9 ms·
I really wish someone was working to solve the problem of tinnitus. Would it be possible to generate anti phase wave out of these things to cancel out tinnitus?
by _fs 10y ago
I really wish someone was working to solve the problem of tinnitus. Would it be possible to generate anti phase wave out of these things to cancel out tinnitus? I would pay anything and/or wear any goofy device in my ears to live life tinnitus free.
- stephendicato 10y agoI can't personally endorse their services, but there are companies working on treating tinnitus. Check out http://www.ttsrelief.com/ http://www.ttsrelief.com/
- logicallee 10y agosee my other comment. I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. tinnitus is caused by people listening to music that is too loud. Music is too loud at most venues, if you are standing where you are meant to. EDIT: people don't like this comment, and point out that in many places inserts are available. All the same, the general clubs that I go to where I live, don't have them, and, more to the point, nobody else wears them. it's a social problem and perhaps a marketing problem. many bars / clubs are too loud and I as a consumer haven't been solicited to pay for a solution on-site. (even if this exists.) others I'm with don't wear anything either. The responses here have convinced me that I likely should invest in some and bring them with me - but I don't like that I'm the only one doing so, and it seems kind of anal. i'm just being honest about how I feel. it would be easier if they were more readily available / being sold, and if everyone were using them. I like to be cool and do the same thing everyone else does. just being honest.
- abakker 10y agoI've learned that it is just necessary to bring foam earplugs to a lot of events. (even movie theaters now). In general, if the performers are wearing them, you probably should be, too. Your health is not a good place to think about being worried about what other people aren't doing to protect theirs.
- samstave 10y agoI always have these available around my house... I used to carry them with me everywhere. I started using them in the 90s rave scene in SF. I would go to a party and would always bring earplugs with me, extra ones and hand them out. Especially to people who appeared to have had... a little too much. Sometimes handing a plastic bag of earplugs to someone who has had too much is a great thing from them as it helps them center a bit more. I personally think that all concert ticket windows should hand these out with each ticket purchase/pickup.
- abakker 10y agoI used to do this at Ska concerts in NY. I am a woodworker and always have a gigantic box of them at home, so it was easy to fill a ziplock. One time I got grabbed by a bunch of bouncers and forcibly expelled from the venue - they thought the purple earplugs were drugs. Once they realized they were super apologetic and we had a good laugh about it.
- dawnerd 10y agoYou should look into something like these instead of regular foam. http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html I got a pair for EDC after realizing the foam earplugs were ruining the music. These reduce the volume with minimal muffling. Also pretty cheap considering they'll last a long time. I picked them up at guitar center - they can help you get the right ones.
- greglindahl 10y agoI second this. I've mostly used datacenter earplugs over the years, which really mangle music. These earplugs are sold to musicians and are really great for music.
- ericabiz 10y agoAbsolutely. I have a pair of these and they go everywhere with me. Movies, concerts, sports events--anything with loud sound--these are perfect. They're small enough to tuck away in my purse so I never forget them.
- aaronblohowiak 10y agoMost venues and festivals I have been to have free ear plugs
- logicallee 10y agothat's cool - maybe I go to different places. I'm in Europe and go to just general concert venues or clubs etc.
- tonfa 10y agoDon't know if it's mandatory, but I think every concert I've been to in Switzerland has had free earplugs (foam and sometimes better ones). They also often have tinnitus prevention posters shown. In practice many people use them (and a bunch of people bring their own better earplugs). I find that really nice (and wish more countries would do the same).
- marcoperaza 10y ago>I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. No one is "forcing you" to have tinnitus. And what's so "ridiculous" about protecting your own hearing? We are responsible for our own self-destructive behavior, like going to concerts without ear protection. Almost everyone's done it, but let's not blame other people for our own recklessness.
- grhino 10y agotinnitus can be caused for other reasons than loud music, some that are not that well understood. Any sensorineural hearing loss can be accompanied by tinnitus. Autoimmune inner disease (AIED) and meniere's disease can bring about tinnitus. Tinnitus sucks. I think the best guess is nerve cells in the inner ear firing improperly and generating a random noisy signal that gets interpreted wrong by the brain.
