Halifax artist hopes new sound project will help others with tinnitus – CBC.ca

When Halifax artist Seth Smith suffered an injury that left him with a constant ringing in his right ear, he was worried he would no longer be able to produce music.

Smith lives with tinnitus, which is the perception of hearing ringing or other noises in your ear when there’s no external source.

“In the beginning, I was running away from the sound,” Smith said. “It’s scary to me.”

But then he started embracing the sound of his tinnitus, and realized he could use it in his music.

Smith’s album, Constant Interruption, is available on Bandcamp. (Submitted by Seth Smith)

“As I started working on this project and experimenting with these sounds, timbres, vibrations and materials, I started wanting to incorporate it in the music and recreate it in a sense.”

Now he’s created a sound project that temporarily eases his own chronic tinnitus, and he hopes it will do the same for others.

Smith released the project, Constant Interruption, under the name FunDog on BandCamp.

He spoke with Information Morning Nova Scotia host Portia Clark about the project on Tuesday.

Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

This project started with a personal health crisis. Tell us a bit about that. 

Two years ago, I had an injury in my right ear and it instantly gave me tinnitus. For those who don’t know, it’s the perception of hearing ringing or other noises in your ear when there’s no external source. It’s generally associated with hearing loss. 

It’s normal for people to hear it after a concert or something, but for some people, the condition is permanent and at an uncomfortable volume. It can make it hard to concentrate, sleep and can cause anxiety and depression. That’s kind of the stuff I was facing when I first had this and I was looking for ways to deal with it. There’s no cure for it aside from counselling to change your mental outlook of the problem. 

LISTEN | Hear the full conversation: 

Information Morning – NS7:50Local artist hopes a new sound project will help people with tinnitus

This year, filmmaker and musician Seth Smith focussed his efforts on a sound therapy project, hoping to bring temporary ease to those who struggle with chronic tinnitus. Hear how Seth made this work using custom-made acoustic instruments and sound sculptures installed in the woods.

Some people turn to sound therapies and that’s something I was interested in, coming from a music background. I became interested in …….

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-artist-tinnitus-sound-project-1.6568035