Comments by "earthstick" (@earthstick) on "Tinnitus: The Musicians Demon (and mine)" video.

I think I have always had it to some degree. We lived near a Cold War air force base, and the jets used to fly over the house so low I could see the pilots. They were loud. But that lead to only slight hissing. For about the last 15 years or so, it has been worse. I made it worse by learning to play electric guitar (still learning) and listening to music too loud. I remember when it started. I woke up in the night to the sound of someone tearing up a newspaper. Well, there was no one there, it was the tinnitus. I read it does come from hearing damage, but the brain tries to fill in what is missing from the hearing range. It's like a phantom limb. I try this and that, a vitamin, or listening to noise at just the right pitch. But nothing has worked. Luckily, it is not too bad. The other thing I noticed is that it is louder when I wake up in the morning. I think it is that there is increased blood flow to the brain when you are dreaming. I also get something called exploding head syndrome, an imaginary loud noise while dreaming that wakes you up. I wonder if the two are related.
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