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Tinnitus sufferer: is it the speakers or the 24bits/192kHz

I have tinitus and have had it for 30+ years.  There is no cure and I know the best way to handle it is to ignore it.  But lately my tinnitus has been going off the scale.  The "lately" seems to have coincided with streaming Qobuz Hi-Res and listening on a PS Audio DirectStream DAC and pulling my Magnepan 1.6 out of storage.  Now I have been known to play too loud on "A" song- but by and large the volume is down to where I could easily speak to somone in the room.

I have thought about maybe changing to to Harbeth, Dyn, Sonus Faber or other speakers more focused on midrange.  But have also wondered if it is the high quality of sound that I am listening to that is perhaps stimulating my very high pitch ringing?

So, any fellow tinnitus folks out there with an opinion on this? 
mocktender

Showing 2 responses by diamonddupree

diamonddupree's avatar
diamonddupree
75 posts
 
I also have tinnitus for over 30 years. A few things. Do you use an SPL gauge when you listen to music? You can download a free one in an app store. When I first used one, I was surprised at how loud my normal listening level was. 

I have a pair of Audeze planar headphones and I find I can only listen to them for so long and at relatively low levels. 

Have you had Covid? A lot of people experience various forms of inflammation due to Covid. I personally had something called Covid Toes and it coincided with very heightened levels of tinnitus. It took weeks to come back down to normal.
diamonddupree's avatar
diamonddupree
75 posts
 
While it's not a bad idea to see an audiologist, there's a good chance they'll simply confirm your condition and say learn to live with it. I've been to two and it only served to pinpoint the frequency of the hearing damage. And it was kind of cool to sit in an anechoic chamber. Outside of that, seeing an audiologist did absolutely nothing for me. 
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