Onset of Tinnitus After Using Noise Cancelling Headphones

[Michael Leigh]

You did not experience this worsening so no one will ? That's not how it is, unfortunately. Many people report a worsening of their T after the use of noise-cancelling headphones (with no music).

I didn't know that Foncky, thanks for letting me know and hope you are right...

 

[erik]

I have some Bose QC3 and never had any issues with it changing or increasing my T. I mainly only use them when traveling such as on flights and not daily however.

 

[Foncky]

I didn't know that Foncky, thanks for letting me know and hope you are right...

I'd like to be wrong ! There's nothing like noise-cancelling headphones for flights. But I won't use them because I don't want to start a thread like this one day.

 

[GregCA]

I have some Bose QC3 and never had any issues with it changing or increasing my T.

I have the QC-15 and haven't noticed any changes either, but I am quite cautious about the volume. I also use ATH-50s when playing my drums. I do notice my T feels louder when I wear them without any sound played, just as it feels louder if I cover my ear or put ear plugs. The lack of auditory input to mix with the T seems to make it stand out, so I typically don't use them in a NC-only fashion.
FWIW, my T is not noise-induced.

 

[erik]

There is no evidence of NC headphones giving you tinnitus or making existing T worse. If you blast sounds in any headphones it will most likely end in this result. Many people claim their T worsens after using any headphones for that matter.

I will continue to use them. I prefer NC headphones because they allow me to hear sound better at a lower volume especially when traveling. On a flight where cabin noises (depending on aircraft and where you sit) can range from 75-88db on average (louder during takeoffs), I find the use of NC headphones to be beneficial and out weigh any negatives (especially on long flights which exposure your ears to constant loud noise for several hours).

I sometimes use my NC headphones without any sound just to block out certain ambient noises like when walking near loud traffic or construction.

On the flip side, if you use NC headphones daily for many hours, I can see a potential problems with your T. Perhaps it affects the baseline to where your brain hears normal sounds and turns up the gain...IDK, it's my speculation.

There are too many factors at play to say it is definitely due to NC headphones. Perhaps it only affects certain types of T or loud vs soft T or..... You will find just as many people say NC headphones do not affect their tinnitus as you do to people who claim it does. Just as you find those that say driving increases their T and others say no or TV or movies or ....whatever....just as it comes to eating foods vs dieting, everything in moderation- Don't over use headphones, don't over protect with ear plugs....be mindful of things around you which may cause you and your body harm

 

[Miffy]

I started with tinnitus in December 2016 quite suddenly. It started with a noticeable hearing reduction in my left ear and the loss of certain tones, with people's voices sounding like daleks! It was quite alarming! I've never been exposed to loud noises or listened to really loud music. I'm not taking any medication likely to have caused it.
I was investigated as my problems were unilateral - so MRI to rule out auditory nerve tumour and audiology/ENT testing. All proved negative thankfully.
Over the last 3 months, the hearing has improved and dalek voices have gone but I've been left with a background low level tinnitus that sounds like a bathroom fan in my left ear. At times I barely notice it but at others, it's much more noticeable and there seems to be a link now with the use of my Bose noise cancelling headphones, which I use either to listen to language podcasts or to drown out the background noise of football on tv while I'm reading! I never listen at high volume with them. I also have noticed a headache after use and a slight discomfort in my ears whilst using.
More recently, I had a period of benign positional vertigo and have been left with very mild balance issues now.
I don't know for sure that there is a link with the noise cancelling headphones, but it seems that way, so unfortunately I'm going to have to stop using them as I certainly don't want to make the tinnitus worse than it already is!
My purchase of the headphones was about 2 months before the ear problem started.
I'm really interested to read other people's experiences and thoughts on this possible connection.

