Poll: After Getting Tinnitus, Do You Still Use Headphones/Headsets?

This may sound odd, but if the tinnitus was screeching upon awakening, I used earbuds on very low volume, fell back asleep, and about half the time (during a year or two), the volume of the tinnitus would decrease. This still works every once in a while, although I'm dealing with a 9 month long spike/increase since being exposed to a smoke detector alarm.

 

I stopped using headphones as soon as I started experiencing hearing distortions. I don't know if headphones would make them worse, but I figured it's not worth the risk.

The only reason I would ever consider using headphones again is if I was playing an online game where not having headphones would put me at a disadvantage, but I haven't played any games like that in a long time.

I know this is an old post, but I want to give my thoughts on this.

There's a lot of issues with doctors or anyone claiming that a certain volume percentage is safe. 60% volume could mean literally anything. Of course, you mentioned that certain pairs of headphones are louder than others. But there's so many more factors that can change how loud headphones are without the actual volume being changed.

If you're watching YouTube, some videos are so quiet that you can turn the volume up to 80% and still barley be able to hear it, while other videos are astronomically loud at just 20%. I'm sure most of you have had an experience where you were watching a YouTube video and an ad popped up that was 10 times louder than the actual video you were watching.

The same applies when watching movies on Netflix or playing video games. Different games and movies have different volume levels, even if the computer's volume settings remain unchanged. When I used to wear headphones, some games were too loud at 15%, while others were too quiet at 50%.

Exactly. I used to wear headphones while people would blast TV in the same room. I think this likely contributed to me eventually developing the hearing disorder I have now.

 

I am still in the beginnings of life with noticeable tinnitus, but when commuting, I find using my Sony WH1000XM5 very comforting. The Android app (directly from Sony) records the acoustic pressure the headphones output and I keep it under 60 dB. Mostly I listen at average 55 dB up to 20 hours per month. It seems to have absolutely no effect on my tinnitus. Although my tinnitus is most probably noise induced, music both from speakers and headphones soothes me and when it gets worse, it's always from stress/bad sleep/illness.

@Michael Leigh says you shouldn't use headphones ever, but my tinnitus onset did not include hyperacusis and after 7 months of headphone use with tinnitus, I have no indication they affect it. But I also think 55 dB is really low volume.

 

Depends on what I'm doing. If listening to music, I use headphones. If playing video games, I don't and instead opt to use speakers. This is less about tinnitus, more about general comfort and money. I have really bad luck when it comes to gaming headphones breaking easily, and music headphones just don't cut it for gaming.

I usually listen to music at just the average volume, sometimes for hours at a time. Never noticed my tinnitus being worse off afterwards.

I find it hard to believe that the source of the sound alone can make tinnitus permanently worse. I don't have hyperacusis, so maybe that's why it doesn't really aggravate my tinnitus though. It might affect everyone differently...

 

I personally haven't worn headphones since the onset 13 months ago - with my mild non-reactive tinnitus I did all the time for over 35 years and never once had a detrimental effect, but not since it turned severe and reactive.

Unfortunately ENTs only tell you what can damage the ears further, not what can cause a more detrimental effect for someone's tinnitus which, as we know, resides in the brain.

I don't use headphones for the simple reason I know my tinnitus won't be able to tolerate it. If I could, I probably would. This isn't through the fear @Michael Leigh throws out, but because, through experience, my tinnitus reacts and becomes worse through white noise types of sounds.

I guess I've stopped being too worried to do anything I read online, as I'd eat nothing, drink nothing and live in a sound proof box under the stairs - but this game is personal trial and error.

Some will handle headphones just fine (as I did for 35 years) and some will worsen. I guess it's whether people feel their tinnitus is so unreactive that they try, or they decide not to over fear. Only two ways to go really.

 

I stopped using headphones for 2 years, but lately I've been using them for a mixture of music and audiobooks for up to half an hour a day, and never more than 50% volume and with earplugs underneath.

 

Is your tinnitus reactive to sound?

 

Yes it is on most days. I tend to avoid headphones on days when it's more reactive.