Hi! My tinnitus is horrible . . . constant ringing and missing some frequencies. My headphone days and long mixing sessions are over. When I am exposed to too much sound, my ears swell up, ring off the hook, and hurt. I am trying to save my hearing for composing and recording. My genre could best be described as retro indie alternative rock-ish with about 16-tracks of mostly live recorded audio, a couple of loops, and a couple of MIDI VSTis converted to audio. I'm on a MacMini M2. My question is . . . should I . . .

1. Use A.I. assisted apps (iZotope, Sonible, Sound Theory Gullfoss, etc.), generate a few mixes and ask around, "which on sounds best?"
2. Use canned presets like those found in EZMix, generate a few mixes and ask around, "which on sounds best?"
3. Send stems out for mixing and mastering to someone with good ears?
4. Send stems out for partial mixing . . . EQ, compression, etc., then add FX myself to maintain some control over flavor (guitar amp, vocal sound, etc.). Then re-send out for final mix and master?
5. Other?

Thank you.

First, molded ear plug or regular ear plugs, change your listening habits.
Whether you think you got it figured out or not,
you're likely abusing yourself (your ears).
Swelling, headphones, all that sounds awful. I ditched headphones over a decade ago to save my ears.
Drums, Amp Stacks, the loud clubs and concerts of the 90s had me running for ear protection.
Headphones were the opposite of protection, they made it instantly worse. Bad headaches.

Tracking on your own ...
Visualizer / Analyzer plugs
Visual meter plugs

Mixing ...
send it to someone who isn't suffering health problems from sound

Hearing, health, and mixing are definitely a bigger priority.
If someone says Ai helped, maybe it works, but
the whole "Ai" thing is outside my realm of interests.
YMMV

Yeah, I spent way too much time in clubs and in studios frying my ears. Now, I need to focus on creating music before my favorite word is "What?" I can certainly track on my own and create nice, clean raw stems. In what way would you rely on "Visualizer / Analyzer plugs
Visual meter plugs" prior to sending out for mixing? For tracking or other?

Do you like mixing? If so you should keep at it.

I have a genetic condition which means I'm losing hearing in my right ear (i've lost about 50%) and it rings constantly (an operation is possible that might improve but not fix things)
I work as a recording / mixing engineer and people seem to like my work, and i let them know about my situation

Initially when i started losing hearing i thought it was curtains but it seems that because the perception required for mixing is relative rather than absolute, i can still knock out decent mixes (e.g i think the bass is too dominant in the low end, i think that guitar is poking out etc)

However if you don't like mixing, and funds are available get someone else to do it. Personally I'd welcome a fresh perspective if i were working on my own material

Either way you should see someone about your hearing and try to find a solution / diagnosis. Often tinnitus is a result of a build up of ear wax

Billface,
Sorry for your condition. Sadly, I'm not alone. '-(. No solution for my tinnitus. I need to limit sound and avoid caffeine, salt, alcohol, etc.

Much appreciation for any and all comments and suggestions. It is helping.

I do not love mixing . . . it's a means to an end. I'd happily pass that along to someone who loves it.

I've found a solution that offers me considerable relief, but only on a temporary/sometimes quite brief basis.

But, then, there were plenty of times in the past when I desperately wished I could make a bout of particularly intense tinnitus go away, even for a few minutes. (And sometimes just getting rid of it, even briefly, allows me to get back to work -- or may be just reading the news -- my tinnitus can be quite distracting at times.)

First, my clumsy and probably far-too-facile hypothesis: the sort of whining, 'feedback'-like tinnitus that too often intrudes on my life IS the result of a neural/muscle feedback loop in my auditory system normally used to suppress or accentuate certain frequencies. (There's some science to support this, per my not necessarily recent reading.) But -- much like the rather different scenario of a public address/sound reinforcement system -- if the attempt to accentuate certain frequencies goes 'too far,' the frequencies are too elevated and (somehow) excite more compensation, causing greater difficulty (and, so, perhaps even greater attempt to accentuate the problem frequency?)

In order to break this increasingly problematic feedback loop, I 'intervene' by holding one or both fingers over the 'tabs' (tragus) of the ear, blocking the entrance to the ear canal -- and then humming at the problem frequency -- or a lower octave representation of it) for a few seconds or more until I sense a diminution of the unwanted 'ringing.' It took me a while to 'perfect' my technique. Since it's hard to target particular frequencies (especially an octave or two down from the ringing pitch), I frequently 'slide' (glissando) the pitch up to more or less the target range and then slide back down when I'm done. This seems to maximize the benefit.

Now -- as noted, the relief (for me) is temporary and sometimes tantalizingly brief. But even a half minute or so without that blasted ringing is worth the trouble for me.

I've shared this a number of times over the years -- but only a handful of folks have reported trying it and getting any benefit. But, honestly, my tinnitus can be so annoying that if my suggestion can even temporarily help some other sufferer, I'm happy to share.

(If you try it and get any relief, please let me know.)

Option #3 works for me and my ears are fine.

I did enough mixing to know that other people who do it for their day job and actually have a world class listening room are better at it.

Mastering is an art and while my ears do not hurt, they are not trained like the pros have.

I'd avoid the plugin people as I fail to see the point if you are hiring someone. I send my tracks out to Audible Oddities.

Sorry I missed this, gearspace notifciations don't work with my adblockers.

Yes I meant for tracking. Visual cues are better than ever with analyzers and DAWS.

Mixing & Mastering requires a second set of ears.

Man that sucks ! I think we REALLY need to start making these club owners criminally liable for ruining people's lives. Tinnitus is a death sentence for so many !

I wish I could let go of all my mixing plugins, but it's so hard . . . I have so much money and time invested . . . and a zillion comprehensive reviews, too. ;-0 I feel like the guy who discovers he's going the wrong way for a thousand miles, but refuses to turn around. Damn it, will I drive into the ocean?

I am leaning towards not mixing . . . focus on the song itself and recording quality/source material, then beg a passionate mixing guru to take over. I am wearing too many hats, and maybe I shouldn't. Do you love mixing? That might be the real question. I don't love it . . . it's a means to an end. I find it stressful . . . making micro decisions that make macro differences. And, I do not trust my ailing ears. How do you feel about the process? Mix or Not to Mix???