"It's a phantom auditory sensation like phantom limb pain when an arm is cut off, and you feel pain in that missing limb," said Richard Salvi, a leading tinnitus expert and director of the Center For Hearing and Wellness at the University at Buffalo in New York. "Much the same seems to happen when you have tinnitus."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/28/tinnitus.metallica.drummer/index.html
When I was in high school, I (like many other adolescents) had a thing for loud music. I wasn't particularly fond of making other people listen to it with loud speakers, but I wore head phones almost constantly.
A couple problems occurred from this. Naturally I developed a ringing in my ears from the constant abuse my ears were taking from the sound.
Another problem that developed (I'm not 100% certain that this is directly related), but music has a tendency to be more catchy that it used to.
I started noticing the ringing getting louder, and discussed the situation with a doctor. He and I discussed the pros and cons to listening to so much music and the potential harm that headphones could cause and I've cut back use on them.
I suffered mild hearing loss from this, it's barely enough to be noticeable and the ringing has long since stopped; but I'm fairly confident had I not corrected this I may have caused much more severe permanent damage.
When I was younger I had a lot of sinus problems that led to ear and hearing problems. I had multiple ear infections that led to multiple ear surgeries.
Over time the pressure problems got less and then I was diagnosed with Meniere's disease two years ago. This is normally a diagnosis for elderly people.
Meniere's disease is a dizzy feeling, pressure in the ear, ringing, and partial loss of hearing. The dizziness can be bad enough some people get sick to their stomachs and others fall down.
I was given medications to stop the ringing and prevent pressure buildup. Now I can tell the warning signs of when it's going to start and I sit down and close my eyes and be able to make it a little longer before I need to lay down. The episodes don't last more than an hour for me but for some people it can last up to four hours.
I have also figured out some things that trigger an episode such as long car rides, dry air, higher altitude (stadium seats), and loud noises.
The ringing for me comes and goes now and I don't have to take any medications unless I have an episode three or more days in a row. I also have to get a hearing test every year or so. My Meniere's is easier to cope with than others but is still a problem I live with.
This is all very interesting. It reminds me of a story about my childhood.
When I was growing up I always had an ear infection. My mom thinks it's because we had a cat that I was allergic too so it caused me to be sick more. I had an ear infection so often and I hated going to the doctor. Eventually, I would let the ear infection get so bad that my ear would start bleeding. I had two sets of tubes and nothing seemed to work.
Eventually, I seemed to grow out of them, but not before doing damage to my ear. I have a hard time hearing people now, especially if there is any sort of background sound going on. Also, it is very hard for me to hear some tones, for example, if people have a really deep tone of voice I can barely understand them.
Hearing loss is definitely not easy to live with.
I always wondered how bands (especially hard rock bands; such as Metallica) could get on stage and play their music so loud, but yet, you never hear about things such as tinnitus happening to them. So it was interesting to read this article.
When I was in high school the "fad" was loud speakers in vehicles. There were numerous people in my high school that had loud speakers hooked up to the sound systems in their cars that would literally "thump" and "vibrate" when they listened to their music. I thought it was the dumbest thing.
I am deaf in one of my ear due to a severe infection which led to surgery that permanentately stopped all hearing in one ear. Growing up I was always worried about loosing all hearing permanently. I was much more conscience about the volume in which I listened to music & such. So riding with these fad-seeking individuals was not a highlight. :) but none-the-less I don't think these people thought about the damage that their "thumping" music was doing to their hearing. I've always wondered if any of them have hearing problems today, due to their high school fad days.
As a frequent concert goer and a long time guitarist that prefers the heavier genre's, I am exposed to a lot of loud music. I try to not get carried away with music on my phone/ipod, and I usually don't turn my guitar amplifier up to obscene levels.
Loud music is harmful, especially when played through ear buds that are wedged millimeters away from your eardrum, but I think it is important to point out that Lars is the drummer for one of the highest grossing bands in history (second only to The Beatles). This means he was playing stadiums without earplugs throughout the 80's, exposing him to to 1,000's of watts of sound energy over a decade or so.
If you just keep a pair of earplugs handy you can drown out any noise that becomes too loud or even too irritating, so there is no need to live with paranoia about the longevity of your hearing as long as you don't get carried away with what you expose yourself to.