Musicians and Tinnitus

[Megan]

I read elsewhere that Robert Schumann's final pieces were all centred around the pitch of his tinnitus.
Poor chap, I never realized that Schumann suffered from tinnitus, what a shame , I wonder if this is what drove him over the edge.

Is tinnitus common amongst pianists and can it be caused through hours of practise? Can it affect perfect pitch?

[Decrepit Poster]

Interesting questions I can not answer. I've had tinnitus forever, since circa 1965, way back when my hearing was far far better than now. My sense of pitch, as a performing musician (but not a pianist, which I never was) was always somewhat suspect at best. I never thought to associate it with tinnitus but rather with ever increasing nerve damage. Either that or I was born somewhat tin-eared. (My mom certainly was. She couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.) Still, you're idea is intriguing. I see my Otolaryngologist tomorrow thanks to yet another round of ear/hearing issues. If I remember (unlikely, but hey . . .) I'll run it by her.

(I most certainly never had 'perfect pitch' even when my hearing was relatively normal. I do, however, have a fading remembrance of a time when my 'relative pitch' was noticeably more developed than it is now.)