Ear Pain from Pulling Headphones Out Quickly Causing Suction

Hey guys!

New to Tinnitus Talk. I have had tinnitus since about age 16 from playing metal music, being in a band etc. I managed it down. It comes and goes as long as I look after my hearing, use earplugs at concerts etc.

Last night, I was in bed listening to some YouTube videos, and my sound suddenly shot up.

I freaked as loud sounds right in my ear can spike my tinnitus so I yanked my headphones out quickly but I felt a suction feeling and have had pain in the ear since then.

My headphones are kind of like foam earplugs in that that go in and create a vacuum to prevent outside sound.

I researched that pulling earplugs/headphones out too quickly can create a suction that can damage eardrum and also damage the 3 tiny bones behind!

I am having awful anxiety that I have damaged my hearing. The other thing that is worrying me is that I only get tinnitus in my right ear, but now I can hear tinnitus in my left ear too a little bit.

Is it really that easy to damage your hearing? I am so worried I am going to have permanent damage from this. My headphones are not quite as tight as foam earplugs would be, but I definitely felt the suction and instant pain when I pulled it out.

Should I go to doctor and how could I tell if I have damaged my hearing? Would it happen instantly or could my hearing decrease slowly after this incident?

 

I think it's a long shot but if you are worried, get your hearing checked. Damage to your ossicles (inner ear bones) will show up on audiogram as an air/bone gap. It will ease your anxiety to get a normal result if nothing else.

You are probably just sore. Anxiety itself can spike tinnitus so try not to worry, if possible.