Bad e-cig experience / A word of caution to musicians and audio people

[jfu222]

I just wanted to share my e-cig story so that maybe one or two people here can use a little more caution than I did and avoid what I am going through now.

I started using eonsmoke back in the beginning of January. Totally loved it and stopped analogs immediately (American Spirits / yellow box)

I am a musician, audio engineer, and work in music publishing for film and tv so my ears are a pretty important part of my life and general happiness.

Unfortunately for me I did not really understand how gauge my nicotine tolerance in the beginning and I frequently overdosed. So all of the normal OD symptoms started happening daily (headache , ear ringing ..etc) I would just stop for the day and everything would settle down only to return when i started vaping again.

I was down to 6mg cartridges, but at some point the tinnitus just never went away.

And when i say never went away i mean never (ringing as I type this). I've been to an ENT , had an MRI and blood tests done but they could not find anything.

So at this point I've been diagnosed with tinnitus and it has basically turned my life upside down. I can't play shows because of the sensitivity right now. I can't mix in my studio very long without the tinnitus killing me. Conversations with people become so much of a chore (concentration/sensitivity) that I just stay away from people ... even my wife at times when it's really bad and I can't listen to or focus on a another person speaking. I'm handling all of this ok I guess, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't feeling some serious depression and isolation at times. I just hope that there is a chance I will get better soon (maybe there is still nicotine in my system ..or maybe the tinnitus will calm down if I never touch nicotine again) It's been about 3 - 4 weeks since I had any nicotine whatsoever

So I guess my point in posting this is this:

- If you are a musician/audio person or have been around loud sounds most of your life then you are probably prone to get tinnitus (you may have had it many times before but it has gone away after a day or two)
- E-cigs are awesome. So much better for your lungs than analogs. So if you want to try them go right ahead ..but BE VERY CAREFUL AT FIRST. I would make a conscious decision to limit your nicotine even if you feel the urge to vape more.
- If you hear the ringing, stop immediately. And if possible don't vape again until the ringing is gone. Even if it means no nicotine for a day or two.
- Once you get a serious case of tinnitus (like mine) that's it ... you are stuck with it day and night. It's torture.

Again I am not here to troll or judge e-cigs. I just want to get the message out to musicians that if you over do the nicotine you may end up in a situation that will take music away from you. Please consider what I am going through and try to make better decisions than I did.

And for those that do not have to deal with this ...happy vaping! ;-)

 

[subversive]

Nicotine does not cause tinnitus. It can worsen it if you already have it, but nicotine withdrawal can also worsen it. Caffeine will do the same. Nicotine was not new in your situation and 6mg cartridges are nothing compared to the nic content of a cigarette. If anything, I would say nic withdrawal worsened it, not nic OD. It also could be a complete coincidence.

 

[Uncle Willie]

I have suffered with tinnitus for well over 15 years .. it can be worsened by aspirin and continued exposure to loud noise .. and both those can bring it on initially as well .. I eventually was able to learn to live with it although there are masking devices available ..

I have never heard of nicotine being a factor in getting it but I would certainly like any links to that info so I can read up on it ..

 

[subversive]

Any sort of stimulant can worsen it because of restricted blood vessels, but I don't know of any info stating that those things initially bring it on.

 

[Angeloa]

Sorry jfu222 for i know your pain:I've been living with this for 26 long and frustrating years im a construction worker and have been exposed to loud noises my whole carrier plus i hunt and shoot prob 400 to 500 rounds on any given weekend i now where hearing protection but all to late i can tell you your tinnitus is not at all related to nic.If i knew then what i know now well you know:ITS sad what we take for granted when were young.. Again sorry

 

[bilboda]

I generally increase my water intake substantially when the ringing gets pronounced. It can take a day or or so but that usually quiets things down.

 

[Renolizzie]

I think it was nice of your to share your story. Did doing nic increase your tinnitus? It's possible.

I have had tinnitus off and on for years and years.

Please use ear protection when running chainsaws, firing rounds from a gun, for any situation in which there will be loud noises. I even started taking those foam ear plugs to concerts since they can be way too loud sometimes.

 

[propagandax]

Maybe you had this issue all along but the junk in cigarettes was masking it....

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

I think it was nice of your to share your story. Did doing nic increase your tinnitus? It's possible.

I have had tinnitus off and on for years and years.

Please use ear protection when running chainsaws, firing rounds from a gun, for any situation in which there will be loud noises. I even started taking those foam ear plugs to concerts since they can be way too loud sometimes.

I agree. For years working in construction before health and safety guidelines came out I always got snickers cuz I chose to wear earplugs or Sound Protection Earmuffs. It's now mandated and whenever I use anything loud- chainsaw, leaf blower, etc the Earmuffs go on...bad enuff I've got failing eyesight.

 

[ClippinWings]

Nicotine does not cause tinnitus. It can worsen it if you already have it, but nicotine withdrawal can also worsen it. Caffeine will do the same. Nicotine was not new in your situation and 6mg cartridges are nothing compared to the nic content of a cigarette. If anything, I would say nic withdrawal worsened it, not nic OD. It also could be a complete coincidence.

