Ear problems from music?

S

sleepydad

New member
Hi, I think I have ear problems. I am a person who listens to music completely maxed out on my headphones almost all the time everyday, and I notice that the more I do, the more my ears feel excessively clogged. I saw a specialist and she said that my ears are perfectly fine and healthy. I stopped listening to music sometime in '08 cold turkey, and started again this year, and my ears feel excessively clogged all the time again. They did get clogged during the 2 years that I stopped but it was rare and certainly not as much as they do now and before. From this, I guess its clear that the reason why they get clogged is because of listening to music on max volume and listening to it a heck of a lot each day. I'm wondering though if you think this can get serious if I continue this habit. Also, what does this mean? What is it about music that is making my ears react this way? Any educated studies on this type of thing that you know about, could you please share them or something. I'm not looking for a simple yes or no answer from anyone.

Thanks.
 
Loud noise can/will cause hearing loss with continued exposure.

People working in high decibel areas tend to lose their hearing earlier than normal and there is no turning back.

Hearing aids will help for a while until hearing loss is so great there is no help.

We think we get away with many things in our younger years only for it to come back and haunt us about retirement age.
 
Yeah, it's common among musicians, (and music fans) it's called noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Tinnitus, ringing in the ears, is also common. That muffled, clogged feeling is a sign of damage, which can become permanent over time. Because it develops slowly many people are unaware of their hearing loss.

There's a foundation in the UK, called Don't Lose The Music and in the US there's H.E.A.R, Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers.


http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp
Snippets from this info page explain it this way:

"Scientists believe that, depending on the type of noise, the pure force of vibrations from the noise can cause hearing loss. Recent studies also show that exposure to harmful noise levels triggers the formation of molecules inside the ear that damage hair cells and result in NIHL. These destructive molecules play an important role in hearing loss in children and adults who listen to loud noise for too long" and "What are the symptoms of NIHL?
When a person is exposed to loud noise over a long period of time, symptoms of NIHL will increase gradually. Over time, the sounds a person hears may become distorted or muffled, and it may be difficult for the person to understand speech. Someone with NIHL may not even be aware of the loss, but it can be detected with a hearing test."
 
Ahh, see. I didn't know that. This was the exact type of information I was looking for. Thank you, I really appreciate that. So, since my ears are always clogged, does that mean that I lost hair cells in my ears already? What are the chances of me losing my hearing in the future? By the way, my ears don't ring, they're just really badly clogged all the time. I did feel a small quick sharp pain earlier today though.

Sorry for all the questions. If you're not so sure, it's fine. Thanks again. I should probably do another hearing test soon, and since this seems pretty serious, I'm done with the excessive loud music. I'll just listen to it on a much lower setting, and for shorter periods of time.

Edit: Also, I just wanted to add that the only time I've experienced ringing was after a wedding when lots of extremely loud music was played for a really long time. I still felt that ringing in the morning, actually. So great, that's it. I'm probably going to go deaf soon. I need glasses, braces, and potentially a hearing aid. Why don't I just die instead of going through all this trouble and money to keep me working. Sorry. I know people go through worse and they manage it with their positive attitudes while here I am losing my mind over something that hasn't even happened yet. I know.
 
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