AirPods Max Against Road Noise (Severe Tinnitus)

Hi all, I have severe tinnitus with multiple tinnitus tones.

Over the recent years, I've become unable to even drive my car for more than 30 minutes due to permanent worsenings when it comes to road noise (low frequencies/vibrations).

Of course, I tried foam earplugs, Peltor earmuffs and all possible ear protection one could think of, with no success.

Everything except one: ANC headphones.

I'm not even speaking about listening to music through headphones here (which I haven't done in years), just about using ANC, which seems to be amazingly good when it comes to blocking low frequency sounds, which are the ones that (weirdly enough) hurt me the most and are the hardest to block (occlusion effect with passive earmuffs, and no occlusion effect but low noise reduction with well-inserted foam earplugs).

Has anyone suffering from tinnitus ever tried AirPods Max (the headphones, not the earphones)?

I know Sony WH-1000XM4 does a great job too when it comes to ANC, but most YouTube reviews from apparently independent reviewers give AirPods Max more credit when it comes to noise reduction.

Bose headphones seem a bit less effective.

What do you guys think?

Thank you and forgive my poor English, I'm French.

 

Please be careful, I think @aura made her tinnitus/hyperacusis worse by using Sony WH-1000XM4.

But maybe you can get the AirPods Max, try them, and return them for a refund if they don't work for you?

 

I don't really know if they made my tinnitus worse, could be a coincidence. What I know for sure was that I was already having a spike before that. If they made it worse... I have no idea.

I haven't had any discomfort when using them. I even felt better with them than with my Peltors.

You should be careful though.

I think maybe try them for 15-30 minutes, see how you feel, wait a couple of days and then put them on for a longer period of time if everything is ok.

I used them for 2 or 3 days for long walks without really testing them before because I didn't feel any kind of discomfort.

 

I have taken a brief look at your post history and see that you have been examined at ENT a few times, and note that you have some hearing loss. Do you wear hearing aid(s) or ever advised to?

My advice is to return to ENT and ask for a thorough examination of your auditory system because, you have had tinnitus for quite some time and it seems to be getting worse. Something is responsible for this and it's important to find the cause, then hopefully you can get some treatment, because wearing hearing protection may help in the short term but it won't address the underlying problem of what is making your tinnitus worse.

Your previous posts mention that you don't use headphones and I'll assume that you don't listen to loud music through speakers or been exposed to loud noise.

Therefore, if your tinnitus isn't noise induced then it's possible the increase in your tinnitus is related to an underlying medical problem within your auditory system, since you have previously mentioned having a 22% hearing loss in one ear.

Please make an appointment at ENT for some tests.

I wish you well.

Michael

 

I did a quick Google search, and it does seem the AirPods Max are the best you can get at this point. I'm shocked actually, Bose was always best-in-class. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong because I have an interest in this. I do have the old Bose Quiet Comfort 35, but haven't used them in a long time. I also have the AirPods Pro's and they are so-so with the noise cancellation.

 

Hi Michael, I went through all the possible tests over the years: nothing came out of that.

I had an MRI, brain scans, blood tests, and saw all kind of doctors.

My hearing and tinnitus are getting worse for no explainable reason.

 

Hi Pitseleh,

I am sorry to hear that you have been through so much over the years. It must be very frustrating have so many tests and the doctors are unable to help you. If you haven't been examined within the last year, please reconsider and make another appointment with ENT for tests, just to check your hearing to see whether anything can be done to improve it.

Have you been seen by an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus management? If not, then consider contacting one as it might be possible to get some help. It is just a suggestion.

Take care,
Michael

 

You're capturing my feeling perfectly: frustration.

Yet, at the same time, as a hypnologist, I've been training my brain to dissociate "pain" from "emotion", so I've been living with severe tinnitus the best way I can possibly imagine.

I was seen by a specialised audiologist last year and I tried various hearing aids (some with maskers, some without), but the huge amount of tinnitus frequencies I have has made it impossible so far to even mask a 10th of what I hear

So hearing aids do provide a bit of help when watching movies on TV, in the sense I can capture dialogues better, but I can't wear them more than 1 hour straight before hyperacusis turns in and it gets painful

 

Those cans are absolutely amazing. Put them on and the world silences around you. Plus, the immersive sound stage they have is wonderful for movies etc.

 

I wonder if those had come out sooner, if they would have saved me from my terrible fate. Watching TV/movies with my AirPods Pro's is what put my ears over the edge.

 

I ordered them, I will be doing exactly this Thank you

 

Good piece of advice, I will try them for a few minutes first and see how it goes!

 

Hi @Pitseleh! I came across your post and was wondering if you liked the Apple AirPods Max headphones?

I was thinking of getting them and using them with earplugs underneath for when I need to drive, but they have a hefty price tag.

I recently developed pain hyperacusis so trying to protect as much as possible.

 

I’m also looking for any feedback on these for hyperacusis. There’s a ton of incredibly mixed feedback online, hard to even understand what they do.

 

Hi! I ended up getting the AirPods Max and they have been great for the few times I drive and for being outside when planes fly overhead. I have them set to lowest possible volume and never hear any announcements or sounds from them. I only wear them with foam earplugs and never play any sound through them. I just use them for noise cancellation. My boyfriend uses them with actual sound and he loves them too. Makes me feel better about the price tag hahah.