- randlet 10y agoI've got otosclerosis which causes tinnitus too. It sucks, but thankfully you get used to it somewhat and listening to background music brings me a lot of relief.
- logicallee 10y agoall right - sounds like you know a lot about it. Is it fair to say most tinnitus in the world is preventable, and most (as a percentage of people suffering from tinnitus) have had as a direct cause loud noise? (So that if they had had earing protection, they would not have tinnitus.) open-ended question.
- grhino 10y agoHearing protection is worthwhile. I don't know if we understand tinnitus well enough to say whether most of it is preventable.
- wrigby 10y agoJust bring them with you. Better yet, invest in a pair of better earplugs[1] - they have a flatter frequency response, so the music sounds way better than it does with the foamies. Most venues will also either give you or sell you (for $1) a pair of foam earplugs at the bar. Do it. 1: http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html
- telekid 10y agoI keep a pair of high-quality earplugs[0] on my keychain. They're completely invisible and always there when I need them. I find myself using them about once a week. Nobody is going to protect your ears for you. [0] http://www.earasers.net/ http://www.earasers.net/
- overcast 10y agoI love earasers. Best I've used so far. Super comfortable, tiny, and discreet. No one even knows you're wearing them, and they work so well for concerts, without making everything muffled. I use them for everything with noise at this point,mowing the lawn, snowblowing, etc.
- mikegerwitz 10y agoMy tinnitus is hereditary, from my father's side. I have a constant ringing that my mind usually filters out unless I think about it, but some nights it can be pretty "loud". I quote the word because I can hear even the slightest sounds like the ticking of a watch in another room in complete silence, while at the same time being overwhelmed by the ringing. I had a hearing test done a couple years ago at a neurological institute to try to diagnose other issues (migraine-related), and my hearing was higher than they could measure. So it's not damage. It's quite fascinating. I've gone to only one concert in my lifetime, and I don't listen to loud music. I haven't been around loud equipment for any length of time.
- corysama 10y agoDoes it get louder when you clench your jaw? Sometimes tinnitus is due to teeth/jaw issues. Sometimes people report tinnitus getting worse or better after getting teeth removed or jaw work done. For a variety of reasons, I'm starting to think my ringing is at least partially due to pressure on my teeth and jaw. Now I need to find a TMJ specialist who will be willing to try to figure out what might help.
- mikegerwitz 10y agoThat's an interesting observation! Yes, it does, and it's a higher pitch. That might be something to explore; thank you for that. I also grind my teeth aggressively at night (which I wasn't aware of until ~1y ago when my wife told me).
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- stcredzero 10y agoThe foam earplugs are pretty cheap in bulk. I've brought bags with me to concerts and given them out. (I want to help make the world safe for acoustic music.)
- sixothree 10y agoMy tinnitus was caused by a movie theater. It was the first showing in an imax theater and I was seated in the top row (probably directly under a kicker).
- Symbiote 10y agoAt the concerts I go to, at least 1/4 of people standing near the front will be wearing earplugs. Sometimes it's the majority. Perhaps that's the scene (metal, northern Europe). Most venues will sell for 1EUR, or give away, free foam plugs, but most people have better ones.
- CalChris 10y agoI've stuffed paper towels in my ears in spinning or zumba classes. The loudspeakers are in front of the students blasting right at us. The teachers are behind them and generally younger.
- compiler-guy 10y agotinnitus is a symptom with many causes. Loud noise being just the most common--and least treatable--cause. Another cause is otosclerosis, which is preeminently treatable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosclerosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosclerosis If you have tinnitus, don't assume that nothing can be done. See an audiologist.
- uf 10y agoI think there already is a kind of therapy. I read that they basically determine the exact frequency of your tinnitus. Then you give them music you like and they filter the frequency out. By listening to the altered music, the tinnitus is reduced. It seemed to work quiet well, but I forgot what the procedure is called. I'm hearing a tinnitus for over 10 years now, so I know what it's like. :)
- joncp 10y ago> It seemed to work quiet well That's the most perfect typo I've seen in a while.
