4 ms·

> Tinnitus is always there, its permanent. But it just may be noticeable under certain conditions or circumstances. I don't get this. Tinnitus is a ringing in

> Tinnitus is always there, its permanent. But it just may be noticeable under certain conditions or circumstances. I don't get this. Tinnitus is a ringing in my ears. When I don't notice it, it's not there. Maybe you're saying that if it's being caused by some physical damage in the ear then that damage is still there. Sure, but it doesn't seem like that's always a component. From your link: > Although we hear tinnitus in our ears, its source is really in the networks of brain cells (what scientists call neural circuits) that make sense of the sounds our ears hear. A way to think about tinnitus is that it often begins in the ear, but it continues in the brain. Personally, I develop tinnitus any time I take a vacation, or if I'm consistent with meditation practice. But when my brain is instead constantly active, it's totally absent.

croutonwagon 6y ago
You are describing scenarios where it’s noticeable. It’s like saying if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there. However my point is, just because some may become aware of their tinnitus when wearing say...AirPods Pro, that doesn’t mean they are the cause. I would notice it with those just as I would with the silicon earbuds that come with Roku remotes. But don’t notice it with my regular AirPods. There are times it’s worse for me. Like when I’m stressed and times it’s suppressed, like when my adrenaline is pumping. And there are times when it’s more noticeable, like when it’s dark and quiet and my primary senses are dampened. But regardless I would be part of that % of the population that has tinnitus. And just because it’s noticeable with x device doesn’t mean that’s the cause.
- furyofantares 6y ago
  > You are describing scenarios where it’s noticeable. It’s like saying if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there. OK, but I believe in this situation, there is no physical sound, unlike if a tree falls in the woods. It's an auditory hallucination. A visual hallucination isn't there if I don't see it, and neither is an auditory hallucination. FWIW I think we're largely in agreement. I described that I can gain tinnitus at-will by meditating, but I wouldn't say meditation causes tinnitus. And I can certainly see the AirPod/tinnitus connection being of the same nature - nothing with the physical hearing systems at all and instead a consequence of a change in the mind - even though I wouldn't say tinnitus is "always there".
RHSeeger 6y ago
> When I don't notice it, it's not there. It's there, you're just not noticing it. It may be more correct to say "When I don't notice it, it's not a problem". A bad analogy might be the noise of cars at night if you live in a city. Eventually, you get to the point where you don't notice it most of the time; it's not a problem. That doesn't mean the noise isn't there, just that it's not a problem for you. Tinnitus is the damage and noise it causes. This can be annoying, but the fact that it's not annoying sometimes doesn't mean it's not there; you're just ignoring it. Caveat: It is possible to damped/stop the noise caused by tinnitus for periods of time. Generally, this is done by "distracting" your brain in some way.
- michaelcampbell 6y ago
  > It's there, you're just not noticing it. It may be more correct to say "When I don't notice it, it's not a problem" For those of us that have it (mine is chronic), there is no difference between "I don't notice it" and "it's not there". We can debate semantics, but when I say "it", referring to tinnitus, I mean "it" to be "me noticing the noise". The noise IS "IT". If I don't notice it, it isn't there. It's not like /I/ don't notice it but someone else can, proving its existence.
joshspankit 6y ago
I’ve had tinnitus for 25 years, and normally I also don’t hear anything (any more). Here’s the trick though: it’s my brain filtering out the frequencies of the ‘tone’.

croutonwagon 6y ago

You are describing scenarios where it’s noticeable. It’s like saying if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there. However my point is, just because some may become aware of their tinnitus when wearing say...AirPods Pro, that doesn’t mean they are the cause. I would notice it with those just as I would with the silicon earbuds that come with Roku remotes. But don’t notice it with my regular AirPods. There are times it’s worse for me. Like when I’m stressed and times it’s suppressed, like when my adrenaline is pumping. And there are times when it’s more noticeable, like when it’s dark and quiet and my primary senses are dampened. But regardless I would be part of that % of the population that has tinnitus. And just because it’s noticeable with x device doesn’t mean that’s the cause.

furyofantares 6y ago
> You are describing scenarios where it’s noticeable. It’s like saying if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there. OK, but I believe in this situation, there is no physical sound, unlike if a tree falls in the woods. It's an auditory hallucination. A visual hallucination isn't there if I don't see it, and neither is an auditory hallucination. FWIW I think we're largely in agreement. I described that I can gain tinnitus at-will by meditating, but I wouldn't say meditation causes tinnitus. And I can certainly see the AirPod/tinnitus connection being of the same nature - nothing with the physical hearing systems at all and instead a consequence of a change in the mind - even though I wouldn't say tinnitus is "always there".

RHSeeger 6y ago

> When I don't notice it, it's not there. It's there, you're just not noticing it. It may be more correct to say "When I don't notice it, it's not a problem". A bad analogy might be the noise of cars at night if you live in a city. Eventually, you get to the point where you don't notice it most of the time; it's not a problem. That doesn't mean the noise isn't there, just that it's not a problem for you. Tinnitus is the damage and noise it causes. This can be annoying, but the fact that it's not annoying sometimes doesn't mean it's not there; you're just ignoring it. Caveat: It is possible to damped/stop the noise caused by tinnitus for periods of time. Generally, this is done by "distracting" your brain in some way.

michaelcampbell 6y ago
> It's there, you're just not noticing it. It may be more correct to say "When I don't notice it, it's not a problem" For those of us that have it (mine is chronic), there is no difference between "I don't notice it" and "it's not there". We can debate semantics, but when I say "it", referring to tinnitus, I mean "it" to be "me noticing the noise". The noise IS "IT". If I don't notice it, it isn't there. It's not like /I/ don't notice it but someone else can, proving its existence.

joshspankit 6y ago

I’ve had tinnitus for 25 years, and normally I also don’t hear anything (any more). Here’s the trick though: it’s my brain filtering out the frequencies of the ‘tone’.