Can JBL Charge 5 Bluetooth Speaker Worsen Tinnitus?

I’ve had tinnitus for almost two years now and I still haven’t habituated to it. I know we’re all different but I hope I’m able to habituate soon. I got my tinnitus from an ear syringing at a PatientFirst urgent care here in Virginia. If only I researched, but my mom told me, it’s out of our control. You don’t expect something like this to ever happen, we’ve done it our entire lives.

I’m going off track, sorry! Ever since my tinnitus started, I’ve been very very anxious when it comes to my ears. So, when it came to music, I didn’t use my headphones at all, I played music from my phone while I would use my PC. It wasn’t enough for me, I didn’t have the same experience. So, I went back to using headphones, but I had no worsening in my tinnitus. There was moments when I would use my headphones and I’ll hear this really loud high pitched sound and it’ll last for a few seconds, but that made me immediately take my headphones off.

From that point, I’ve been off headphones and switched to using Bluetooth speakers for my music. I would think it’s a better alternative since the sound source isn’t directly on my ear. I don’t have the volume to too loud but moderate. If I’m being honest, I do play it louder when there’s a song I really like but I make sure to put the speaker a little farther away from me. And, when I mean by farther, just a few inches more up my desk. The speaker itself isn’t across the room or anything.

My question is, could doing this result in my tinnitus worsening? I am on my computer for hours and I don’t listen to music for hours like I’ve done before but maybe a max of an hour and a hour - 2 and a half before turning it off and doing something else.

 

No, you really don’t need to worry if it’s not at a very loud level. There isn’t anything that makes it magically more dangerous just because it’s a speaker. Just be mindful of the volume and enjoy your music.

 

Tinnitus can be caused by ear syringing but I suspect headphones had a part to play in it too, as I sense prior to the onset of the tinnitus you regularly used headphones and probably for long durations and at too high a volume. Please understand I am not blaming you because this is something a lot of people do without realizing it.

If this is the case your tinnitus is primarily noise induced and the ear syringing brought an underlying problem, tinnitus, that was probably there in the background at low level and easily masked by normal everyday sounds so your brain was unaware of it. This frequently happens so please don't be too quick to dismiss what I'm saying.

You have done the right thing by not continuing to use headphones and I advise that you don't use them again even at low volume. Try listening to the JBL speaker at a low level and not be tempted to turn up the volume. Loud sounds and noise induced tinnitus do not go well together. You need to be aware of low bass frequencies as these can also make tinnitus worse without a person realizing it.

Please go to my started threads and read the following posts: The Habituation Process, How to Habituate to Tinnitus, Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? New to Tinnitus, What to Do, Tinnitus, A Personal View.

Take care,
Michael

 

It’s almost as if you heard the conversation between me and mom lmao. She also mentioned that the years of “abuse” of listening to music all the time and at high volumes was just the start of it and the syringing was the icing on the cake.

I was definitely a music listener with headphones, dubstep is my favorite genre and I would listen to it for hours but never had ringing. I appreciate the straight up answer and sometimes we need that. Also, what is low bass frequencies? How would I know if a song has that?

Edit: I forgot to mention but from your experience, have you heard of noise induced tinnitus fading away or even going away for someone? Honestly, I think that’s the primary cause of tinnitus so I wouldn’t think so? But, doesn’t hurt to ask lol.

 

I thought the same thing, music is everything to me. Thanks for the reply!

 

Mums know best and most of the time they are right! My late mother also told me it was listening to music too loud through headphones that caused my tinnitus, when I tried to convince her it was just something that happened. She was having none of it and of course she was one hundred percent right as always.

Please go to my started threads and read the posts that I have mentioned. They will give you information on how to take more care of your ears and guide you through the habituation process. Noise induced tinnitus can improve but you must not use any type of headphones even at low volume, and be careful of listening to loud music through speakers.

Low bass frequencies can generally be felt as well as heard when played through speakers and you need to be careful, otherwise you risk making your tinnitus worse.

All the best,
Michael

 

Hello Michael!

Happy to have you on this thread because there's something I've been curious to hear your thoughts on for quite a while.

I've seen you frequently advising against the use of headphones, even at low volumes. Headphones use speakers, close to your ears.

However, what else uses speakers? Hearing aids. Even closer to your ears. And I have not seen you advise against the use of hearing aids. You've even used noise generators yourself.

So, what makes you advise against the use of one speaker but not the other?

Hope you don't mind the question, I'm glad to see you care about people. I'm really just very curious to hear your reasoning on this.

Kindly,
Nemoriri

 

Hello @Nemoriri.

I first want to say: my advice not to use any type of headphones even at low volume is meant for people that have noise induced tinnitus as there's a risk of making it worse. This is my advice but it's not absolute. Some people with noise induced tinnitus are able to use headphone without any adverse effects, however, many people do with this type of tinnitus.

When I was a support contact for a tinnitus organisation, I had many telephone conversations with people that have noise induced tinnitus asking for help. They had successfully habituated but after a while, usually a year or more noticed their tinnitus began to increase. A pattern began to emerge, for in the majority of cases the reason for the increase in tinnitus was caused by returning to using headphones even at low volume. Type headphones in the search box at the top of this page and read the posts.

White noise generators and hearing aids are not the same as headphones or earbuds. White noise generators and hearing aids don’t usually irritate the auditory system due to the volume being kept low and its frequency range remains constant, which is unlike music that is constantly changing in pitch rhythm and timber. In addition to this the sound through white noise generators and hearing aids is delivered through a small plastic tube that goes over the back of the ear and enters the entrance to the ear canal. At the end of the tube there is a tiny aperture/hole where sound emits. Therefore these devices are not speakers.

Headphones and earbuds use a large speaker/diaphragm in comparison. They make music by generating sound waves into the ear which can cause irritation.

All the best,
Michael