- cbr 10y agoThat seems straightforward enough that you could try it on your own?
- uf 10y agoYes, it does. But I had completely forgotten about it until now.
- auxym 10y agoI'm curious how you would go about determining the frequency of your tinnitus.
- lukeschlather 10y agoAs long as you have decent pitch, it shouldn't be too hard. Just listen to square waves at various frequencies until you narrow in on the frequency of your tinnitus. When you play two square waves that are slightly off, you also hear a really obvious pulse that corresponds to how off they are (1 pulse per second means they're off by exactly 1 hz, and so on.) I don't know what the experience of tinnitus would be, but assuming you can hear the tinnitus and a square wave at a close pitch, it should be fairly easy to isolate the exact frequency with a binary search.
- 10y ago
- benarent 10y agoAn ex-coworker founded http://www.neuromoddevices.com/technology http://www.neuromoddevices.com/technology. It's still in the clinical research stage, but it's a cool device that utilise bi-modal neuromodulation and aim to promote positive therapeutic change within the human nervous system.
- suby 10y agoThere's a technique that has the potential to temporarily (around 1 minute) clear tinnitus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yDCox-qKbk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yDCox-qKbk It's not much and doesn't seem to work for everyone, but if you've been suffering from tinnitus for years, one minute is better than nothing.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ogig 10y agoI suddenly lost the hearing on one ear and it got replaced by a strong and permanent tinnitus. I quantify it as strong based on my talks with others with tinnitus. What worked for me was stop fighting and start loving it. Now it's a perma mantra. Some somatic malfunction that enables me to ear the hum inside of me or whatever poetry works for you. Try it maybe.
- dfischer 10y agoThat is a very interesting approach. Nice idea, thanks.
- losvedir 10y ago> What worked for me was stop fighting and start loving it. Now it's a perma mantra. Some somatic malfunction that enables me to ear the hum inside of me or whatever poetry works for you. Try it maybe. Whoa, what an interesting strategy. Here's a question for you: is your tinnitus a constant predictable pitch? If so, you could probably train a strong relative pitch skill enough to be able to spoof perfect pitch! That's pretty cool.
- ogig 10y agoBeen an amateur musician I did try that, but sadly what I hear has a big range of frequencies and it also changes. Curiously its pitch fluctuates when I move my head or eyeballs. Thanks for the suggestion tho.
- yomly 10y agoPart of tinnitus can be caused by physical issues - neck strain can exascerbate it
- web007 10y agoI believe tinnitus is neurologic, in that there is no noise to cancel out.
- Lich 10y agoLongtime sufferer of tinnitus. This has been my understanding as well. From what I understand, once the hair dies, the brain seems to compensate by filling it with eternal noise. If there is a cure (my hopes are low), my guess is that we need to have a better understanding of the brain.
- abecedarius 10y agoA random idea: that mechanism reminds me of phantom limb pain. I wonder if there could be a treatment analogous to mirror therapy, at least for monaural tinnitus. Searching just now turns up http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2010/01/11/tinnitus_the_ea/ http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2010/01/11/tinnitus_the_ea/ and http://www.therasmusforum.com/tinnitus-type-is-similar-to-phantom-limb-pain-in-an-amputees-brain/ http://www.therasmusforum.com/tinnitus-type-is-similar-to-ph...
- wnasich 10y agoI've tinnitus, and hearing lost since 20 years old, I was musicians, playing keyboards. Now I am 42 y old. I hope, maybe soon we could have a solution, take a look this article -> https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229662-400-deaf-people-get-gene-tweak-to-restore-natural-hearing/amp/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229662-400-deaf-peo...
- boobsbr 10y agoCan be from physical damage to the stereocilia in the inner ear.
- Certified 10y agoA project I worked on suggests vibrating the bone just under the earlobe at around 50kHz with a piezoelectric stack might help. 8 years or so ago I helped make a pocket sized and rechargeable medical device that operates on this principle. Last I checked it was still in FDA hell but helping the majority of sufferers in the trials. The theory of operation is that is breaks up tiny air bubbles stuck to the hairs in the inner ear. An interesting side note is that you could 'hear' a very high pitched sound when using the device even though 50kHz is far outside the standard human hearing range. We still are not sure but think we were hearing a lower harmonic of the tone bouncing around the skull.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- peterlk 10y agoAny chance you could provide some links? White papers, etc.?
