Tinnitus from Using AirPods for a Week

I developed tinnitus after using AirPods for a week (I returned them). The tinnitus was horrible at first but I have used masking tracks and a re-training audio that provide some relief. Caffeine seems to make it worse as well as lack of sleep and stress. No hearing loss found by the audiologist.

Has anyone had a similar experience? What are your top recommendations?

 

Sorry that this happened to you. The good news is that you are very likely going to get over this, though it may take some time.

My recommendation would be to focus on calming activities and things that take your mind off of your tinnitus (yoga, meditation, socializing). Secondly, I would treat my ears very gently for the time being, no bars, loud music, no earbuds, or anything that could be stressful on your ears. Maybe get a set of earplugs to carry with you in case you are in an unavoidably noisy situation. Third, focus on your health, sleep, diet, exercise. Fourth, don't focus on it more than you need to, keep yourself distracted if you can. Tinnitus is a funny thing and oftentimes obsessing over it, or god help me, spending time on these Tinnitus Talk forums, can really make things worse.

Do those things and you have a really good chance of sooner (hopefully) or later returning to silence.

 

Hi Fairydust,

Headphones, earbuds, headsets and AirPods are common causes of tinnitus. They are often used at too high a volume without a person realizing it until tinnitus develops. Your tinnitus will improve with time but for now, my advice is to give your ears a rest and not to use your AirPods even at low volume. If your tinnitus goes away it might be safe to resume using them. However, it is not something I advise, but the choice is yours. Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful. Use low level sound enrichment during the day and at night. More about this is explained in the links.

All the best
Michael

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