Anyone else have some hearing loss?

[AsturiasFan]

Sudden and prolonged hearing loss created by stopped-up ears can range from scary to downright annoying, especially if you have never experienced it before. Stopped- or plugged-up ears can be caused by a variety of health and environmental sources, and can last from a few hours to several weeks.

Read more: What Causes Stopped-Up Ears? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6904471_causes ... z1d09jPS6J

Plugged ears are usually a mild, temporary problem — most commonly due to allergies or a cold. Often, no treatment is needed. However, if symptoms are severe or last for an extended period, you may want to have the problem evaluated by a doctor.

With plugged ears, your eustachian tubes — the pathways between your middle ears and the back of your nose — become obstructed. As a result, your eardrums can't vibrate normally, so sounds are muffled and you may also have ear pain. You can try to forcibly open your eustachian tubes by taking a deep breath and trying to blow out while pinching your nostrils closed and closing your mouth. If you feel a popping noise, you know you have succeeded.

Plugged ears typically last from a few hours to several weeks — depending on the cause — and usually go away without treatment. When treatment is needed, doctors focus on getting air to flow into the eustachian tubes.

Options for clearing plugged ears include:

Oral decongestants
Nasal spray antihistamines
Topical nasal steroids
Ventilation tubes, in severe cases, to drain fluid and relieve pressure

If your symptoms are severe and last longer than a few weeks, consider seeking care from an otolaryngologist — also known as an ear, nose and throat doctor.

Actually since coffee can constrict blood vessels, coffee could have a role if it restricts blood flow to the ear, a known cause of sudden hearing loss.

From my web search, the fact that my left ear feels plugged or stopped up is a good sign since it is just a temporary cause. The ehow quote is dead on. It's somewhat scary and definitely annoying but thankfully every thing I've read says it should be temporary.

Edit: While up on top of the continental divide my left ear became unplugged and now can hear just as well a before. This indicates a reverse plugging, that the eardrum wasn't vibrating properly since there was too little pressure inside the ear. Normally at high elevations, plugging is caused by too much pressure inside the ear compared to the outside. I never knew that plugging could make the ear completely deaf.

[segoviajr07]

Ive have just come off a spell of measels at this ripe old age.So I laid off music totally for about 3 weeks.I also have tinitas .What I experienced was that my hearing loss on the left ear which is always bad ,improved by at least 20% because off the break from music.I am on pension aged 57 and sometimes lay it on a bit thick by playing 8 hrs a day and try to play every piece of cg music ever written.

If I understand you correctly, I find this hard to believe. The part about electric music, the four piece band making your ears ring etc, I am sure that is spot on. Very loud and consistent exposure has been known to be damaging (ask Pete Townshend). But playing classical guitar, even 8 hours a day, I am sure this has nothing to do with exacerbating current hearing loss. Is that what you are saying? If anything, I have found that using my hearing aid(s) all day, practicing, talking to people in person and on the phone, and listening to recorded music at a sensible volume keeps me in good hearing shape. The "use it or lose it" thing seems to be valid here. I just cannot wrap my mind around practicing classical guitar having anything to do with causing hearing deterioration.

[Joe de V]

Yes, I have "severe" hearing loss and have used the assistance of hearing-aids in my daily life when outdoors or in a large group of people. At home when I practice I do not use them very much because i find the sound from the guitar somewhat distorted. I can stll hear the sound of my play in a quiet environment. The right hearing aid for different stages of deafness is very important. They are expensive but if you find the one that work best to improve your hearing loss it is a worthy investment. I am now 80 and started loosing my hearing a few years back in my late 60's. Considering that today younger generation are starting to loose their hearing in their mid-thirties I consider myself fortunate. Rock musicians are known for needing hearing aids in their twenties!

[Chrisss]

I have tinnitus and my ears get easíly tired. I'm a bit hypersensitive to sounds also, though it have been improving since I got the tinnitus about 2½ years ago and I'm not as sensitive anymore.

Does anyone play with earplugs specially made for musicians or maybe play with guitars that produce a lower dB level?

Couldn't find a more recent thread on the subject.

[SteveGangi]

I have hearing loss at the high frequencies/pitches. It has the effect of making it hard to hear and understand someone when there is a lot of background noise.

[BlueNo]

Yep, sign me up too. Runs in the family, and started with "plugged ears", often associated with Meniere's and other labyrinthitis syndromes, I'm told by my ENT doc. Mine is, as many of us, progressive and I take heart from one post suggesting that cochlear implants may be compatible with CG. Avoid stimulants/decongestants, whatever you read on this post until you know what you're dealing with, you can make it worse if it's small vessel disease.

Getting a better guitar, and enhancing the player experience with a sound port helped me an enormous amount, whatever the sound port nay sayers in the group feel. But I'd try one out before getting the power drill and Forstners out! Or a port cover so you have the option. I find cedar less irritating to the hyperacusis, I think they call it, than spruce, tho I can't rule out it's not just the quality of sound elicited by the luthier.

Blue

"hear today, gone tomorrow..."

[kervoas]

I have tinnitus and a reduction in hearing higher frequencies following a viral infection around 10 years ago, but I find that after playing for a few minutes I often forget about it completely.

[segoviajr07]

Here is a new solution that I have hit on. It is fairly inexpensive and I am liking the sound of it. Google the product names to find these on line.

