Lou Reed - “Metal Machine Music A-2”
1975
Tinnitus was back with a vengeance. It started in March after two months without booze due to a messed-up jaw and my completion of a thirty-day muscle relaxer regimen. Turns out good ol’ cyclobenzaprine ended up giving my central nervous system a hard reboot. The day after a couple, three pours of Johnnie Walker Red I was faced with that horrible ringing/cicadas drone of tinnitus. Steps to address this flareup, though tinnitus can never be cured? No more alcohol (tinnitus is a vampire, you don’t invite it in), plus the usual healthy nuggets of getting regular exercise and of course plenty of sleep (nine-and-a-half hours of sleep per night is the goal — I usually get around nine, hopefully long enough to outrun all the dreams.) Interestingly in my case caffeine is a-okay — great, as that jaw issue put a severe cramp in my Coffee Achiever lifestyle.
Speaking of sleep, for years I had a white noise machine on my nightstand with five different sounds. But suddenly with this tinnitus flareup that was rendered ineffective, it just drove me nuts while trying to drift off to sleep. So I got a white noise app on my phone to play as my phone charges overnight. It has dozens of noises, including: air conditioner, cat purring, crickets, lawn sprinkler, etc. I currently go with a gentle waterfall though heavy rain is an occasional pinch hitter. Potential sounds I need to contact the app folks about: refrigerator running, server’s running noise at the tax accounting office I work at (it’s a behemoth), downstairs neighbor’s shower running, and maybe something from Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music.*
Because a good sleep means the better chance of waking up in silence. And to wake up without tinnitus is the dream, one I don’t have to outrun. On those such mornings with Lucky Charms going and coffee brewing in the Hamilton Beach … I could almost become a morning person.
* Lester Bangs: "If you ever thought feedback was the best thing that ever happened to the guitar, well, Lou just got rid of the guitars."