Are In-Ear Headphones the Cause for My Spiked Tinnitus?

Hi all,

I've lived with tinnitus most my life and, on the whole, just got in with life. Now it's come back with a vengeance and I'm wondering if it's because I use in the ear headphones as supposed "on ear" ones. My scientific theory is that the sound is being sent directly to my ear drum and, perhaps, an on ear set would be "softer".

Is there any truth in that?

Another theory is that if I listen to relaxing music that will help relieve the tinnitus. Is that wrong?
Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

All headphones are bad for tinnitus especially if it's noise induced. Since you have noticed your tinnitus has increased, my advice is to stop using them even at low volume. If you continue the tinnitus is likely to get worse. Some people will tell you that using headphones at low volume will cause no harm. For some people this is true but for many with tinnitus it's not. The choice is yours and consider the risks: The tinnitus can increase to a level where it becomes severely debilitating and may not reduce. Peruse some of the many posts in this forum from people that have returned to using headphones after habituation and regretted it, because the tinnitus has permanently increased. Anyone that has tinnitus whether noise induced or not, is playing Russian roulette with their health using headphones of any kind.

Michael

 

The volume that you subject your ears to is the important parameter IMO, whether it's via headphones, in ear, or speakers 10 ft away from you.

 

No reason to believe so.

You could try notched music therapy if you still have hearing under and above your tinnitus frequency.