3 Years of Tinnitus from Headphones

[Ri-]

When I was 15, I was sitting in my room watching videos with headphones, when suddenly I was hit with a piercing ringing. I literally threw off my headphones, startled. The ringing quieted down somewhat, but it was still an electrical screeching, alongside an uncomfortable feeling of pressure in my head.

I told my dad later what happened, and he said it was normal for ears to ring sometimes and to sleep it off. I went to bed, but the screeching was still there the next day.

I really started to panic when I walked into a silent room in my house, and it was like a loud, vibrating ringing was filling up the room, closing in on me. It was overwhelming and just produced this feeling of wrongness. The force of the noise made my head hurt.

I eventually ended up seeing a series of doctors and getting an MRI, ending in me being told they couldn't find anything wrong with me, and that I shouldn't expect the tinnitus to go away. It crushed me, and I sobbed on the walk back to the car.

Three years later, I still have a constant electrical screeching and pressure in my head, even when I'm sitting right next to a fan or air cleaner. I can't get too far from a source of noise before it feels like my head is vibrating from the ringing.

I also have hyperacusis. It hurts to hear plates clinking or my dad talking too loudly. It even hurt me recently to hear my brother typing on a keyboard.

Therapy has done nothing. I am in just as much despair as I was on the day I was told this condition would be permanent. I'm eighteen now, but I barely got through high school, and only with online schooling.

I feel like my life ended three years ago, and everything since has been a sad blur. I just figured I'd post my story for anyone who can relate.

 

[Pinhead]

I can relate, down to the time. My three year anniversary is this month. I am no longer alive, basically. My ears screech, ache, and burn. I can't be around fans, A/C, heaters, or cars.

I'm so sorry that we're in this situation. I'd say we will 'get through', but I don't know that a 'through' exists.

 

[Bobby1221]

I, too, got tinnitus from closed-back headphones. The music sounded so good, and I ignored the occasional pinpricks I felt in my ears. Then I noticed a high-pitched sound, so I stopped using the headphones; after a while, the loud, high-pitched sound went away; now, it is more of a high-frequency hiss I hear in a quiet room.

I just quit drinking coffee to see if that helps. What is odd, is if I play a masking sound like a Mountain Stream in the room as I am doing things, it goes away. And if I am sitting in a recliner and play the masking sound for just 15 seconds, it is almost gone, but then it comes back, so I think coffee is overstimulating my brain.

 

[RunningMan]

I, too, got tinnitus from closed-back headphones. The music sounded so good, and I ignored the occasional pinpricks I felt in my ears. Then I noticed a high-pitched sound, so I stopped using the headphones; after a while, the loud, high-pitched sound went away; now, it is more of a high-frequency hiss I hear in a quiet room.

I just quit drinking coffee to see if that helps. What is odd, is if I play a masking sound like a Mountain Stream in the room as I am doing things, it goes away. And if I am sitting in a recliner and play the masking sound for just 15 seconds, it is almost gone, but then it comes back, so I think coffee is overstimulating my brain.

You have very mild tinnitus, like what I had 10 to 20 years ago. You don't want it to get worse and more severe like so many of us here, where it never goes away and you can hear it over everything. So you should stop using headphones and earbuds and be more conscious about protecting your hearing from here on out. Avoid concerts and loud environments.

Tinnitus has a much more distressful effect on your life if it gets severe, and there's no proven treatment available to reduce tinnitus.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I feel like my life ended three years ago, and everything since has been a sad blur. I just figured I'd post my story for anyone who can relate.

Hi @Ri-.

Listening to audio through headphones is one of the most common causes of tinnitus because many people do not realize they are using them at too high a volume. The risk of tinnitus developing increases if people use headphones for long periods of time without giving their ears sufficient rest. The same applies to earbuds, AirPods, headsets, noise-canceling headphones, and bone-conduction headphones.

If you go to places where loud music is played, such as clubs or concerts, even when wearing earplugs, you are putting yourself at risk of making the tinnitus worse. If the music is loud enough, it can pass through the head by bone conduction transfer to the inner ear and spike the tinnitus. A person might be fortunate that the spike might reduce within a short period of time, or it could increase the tinnitus to a new permanent level. So, one needs to be careful.

The answer is certainly not to wear hearing protection all the time when out and about. This can make situations worse by lowering the loudness threshold of the auditory system, which can become more sensitive to sound. I have explained this in my thread, Hyperacusis, As I See It.

The type of tinnitus you have is noise-induced and often hyperacusis accompanies it. A lot of people habituate to this type of tinnitus within 18 months, sometimes longer, with or without seeking professional help from an audiologist who specializes in tinnitus and hyperacusis management. Since we are all different, it all depends on the severity of the tinnitus and hyperacusis if it is present, and the affected person's emotional makeup. The reason is that tinnitus and, to some extent, hyperacusis are an integral part of a person's mental and emotional well-being and cannot be separated from it.

Therefore, tinnitus is mostly mental. I do not mean one can control the level of severity of the tinnitus by mere thought, but because this condition affects our mental and emotional well-being, the more stressed a person becomes over it, the more intrusive the tinnitus will be. The less stressed a person becomes, the perception of the tinnitus usually is reduced. This is one of the reasons counseling with an audiologist who is trained in tinnitus and hyperacusis management can help a person to habituate to tinnitus.

Over time counselling can help to remove and dispel a lot of the negative thinking that a person has towards tinnitus and hyperacusis. Please keep in mind that counseling cannot do all the work. It needs to be backed up by the patient bringing positivity into their life. This can begin with starting a new hobby or interest, anything to help take away one's attention and focus from the tinnitus. This isn't a quick fix, but it can be done. Other treatments can be used with counseling, which includes Sound therapy using white noise generators and medication.

Sound therapy using white noise generators needs to be used correctly to obtain maximum benefit. It should be used alongside counseling and, if needed, medication. An audiologist trained in tinnitus and hyperacusis management should be able to advise on the best way forward for you.

You have had tinnitus and possibly hyperacusis for three years. From the information in your post, I gather you are still having problems managing these conditions. Therefore, simply wearing hearing protection and abstaining from certain sounds is unlikely to yield long-term benefits. You need treatment. In order for your oversensitivity to sound to reduce, your auditory system needs to be desensitized. One of the best ways to achieve this is wearing white noise generators and having regular counseling, as I have explained above.

You could start the process by using low-level sound enrichment using a sound machine by your bedside. Always keep the sound enrichment slightly below the tinnitus and not masking it. Sound therapy used correctly is not noise; it is sound enrichment, which will help to desensitize your auditory system's oversensitivity to sound. This is a delicate process and needs to be introduced slowly so it cannot be rushed.

Please click the link below and read my thread: I Have Noise-Induced Tinnitus, What Should I Do?

Please go to my started threads and read the posts that I mentioned in the list. I advise you to print them and refer to them often. Some are a form of counseling, especially Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset, Acquiring a Positive Mindset.

By printing them and referring to them often, you will absorb and retrain the information better than reading on your phone or computer screen.

I wish you well,
Michael

I Have Noise-Induced Tinnitus — What Should I Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum