My Story with Tinnitus — History of Listening to Music on Earbuds

Hello everyone, I'm a 23-year-old guy who has had tinnitus since last August. I'll preface by saying it was a stressful period of my life since I was moving away from home for the first time and was late in looking for accommodation. The day I got tinnitus I had listened to music on earbuds with the volume a bit louder than usual (still not maxed out or anything). One of the differences is I was using some kind of EQ from the AutoEQ project (not going to go into what that is exactly) but not really knowing there was like a boost at the 15 kHz region which I'm afraid could have been the culprit, but I didn't know any better.

The tinnitus didn't seem instantaneous, but I remember lying down at night with my ears on the pillow and hearing it.

I went to my general doctor who thought I had an ear infection and gave me antibiotics which I took. I thought it was plausible but maybe I just didn't want to admit my mistake. I honestly didn't have any symptom of acoustic trauma thinking back.

I went to an ENT who tested my hearing and found no hearing loss in the speech region (up to 8 kHz) and tympanogram was normal.

What I have is a high-pitched ringing, I think it's in both ears although sometimes it seems like it's mostly in the right. It's low enough in volume to only be heard at night from the start so I'm definitely thankful for that. It's also faded a bit in volume.

I don't have any other history of noise exposure other than the earbuds that I was always careful to not blast them at full volume or anything close, and never for more than an hour.

I also have a loud crackle on the right side of my jaw when I open it which I learnt could be TMJ, however I haven't investigated with a dentist yet. Sometimes the sound will appear while biting mean it goes from so low it's not audible during the day to heard for that particular moment I take the bite.

If I have to bet on what caused it I'd say it's probably the earbuds. I have made sure to avoid them since onset.

I never had any warning of fleeting tinnitus so I'm incredibly sad. I am hopeful of it going away but it's been almost 3 months so I'm not sure.

The tinnitus is so low it's not really bothersome, so right now it's not the sound which stresses me but mainly the idea of having compromised ears. I wish I could go back. That and the eventuality of it worsening although I'm trying my hardest not to have that happen.

I'm not sure I can accept the idea of never using headphones again, music is such a big part of my life. I'd certainly be more cautious, although for now I'm playing it safe for at least a full year.

And that is my story! I'll be sure to update with more news.

 

I'm with you about headphones, @HopefulFranky - it's one of the big losses I've experienced since my acoustic trauma this summer. I do support your choice to say away from them, though, and agree that they're the likely culprit of your current auditory woes.

I can also relate to your sadness about the tinnitus not going away, and the somatic relationship to it increasing when you bite. I also support your theory that the audiogram simply didn't go high enough in frequency to detect any hearing loss.

With a warm welcome to the forum, I wish you support, healing and - hopefully - silence. Take good care, and come back often!

 

Hi @HopefulFranky. Sorry to hear you now have this persistent worry. The good news is it sounds fairly mild your symptoms and there is every reason to hope your symptoms will not get any worse with due care.

You will most certainly habituate to these sounds and there is still hope the sounds will fade.

I have, or had, an issue with biting and chewing. I have been eating soft-medium textured foods for so long now, that I can eat food with barely any chewing or biting. It's quite possible this has cleared up now as I haven't heard the somatic chewing/biting element of my tinnitus for months now. However, being cautious, I am going to continue with the soft/medium textured foods for a further few months before buying nuts, crisps and chewing gum again.

As for preventative measures, carrying earplugs at all times and avoiding loud noises is the standard. No lawnmowers or power tools. Plug up when going for a haircut; you don't want these electric clippers buzzing at your ears.

If you want to go further; you may want to take vitamins and supplements for a while. There is plenty of info on this forum. NAC is good for preventing further damage (there is research to back this). Magnesium, Zinc, B12, C and fish oil (Omega 3) are also good.

 

I was looking for a pair of earplugs but I don't know what kind to go for, do you have any suggestions? I wanted to get them on Amazon, in my country the brands I see the most are Alpine and Loop.

And for the supplements, do you advice just taking them or should I check for any deficiencies beforehand?

 

3M 1100 foam earplugs are good quality and give you a solid 33 dB protection. You may want to invest in earmuffs as well, Peltors are good.

With regards to vitamins and supplements, the opinions on their effectiveness are split. No one can ever say for sure if they make any difference as you have no way of comparing your tinnitus if you didn't take them.

It comes down to personal choice. What I feel quite confident in telling you is taking vitamins and supplements will not do you any harm and they may even do some good - that's why I take them.

That said; there are plenty of people who took no vitamins or supplements and made a full recovery.

 

Custom made silicon earplugs to fit your specific ear canal in the most optimal way. If funds are limited: i guess foam earplugs are ok too - make sure though they are inserted properly without leakage (not easy, that's why I advise custom made earplugs).

 

Quit headphones for 6 months and protect your hearing from loud noises. Your story seems similar to mine the first time around. It dissipated after 6 months of me doing this.

Headphone use made it come back 2nd time around, although I was not careful.

 

Exposure to loud noise is one of the most common causes of tinnitus. Once a person has this type of tinnitus, if they use any type of headphones, even at low volume, they risk making the tinnitus worse. It doesn't matter if a person has stopped using headphones for a year or more, each time they are used there is a risk of the tinnitus increasing.

If the tinnitus does increase, there is no guarantee that it will return to its previous baseline level. A person is playing Russian roulette with their health. In addition to the tinnitus increasing, it can change to variable tinnitus which is often a more severe form of noise induced tinnitus, that can be difficult to habituate to.

Michael

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

 

Agreed. The smart move is avoid all headphone use and avoid loud noise.

 

You're lucky this is your biggest issue. Take it easy.

 

I definitely agree. I've read multiple stories here and I certainly don't want to sound ungrateful. However, that is the feeling I have right now, maybe the passage of time will make me forget about it. I hope you can find some relief as well.

 

Time is key. Yes, it will either fade away or you'll stop thinking about it. Even at my insane levels I've somewhat achieved this.

 

Honestly I'd just exclusively use speakers to listen to music as you get lots of natural reality checks when it comes to the volume from walking in and out of the room for example.

I'd say it's worth the trade off to ensure you can enjoy music well into your twilight years without having to worry about worse tinnitus and hearing loss.

 

I would like to provide an update. I'm right about past the 3 months mark since onset.

These last few days the tinnitus volume has reduced greatly, I barely hear it at night. Hope it's no coincidence and that there's a possibility for it to go away!

 

Right now more so than the mild tinnitus, what's bothering me the most is this clicking sound of my jaw whenever I open my mouth. When I had visited an ENT months prior, she told me from the way I open and close my mouth that I could have some kind of malocclusion, and told me to visit a gnathologist. I had put it off, but considering the clicking is still there I would probably go and check that, not that I think the tinnitus is 100% related to that, just in general the clicking is annoying.

Does anyone have a similar experience and got better via some kind of treatment?

 

I experienced yet another reduction in volume. Now in the morning it seems like even if I cover my ears I can hardly hear it. As the day goes on it seems to get louder though.

I hope the improvements mean I have a chance of it to go away.

 

Keep taking your supplements.

 

Actually I haven't taken any supplements. Which ones do you think I should try taking?

 

NAC and Magnesium for sure.

 

Fading.

You got very lucky. Tinnitus is incredibly unforgiving. Seems you got your old life back for now. Just please be careful.