 

[KEI417]

Beware of noise canceling headphones if you have tinnitus! I've had tinnitus since 2006, but over the years my brain had pretty much blocked it out 90 percent of the time or more. I felt very fortunate. Then this weekend, I attended a meditation course. During the class, I didn't notice the tinnitus during the practice meditation in the quiet room. But after I got home, I put on noise canceling headphones to help with exterior noise during my home meditation practice. I had never used them before and immediately noticed kind of a high pitch and almost a vacuum feeling in my ears. And then I almost immediately became aware of the tinnitus. I wasn't concerned because I knew I would sometimes hear it at night or in other quiet moments. I wore the headphones about half an hour, during which time the tinnitus made the meditation pretty difficult. But then after I took the earphones off, the tinnitus didn't go away. In fact, it was louder than ever. That was 4 days ago and there's been no change. I am having more trouble sleeping than ever before. I'm having to run an air filter machine for the droning background noise. Now, I have noticed that sometimes after concerts, during which I wear earplugs, my tinnitus gets a little louder, but it is always back to normal by the next morning. This is different and I'm very concerned.

 

[linearb]

I have not been able to find convincing studies showing actual pressure at the eardrum from ANC headphone use.

Lacking that data, I personally don't tangle with active noise cancellation.

 

[Hillyman]

@DebInAustralia: So to get the brain to turn down the gain, maybe listening to loud (as loud as you can but not uncomfortable) music through regular (non-NC) headphones might be a way to tell the brain that the sound environment is actually not that deadened, the auditory cortex can adjust the gain, and so the base level of the perceptible tinnitus hiss can be reduced. Interesting thought. Certainly counterintuitive, but may be something to explore.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

Actually you can by great vented headphones .. about 800$+ ...they are exactly like you would listen in the real world ...

for example ..
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-I...d=1493487503&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+ie800

I think the placebo effects works a part of here so you imagine they do something to you .. so in my humble opinion 95% of getting worse are either placebo or getting less sound from the outside and focus more on the tinnitus, surely not from the sound from the headphones

Noise cancelling is recording data from the both side and subtracting it from the audio signal, so you get Tinnitus by hearing less? Which is strange for me ... but maybe possible.

 

[aviator2]

I am sure the noise cancelling headphones started my ringing. Spent many hours flying with them. Now they ring.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I am sure the noise cancelling headphones started my ringing. Spent many hours flying with them. Now they ring.

How many hours?

 

[Michael Leigh]

I am sure the noise cancelling headphones started my ringing. Spent many hours flying with them. Now they ring

You are right.
Anyone that has noise induced tinnitus and uses headphones, even at low volume is playing with fire.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

You are right.
Anyone that has noise induced tinnitus and uses headphones, even at low volume is playing with fire.

Anyone with tinnitus and not using headphones will just make things worse, you need to mask it from time to time.
I am using headphones for 23+ years with Tinnitus never an issue ...

Noise cancelling headphones do not worsen a Tinnitus different than normal headphones if you use it to loud, if you use it at normal level they are not different from your environment .

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

I am sure the noise cancelling headphones started my ringing. Spent many hours flying with them. Now they ring.

So why should having less noise worsen your tinnitus except you can hear your own Tinnitus ring more
and that drives you crazy. Noise cancelling is just cutting of tones from the outside nothing else.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Noise cancelling headphones do not worsen a Tinnitus different than normal headphones if you use it to loud, if you use it at normal level they are not different from your environment .

Any type of headphone including noise cancelling, can make tinnitus worse for some people. I agree not everyone will be adversely affected. However, in my opinion anyone with noise induced tinnitus is taking a risk and playing with fire by using these dangerous devices.
Michael

 

[Pleasure_Paulie]

I have the Bose QC35 headphones for flying to watch Movies/TV shows (not music). They don't cause any problems for tinnitus, but if you're listening to music often and too loudly you will probably make Tinnitus worse/give yourself spikes with any type of headphones. PS. I don't think you should be using NC headphones for mowing the lawn as effective noise reduction, grab a set of ear muffs or quality ear plugs

 

[Michael Leigh]

I don't think you should be using NC headphones for mowing the lawn as effective nose reduction, grab a set of ear muffs or quality ear plugs

Well said.

 

[maltese]

Anyone with tinnitus and not using headphones will just make things worse, you need to mask it from time to time.
I am using headphones for 23+ years with Tinnitus never an issue ...

Noise cancelling headphones do not worsen a Tinnitus different than normal headphones if you use it to loud, if you use it at normal level they are not different from your environment .

