Temporary Tinnitus from Subwoofer

[Bimjimmy]

Hi guys this is going to be a long thread but this is really bothering me so it would be great if you could help out.

To preface this, I have quiet high pitched tinnitus for a couple years induced from drumming, and I also have had mild ETD for as long as I can remember. My high pitched tinnitus and ETD are unlinked.

Recently I bought a subwoofer and put it into my car.

I noticed that after playing music for around 30 minutes I would get a low humming sound in my ears afterwards that would last for maybe 30 mins.

I tested the decibels of the music, and it was only 75 decibels average, so not very loud at all. The music doesn't hurt my ears at all. I think it might be related to my ETD, because when I suck in and pop my ears, the noise gets louder.

I am very confused because can not find anyone with anything like this online.

Do I need to be worried about the humming noise? thanks

 

[Lane]

I tested the decibels of the music, and it was only 75 decibels average, so not very loud at all.

Hi @Bimjimmy,

Agree, not very loud at all--for normal people with normal healthy ears! That just just doesn't seem to be the case for you right now, or your tinnitus wouldn't be flaring up the way it is. It actually is NOT uncommon for relatively low level noises to cause tinnitus spikes in people who are already dealing with it.

Your decibel threshold is apparently MUCH lower than it used to be--and I believe has the potential to go even lower if the volumes you expose your ears to keep causing various kinds of spikes. I recommend dialing it back until your ears are doing much better, and relatively low volume sounds no longer cause any spikes.

Disclaimer: I'm NO expert on any of this. My thoughts/comments are mostly a distillation of many posts I've read here on TT over the past five months.

All the Best!​

 

[Bimjimmy]

Hi thanks for the response, you definately could be right but I dont understand because I can play music much louder than that without the subwoofer plugged in and my tinnitus doesnt spike at all. But when I plug in the subwoofer it spikes even at much lower volumes, almost as if the lower frequency somehow effects it in a different way?

 

[Lane]

I can play music much louder than that without the subwoofer plugged in and my tinnitus doesnt spike at all

It does sound odd, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that tinnitus is unpredictable. I'm pretty amazed by some of the descriptions I've read of very low decibals coming from headphones can cause significant spikes for some people. I guess there's just something about headphones that doesn't work for injured ears. Perhaps even for good ears--who's to say. Perhaps subwoofers fit into one of the unexplainable mystery categories. -- Best!​

 

[Michael Leigh]

I dont understand because I can play music much louder than that without the subwoofer plugged in and my tinnitus doesnt spike at all. But when I plug in the subwoofer it spikes even at much lower volumes, almost as if the lower frequency somehow effects it in a different way?

Hi @Bimjimmy

I have read your posts and would like to give you some advice. If you choose to follow it you could save yourself a lot of misery in the future. Low bass frequencies from your subwoofer in a confined space of a car, can seriously spike your tinnitus and increase its intensity permanently if you are not careful, even at low volume. If I were you I would stop using the subwoofer. Also, play your music in the car at a sensible and comfortable level. Tinnitus is not something to play around with I promise you. If you carry on as you are doing you risk making your tinnitus permanently worse and having lots of heartache in the process. Ask yourself is this worth it?

Michael

 

[Bimjimmy]

Thanks for the responses guys i am definately going to stop using the subwoofer for atleast the time being