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Comment by Twirrim | Hacker News Reader

> "My message is not to learn to live with that beep, but to train your brain to classify that sound as harmless, allowing you to forget about it"

This is essentially what I do. I've had it tinnitus for some 20 years now. Both ears, a constant high pitched ringing.

Most of the time I honestly don't notice it, even in quiet rooms. As soon as something reminds me about it, or I'm trying to listen for something quiet, or certain high pitch sounds go off (my least favourite is flashbang like effects on TV or in games), it'll come back with a vengeance. So e.g right now because I saw this HN post, it's feeling especially loud.

It'll probably be about an hour before I'll forget to think about it (for want of a better description), and I go back to not noticing it.

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Exactly the same for me. I’ve had it for as long as I remember and chalk it up to going to too many punk rock shows as an angsty teen (and never wore ear plugs because I was “too cool”).

It’s always there for me but I usually forget about it and only notice it when something draws my attention to it.

According to an app I’ve used on my phone (Mimi Hearing Test), I have about 14db HL in each ear.

Somewhat related, but I just cannot follow conversations in a noisy environment, like a pub. All the background noise and chatter just washes out the voices of people I’m around.

Anyway, I now bring earplugs every time I go to a show.

> chalk it up to going to too many punk rock shows as an angsty teen (and never wore ear plugs because I was “too cool”).

The invulnerability of youth.

I used to do sound / PA stuff for live bands for some local events for older teens. One time we realised the kick drum was moving towards the edge of the platform it was on, with every kick. Dumbass that I was, a ran on stage with my trusty roll of duck tape, but without ear protection, and proceeded to duck tape the kick drum legs to the stage to provide extra resistance to movement. While the band was playing. I'd had a little bit of tinnitus before then, but that particular incident made it much worse, unsurprisingly enough.

Same for me, yup. Wasn't paying attention to it and... I did the dumb thing and read these comments. Oh well.

As for the loud show thing I was already wearing ear plugs back in 1980, never got into the blasting the speakers/headphones, and now I have both significant high frequency hearing attenuation and a 25 year old case of nicely balanced tinnitus. Oh well.

Same for me. I’ve had mine my whole life probably due to ear infections as an infant.

As a small silver lining, my tinnitus now serves as an audible “alarm system”: too much stress in my life? Drank too much coffee? Overdoing it at the gym? All of these will raise the ringing volume and signal me to make changes.

I think my tinnitus is so easy to ignore because it's perfectly even and at extremely high frequencies I probably can't even hear any more. Which is what I assume the cause is.

Honestly I didn't think I had real tinnitus because I don't notice it for more than a moment for weeks at a time, at least not enough to be bothered, although I've have it as long as I can remember. It's not all that loud, but after concentrating on it for a while it's been there constantly and consciously for a good 10min already and it's not going away!

This is my experience, too. Also, probably for similar reasons, my tinnitus comes back into my awareness when I get very tired or sick.

The very first time I noticed it at all was during a bout of the flu.

Same here. Your reply sounds like I could have written it. Until I started reading this thread, I don't remember when the last time I noticed my tinnitus was. Maybe a week or two ago I noticed it and just thought "oh right" and went back to ignoring it.

I'm in a similar boat. Generally it is background noise until it isn't and then it is a REAL drag. If I am ill or stressed or both it can flare up and then I'm in for a few days of utter suffering.

Or talking about it, so now I'm very aware of my tinnitus again. Oops!

Forgot to mention that, but: same here. Both ears, multiple rather clean tones (i.e. sine waves) n both ears, different tones per ear. I always assumed I was 'lucky' to get it even before puberty when the brain is more plastic still, so learned to ignore it. Stress and other things can bring it back though.

> So e.g right now because I saw this HN post, it's feeling especially loud.

Exactly..

Yeah--I've had tinnitus for at least 13 years now. No idea when it started because it sounds enough like cicadas that it flew under the radar for an unknown period. I first became aware of it one day when I realized "hey, this isn't cicada season, this isn't cicada country". I grew up in cicada country and learned to tune them out.

Fellow cicada blamer here....no cicadas on airplanes.

Same, I have had tinnitus since a child. The more you focus on it, the worst it gets. Best to accept that you have it and once you do the issues goes away (mostly), I still wake up sometimes noticing it, but it goes away.

I think this is a good approach to many mental & physical ailments, however it is easier said than done.

Meditation helps with this. Befriend the tinnitus. It is easy to let go of something for which you have only equanimity.

Same here. But when I’m sick with a cold or flu it’s amplified a lot. It bothers me alot when I’m sick.

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