For the past two months I have had a loud ringing in my ears and I don't know why. I used to goto this night club every Saturday night for a month and a half where the music was loud but I stopped two months ago when the ringing started, but yet this ringing continues(and it's been two months since I have had loud music). I make sure not to lestion to music at a loud level at all, in fact I keep it a riduciousely low level to where I can even here myself walk on my hard wood floors. I have an DAP also and I never put the volume past 10(from 0-40) which is pretty low and I only use it like 1 hour a day. I can't afford an ear specialists so if anyone has any suggestions on what I should do or whats going on I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
-Darin

Ringing for two months..... See a doctor now.

sell your DAP or something. your health is more important.and if you value your hearing, change your habits a little.

That's called Tinnitus in German and I think I read once at HA that it is the same word in English. Severe problem. Go to the doctor.
I don't understand why people don't protect their ears.

Yes, you MUST go to the doctor.

There is no point to see a doctor because a doctor can't do anything about it.

??? What kind of answer is that? Are you a doctor?

Nope. But I've heard enough of tinnitus to know that only time (and usually not even it) can do anything about it.

Are you a medical doctor? I tend to be skeptical of any diagnosis done by e-mail.

What Latexx says is basically right. We (the humans) don't know enough about tinnitus to heal it.

Yeah, I've read that there's nothing the doctor could do about it so I would hate to sell my DAP and spend $400.00 on a ear doctor to find that out. What doesn't make since is that I haven't had much exposure to loud music in my life, I'm only 32 which is young for it, and I stopped going to that night clun like 2 months ago....I don't understand what could be causeing it. And anything makes it temporaliy worse....like caffine, stress, useing headphones even though the volume is a rediculousely low level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

If it's caused by something else, you can cure that something to get rid of tinnitus.

I remember that sometimes they try to cure it with low_air_pressure-therapy. At one day each month for several hours and half a year at all or so. You need to drive to the university hospital of course.
At least that's what a friend of mine did. With success ? Rather no.

My friend got it from a New Year's Eve - bang.

Note for other people:
A doctor can sometimes help you SOON after exposure (usually cortico-steroïds might be helpfull). If you have tinitus problem, it is very important to consult a doctor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

This is kind of off the wall stab, but my tv is really old and it emmits this high pitch noise from the tube(not through speakers), could this be causeing the ringing in my ears?

Yes, if the ringing just started, a doctor can help soon after the exposure. However, "soon" means within a few hours. Visiting the doctor the next day is usually too late, AFAIK. But two months? Going to the doctor now is wasted money IMHO.

I got tinnitus since my childhood, probably a new years eve bang, but I can live with it. It's not so loud that I have any problems (cannot sleep, can't understand what people say etc.). I can still enjoy music. Clipping and artifacts are a lot more annoying (when listening to music), but I guess that depends on your individual ringtone (not talking about the one on your cellphone).

And yes, that high pitch noise from your TV can be the cause.
But honestly, I really doubt that it is.

Tinnitus can not only be the result of a mechanical damage to your ear but also have other e.g. psychological reasons. In this cases it can be cured. But if you say that it appeared after going to loud clubs, chances are low. If you really think however, that the cause is something else and not just too loud noise, you have to see a doctor.

I'll describe my experience with it, decide yourself what to think/what to do.

I have it for around 3 yars, not sure really, in the form of almost perfect sinusoidal sound, and quite high. It is present constantly, however typically sounds of the outside worl dominate it totally (I have to block them to hear it), unless I squeeze jaws hard; sometimes also after some shock (yes, psychological) or huge physical exercise. So not a big deal...except that I only remember how silence "sounds"

Go to the doctor definatelly (well...I'm not sure how medical care looks at your place, here I've had everything for "free"). I've had a luck at having quite good doctor which, even though he was quite old and "authority", very quick sent me to specialists in tinnitus after not seeing any effect (after one medicine, magnetronic, and simple exercises - one of them you can do yourself, not likely that it'll help but it's unlikelly it will hurt IMHO - however don't take my word for it, I won't guaratee that: try hard and "violently" to get rid of air inside yourlngs, but closing your nose, so that your hearing will be like during quick ascent/descent/changing of pressures).
Now's the hard part...do you have some center specializing in such cases or not. I have one i my city...the only one in the country. And contrary to what other say...they are often able to do something, but not miracles. Expext rutine hearing checks, EEG (perhaps it's not problem with ears). That's point in which I'm in. After that...they hae two kinds of treatments. First one is slight electric shocks or something (don't worry, nothing that's unpleasant ). Scces rate is in the dozen % or so...consider yourself lucky if you'll be in that group (I hope I'll be...). The other, later method...hmm, it's not really treatment per se, more like behavioral traning lasting half a year or so which causes that you won't notice it anymore (you wear something similar to hearing aids for 1/3 of each day). Personally I think it would be pointless in my case sice I'm basically used to the sound...I just miss silence soetimes

Anyway, decide yourself, it's definatelly nothing which excludes you from normall living, and you might be among the lucky ones. And trust me, if you won't do anything about it, you'll start to miss silence at the lake during night badly in 1 or years...

PS. BTW, I sometimes wonder...can the above thing be cause that I generally equire higher bitrates/better codecs than people around me? Can such hearig defect make psychoacustic models not so effective?

A student with hearing damage took part in a codec test by stereoplay (I think it was that magazine) and he won. Yes, I've also heard about that.

Man, all those test sound really expensive and I have no health insurance or anyway that could pay for those tests. I love music and the thought of not being able to enjoy it just kills me, but I've accepted this loud ringing as just another f*cked up thing in life. Maybe it's from stress and it'll go away in a few years.... I don't know. I'm desperate. I think I'd rather be dead then not be able to enjoy music. Now, I can hear the music fine, but I can't turn it up to a decent level because it'll aggitate the tinittus, which really sucks. I asked my friend to evaluate the music level on my amp that I won't go past and he said he could barely hear it. Oh well, better I hear it a little then none at all.

i live in the uk; had some stuff done on the nhs -smug- but am never going to be rid of tinitus
basically 2years ago i got tinitus in about the start of july, and an ear infection at leeds festival, and did nothing about it. because of the infection, i came home, couldnt see straight or walk straight, and was well sick. instead of going to the drs like a good girl, i stayed in bed for a few days until it was time to go down london to see sonic fucking youth- which was ace- but i had to sit down after 20minutes. when i got out the ringing was so loud i just couldnt hear a fucking thing, and was sick. i wasnt even anywhere near the speakers (being a sy gig, this doesnt mean much, i know), id sat at the bar for most of it with a bottle of bloody water. rip off. anyway i went to kent for a week, figuring itd wear off a bit by the time i got back. did it fuck. ive spent two years antagonising over whether i should go to this gig or that one, or even whether i should go into a town centre because walking past all the wizzy bastard traffic makes it worse. half the time i have to get off buses and walk a quiet (read: long) route to school because it drives me mad. i never listen to loud music at home anymore, but i always leave something on when im going to sleep, so theres something to focus on other than the ringing. that sounds abit radged i know, but really it is better. what that zima said, get it sorted asap or youll go mad.