Tinitus and hunting

[Don Baker]

I'm having a real battle hunting with tinitus(ringing in the ears).
I usually hunt on the ground in a natural blind and 9 times out of 10, game will come in without me being able to hear it and then I have a heck of a time being able to draw on the critter at hand.
Anyone else have a problem like this and if so, how do you deal with it?

Thanks,

Don

[Shawn Leonard]

My hearing has really suffered over the last few years. I now hunt stands whether on the ground or in a tree with more cover. I also wear a leafy suit by Cabelas. I believe this ets me get away with a bit more movement and in turn lets me see deer I used to hear before they pick me. Also see a good doctor, they may help or accupuncture may help as well! Shawn

[Mudd]

I'll be watching this thread for sure. I've had this stupid ringing in my left ear for years now. It seems that the quieter it is the louder it rings.
Once in awhile I'll get it in the right ear too but so far it has always cleared up.
God bless,Mudd

[Don Baker]

Mudd-
Yeah I know what you mean-when it is dead quiet the ringing is overpowering,or when I go to bed I really have to think about something else because it is so loud-and I'm only 45.

Don

[Spectre]

That Walker Game Ear is the BOMB for this stuff! Its worth every penny.

[JCJ]

I have severe Tinitus in my ears. In my left ear the surrounding sound needs to reach 80db before I don't hear the ringing. I can sympathize with your issue but I actually hear very well through the ringing in my ears. Still, I hut out of a treestand and often see the deer before I hear them.

[Al Natural]

Guys I don't have the problem, but I think there are some products on the market to help the problem. I can't remember the name but have heard it on the radio several times.
Al

[Wary Buck]

I'm sure I've got it too, from a pair of Van Halen concerts while in college and a LOT of unprotected shotgunning in my youth.  Deer sneak up on me A LOT.  I've tried hearing aids as well as the Walkers Game EAr but grain dryers around here just sound like a freight train with 'em.  In other words, the magnification of other sounds is so disconcerting most of the time that I'm not sure I can handle that.  Will be following this thread to see what some of the rest of you have to share on this one.

[Old York]

I've found if I take too much aspirin or
ibuprofen it gets worse. I live with it and
it even drowns out the skeeters in summertime  

[bawana bowman]

If anyone finds a working solution for this problem I would really like to know what it is!
I have Tinitus in both ears, really loud when things are suppose to be quiet. Then on top of that, if I'm anywhere with background noise( restaurant, night club, party, anyplace with a lot of talking) I can't hear someone talking if their more than 2 feet away. Makes me avoid a lot of things I would like to do.
I've spent the past 20 years seeing deer rather than hearing them. In my 20's I could hear them peeing as they came through the swamps, these days I probably couldn't hear that if they did it 3 feet in front of me!

[KSdan]

I have violent vertigo in addition to the Tinnitus.

There are no "cures" for Tinnitus, but low-salt diet, no caffiene, and natural remedies (google) can help.  One friend of mine found great relief from T with Ginko Biloba.

Hope the best for you all.  I hunt much more with my eyes now.

[Hud]

I went to the OHSU Tinnitus Clinic roughly 10 yrs ago. It is in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Billy Martin is the director.

They can through testing come up with a hearing aid with a sound unit that works to mask the sound. Not particularly cheap, but effective. They may be able to provide literature and info at your request.

Wearing a aid to enhance sound, like the Walker Game Ear can help, but it does not mask sound. Tinnitus is caused by a loss of high frequency hearing, and the brain creates the sound, it thinks is missing, but screws things up doing it. Masking replaces the sound you hear with another that is less noticeable.

Unfortunately, it is progressive and gets worse with time as the hair folicles in the ear die and the loss becomes more pronounced. Millions of people suffer, including Vets and other subjected to loud noise. The Clinic is the foremost in the world. Information is available online.

[Hud]

Since I have been through the Clinic, if I can answer any questions, I try. You can email me or PM.