Agreed.

As a former professional musician and after that, an IT executive with a live concert web-casting company, I have played... and attended more Concerts than most people... All without any form of ear protection... ever.

I have not been in the industry in several years but still listen to music in my car at volumes I won't let me children be around...

I do have mild tinnitus... Vaping has not made it any worse... May have even helped it a bit, now that I think of it.

I vape about 2ml of 18mg liquid a day.

Please consider what I am going through and try to make better decisions than I did.

Did you not wear ear protection during concerts?

If so, I'd say that may have been your only bad decision here.

 

[DietSalem]

I am an actively touring musician in the heavy metal area of music. I'm no newbie to ear ringing. I'm completely deaf in my left ear because of music.

Vaping has not affected me in any way when it comes to my hearing. If anything, I hear better because I don't have tar gunking my ears from sitting in a room of smoke when recording.

 

[PepNYC]

I have slight tinnitus in my left ear and I take Ginko Biloba for it. Seems to help and it's cheap.

 

[nosaint]

Nicotine withdrawal causes it for me. It was bad when I cut from 12 mg to 5 mg in a weeks time. It went away, it's started again now that I've cut to 4mg. When it stops, I'll probably cut it to 3mg just because I'm a stubborn S.O.B.

 

[StormFinch]

I have tinnitus brought on by autoimmune thyroid problems that grew progressively worse after quitting cigarettes cold turkey for a short period of time. If you have other symptoms showing up like weight gain, dry skin and hair or thinning hair, exhaustion etc. have a thyroid panel run just to be on the safe side.

 

[BlueSnake]

I don't believe the ecigs would have anything to do with your tinnitus. I see all kind of threads about health issues that people think are a result of vaping. I think it's just coincidence. It seems like these are things that would have happened anyway but since they started vaping they are blaming things on the vaping.

I've had tinnitus for years. I've been vaping for about six months and haven't noticed any change one way or the other in my tinnitus. I've had to learn to ignore the noise. If I concentrated on the noise it would drive me crazy. If I don't think about it I don't hear it. That said in a career where you're hearing is a critical part of the job I can definitely understand how it would effect you. It also seems there is very little if anything that can be done with tinnitus.

 

[jfu222]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and respond.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that the nicotine CAUSED my tinnitus. As I mentioned i am a lifelong musician working in the music industry so it's common to have some tinnitus. But I do believe that it can aggravate it to new levels that for me, seems like it will be the new normal.

I really just wanted to let other people that have been around noise or have mild tinnitus that using an e-cig without considering the amount of nic your taking in, could further aggravate or make your tinnitus much worse (which is what happened to me)

 

[jfu222]

I have suffered with tinnitus for well over 15 years .. it can be worsened by aspirin and continued exposure to loud noise .. and both those can bring it on initially as well .. I eventually was able to learn to live with it although there are masking devices available ..

I have never heard of nicotine being a factor in getting it but I would certainly like any links to that info so I can read up on it ..

Hi Uncle Willie .. thanks for reading and responding. For me it's more of an extreme aggravator than a definite cause. So I most likely had some form of it and then after OD'ing a bunch of times (not on 6MG but on 24mg's ...then 12mgs.. then it din't matter what i vaped)

There's tons of info/links if you google nicotine/tinnitus and it basically boils down to it restricting blood flow. (like caffeine)

I guess I am still in the adjustment phase of learning to live with it. Or live with it at this level.

Anyway. Thanks again. It's always inspiring when I hear about people learning to live with it and be happy. That's my goal.

 

[73ckn797]

For years I have had a constant back ground noise I hear. Reminds me of several thousand crickets going crazy. Is this what it sounds like?

Since quiting cigarettes I have noticed a lessening but there are times I can still hear it. Like right now. I could hear it over the noise of driving on the interstate with the window rolled down.

 

[jfu222]

Sorry jfu222 for i know your pain:I've been living with this for 26 long and frustrating years im a construction worker and have been exposed to loud noises my whole carrier plus i hunt and shoot prob 400 to 500 rounds on any given weekend i now where hearing protection but all to late i can tell you your tinnitus is not at all related to nic.If i knew then what i know now well you know:ITS sad what we take for granted when were young.. Again sorry

Thanks Angeloa. Yeah too late for us ..kind of why I made this post. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. And I'm sure there tons of people that have no problem with nicotine or tinnitus, but I thought maybe there was one or two out there that does and maybe I can at least try to help them.

 

[jfu222]

I have tinnitus brought on by autoimmune thyroid problems that grew progressively worse after quitting cigarettes cold turkey for a short period of time. If you have other symptoms showing up like weight gain, dry skin and hair or thinning hair, exhaustion etc. have a thyroid panel run just to be on the safe side.

Thx Stormfinch! I had some blood tests but I don't think they checked for thyroid problems. I haven't had any of those symptoms described ..except for you know..gaining a few pounds after quitting for good. Pretzels are a bad replacement for smokes ;-)