Start with these ear buds:
Etymotic Research HF5 Portable In-Ear Earphones
They must fit properly and go deeply into the ear canal. They come with three different covers, but I may splurge and get the custom fit, just like hearing aid molds.

Then you can either use your iPhone or iPad and a mic like this one:
TASCAM iM2 Channel Portable Digital Microphone

and an app like this:
soundAMP R By Ginger Labs

The sound of the guitar is amplified, considerably, enough so that I can hear it very well without hearing aids. For most of you with just a mild loss, at just a small uptick of amplification you will hear your guitar way better than since your hearing deteriorated.

Or you can cheap out and buy this thing:
Radio Shack Amplified Stereo Listener With 3-Band Equalizer Model: 33-1097, use the earbuds I mention above with this. Don't expect this to sound good with cheapo headphones, like the ones that came with your iPod.

Its about $40 and a lot more elegant than the iPhone/app solution but doesn't sound quite as good. I have an older model and may upgrade.

The key is to get the high end earbuds, not headphones, the set I cite above is really good, and MOST important, they have to fit tightly.

Then put the iPhone+Mic or the Radio Shack amp (has built in mic) on your music stand and experiment with how the guitar sounds. Be VERY careful that you don't start out too loud!

If anyone else tries this, please reply here, I am curious to see what others think. Total cost of this set up is under US $150 and may change your musical life.

[Bailey]

At home when I practice I do not use them very much because i find the sound from the guitar somewhat distorted. I can stll hear the sound of my play in a quiet environment.

I do the same. My hearing loss is all at the higher frequencies (the so called "ski jump" hearing loss pattern) and with my hearing aids in (CIC), the treble sound on almost any guitar is way too bright and not balanced for me. So, I play without them and things are OK for me all the way up to the top of the fret board on the high E string.

Bailey

[60moo]

...I laid off music totally for about 3 weeks...I also have tinitas...What I experienced was that my hearing loss on the left ear which is always bad ,improved by at least 20% because off the break from music.

If I understand you correctly, I find this hard to believe...playing classical guitar, even 8 hours a day, I am sure this has nothing to do with exacerbating current hearing loss. Is that what you are saying?

Well, one had better believe it. I too have tinnitus, progressive otosclerosis and nerve-related hearing damage (sitting on stage playing through 100 watt amplifiers as a youth is my huge regret).

This has resulted in my hearing having become highly sensitised, where any noise louder than ambient room level, sustained for any reasonable time, will lead to temporary hearing loss or attenuation. The rumble from driving a car, the rush of water from a shower rose, the playing of a classical guitar for 30 minutes - yes, it's that bad. Stuffing the ears with cotton wool solves the problem, but makes playing the instrument no longer enjoyable

[segoviajr07]

At home when I practice I do not use them very much because i find the sound from the guitar somewhat distorted. I can stll hear the sound of my play in a quiet environment.

I do the same. My hearing loss is all at the higher frequencies (the so called "ski jump" hearing loss pattern) and with my hearing aids in (CIC), the treble sound on almost any guitar is way too bright and not balanced for me. So, I play without them and things are OK for me all the way up to the top of the fret board on the high E string.

Bailey

FWIW, my aids have a music program which I have tuned very precisely. Its less trebly then a typical program for conversation. All the fancy stuff (block feedback, block wind sounds, automatically change mic settings based on an assessment of current listening situation/room) are turned OFF. I have to manually switch to this music program but its well worth it. I cannot hear the guitar well enough without some type of amplification.

[segoviajr07]

...I laid off music totally for about 3 weeks...I also have tinitas...What I experienced was that my hearing loss on the left ear which is always bad ,improved by at least 20% because off the break from music.

If I understand you correctly, I find this hard to believe...playing classical guitar, even 8 hours a day, I am sure this has nothing to do with exacerbating current hearing loss. Is that what you are saying?

Well, one had better believe it. I too have tinnitus, progressive otosclerosis and nerve-related hearing damage (sitting on stage playing through 100 watt amplifiers as a youth is my huge regret).

This has resulted in my hearing having become highly sensitised, where any noise louder than ambient room level, sustained for any reasonable time, will lead to temporary hearing loss or attenuation. The rumble from driving a car, the rush of water from a shower rose, the playing of a classical guitar for 30 minutes - yes, it's that bad. Stuffing the ears with cotton wool solves the problem, but makes playing the instrument no longer enjoyable

Well I stand corrected! First I heard of this phenomenon and you have my condolences!

[60moo]

Well I stand corrected! First I heard of this phenomenon and you have my condolences!

Thank you, Charles (things could be much worse!) -and I must add that your playing is a real inspiration to me .

[Charlie Schultz]

I've had hearing aids for just over a week now. I really have no idea what my hearing used to be (it's been ~25 years), so I'm told it will take a while to get used to them. The most obvious thing is that every string I play buzzes (even open strings!). And playing duets (with Remmus) is certainly different. I go back to the audiologist Friday for a check and presumably some adjustments, but they say it may take 4-6 weeks to get used to them. On the plus side, with the use of a "necklace" I can stream bluetooth music to my hearing aids and nobody can tell

[segoviajr07]

Charlie, tell the audiologist to make you a music program and be absolutely certain that all auto-switching and ESPECIALLY the anti-feedback setting (sometimes called WhistleBlock, depends on the company making the aid) is OFF in that program. That may very well be what that buzzing is. If so, you will never get used to it and it will drive you insane!

Once you have that, you can manually switch between the regular, basically speech-only, program and the music program. Life will be much better.