Tori Spencer Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Well quilting friends, I have developed Tinnitus, which is damage to the inner ears from prolonged exposure to loud noises causing ringing, pain, and even hearing loss. People usually get it who work with loud engines or from shooting guns, etc. The only loud thing I ever do is quilt so I'm assuming that's what has caused it. It's been 6 years of quilting almost every day -- that's a lot of noise, I guess!! I'm just sending out a warning to others to consider wearing ear protection when you quilt. It can't hurt, and it may prevent this from happening to you. I will be doing it now for sure. Don't want it to get any worse! Happy Quilting!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delld Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Thanks for the tip! Had not thought about the noise hurting my ears!!! Ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus#Causes I've had this ringing since I was a little kid. Himself drove various tractors, etc. when he was a kid, then was a mechanic on an Air Force prop plane and flew on two prop jobs and one jet. He has no tinninitis. I guess it just depends on who and their situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda G. Craig Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Absolutely right, Rita. I developed mine after close to 30 years of court proceedings. No, the judge wasn't yelling....well, not very often....I worked as a court clerk/court reporter and had earphones in my ears daily. Now my ears ring all the time, sounds like a room full of baby chicks, is my best explanation of the sound. I never thought about Millie being too loud, but a "heads-up" to be careful is great. Take care of yourself Tori, hope the sound in your ears isn't too disturbing. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisae Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 My husband always is after me to wear ear protection while I am quilting. I don't like ear plugs, so I tried his ear muffs he uses for mowing, chain sawing, etc. They actually do help and for some reason I don't get tired as quickly when I quilt. I hate to admit he is right, BUT... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieBrewer Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Dawn, what is the deb level on our machines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Good subject here. So, does the same condition develop if we wear headphones to listen to music or TV while we quilt or sew? Or would it be related to the volume running through the headphones? I use some wireless headphones when I have my machines going so I can still hear the show or music without blasting it throughout the house, and I can turn the sound down to nothing on the TV but still hear through the headphones because they have a volume control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tori Spencer Posted August 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Madelyn, I think it can happen from headphones or ear buds as well if they are turned up too loud, so be careful. The first symptom was hearing a very small "whooshing" sound way back in the background only when everything else was perfectly quiet, then it got worse and worse. I'm going to pick up a homeopathic remedy called "Quietus" today and start taking it. Hope it helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda G. Craig Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Absolutely, Madelyn, it can be caused by using earphones, or ear buds, or whatever is used on a constant basis. I often hear young people playing music loudly and still have earphones in their ears. They are the ones I really worry about, as they may have hearing loss very early. After my experience, I also have a hard time hearing higher pitched sounds, for example, women's voices are much more difficult for me to hear than a man's voice. I now have to use closed captioning so I don't miss any part of a movie or show on TV. I've had this problem for a good 15 years or more so I was in my early forties when I really began to notice. We need to take care of our hearing, once it's gone, it doesn't come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 It can also be caused from damage done from a virus. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing bear Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Mine was caused by chemo...damage to nerves. I have noticed that when I visit dentist and I have to have a shot for dental work, the noise goes away until the lidocaine wears off. Total bliss for about 4 hours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage Keepsakes Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 My only concern for wearing protective hearing gear while I was quilting would be I wouldn't be able to hear well what the machine was doing. Being familiar with my machines sounds while it is running, has helped me diagnose rather quickly when there is a change of sound, that something is going on that perhaps shouldn't be.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisae Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Julie, I can still hear the machine wearing the ear muffs, just not as loudly. I can hear it beep and I can hear it "hum". There is also a change in pitch when it runs out of bobbin thread, and I was able to hear that as well. It is just not so loud. My 2005 Millie was way louder than my 2010 Freedom is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Not sure I am remembering correctly.. I had a ceramic shop across the street from Napa High School, and went to the Principal about volume a guest muscian was playing and I could plainly hear across the street.. He and then the Napa group for the deaf and hard of hearing both said decibles of 86 for more than an hour is when the ear damage occurs. LOL, the volume at a dance for the HH and Deaf is beyond belief. I tried to sit in on one, to see what the kids do, how they interpret the music etc and couldn't stay more than a few minutes. The at the time was the Calif. State School for the Deaf at Freemont. They had the floor of the rec hall built so they could vibrate and give the folks the "feel" of the music. Wonderful school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 My story is a lot like Linda's. I've been doing medical transcription since I was 18 ... I'm in my forties now. Some of my clients over the years haven't been too kind on my ears. Some are so soft spoken that I have to really crank the volume to hear, and then an abrupt loud sound would happen on the recording, like a smoke detector going off (thankfully I no longer have THAT client!!! LOL). But it is so painful when that happens with no warning. I wish they would rewind and erase those noises!! Last year my hearing loss became significant enough that it got me a permanent excuse from jury duty. Also last year I had a horrible bout of tinnitus after a cold. Luckily most of it cleared up but it took about four months for the loud "I can't sleep through this noise" to dissipate. Tinnitus can happen to anyone, at any time, and constant loud sounds don't necessarily mean you will get it, though they do increase your chance for hearing loss. For those with hearing loss, you can protect what is left of your hearing by using ear plugs when doing regular daily things such as vacuuming and blow drying your hair. Probably even using our quilting machines. I don't bother with ear plugs any more now that my tinnitus has cleared up, though I know I should. Don't tell on me! The young kids these days don't realize how annoying and frustrating hearing loss can be. One day they will regret listening to music through ear buds and headphones. I'm about 99% sure that is why my hearing is diminished, because of my job with headphones 8 hrs a day. Hopefully your tinnitus will clear up like mine did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rae50 Posted August 18, 2012 Report Share Posted August 18, 2012 I've had tinnitus for years. As a child, I had mumps and it damaged the nerve endings in my left ear leaving me deaf in that ear. Ever since then I've dealt with the constant ringing and buzzing. I've learned to live with it, but often wonder what it would be like to only hear quiet. I do try to protect my right ear when doing loud activities which includes running my 2002 Millie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted August 18, 2012 Report Share Posted August 18, 2012 I'm not sure, but I think you need to be exposed to noise in excess o 90 db all the time to do damage to your hearing. I don't think that our machines produce noise that loud. The condition is probably from something else. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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