New Tinnitus Only in One Ear: Could Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Headphones Have Caused It?

Hi, I have had tinnitus in my left ear for around 3 weeks now. The noise is a beeping sound and it kept me awake one morning as it seemed so loud. The only thing I can think of that may have caused it is that I sleep with in ear ear phones. Although they are not loud they are on most of the night. Sometimes I will just use the noise cancelling function. Could this be the reason for my tinnitus?

Also it seems to change. At night it is triggered with noise from the tv or breathing and in the morning it’s constant. Could this be a cause for concern that it’s only in one ear?

Thank you.

 

Hi Gina, I've read a lot of posts from other users who developed tinnitus from use of headphones, noise cancelling or other. Seems this could be the reason for yours, although I do recommend seeing an ENT since you describe that the ringing can be triggered from noise. I would advise you to keep take care of your ears for the time being and stay away from headphones and of course any loud noises that could cause the ringing to increase in volume.

Ella

 

I have had tinnitus for about 25 years and am very familiar with hearing aids, maskers, noise reduction headphones and ear buds since I use all of them. I also have hyperacusis and presbycusis.

I use maskers during the day and ear buds with nature noise at nighttime all night. I have not noticed any problems other than the usual ebb and flow of tinnitus noises that happen whether I use masking via hearing aides or ear buds. I think a lot of people can become anxious if their tinnitus gets stronger or different but unless you have been exposed to really loud noises or ototoxic drugs, any changes in tinnitus are probably normal for the problem. I am the voice of tinnitus speaking since I am 72 yrs. old and have had tinnitus for so very long.

 

Ear buds can be a cause of ear damage that leads to tinnitus. It could be something else, and from personal experience I haven't had any issues with ear buds. In fact, I use them to listen to white noise on Youtube (usually storm or beach sounds), but I never have the volume much louder than my tinnitus. Just be sure to see a doctor and describe accurately what you're dealing with.

It also sounds like you are concerned that the tinnitus could be caused by a more serious health condition. This is possible, but be careful about self diagnosing. The internet can convince you that you have a far more serious problem than you actually have. Just let the doctor do the diagnosis. And if your tinnitus starts effecting you too much emotionally, see a psychiatrist. Even if you are opposed to taking mental health meds, there's other forms of therapy that can make a major difference.

 

Thank you all for your replies I still have the tinnitus in my left ear and I’m terrified of seeing a doctors after lots of reading on the internet.

 

@Ggina You need to see an ENT specialist, referred by your primary doctor. I would get it checked out asap especially if there's anything that they can identify early. If they can identify an obvious cause, then they can do something. Don't do the waiting game.

 

@Thuan thanks for your reply it’s so frightening not knowing what it is and seeing the information on the internet indicating cancers :-( I’m scared!!

 

@Ggina,

the internet is scary but it's extremely rare to have acoustic neuroma (the cancer). Don't scare yourself. Ask the ENT doc or your GP doc to do a scan if you want assurance. But be careful of MRI scans (if you can get one because they're expensive) as they are very loud and might spike your tinnitus. MRI scans is, imo, better than CT scans as CT scans expose a lot of radiation to your body.

Many tinnitus symptoms do not indicate a serious cause (except our mental ability to cope with it).

You're early with tinnitus. There's success stories with people's tinnitus going away after a few months.

Eat healthy (ask your doc what supplements are good) and protect your ears from now on.