Is Using Earbuds for 10 Minutes at Loud Volume Enough to Damage Hearing?

[kiel]

So, had a bit of an incident an hour ago. I was watching a video on my phone using earbuds. I usually avoid them, but didn't want to disturb others so I used them. I guess the volume was pretty loud, because when I took them off, I could still hear noise coming from them (oddly the volume didn't seem that loud when I had them on) and sure enough, volume was near maxed! I can't believe this happened because I'm normally so careful.

As far as I can tell, my hearing is completely fine but my left ear does have a slightly "numb" feeling. Could listening at loud volume, even just for a few minutes like that be permanently harmful to my hearing? Is hearing loss immediately noticeable, or does it occur some time after the trauma? Am just kinda worried.

 

[JohnAdams]

Maybe, depends.

 

[Digital Doc]

The ear numbness and fullness is indicative of an acoustic trauma. It is unclear if each of these events permanently damages hearing, but cumulatively the damage will pile up and cause noise induced hearing loss. Toss the headphones to avoid this again. My tinnitus started when I was 15 and fell asleep with the headphones on, and woke up with ear fullness.

 

[Tybs]

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html

Possible hearing loss according to the diagram. Still, I don't think worrying about it will help, what's done is done, and you could still be fine.

 

[Mister Muso]

How loud is "loud enough"?

Remember a mobile phone can generate 100 dB just through its built-in speakers. Considerably more through ear buds.

It will hopefully just affect you for a few hours or days.

We do have to be ridiculously protective of ourselves. Hope things settle for you.

 

[kiel]

Thx for the responses guys, ears are still feeling funky. But, I don't seem to be hearing any differently nor has their been any change to my T. That has to be a good sign, right?

 

[Michael B]

I never thought it was important enough to determine the cause of my tinnitus, but in determining the cause (earbuds) I'm able to help prevent it from getting worse by not making the same mistake twice. Hopefully you'll be OK but as mentioned, I'd toss those earbuds for your own protection.

 

[kiel]

So this morning, the numb feeling seems to be gone, and my hearing is fine. No change in T either. My ear feels really sore tho? Could that be a bad sign, or maybe just something unrelated?

 

[Tybs]

Stop thinking about it, for the following reasons:

- If something is wrong, you will notice it when it happens. All worrying up to that point will have wasted your remaining good days.

- If nothing turns out to be wrong, then you have lost a bunch of normal days as well. You could have enjoyed them, but instead you were contemplating about something that could not be helped.

If you really need to sink some thought into it, then decide for a plan that you will bring into motion once you would notice that something is wrong. Write it down, put it somewhere safe and walk out of the door to enjoy life again. You can always come back to the plan if the need would arise.

 

[kiel]

Alright will try to not to think about it. If anything happens, I'll post an update.