Has Anybody Recovered from a Tinnitus Spike Caused by Pure Tone Exposure?

[tobyharrixon]

Hi,

Due to some very unfortunate luck, I was exposed to high pitched pure tones from my phone while using TikTok (which I have now deleted) and Instagram (also deleted). Both videos started playing without warning, and I was exposed for about two to three seconds at a low volume. I already knew about the risks of pure tones, so that may have triggered an anxiety response, but my tinnitus has been much more intrusive since then.

Both tones were around 10 kilohertz, and the phone was held at arm's length on both occasions. The volume was set to about two or three clicks above the minimum. Logically, this should not have caused any significant damage, but all I can find online, especially on forums and Reddit, are negative stories about pure tone exposure.

Has anyone actually recovered from something like this? I am feeling pretty discouraged about the state of things right now.

 

[Nes]

It happened to me. I was searching for a friend's username on TikTok, and the first result was one of those pure frequency tracks that are supposed to "heal your soul and chakra" or something like that. This caused a new sound in the ear that was exposed, which lasted for three days.

It completely went away for a while, but it left my ear extremely sensitive to those kinds of frequencies. Now the sound comes back for a short time whenever I hear noises that resemble those tones.

 

[tobyharrixon]

Damn. We really should not be on these apps, should we?

 

[Nes]

Damn. We really should not be on these apps, should we?

I still use TikTok. Tinnitus is not going to take away another thing I enjoy. However, I only use it without sound unless I am certain the video does not contain any strange or potentially triggering sounds.

I am not too concerned about videos where people are just talking, or content from creators I know well. Still, I usually scroll in silence and rely on subtitles whenever I am on my For You Page.