better, playing music, you need to be cautious. Wear ear protection and try not to have speakers facing your way. These are not surefire ways for music lovers to prevent tinnitus, but it is a good start.

How to Enjoy Music with Tinnitus

One of the first things that we need to stress is that if you have tinnitus and you suffer from ringing in your ears, the way to enjoy music is not to pump up the volume. It seems obvious that if you suffer from tinnitus, you should not listen to more loud sounds, because obviously it will make things worse.

However, people often feel that it is appropriate to just turn the volume up in order to tune out that buzzing sound. Yet, this is only going to make things worse. Sure, you might be able to hear the music better for the time being with the volume turned up to the max, but it will only make the ringing noises worse after you are done.

There might be other underlying causes of your tinnitus other than loud noise; it can be caused by anything from physical damage and mental ailments to disease, medication, and compacted ear wax. If you can treat the underlying cause of your tinnitus, you might be able to listen to music normally.

However, if treating the tinnitus is not working and you still want to listen to music, you might just have to deal with it. Yes, there are things like cochlear implants, surgery, meditation, relaxation techniques, and sound therapy that can help. However, the bottom line is that if you have tinnitus and want to listen to music, you are going to have to find a way to deal with it.

Simply put, there might not be a way to get rid of the ringing noise no matter what. Therefore, you should find a mental state where you can tune out the ringing noise and listen to the music. We would recommend seeing a therapist, a tinnitus specialist, and going to group meetings for tinnitus sufferers.

Everyone is different, but with some help and assistance, you might be able to find a good way to relax and find a mental state that will allow you to listen to music without being disturbed too severely by the ringing. We would also recommend engaging in some tinnitus sound and music therapy. There are many different kinds and they can help.

Conclusion

When it comes to music and tinnitus, nobody said that it is going to be easy. Yet, if you find the right way to relax and tune out that noise, you might be able to find a way to enjoy your music once again.