The Sounds In My Head

The Sounds in My Head? One of my favorite podcasts, a "biweekly music podcast featuring songs and bands you might have missed." But it's not the subject of this post. The head sounds I mean is tinnitus. Ringing of the ears. I've got it bad, and that ain't good. Too many years playing the drums in too many loud bands.
Though it's incurable, though there are things one can do that help, (See the American Tinnitus Association site for possible therapeutic strategies), or at least keep it manageable. Lately there's been news about possible treatments on the horizon for hearing loss using stem-cell technology , as mentioned recently in the blog Musical-machines. Apparently listening to your iPod headphones/earbuds is another tinnitus/deafness culprit. So keep that volume down. Once you have it, you may never know true silence again.
Certain environmental sounds (crickets, seashore, road noise) effectively mask the noise, though.
To some extent your brain adjusts and attenuates the ringing. Getting enough sleep and avoiding stress helps. Some people find caffeine and aspirin aggravates tinnitus. When in loud environments, by all means use ear protection, and take a break from the noise by finding a quiet place to let your ears recover.

Percussion Discussion: Steve Smith, on Buddy Rich, from the Musician's Friend Interview: "He was one of the greatest drummers that ever lived, and if you were lucky enough to see him, it was a mind-blowing experience, each and every time."