[kj] OT: MAKE IT STOP!

[death wish]

Hey Alex (and Stephane), sorry to hear of your ongoing woes - As I believe 
I've mentioned here before, I've had tinnitus for 20 years and wouldn't wish 
it on anyone.

I tried acupuncture about 10 years ago. I only went once, and there didn't 
seem to be any effect. I'm sure practitioners would say you've gotta go for 
a half-year or something.... I've heard Ginko Bilboa can alleviate symptoms, 
but not for me. Those noise-cancelling devices sound interesting, but I 
think with tinnitis, it's very hard to pinpoint exactly what's going on. A 
hundred people could have very different things going on with their hearing, 
and they could all have tinnitus.

I had my hearing checked last year and was happy to learn that although 
tinnitis is connected to hearing loss, it isn't necessarily an indicator. My 
hearing tested at the high-end of normal, which suits me fine, and makes me 
much less stressed about the ringing than I used to be. Diet and stress are 
factors. Caffeine and aspirin are common complicators.

I rarely go to live shows, and if I do, I've got earplugs in and I'm at the 
back of the venue. I just looked into getting "musicians earplugs" and in 
Toronto you can get a custom-made pair for $190, which seems like a small 
price to pay.

I got an mp3 player about a year and a half ago, and also noticed my ringing 
getting worse, so I've set strict rules on the volume I'll listen to it at. 
My player displays a volume number, so it's easy to keep track. There are a 
lot of places I don't even bother using it, since the sound of the subway or 
street can be pretty loud to start with.

I found playing soft radio static would mask the particular sound I was 
hearing, and in the first few years, that really helped me sleep. I think 
the mind eventually adjusts so it's not as irritating as it is initially.

T.





>From: Alex Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: Alex Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net>,"A list about all things 
>Killing Joke (the band!)"<gathering at misera.net>
>To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" 
><gathering at misera.net>, "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" 
><gathering at misera.net>
>Subject: [kj] OT: MAKE IT STOP!
>Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 11:16:12 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Hey gang,....
>
>As many of you Gathering oldsters might remember from my whiney e-mails 
>back in the day, I developed Tinnitus in my right ear back in October of 
>1999. In the ensuing years, the persistent ringing more or less 
>levelled-off (this after a two-year moratorium on headphones). In the last 
>month, however, the ringing has inexplicably increased in volume and 
>annoyance. I don't know if it's my diet or work-related stress or the time 
>of year or being irresponsile with my iPod (that's probably it right 
>there), but it's a bit worse than it has been.
>
>I was wondering if anyone out there in Gatheringland similarly suffers from 
>Tinnitus and, if so, what are you doing about it? I'm seriously looking 
>into trying accupuncture. It has a somewhat dubious track record of success 
>in Tinnitus treatment, but if sticking needles in my head has a chance of 
>liberating me from the demonic gremlin with an air-horn who lives in my 
>head, I'm all fucking for it.
>
>Anyone?
>
>Alex in NYC


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