Unknown Reason Tinnitus & Headphones Advice?

Hi, I've been reading the forum for some time now, but just recently became a member. My name is Daniel and my tinnitus started a couple months ago, since March 2021 I believe, but I'm not entirely sure why.

Doctors have made exams and my hearing is perfect, there's no hearing loss whatsover, and I've not suffered hearing trauma like many here, due to sudden loud noises or something similar. Doctor has me taking Nimodipine twice a day, and must take it for three months.

My tinnitus is not loud most of the time, it gets louder only when I focus on it, but the rest of the day it is almost imperceptible. I used to wear headphones, but recently not so much due to fear of tinnitus getting worse, but I miss it a lot, as music is a really important part of my life.

I was wondering if I could still use my headphones (Sennheiser HD 458BT with ANC), at a low volume. I even have a set of Loop Experience earplugs for when I go outside to loud places like shopping and so on. I don't know if I could wear them with my Sennheiser to prevent any kind of damage or I don't know. I just don't want tinnitus to get worse.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks.

 

@Daniel H, hi there. Your story sounds a lot like mine. I too developed tinnitus in a period where I wasn't exposed to loud noises and such, even though I'm a musician, and I have played and gone to gigs, rehearsals etc in the past.

I suppose there is no problem using speakers to listen to music at reasonable levels, preferably high quality studio monitors. However, most people here are against any headphone use. I myself have stopped using headphones and headset altogether, even though I do music production, due to fear of making it worse. Also, using the earplugs under your headphones isn't really gonna work, as you will need to turn up the volume to even listen, so it's a bit pointless in my opinion.

In my case, I haven't noticed any reactions or spikes with sound, even though I admit I overprotect by not going out much, using earmuffs etc. I'm starting to believe that if you haven't had an acoustic trauma or loud noise exposure, then you are probably safe from reasonable sound (and even headphones). That's just my opinion, I'm no doctor or so (even though I probably know more about tinnitus than the average ENT lol), so don't put yourself in risks. As with anything with tinnitus, try things carefully yourself and find out slowly what works for you or not.

By the way, maybe this will help you. One neuro-otologist diagnosed me with internal cochleopathy, meaning that the damage came from brain pressure. He also tested me for dizziness and found I had some mild indications. I don't know if I can believe it or not though. That medication they gave you looks like it does something related according to a quick google search. Maybe they gave you an explanation about it?

Anyway that's my two cents!

 

Hello

Loudspeakers would be much safer...

Just think about accidents that can happen with volume or incoming calls etc.

 

Loudspeakers at work are not an option as I work at an office with more people around me, and I was planning on connecting my headphones to the iPad to avoid notifications/calls/etc, as it's always in silence and without Wi-Fi.

 

Thanks for your answer! I was thinking about that when using earplugs and headphones, but wasn't so sure. Regarding the medical treatment... the doctor never told me why was I taking them, but I will ask when I go back in a couple weeks. Hopefully by then it will be better.

 

@Daniel H, alright that's good, any updates are appreciated! Just a heads up, be careful about medications since there are many ototoxic drugs that may (or may not) affect the condition. A little search is useful before taking any.