If a Healthy Person Wore Earplugs 24/7, Would They Get Tinnitus Because of Lack of Auditory Input?

Assuming tinnitus (at least in many cases) is the brain trying to replace frequencies your ears can no longer send signals of to your brain - what if a healthy person without tinnitus wore earplugs constantly, would they also get tinnitus because their brain would no longer be receiving auditory input?

 

Depends for how long you would wear the earplugs.

I experienced severe conductive hearing loss a few times in my childhood as well as blew out my eardrum.

Shit sounds literally like someone turned the volume waaaay down on life, for at least a week or two at a time.

However. No tinnitus.

So my guess is no, but, if any tinnitus occurs, it is immediately recoverable within a day.

 

I have often wondered this, too! Would be nice to get an answer.

 

I doubt it. Even with earplugs on you still receive input from the sound coming out of your own body.

Maybe if you put someone in a soundproof room for a long period of time they would develop some sort of tinnitus, but it would be just temporary.

 

Didn't they already do this? Put people in a sound proof room and they actually heard ringing? Then were back to normal as soon as they left? Or is this a different phenomenon?

 

I'm just a little bit skeptical about this explanation for tinnitus. I'm going to lock my teenager away in a sensory deprivation tank and see what happens...

 

Google exists.

Reversible Induction of Phantom Auditory Sensations through Simulated Unilateral Hearing Loss

 

Make sure they have Prednisone at hand just in case.

 

I'm anti-google. I prefer to get all of my facts and information from Facebook posts.

 

"If a Healthy Person Wore Earplugs 24/7, Would They Get Tinnitus Because of Lack of Auditory Input?"

No, I don't think so.

 

But then I wouldn't give others the joy of being condescending to me...

 

Sorry man, just nightmare levels of tinnitus today - didn't mean to come off like that (though I acknowledge that's exactly how I came off).

 

We're all friends here through a common interest, right? Though I wish we didn't have this certain thing in common, no offense.

 

I would say inmates, but agree with the sentiment.

 

Yes, I remember a study some years back that showed that healthy folks did get tinnitus that reversed when the earplugs were removed.