Hello all,
As my tinnitus has been relatively stable for the last year or so (though I've had ups and downs over the past 10 years), I'm having a hard time coming to terms with my current situation.
I recently put in time and training to transition into a new position. During that time, I intermittently had to use a headset for Zoom meetings. I kept the volume at the lowest possible level and seemed to be doing alright.
However, since moving into the actual job, I've had to use a headset for seven hours a day to speak with individuals—many of whom have poor connections, speak incredibly loudly, or are too quiet to hear properly. This often forces me to increase the volume just to understand what's being said. Instead of my usual volume setting of 8–10, I now frequently find myself raising it to 35–40.
I was advised early on by many here to avoid headphones for music, and I took that advice to heart—I haven't used them in over a decade. I assumed that using a headset for phone calls at work wouldn't be a big deal. But after two weeks, I'm struggling. I've fallen back into the depressed, angry state I used to be in when I constantly heard my tinnitus above everything else. It seems to be making my baseline tinnitus louder, and now I'm trying to figure out whether these are just temporary spikes or if I could be causing permanent damage.
So, I suppose I'm looking for opinions on the risks of using a headset for phone calls. Could this truly be causing harm, or is it more likely just tinnitus spikes from prolonged exposure to direct noise in my ear canal? Many have said to avoid headsets altogether, as even at low volumes, the sound enters the ear canal directly without the dissipation you'd get from a speaker a few feet away.
I really need this job right now, but I don't want to end up in a suicidal state again. I feel like a deer in the headlights and don't know what to do.
As my tinnitus has been relatively stable for the last year or so (though I've had ups and downs over the past 10 years), I'm having a hard time coming to terms with my current situation.
I recently put in time and training to transition into a new position. During that time, I intermittently had to use a headset for Zoom meetings. I kept the volume at the lowest possible level and seemed to be doing alright.
However, since moving into the actual job, I've had to use a headset for seven hours a day to speak with individuals—many of whom have poor connections, speak incredibly loudly, or are too quiet to hear properly. This often forces me to increase the volume just to understand what's being said. Instead of my usual volume setting of 8–10, I now frequently find myself raising it to 35–40.
I was advised early on by many here to avoid headphones for music, and I took that advice to heart—I haven't used them in over a decade. I assumed that using a headset for phone calls at work wouldn't be a big deal. But after two weeks, I'm struggling. I've fallen back into the depressed, angry state I used to be in when I constantly heard my tinnitus above everything else. It seems to be making my baseline tinnitus louder, and now I'm trying to figure out whether these are just temporary spikes or if I could be causing permanent damage.
So, I suppose I'm looking for opinions on the risks of using a headset for phone calls. Could this truly be causing harm, or is it more likely just tinnitus spikes from prolonged exposure to direct noise in my ear canal? Many have said to avoid headsets altogether, as even at low volumes, the sound enters the ear canal directly without the dissipation you'd get from a speaker a few feet away.
I really need this job right now, but I don't want to end up in a suicidal state again. I feel like a deer in the headlights and don't know what to do.
