Headphones-Induced Tinnitus Made Worse by Another Acoustic Trauma

Hey everyone, nice to meet you all. I originally got tinnitus in May 2021 from loud music and sounds using headphones. After that experience, I never used headphones again. From May 2021, my tinnitus has been stable for the most part with no major spikes that last multiple days, weeks or months. During the last couple of months with tinnitus, I was able to see Top Gun 2 and go to a festival (with earplugs) and not have a noticeable change. I also take the bus to school and my tinnitus does not spike when on the street. I have been very used to my tinnitus until now...

However, last Thursday I was talking to my cousin on Teams and he shared, using screen share, some video that had a very loud and a high-pitched scream. I was on my phone so I tried to exit the meeting, but I still heard the noise and tensed up. I thought the exposure would go away after bed, but I awoke in the middle of the night to an even louder and high-pitched sound.

It has almost been a week since the exposure and I really hope it is temporary but I am losing hope. I haven't been sleeping well and there isn't any indication that it'll go down. Any support or positive thoughts would really help me during this time.

I never imagined that my tinnitus would spike like this after it has been good for so long...

 

Hi @Aloman278.

I am sorry to hear about the increase in your tinnitus after a long period it has been stable. You are not to blame because you didn't know of the risks involved with this type of tinnitus which is noise induced.

Many people can successfully habituate to noise induced tinnitus with or without hyperacusis. However, a person can habituate to tinnitus but still have spikes. Spikes are an indication that hyperacusis is present within the auditory system or the person has some oversensitivity to sound caused by the noise trauma.

If the hyperacusis or oversensitivity to sound don't improve by themselves, or they are not treated with sound therapy, ideally using white noise generators, you may require counselling with an audiologist trained in tinnitus and hyperacusis management. In most cases (but not all) there is the risk of the tinnitus increasing at some time due to being exposed to sound, that may not necessarily have to be loud. The risk increases if the person listens to audio through headphones even at low volume. This includes earbuds, AirPods, headsets, noise cancelling and bone conduction headphones.

If a person fully habituates to noise induced tinnitus and has no signs of hyperacusis or oversensitivity to sound within their auditory system, they still need to be careful when exposed to loud sounds. This doesn't mean to be wearing noise reducing earplugs 24/7, or to be petrified that their tinnitus will be made worse because a police siren is heard in close proximity. It does mean when going to places such as night clubs, cinema, concert not to put trust in noise reducing earplugs no matter how good they are, even custom moulded types. The reason is because, if external sound is loud enough, it will pass through the head and transfer to the inner ear by bone conduction and spike the tinnitus. The spike could increase the tinnitus to a new permanent level.

Some people that have habituated to noise induced tinnitus, think that is perfectly safe to listen to audio through any type of headphones as long as the volume is kept low. This is not necessarily true. I have corresponded and counselled many people over the years with this type of tinnitus. In the majority of cases when this type of tinnitus increases after habituation of more than a year, the reason is caused by listening to audio through headphones, earbuds, headsets, noise cancelling or bone conduction headphones. It can also be caused by exposure to other types of loud sounds even when wearing earplugs.

Please go to my started threads and read: Hyperacusis, As I See It, Tinnitus, a Personal View, Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset, Acquiring a Positive Mindset. Please click on the link below and read my post: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

Hope you start to feel better soon.

All the best,
Michael

Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Thank you for the kind words and information Michael. For the past couple of days I haven't been sleeping well, but I have hope that this spike won't be permanent. The main things driving me are that I wasn't using headphones and the fact that it hasn't been a week since the exposure.

Wishing for a miracle.

 

It is good that you haven't been using headphones @Aloman278.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the most common cause for noise induced tinnitus to spike or increase to a new permanent level is the result of exposure to sound. I have covered this at length in my post: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? If you are able to print it and the other posts mentioned, I advise you to do so. That way you will absorb and retrain the information better than reading on your phone or computer screen.

All the best,
Michael

 

Even though the spike has gone down a bit, I have a hissing sound within both of the ears. Will that go away in time? It's only been a week since the exposure.

 

It is good news that the spike has reduced a bit @Aloman278.

We are all different, so I cannot say for certain how your tinnitus is going to behave in the weeks and months ahead. My advice is to follow the suggestions in my posts if you want to try self-help. This requires using low level sound enrichment whenever possible and particularly at night, to help desensitize your auditory system, because I suspect remnants of hyperacusis are still present within your auditory system or it has some oversensitivity to sound. This needs to be treated so you don't get another spike.

As I have previously mentioned, spikes are an indication that hyperacusis or some oversensitivity to sound is present in the auditory system. See how you get on and give it time. If your oversensitivity to sound hasn't significantly improved after 3 months, I suggest seeing an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management. This is just my advice but ultimately, it's your choice whatever you choose to do.

I advise that you keep away from places where loud music is played and don't put your trust in noise reducing earplugs, if external sound is loud enough, it can pass through the head and transfer to the inner and spike the tinnitus, which can increase it to a new permanent level.

Be patient and hopefully things will improve.

Best of luck,
Michael

 

The spike has gone down a bit but it is still noticeably different. The trauma that caused the spike was a high pitched scream. It hasn't been 2 weeks yet but I'm losing the hope that this spike is temporary. Most spikes that I had before lasted a week maximum, but this is persisting close to 2 weeks. I really don't know what to do.

 

Hi @Aloman278 - I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with a scary spike. I recognize that it's easy for me to say this, yet it seems likely that you're spike continue to reduce in intensity, hopefully all the way back to your original baseline (or, in an even more ideal world, out of your perception altogether

If I were in your position and really concerned, I'd probably try to schedule a visit to a specialist, even though it's not clear that doing so would necessarily help or clarify things - I just know that sometimes, getting a trained professional's opinion helps me get out of my own head.

