What Just Happened (I Had a 3-Minute Exposure to iPhone Headphones at 80% of the Max Volume)

[Nathalie]

I had a 3 min exposure to iPhone headphones at 80% of the volume. The volume was one red bar into high volume.

I know that this is rather loud and I shouldn't have done that. These are the tiny earbuds that go into your ear.

I had a terrible day and felt so down I really wanted to listen to some music. I was so irritated and anxious that I didn't think about if it would be dangerous. I listened to an electronic music song with bass and rhythmic parts in it. Fluctuating pitches etc.

However after I stopped listening 2 min later my left ear felt like deaf and gave a high frequency ring. Then later my right ear gave a lower frequency ring.

Now my T has spiked awfully in volume and left ear is hissing and buzzing in different pitches and frequencies. I feel my hearing is blocked and stuffed. Feels so scary... I feel like I am out of control lately. Just when I feel better and do something good to myself I yet again get bad thoughts and commit a stupid act and feel even worse afterwards.

You guys on this site...what do you think? Did I cause some serious permanent damage now with these incredibly stupid and loud 3 minutes?

I am honestly shocked with myself. I am literally the dumbest idiot. I don't know what to do. I went crying to my mother saying my ears feel so bad again but I didn't want to tell the truth behind why. I feel like a piece of crap. Filthy loser.

 

[billie48]

Get a docter to look at your ears first. Ask him to give you some prednisone steroid. You may have suffered from acoustic trauma. So the sooner you get that treatment, the better for your ears. Also try masking your T if its level is too high to bear. Try these:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: http://mynoise.net/

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

[Nathalie]

Everyone on this forum is probably shocked and disgusted by my endlessly stupid behaviour. I am sorry for being such a whiner. It is entirely my own fault and now I am in distress once again because of my stupid actions. I have been through this once...why do I have to keep harming myself and going through this cycle of self harm and blame again? I don't understand myself. Every time I feel like I can trust myself again and not fear my reckless behaviour...I do something completely unexpected and utterly stupid in its nature.

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Nathalie,

The smartest thing you can do for yourself is to stop using earbuds/earphones/headphones! I have not used my headphones at work since March 2016 when I got tinnitus (not due loud music, but due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time).

Of course this does not mean you never can listen to music again; I listen all the time on Youtube, through my speakers set on low volume. Enjoy life, music, etc, but be mindful of your body, and that includes your ears.

 

[Nathalie]

Hi Nathalie,

The smartest thing you can do for yourself is to stop using earbuds/earphones/headphones! I have not used my headphones at work since March 2016 when I got tinnitus (not due loud music, but due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time).

Of course this does not mean you never can listen to music again; I listen all the time on Youtube, through my speakers set on low volume. Enjoy life, music, etc, but be mindful of your body, and that includes your ears.

Good advice, I promise not to use them for a long time. What do you think though, was it enough to cause real damage? I guess I should get a decibel meter and measure the headphone volume because I have no idea how many db it was.

 

[MikeL1972]

I cannot accurately answer your question, but I can tell you that the idea is not to inflict any further damage to your ears.

 

[quietatnight]

Nathalie


You really have to STOP using ear buds and head phones for good. You never want to put anything near, or worse IN your ear that close to your eardrum. Even with speakers, always set your volume to "0", and then start the song and bring up the volume slowly until you reach a comfortable level. And don't forget to put the volume back down to "0" after your done, so it's already low for the next time you listen to another song. They are not all recorded at the same level. It will help you avoid getting spikes. This how I have been doing it for years.

Please try and make better choices...


Good luck and


Merry Christmas, I hope that 2017 is a better year for you.


Louie

Quietatnight

 

[Ecip]

That's quite the self destructive path that you're on.
Take responsibility for your actions, stop seeking people's pity on the Internet.
Protect your ears from further loud noise exposure, wear earplugs when you are in a loud environment.
Talk to a psychologist.
Seek tinnitus retraining therapy, if you can.
Meditate.
Exercise.
Be content.

 

[MikeGreen]

Please dont do this Nathalia. I myself am planning to burn my headphones and hopefully never listen to music again.