Re: ears & more

[David Myers <dmgraph@bway.net>]

>I think tinnitus is defined as any persistant sound heard by a person
>which is not generated by an external source.  I used to try and comfort
>myself at night that I was just hearing the sound of my nervous system or
>the collective hum of the universe, but eventually it became clear that I
>had a touch of tinnitus.  Tinnitus is so commonplace in the post-Walkman,
>industrial world, that it's possible that everyone you'll ask has it to
>some degree.
>
>Travis Hartnett

Yes, you have given the dictionary definition of tinnitus.  However, this
definition was written by medical technicians who know little or nothing of
the phenomenon I refer to.  You are certainly correct that most people must
suffer from some degree of hearing damage, you and I included.  But there
is something else as well, and I've seen it mentioned by the likes of monks
who have lived quite far from the nearest Walkman their entire lives, fer
sure.  Also, I've spoken to electric musicians (who obviously cannot have
escaped tinnitus altogether) who haven't the faintest idea of what I'm
talking about.  Somehow the question seems to relate to a different matter,
at least in part.

>often sounds like tonal water;
>sometimes, like thin pieces of bamboo 'snapping';
>sometimes, like a chorus of crickets.

Thanks DT!  Either you have a more interesting inner life than I have, or
maybe it IS tough to sort out the tinnitus from something other, eh?  For
myself, the sound is rather like rubbed singing bowls; in certain states of
extreme quiet and focused attention, I find that there are many, many
tones, which often get incredibly flanged, phased, and chorused (hey, I
knew this would wind up being relevant to this list!).  A friend told me
that a member of the group Biota was attempting to isolate the tones he
heard and define the frequencies.  Bamboo snapping, though?  Sounds like
trouble to me....