Can't handle total silence

[Magna]

I've never experienced actual silence because I've had tinnitus all of my life. I think you mean being in a soundless (external sound) environment, @HeroOfHyrule so I do know what you're saying. I take preserving the hearing I have left seriously because I know that if I were to go deaf in my life, the ONLY sound I'll hear for the remainder of my days is the ringing. That would suck very much to say the least.

 

[tree]

I have never tried sound canceling headphones for tinnitus. I also got my tinnitus from having near-constant ear infections throughout my life, so it's come with hearing damage that I've acquired.

Did your eardrums rupture?

 

[Progster]

I'm ok with silence - though I doubt such a thing as total silence exists while living in your human body, with your breathing, heart pumping and blood circulating around your body. It is said that most people can't bear to stay long in sound-proofed chambers, up to about 45 mins max, because the total lack of sound gets to them and makes it unbearable.

 

[Hylian]

Did your eardrums rupture?

I don't think that my eardrums ever ruptured, but I have gotten really, really bad middle/inner ear infections throughout my life, which have progressively damaged my hearing and given me tinnitus.

 

[MadFit]

I don't think that my eardrums ever ruptured, but I have gotten really, really bad middle/inner ear infections throughout my life, which have progressively damaged my hearing and given me tinnitus.

Thinking about it, my tinnitus actually occurs when I’ve recently been listening to loud music a lot. Reducing that helps.

 

[tree]

I don't think that my eardrums ever ruptured, but I have gotten really, really bad middle/inner ear infections throughout my life, which have progressively damaged my hearing and given me tinnitus.

I think you'd know if your eardrum(s) broke.
It's a pretty sensational experience.

I have had this happen 3 times.
The last time (9 years ago) was the beginning of constant 'ringing in the ears.'

Ear bled for a week.
And I couldn't read, for awhile.

Spoiler: example

Example:

A, B
C, D.

Normally reading that would mean I'd say "A, B," then "C, D."
But for a couple weeks after the 3rd break, I couldn't do that.
Instead I'd say "A, D," then "C, B."

 

[MadFit]

I am the same .I desire silence all the time. All my writing of music is done in my mind first. Even playing in bands gives me headaches sometimes because all the horrible overtone frequencies.

I also struggle with treble (which means high frequencies). Gives me a really bad headache and earache

 

[MadFit]

I think you'd know if your eardrum(s) broke.
It's a pretty sensational experience.

I have had this happen 3 times.
The last time (9 years ago) was the beginning of constant 'ringing in the ears.'

Ear bled for a week.
And I couldn't read, for awhile.

Spoiler: example

Example:

A, B
C, D.

Normally reading that would mean I'd say "A, B," then "C, D."
But for a couple weeks after the 3rd break, I couldn't do that.
Instead I'd say "A, D," then "C, B."

Oh gosh! Wow, that’s interesting!

However I do think that what Hyrule is referring to is gradual hearing damage as opposed to the sudden nreakage of eardrums

 

[Hylian]

I think you'd know if your eardrum(s) broke.
It's a pretty sensational experience.

I have had this happen 3 times.
The last time (9 years ago) was the beginning of constant 'ringing in the ears.'

Ear bled for a week.
And I couldn't read, for awhile.

Spoiler: example

Example:

A, B
C, D.

Normally reading that would mean I'd say "A, B," then "C, D."
But for a couple week after the 3rd break, I couldn't do that.
Instead I'd say "A, D," then "C, B."

Yeah, I've heard that it hurts really bad. I may have had it happen when I was a child, but never as an adult. It almost happened a year or two ago though when I couldn't clear the fluid in my ear and pressure kept building.

 

[MadFit]

@tree is the breaking of an ear-drum temporary or does it lead to permanent hearing loss?

 

[tree]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ruptured-eardrum/symptoms-causes/syc-20351879
https://coastal-ent.com/posts/ear/how-do-i-know-if-my-eardrum-is-ruptured/

 

[Sunny1]

Do noise canceling headphones with just the noise canceling feature on do anything for tinnitus?

EDIT: not trying to make suggestions, just curious. It sounds like a very frustrating condition.

I have Bose and at the highest noise-cancelling setting I still have the tinnitus.

 

[Judge]

I have Bose and at the highest noise-cancelling setting I still have the tinnitus.

I always thought the Bose Quiet Comfort technology addressed only external sounds it can actually detect and subsequently counter. Conversely I doubt such technology "hears" any sounds or ringing coming from within our brain.

 

[Outdated]

I can't find it now but I read an excerpt of a book about Charles Darwin. In Africa he got a beetle in his ear, and out of desperation he used a stick to crush the beetle. The beetle carcass rotted in his ear and ruptured the ear drum. The excerpt I read was about the soldiers trying to keep straight faces when he blew his nose because it made his ear whistle.