Are Musician's In-Ear Monitors Safe to Use If You Already Have Tinnitus?

Hi all! I see there are a few really old threads about using in-ear monitors but there's not much to them.

I sing on the worship team at church, and we use in-ear monitors exclusively. I feel like they're kind of risky, because it seems like in order to hear everything over the noise in my head, it's almost too loud. When I take them out, my tinnitus is really loud again, but it's similar to the perceived amplification of the noise when you go into a quiet room. So I'm not sure if it's truly harmful, but it makes me nervous.

Our sets are about 20 minutes, and we have three services and a 1-hour practice, so it's about two hours with the in-ears on the days I am scheduled. That's about once a month lately.

Singing and playing guitar are pretty much the only things I still enjoy. They help me cope. I don't want to quit. Are there any other musicians out there that could offer advice? Is there a "safe" way to use in-ear monitors and still be able to hear? Or am I just hurting myself further when I use them? The church provided the ones I use now, but I would be willing to buy my own if there was a safer option.

 

@Amy42, hi there. It seems a lot of people become worse from using some kind of headphones, so I guess in-ear monitors are in this category as well. No experience with IEM models, sorry.

But, as a music producer, I feel you 100% at keeping your passion alive. In the past I played many loud gigs, band practices etc, but now thankfully, since I only produce music at home, I can do what I enjoy (and keeps me alive to be honest) without exposing myself to loud noise.

Unfortunately, there aren't many ways to use IEM in a less "harmful" way, except at the lowest volume possible. Maybe try not wearing them and sing/play with earplugs instead? I know it will be harder to play with others, but it's the safest option.

Keep in mind that a lot of people don't seem to worsen with noise. For example, even though I personally have crushed my ears with loud stuff over a lot of years, I don't seem to react to noise and I suspect mine is not noise induced either (no hearing loss also). However, I'm very afraid and nervous to go to a concert or wear headphones ever again...

Keep track whether the tinnitus gets louder or it's just anxiety making things worse than they are, because, seeing your tinnitus cause, people who don't have noise induced tinnitus, don't spike easily (or at all) with IEM, headphones or loud noise. But again, you can never be sure, so maybe you should have alternatives other than singing/playing at the church.

 

Amy,

I lead worship-sing and play guitar, and like you I can’t bear the thought of giving up music. It’s my passion and joy.

10 months ago I injured my ear (acoustic trauma from shooting using borrowed ear plugs)and developed tinnitus. It’s been a hard year... to say the least.

We had always used wedge monitors, but I immediately changed our entire band over to IEM’s in the attempt to drastically reduce the stage volume (no more amps on stage) and lower the dB level. I use a brand called Westone for our IEM’s and they have a line of IEM’s that use passive ambience. In other words, you can still hear the house mix through the IEM, but the house mix is still pretty low in volume because the IEM acts like an earplug, but at the same time works as a monitor. I can keep my IEM mix fairly low in volume-enough to hear what I need, but can also hear the house mix-feel a bit of the bass... it works pretty well for me. I use the IEM’s for about 90 minutes for weeknight rehearsal, 45 minute sound check on Sunday morning and then 25-35 minutes for service.

In the last 10 months I have experienced a few occasions where my tinnitus was a bit louder after using the IEM’s, but most of the time it doesn’t affect my tinnitus. I also experience occasional spikes that last a few weeks, most of the time I can’t identify the trigger.

I have researched IEM’s and earbuds thoroughly and consulted with both of my audiologists and the common thread of information is that as long as the volume in the IEM is appropriate, I am in no danger of further ear damage or hearing loss that would cause worsening of my tinnitus. But, like many tinnitus sufferers, I have to figure some things out myself.

The Westone passive ambience IEM’s are about $300-$500. (Lower to higher range based upon quality and number of drivers) but I find them to work really well overall. So basically I have a moderate mix in my ear and can hear the house mix a bit and between the two I can sing and play confidently without being exposed to high db levels.

I hope you find this helpful and would be delighted to stay in touch and have continued dialogue.

Blessings,
John

 

Is your tinnitus unilateral? Maybe try a solid earplug in the tinnitus ear and the IEM in your good ear. Otherwise keep the volume as low as you can.

You say you use them for 90 minutes every night for rehearsal? The biggest factor with tinnitus and hearing loss is exposure time vs just decibel level. If I were still playing I would try and limit my exposure time and shorten rehearsals, but I quit all that after my tinnitus became severe.