- JacobJans 10y agoI would love to learn more. I know someone who suffers from severe tinnitus. Any improvement could be very life-changing! edit: is this your project? http://www.tinnitus.vcu.edu/Pages/Tinnitus%20Improvement.pdf http://www.tinnitus.vcu.edu/Pages/Tinnitus%20Improvement.pdf
- Certified 10y agoOur device was very similar to this china manufactured version: https://www.melmedtronics.com/product/the-inhibitor/ https://www.melmedtronics.com/product/the-inhibitor/
- cellularmitosis 10y agoI wonder if you are hearing a "beat" tone (a third tone which is heard when two tones of different frequency are played. Playing tones at 500 and 600 Hz will also cause a tone at 100 Hz to be heard). This is how 3D positional audio systems work -- they beam two ultrasonic tones, and the difference tone appears to emanate from where the ultrasonic beams intersect. Sending 50kHz vibrations into the earn should interact with a 49kHz tone to cause the listener to hear a 1kHz tone. (This is all from an acoustics course I took over a decade ago, so take it with a grain of salt!)
- wyager 10y ago> Would it be possible to generate anti phase wave out of these things to cancel out tinnitus? No. Tinnitus is not caused by a real sound. It occurs somewhere after the phase-erasing Fourier transform performed by the physical structure of the ear. If it were caused by a real sound, or the brain added sounds in the time space (rather than the frequency space), it would work. But neurons are not fast enough to handle time-domain sound processing, so they offload Fourier transformation to the ear and then work with the (presumably phaseless) frequency-domain representation.
- virgil_disgr4ce 10y ago> neurons are not fast enough to handle time-domain sound processing, so they offload Fourier transformation to the ear This is my new favorite way to describe the process. Gonna use this with my students :)
- stcredzero 10y agoBut neurons are not fast enough to handle time-domain sound processing, so they offload Fourier transformation to the ear and then work with the (presumably phaseless) frequency-domain representation. Then how is it that you can play one frequency into one ear and a slightly different frequency in the other ear, and the brain will register the beat frequency?
- KingMob 10y agoKeep in mind that the binaural beats community spouts a lot of BS. Only for the lowest frequencies (say, under 100 Hz) are there reliable traveling waves to even measure in the brain. Due to the firing refactory period where a neuron resets its membrane potential, most neurons have a max firing rate in the range of 250-300 Hz, so it's not possible for difference tones to explain any binaural beats above those frequencies. Even for lower frequencies in the range of delta-gamma waves, it seems deeply unlikely that difference tones are the explanation, because the neurons encoding for frequency are separated spatially, so it's not as if two traveling waves reach the same neuron, subtract out, and result in the difference frequency. However the brain produces the beat frequency, it's nothing like the way signals subtract in other media.
- AWildDHHAppears 10y agoThere's one proven thing to help tinnitus in overweight people. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10993458/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10993458/
- colorcoded 10y agoI'm afraid that's not possible. There are, however solutions that help making it easier to endure. Here is one: http://www.oticon.global/solutions/accessories/tinnitus-sound-app/ http://www.oticon.global/solutions/accessories/tinnitus-soun...
- ajryan 10y agoI have read that NMDA agonists (DXM, Ketamine, PCP, other arylcyclohexamines) work pretty well for this. Anecdotally, their withdrawal symptoms include tinnitus so I'm not surprised the inverse could be true. It also looks like more specific NMDA agonists are being developed as a treatment? http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0077674 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....
- newman314 10y agoThere was some discussion (on HN I think) a while ago where basically you flick/drum fingers at the base of your skull about 10 times. I've tried it and it seems to work at least for a while for me. YMMV.
- tim333 10y agoI found blocking loud noise with earplugs allowed my ears to recover naturally over time to a fair extent. It may not work for everyone but it's easy and cheap to try.