What type of headphones do you use? Just curious.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

Atm Parrot Zik 2, Akg 701 and Sennheiser IE80, but will either get the Ultimate Ears Custom 5 or the ACS Custom

 

[HappyProfessor]

I'm sure that some tinnitus sufferers have no problems with ANC headphones, but it's alarming that many of us are experiencing issues and there is no peer-reviewed research on the connection. I doubted my own experience with the new Bose Quiet Comfort 35ii headphones until I finally decided to look it up and ended up here. I have noticed my tinnitus on and off for several years, but after about a week of using the Bose headphones in my office and in cafes, the tinnitus is much worse.

I plan to return my headphones to the store, as they were more than 300 USD and now I would hesitate to use them. I will, however, keep my receipts to show that I owned a pair. If there is ever a class action suit against Bose, you will need to provide evidence that you purchased the relevant product.

I am hopeful that my increased awareness of the tinnitus will fade again once I have stopped using the headphones. Can anyone here report back about whether their sensitivity went back down after discontinuing use of the headphones?

 

[erik]

I continue to use my Bose NC headphones as I have for the past few years and my T is unchanged - some days super loud, other days really low. I fly often and having NC on my ears instead of loud engine noise for hours is a trade-off I can live with

 

[JHMB]

I bought NC headphone and 3 weeks later got Tinnitus. Now 6 months later still suffering from that beep. I was wondering if there was a connection between T. and NC headphones and landed (via google) ont this forum. I did some TRT and some tests but nothing helps. I used headphones for over 30 years and never had a problem until now with the NC headphone.

 

[GregCA]

I bought NC headphone and 3 weeks later got Tinnitus. Now 6 months later still suffering from that beep. I was wondering if there was a connection between T. and NC headphones and landed (via google) ont this forum. I did some TRT and some tests but nothing helps. I used headphones for over 30 years and never had a problem until now with the NC headphone.

What volume level were you listening during those 30 years?
What brand/model are your NC headphones?

 

[Will WW]

I have been using qc20 for a while in a car as a passenger and haven't noticed any issue. But since I moved to a new office i have been using QC25 a lot while in the office. Then I noticed my ear would ring after wearing the qc25 for a while. It happens from time to time. I don't put any music on while using it. I think using it in a relatively quiet place makes tinnitus particularly worse. After reading all the stories here it makes me very cautious of using it willynilly. I do feel the pressure changes in my ears when using it. Maybe in a quiet environment, the headphones create more inaudible sound waves since it doesnt have a lot to cancel. Or qc25 seals the ears too well so it's easy to build a different pressure inside than qc20.

 

[Bill Bauer]

After reading all the stories here it makes me very cautious of using it willynilly.

You could wear ear plugs under the headphones. Ear plugs ought to prevent any waves generated by the headphones from reaching your inner ear.

 

[Will WW]

You could wear ear plugs under the headphones. Ear plugs ought to prevent any waves generated by the headphones from reaching your inner ear.

The main attraction of NC headphones is it's easy to take them off and put them on. Imagine people stop by all the time at my cubicles and I have to fiddle with my ear plugs!

I need to experiment a bit more
QC20 vs. QC25, quiet vs. noisy environment, with music vs. without music to get to the bottom of it. But my experiences so far seems to indicate QC25 + quieter environment is the worst combination.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Imagine people stop by all the time at my cubicles and I have to fiddle with my ear plugs!

You don't have to insert the ear plugs deep when you are wearing them under NC headphones. And it ought to be easy to take out half inserted ear plugs.

 

[DenisFerns]

I will admit that the noise gain goes up (H) after I use the Bose NC - I tried it for a while to drown out the office vent sound that used to bother me a lot. Now I wear ear muffs . The H gt a lot better after around 9 months so prefer to stay with the muffs - but will use the Bose for a long upcoming trip to Asia

 

[SedonaGal]

I was wearing NC headphones for about 4 months while watching TV for an hour or so in the late night (so I didn't disturb my husband). One afternoon, I hung up from a cell phone call and had high pitched ringing in right ear with complete hearing loss and 5 hours later extreme (crawl on floor) vertigo. 8 months later I still have residual dizziness, 24x7 ringing, and no hearing. Gabapentin (75 mg lowest effective dose) before bed lessens tinnitus on waking but gets noisier as day progresses. Gone thru acupuncture and vestibular rehab (somewhat helpful) but I'm still not normal. Looking for a cure!