Tinnitus After iPhone 12 Speaker Phone Sound Blast Into My Right Ear

I accidentally answered a phone call with my iPhone 12 not realizing that the speakerphone was turned on (probably at or near full volume) and had the phone pressed to my right ear.

The caller only said one word for a split second and I pulled the phone away from my ear.

About 1 hour later I had the onset of tinnitus which for some reason seemed to be more on my left side.

It’s now been about 2.5 weeks and the tinnitus has been fairly constant and quite bothersome. I have a decibel meter and measured the sound at at maximum of about 100-110 dB right up against the iPhone speaker.

Could this split second exposure cause hearing loss or permanent tinnitus? I am really worried about this since it has not gone away as I had hoped. I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow for a hearing test. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Sorry to hear about your noise exposure accident. Your question about hearing loss is best left to your doctor and audiologist.

It is impossible to say if the tinnitus is permanent but the chances are very good that it is not. Even if you have residual ringing after a long period, it will not be very bothersome because, over time, the brain adjusts and tunes it out for the vast majority of people.

In the meantime, take care, and good luck with the appointment.

 

I would avoid Tympanometry and such (loud!)

I would say just do a normal hearing test with headphones.

Don’t do a microsuction if they say you got earwax. Just leave it there for 6 months!

Your recovery from that blast has a good chance of improving over 6 months. Depending on your genes and more importantly your earlier abuse of the ears.

For now avoid using headsets. And just have the phone on speaker forever away from your head so you don’t have another accident.

 

My hearing test showed a possible decrease in hearing on the right compared to the left. This was very disheartening. I did have some earwax on the right, and recently got this cleaned out, and am going to repeat the test. Also, I started taking oral steroids for the acoustic trauma. Still with ringing in the left, as well as now sometimes the right ear. Worried about the possible hearing loss. I want this to go away. I want this all heal. I am trying to trust now in the healing power of the human body.

 

This possible hearing loss may not have even been due to the phone accident, and if you do not notice it, it's probably only a slightly lower perception of very high-frequency sounds that you don't even need and won't miss. I am an avid music listener and can discern all kinds of sonic information, and my hearing loss in the higher frequency range makes no difference in my enjoyment of stereo and movie sound at home. In fact, it's probably better in some ways. Virtually nobody has the same hearing that they did as small children, and I see kids actually holding their ears when confronted with loud screeching sounds in the street, that are very uncomfortable for their sensitive ears. If you lost some highs, the body is trying to compensate for this by creating high-pitched tinnitus. It is very likely that it will subside or go away completely, and over time it will bother you less and less until you're free of the discomfort that you currently are experiencing.

 

Ever since my initial sound incident that caused my tinnitus 3 months ago (accidentally putting my iPhone to my ear when it was on speakerphone) I have had further sound incident after sound incident despite trying to be as careful as possible.

A couple months after the initial incident, I again had the speakerphone blast in my ear (although the volume was lower this time) by accidental activating the speakerphone with my cheek... and then... I accidentally was near speakers at a meeting when someone starting talking loud... then my son popped a balloon right next to me... then I was right next to a car which honked its horn at me...

I feel like I am going crazy since I am trying to be so careful and I can’t seem to avoid these continuous sound incidents. I don’t want to wear earplugs constantly because I feel that worsens hyperacusis but I just don’t know if this is normal or I am cursed by someone.

 

All of the incidents that you mentioned are relatively harmless, not enough to do further damage. It is impossible to avoid an occasional noise that is loud, everybody with tinnitus has had it happen. Tinnitus does not usually increase as long as precaution is used under more serious conditions.

 

@Andy02, I can relate to you. My 2nd (and permanent) tinnitus onset happened when I blasted for a few seconds studio headphones connected to iMac that had headphone volume set to 100%. Later I measured it at it was something around 105 dB. Previously in my life I was attending few loud concerts (louder than 105 dB) and I was generally using headphones a lot, so I somewhat abused my ears.

I believe 105 dB blast is something that someone with normal ears should NOT be worried about. We live in environment that 105-110 dB sounds are everywhere, inevitable and obviously not everyone gets tinnitus each time ambulance comes by.
Unfortunately back then I was also seriously lacking of good sleep/rest and I was overall going through very stressful period, hence I believe it must have been some cluster effect that was damaging in my case.

My overall recommendation is to stay calm. I can imagine your stress upon each of the new accidents. But please stay calm. Popping NAC every-time you are exposed to loud noise also helps as it is known to have protective (anti-oxidation stress) effects. Also it has some sort of calming effect on my as it is best I can do anyway. It is prescription free and has no side effects (unless if seriously overdose it), in opposite to steroids.

 

Hello Andy, based upon the description of your experience, I can say almost 100% assuredly that the damage done to your ear in terms of both hearing loss and tinnitus are a direct result of the use of your iPhone.

I have had a very similar experience w/ my iPhone 12 and suffered immediate hearing loss and extreme tinnitus that I have been enduring for the past year and a half, resulting in difficulty in focusing and loss of sleep.

Unfortunately, you are one of the few instances of hearing loss and tinnitus from use of an iPhone that I have found online, although I imagine that there are hundreds if not thousands of other iPhone users out there who have suffered the same injuries.

Also unfortunately, most of the product-liability attorneys online are just lawyers seeking auto-accident cases and none seem willing to go up against Apple. I certainly wish that the effects of the damage to my ear by the iPhone would simply go away and I could put this issue behind me but it's apparent that the effects are here to stay and I'm at a loss for what to do about it.

Please let me know if you have made any progress in either relieving the effects or taking some kind of action against Apple.

 

Do not put your phone to your ear again. As @Exit said earlier, speakerphone at distance is the way to go. I have not held a phone to my ear since onset.

 

Hi Andy,

I answered your post about Lenire and now I am reading these posts. I can't begin to imagine what you are going through as everyone is living their own experience with this problem.

This page answers your first question.

Generally, yes, you could have hearing loss from the initial iPhone incident, but it is also supposed to take about 5 minutes of consistent loudness.

As far as the other incidents, on some I would question whether they were in the danger zone, or close enough to you to cause trauma. Maybe the balloon incident, but how big a balloon was it? Was it right next to your ear?

The car horn, which is something you may find hard to avoid, was it right next to your ear? Did you flip the driver off? When I get a car honk, or any other loud sound, I question my "I am screwed" reaction, because I cant really be sure it was traumatic. I trust you know for yourself and I don't question that.

I would still give yourself sometime to see what happens.