One thing that I and many members have found useful for the symptom you're describing is supplementing with NAC. I might try that, along with getting good rest and drinking plenty of water to keep your system hydrated and running smoothly. There will be infinite other supplement recommendations on this forum, and I wouldn't argue with any of them, as each individual is so different - I'm just offering something that I've found helpful.

I hope to hear an update from you soon about how your tinnitus has returned to an unintrusive baseline!

 

I understand your concerns, but you need to give the healing process plenty of time because 2 weeks is not long enough.

If you have printed my posts as I have advised you to do, by taking your time to read them will help allay any fears or doubts you may have about the tinnitus, because you will understand what's going on. This will lower anxiety and stress. If you are feeling stressed talk to your doctor.

I wish you well,
Michael

 

Everyone, I'm so sorry. Everything was pretty good with life and then I brought it back to hell.

Without using headphones for 2 years, I wanted to see how things were. So I put on my headphones at low volume for a single minute. After that I started to experience ear discomfort and fullness. In the upcoming days I started to have burning pain in my ears, tinnitus spiking, and overall sound distortion. I feel like a failure.

I'm sorry @Michael Leigh, I should have never put the headphones on. It was smooth jazz for a minute at a very low volume. I never expected to be thrust back into this hell.

Please, any advice would be appreciated.

 

I don't think using your headphones for just one minute at a low volume, was the only cause for your tinnitus to increase @Aloman278, although I could be wrong. When noise-induced tinnitus increases after a long habituation period, the cause is often a series of events. Headphones can cause noise-induced tinnitus to increase but usually, a person has to be using them more than once, not just for one minute at low volume.

Have you been going to places where loud music has been played? This could be a music festival, club or the cinema where the audio from these movies are played in surround sound and at high volume levels. If this this the case, you probably used noise reducing earplugs at these events, thinking that you would be relatively safe, but this is not necessarily the case. I have explained the reasons in previous posts and in my thread: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

Listening to music at home through the stereo, at high volume levels without realizing it, can cause noise-induced tinnitus to increase. It is something that happened to me and other people that have approached me for help.

My advice is to see an ENT doctor and audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management. Please read the posts that I have previously mentioned, particularly: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

Hope you start to feel better soon,

Michael

 

I take the bus everyday to school using public transport so that could be a factor. I've also been to a couple of restaurants in the past month. None of them have been too loud except one with screaming kids. Could that have been the cause? That was on June 29th. My tinnitus was still fine until this Thursday where I put headphones on for a minute and then this happened.

 

When a person fully habituates to noise-induced tinnitus @Aloman278, they shouldn't be experiencing any oversensitivity to sound, although the tinnitus doesn't always have to be at a low volume. I suspect that the music festival you went to and watching Top Gun 2 at the cinema, are the main culprits for causing an increase in your tinnitus, even though you wore earplugs. As I have mentioned on many occasions, if external sound is loud enough, it will pass through the head and reach the cochlea which could cause an increase in the tinnitus.

I also believe that your auditory system had remnants of oversensitivity to sound or hyperacusis within it prior to the increase in the tinnitus, meaning you were not quite as habituated as you thought. The main cause for noise-induced tinnitus to increase, is due to exposure to loud sounds or headphone use.

All the best,
Michael

 

Top Gun 2 was in July 2022 and the festival was in August 2022. And the last loud event I went to was in January 2023, and there was no increase in tinnitus pitch or ear pain. The one time I used headphones I get an increase in the tone, distortion, alongside the burning ear pain. I believe that the headphones are the main reason for how I'm feeling.

 

As I said, I could be wrong. In any event, you cannot change the past and trying to find a reason why your tinnitus increased can cause more stress. I advise that you deal with what's happening now. See an ENT and get your hearing and auditory system checked, then get a referral to an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

I think counselling with the audiologist, wearing white noise generators and possibly medication will help you.

All the best,
Michael

 

It's probably impossible to figure out why one's tinnitus goes up or down (except for obvious, traumatic events). Mine had essentially disappeared for a week or more, then a few days ago I noticed it increase in loudness even though absolutely nothing had changed. It was like it came from deep within my left ear, and within a few seconds had gotten pretty darn loud. I hadn't been chewing anything, the apartment was dead still, it just went up w/ me sitting reading.

We're very, very complicated organisms, and it could have been any one of a million different things that caused it. I've learned to not go down the rabbit hole of chasing causation. Just mask it w/ ambient sound and go on w/ my life. If it got to an unbearable level it might be different, and that could always happen, but in over 20 years it hasn't.

 

I can mask the sound but the pain makes it really difficult in my ears.

Do you think this is going to be permanent?

 

Sad thing is no one knows. I hope it goes away for you.

 

I know that you are going through a difficult time @Aloman278, but I get the feeling you haven't been reading my posts that I advised you to read, then you would know one of the worst things to do with noise-induced tinnitus is to mask it as you risk making it worse.

I have advised you to read: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? for a very good reason. Once you fully understand it, then you will know the type of tinnitus you are dealing with. It is not something to take lightly. Trying to treat it yourself without the proper knowledge you can easily make it worse! Use low level sound enrichment and don't try to mask the tinnitus. Please do as I have suggested and find an ENT doctor and audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

It took me 4 years to habituate after my second noise trauma; this doesn't mean the same will apply to you. However, if you are not careful, you can make your situation worse. Just take things slowly and try my suggestions.

Michael