[syspec]

That sounds really rough, I used to listen to my music very loudly when I was young and getting tinnitus is one of my fears as I get older.

How did you get tinnitus? Is the loud music thing a myth?

Is yours at least not getting progressively worse?

[gibs0ns]

I can cope with it during the day by keeping my mind active along with background noises, it has really turned me into a workaholic.

I too used to listen to loud music when I was younger, I never noticed it cause issues for me at the time. The original cause was a hit on the head by a falling metal beam - nothing noise related - this caused the occasional distortion of sound but was a minor inconvenience really, it didn't affect my sleep or day-to-day life. After a few years of it like that, I found myself at a music festival which did make it worse. It turned into a high pitched alternating tone which is now there 100% of the time.

[quantum_magpie]

I concur with the experiences of GP. It is torture. I got mine because of being stupid around power tools more than 10 years ago, for the first 5 years it was merely an annoyance that would often drown out in the background. Lately it has progressed to insufferable nuisance. It contributes significantly to my insomnia, which is also a gateway to major depression.

[clsec]

I'm curious what you mean by lately?

I've had low level tinnitus for >25 years that I've been able to deal with. But the morning after my second Pfizer shot I woke up and it had been turned up to 11. It now sounds like I have a miniature jet engine inside my ear. It is extremely unbearable and has been causing all kinds of anxiety, stress & depression.

It's been 11 months since it got louder and I'm just now getting a hearing test (gotta love social healthcare).

I'm aware that this is just a correlation at this point but I have refused to get a booster of either mRNA vaccine, to which my doctor agreed. Though I did get the J&J/Jansen booster once the FDA allowed mixing vaccines.

[quantum_magpie]

Lately is like last 3-4 years.

[clsec]

I believe that it's true. I've had it for >25 years and my belief is was caused by lots of loud music in small clubs, where you're more likely to stand next to the speakers, and working in a very loud machine shop when I was younger.