[Mudd]

I know the exact day and hr that mine started. It was spring turkey season and I had been out early but took a break and came home for some breakfast. On my way back for a mid-morning run at them I stopped by the our local Vets office as he is also an avid turkey hunter.
 As I was about to leave his office he drags out a packet of gum and unwraps a piece and it looks very inviting so I asked if he had a piece I could have. I left his office chewing a very satisfying flavorful stick of gum. I was driving near the Missouri river, going up and down the hills and my ear popped and with that it started ringing. It's never quit.
Hud I don't know the right question(s) to ask but feel free to e-mail me with any and all information unless it ends with, "there's nothing to be done for it"
 Thanks!
God bless,Mudd

[broketooth]

i too have the ringing in my ears, from tinitis, im assuming.its my own fault for not wearing any kind of hearing protection when i was younger.the ringing in my ears is the biggest reason why i dont like to be around any kind of fire arms anymore.im sure that the loud music when i was younger, and being around loud nuematic tools like nail guns for the past 20 yrs hasn't helped much either. but i deal with it. whenever i feel like my ears are playing tricks on me or i feel like i have heard something i usually let my eyes confirm my suspicions. im aweful thankful ive been blessed with keen eyesight. ive always been able to spot the not so obvious before anyone else around me. i have definatly developed a habit of paying attention to whats going on around me visually.im just glad the ringin in my ears is not voices in my head, that would drive me nuts  regards ruddy

[trapperDave]

I clicked on here hopin someone had a cure  :D

It sux. I have it bad in the left ear. If it gets to a maddening level, running water seams to help mask it.

untold thousands of gunshots, airtools and living next to the flight line back in my Naval days have really screwed me up.

You younger guys..WEAR HEARING PROTECTION!!

[centaur]

I have it for years. I sleep with a fan to cover the noise. I don't know what I am not hearing in the woods, but I don't seem to have trouble with low frequencies, and I can hear elk, at least at the low end of the bugle. Since I have had it since 1968, I guess it is just part of my life to the point that I deal with it. Something about minieguns and M60s fired very closely for thousands and thousands of rounds and turbine engine whines tend to make you not hear very well at high frequencies.
For those who don't have it and are around noisy things, WEAR HEARING PROTECTION, and yes, I'm shouting.

[Owlgrowler]

 

Wearing a aid to enhance sound, like the Walker Game Ear can help, but it does not mask sound. Tinnitus is caused by a loss of high frequency hearing, and the brain creates the sound, it thinks is missing, but screws things up doing it. Masking replaces the sound you hear with another that is less noticeable.

After decades of firearm shooting without protection my hearing was shot. There were a few incidents, shooting a short-barreled 44 mag, other guys touching one off with their barrel inches from my ear, when it physically HURT for days afterward.
 
My Christmas present for '08 was to visit an audiologist. First a Doctor checks you out for physical damage,for some people hearing loss is wax build-up, others can be fixed with surgery. Most of us need hearing aids.

After a long consultation, preceded by a hearing test were they put you in a soundproof booth, put headphones on you and test for your range of hearing loss, I chose a behind the ear model with a volume control. My decision was based on my hearing graph which showed that my low frequency hearing was normal for my age, but my high frequency hearing was, as the Doctor said, "Pretty crappy".

So, what they do is, they program your aids specifically for you. In my case low frequency sounds are not amplified and are allowed to enter my ear around the speaker. Only the high frequency sounds are amplified as the graph indicates. If your graph is a straight line, all frequencys being shot, then you should probably go with an in the ear aid. Some of todays aids are so high tech they can "talk" to one another, and with your bluetooth, and with your MP3 player, etc. Amazing technology!

Now, a year later. My quality of life is better. I can converse with people. I can hear the blinker on my truck, birds singing, frogs peeping, bugs chirping and best of all, deer walking in the fall leaves.

It started as MY present, but the whole family has benefited.

[Bill Carlsen]

I've had it since  I was a kid probably  due to many ear infections. It is a nuisance but my hearing is very good despite the condition. I hear very well in the woods but directionality is not always accurate. A cure would be nice but the docs do not know what to do about it.

[Killdeer]

I was waiting for a bus and a guy in a stake-bed probably said to his buddy, "Watch this!" I hope they enjoyed the backfire, I have lived with the ringing ever since. Subsequent years spent avidly shooting firearms and hunting haven't improved things any, and I have trouble hearing folks, especially in restaurants and the like.

I really resent it while hunting, as I would like to "hear the quiet" of the big woods. Not that the woods are really all that quiet, but in those rare lulls of wind and critter movement, when the leaves are not clattering to the forest floor, I would like to hear... nothing. My home is very noisy, as is work, and I crave the silence.

Is the noise in my head bothering you?
Killdeer