The Student Room Group

Ringing Ears

Ok, so as it's freshers week i've been going out to gigs / clubs / pubs every night since wednesday, but I'm now getting a continuous very high pitch noise in both ears. I've been clubbing for years and never had any problems like this before, but last night's trip to Creation (one of the bigger clubs in my area) seems to have pushed things too far.

Basically what i was wondering is have any of you had similar experiences? And if so, how long did it take for the noise to go away? It's driving me nuts and im having to consider not going out (on freshers! Argh!) to loud events until its healed so as to avoid further damage.

Cheers!
Reply 1
i get that, but it ususally goes by the next day. just take it easy tonight, and dont listen to anything through headphones for 1/2 days. apparently belladonna is good for ears but i dont believe that
Reply 2
Never occurred to me personally but I've had friends who've had ringing ears for up to a few days; there's certainly no definite period for the ringing to alleviate.

Visit the doctor if you're very concerned that it may be more serious (or have caused some long-term damage) than what you may consider of it right now.
Reply 3
yeah but then theyll ay to just avoid loud music for the rest of your life and make you feel really bad
Reply 4
I got this after going to a Children of Bodom gig, and i was at the front, right next to the speakers. I now wear earplugs when going gigs. My bro goes clubs out and about, manchester, london etc.. And he wears earplugs too, as it gets to loud for him. + he's a DJ, so his hearing is allready getting worse and worse.
Reply 5
And now for the science bit.....

Ringing in your ears in generally because of damage to the tiny little hairs inside the ear. To hear sounds accurately these hairs need to vibrate with the soundwave as it enters the ear, if the sound pressure level is too high (for example if the bass is too loud) the hair is vibrates past it's optimum level and the hairs get stuck in the wrong position. The ringing sound will continue until the hairs return to their "normal" position. Now, not to scare you........ but this is permanent damage as the hairs never all return correctly, anywho once the ringing has stoppped you probably won't notice unless you're a musician/producer or someone who needs their ears to be finely tuned. The seriousness of the damage can be calculated but i can't remember the formula... the general rule though is that if the exposure time (i.e. the time you spend in the club with the loud music) is much shorter than the ringing time then the damage is bad and serious. But because you were probably in the club for hours i think you should only really worry about slight deafness if it's still ringing in a couple of days.

Right now that i've scared you by making you think you are deaf i can tell you a simple solution to stop it happening again. Sounds ridiculous, but if you don't want to go deaf then you either have to stop going to such loud places or try putting a small piece of tissue paper inside your ear. This will act as a barrier to the noise and reduce the pressure of the vibrations before the soundwaves reach the delicate hairs.

Right, lecture over - sorry i have a bee in my bonnet about this atm. Enjoy the rest of your Fresher's time, but your ears are precious - look after them!
Reply 6
Cheers for the replies, I'll definately be taking it easy tonight and with a lil luck things will sort themselves out by tomorrow morning. Seriously hope so anyway, it's like theres a constant fire alarm going off...certainly makes you think.
I dunno if this is exactly the same, but sometimes, I get a 'ffvhoo'-type whooshing noise in my ears.

It's at random times and I think it could be something similar to tinnitus (sp?), but I don't know.
Reply 8
i play in a band, and i shoot rifles so i get this alot. don't worry about it too much. its caused by the steriocilia in your ears becoming damaged and its perminent.
foss
i play in a band, and i shoot rifles so i get this alot. don't worry about it too much. its caused by the steriocilia in your ears becoming damaged and its perminent.


Do you mean high-pitched noises in your ear or 'ffvhoo'?
The whooshing is probably just pressure equalising through gunked up eustacian tubes (the bits that pop when you go in an aeroplane). Nothing to worry about really. If it bothers you, try avoiding milk, as it causes the production of mucus.
Mattmoy_2000
The whooshing is probably just pressure equalising through gunked up eustacian tubes (the bits that pop when you go in an aeroplane). Nothing to worry about really. If it bothers you, try avoiding milk, as it causes the production of mucus.


Bugger >.< I love Shakeaways! Also, I've had dodgy sinuses since I was small - would that be a possible factor/reason?
Reply 12
Aah I went out to fabric once and my ears were ringing for about 30 hours after I left it was HORRIBLE. Trying to sleep with this 'wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' in your ear is not pleasant at all!!

Only thing I can think to recommend is earplugs... I've invested in some; only used them once so far but your ears do feel better for it!
It should go away after a few days, but if it doesnt it could be permanent, i.e. tinnitus. Either way, its your ears' way of telling you that theyre sick of being raped, so get some earplugs. Seriously, forget "image", youre doing serious, irreparable damage here.