Do More People Have Tinnitus Nowadays Than Before?

Does anyone think there is a surge in those affected by tinnitus or do you believe that we are just hearing more about it because of social media?

I cannot remember anyone other than myself who had ever experienced it back in say the 80s, but now? My mother, a co-worker’s family member, my own daughter and some younger celebs I follow have tinnitus.

It seems as though a lot of medicines I took years ago without incident are becoming problematic as well. Is it the ingredient quality or is it our body chemistry? Thoughts?

 

Society is becoming louder in general. More headphone use (AirPods, video game headsets, using headsets for work, headphones at the gym) .

I think the average young person living in a major city exposes themselves to more harmful noise than they think (think NYC - you take a screeching subway to work. You wear headphones all day listening to podcasts/music, you walk amongst loud traffic to your favorite bar for happy hour that's blasting music at 90 db or you go to a workout class with the same thing). You crank up your headphones on the subway on your way home to drown out the screeching. On the weekends you go to a concert without ear plugs because hearing health isn't discussed at all, and then you do it over and over again.

Those who are lucky will just be hard of hearing by the time they're 50. Those who are a little less lucky will have tinnitus by the time they're in their 30's. Those of us who are extremely unlucky get tinnitus and hyperacusis before 25.

I've seen people say movie theaters are much more louder now, restaurants are louder (refurbished industrial places that are poorly insulated, "open" concepts, music blasting) every other store you go into is also blasting music. Noise pollution is a real thing. Of course this is just an example and doesn't take into account people with quiet lifestyles, but for example my example in my second paragraph is the lifestyle that most of my friends lead.

I also think people are more stressed and depressed than ever before. Doctors write out prescriptions for anti-depressants like candy.

Perhaps we do notice it more due to the internet in social media, but there is no denying that things are getting louder. There have been studies showing hearing loss amongst teenagers is on the rise as well.

 

I think that there are far more people with noise-induced tinnitus than, say, 200 years ago. Other than blacksmiths and grenadiers very few people would have been exposed to damaging levels of noise as we can be.

Also, fewer, there were fewer otoxic medicines - with the notable exception of quinine - that could result in a person developing tinnitus.

Whether there was less or more stress then than there is now, it's difficult to say. However, many people do find the modern world to be emotionally exhausting, hence the very large number of people who are prescribed antidepressants. I suspect that there was less stress 200 years ago, but then I may be romanticising the past.

 

I'm sure my tinnitus came from my use of earbuds. If it's true, then more will get it.