Loud YouTube Video — Tinnitus Now Seems More Prominent

I am a 27 year old male. I'm actually a med student, so I'm pretty well versed in medical terminology and decision-making.

I've had tinnitus since 2011. It honestly has not bothered me at all over the past 8 years. Well, it did for like the first three months, but I was able to habituate and just ignore it. During the last 8 years, if I thought about it, I could hear it. But it just didn't bother me because I could easily tune it out. I also couldn't hear it in many public places like grocery stores and at school.

I was also not more protective of my hearing than the average person. I used headphones all the time (at a normal volume) and went to my fair share of loud college parties, college nightclub visits, and extremely loud weddings (all without ear protection). The ringing was always at the same level at the end, and I honestly don't think I suffered any hearing loss.

However, last week I was aimless browsing YouTube while wearing my noise cancelling headphones. In one of the videos, someone screams so loud that it felt like full blast or more, even though my headphones were at around 60% volume.

I muted my computer in about four seconds, but it was really uncomfortable. Maybe even a little painful. Although I'm not sure if that's me just being stressed. Since then, I've really been focusing on my tinnitus the last two weeks. I'm not sure if it's louder than it used to be, but it seems more prominent. But maybe I am just undoing the habituation I've done by focusing on it. I will also say that I'm going through an incredibly stressful exam period in school right now, and I am very anxious. That may play a role as well.

Could a 4 (to maybe 6 second) really loud YouTube clip permanently spike my tinnitus to be much louder? Honestly, as a future doctor, if a patient asked me this question, my inclination would be to say no. It seems that the average maximum decibel output of most headphones is 110 dB. 4 seconds at 110 dB (and even 120 dB) is not enough to cause permanent damage. However, I'm so annoyed that some stupid guy yelling could cause me an issue like this after so long.

Any advice?

 

Sorry to hear you're having this trouble.

I got a new Windows 10 laptop from work and it does seem to have a much louder too volume than anything else I've used. There are apps that will limit the volume for you. I'll post my link to them soon. In the meantime try to give your ears rest. Consider taking earplugs to your social occasions. Your tinnitus will only get worse if you don't take more steps to protect yourself. Maybe switching to open back headphones instead of over-ear, and reducing usage and volume. Hope things settle down again soon.

https://www.itechtics.com/3-ways-set-maximum-volume-limit-windows-10/

I did find Quiet on the Set to be a bit glitchy when you try to increase the volume above the maximum limit you've set, but that might depend on your soundcard etc. Worth a shot.

 

Especially if your ear is primed from previous sound exposure, this short loud sound via headphones could cause tinnitus, especially if it startled you as well, as the temporary tympani muscle did not have the time to partially protect from the sound.

The 60 percent volume recommendation is also too loud. I would toss the headphones and only use speakers at lower volumes.

Protect your hearing from future noise damage.

Best of luck in your medical studies.

 

Resurrecting the old thread.

My friend's ear started whistling after watching a YouTube hearing test video at max 25% of the volume a week ago with headphones. I have experienced that tinnitus is very, very unpredictable, but for me it still seems unlikely that sounds that loud could cause damage.

I don't really know what to recommend her in this situation other than resting the ears and ditching the headphones at least for a while, and maybe steroids?

 

Hi Kriszti. I’m in similar situation as your friend, and currently on steroids.

Do you have an update on her situation by any chance?