Tinnitus After a Single Exposure to a High-Frequency Sound in an Online Hearing Test

[Bruno Silva]

Hello, everyone. This is my first time here. My name is Bruno.

I've had tinnitus since 2022/07/21 (18 days ago) after doing an online hearing test using my tablet (please, don't do the test):

YouTube channel: Bright Side
Video: "Cool Hearing Test: Are You a Superhuman?"

I hear a continuous loud noise (24/7) in the back of my head and inside my left ear. I can't sleep anymore.

Is there anyone here with the same experience? I'm so afraid it could be permanent damage.

My audiometry test is normal (file attached).

Any advice for me? I am desperate.

Thank you.

(Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my native language).

 

[Stuart-T]

I don't understand how online tests work compared with a proper audiogram with an audiologist. How do they test what the dB level is when they are playing the beeps?

Sorry about your problem - hopefully it will clear. May be just temporary.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Hi @Bruno Silva.

Tinnitus can be caused by a single exposure to loud noise as in your case. The risk increases if a person regularly listens to audio through any type of headphones including earbuds, AirPods, headsets, noise cancelling and bone conduction headphones. The reason being people are not usually aware they are listening to audio through these devices at too high a volume.

If you regularly used headphones the tinnitus may have already been present but was operating at a low level in the background, where your brain was able ignore it especially during the day time. Sounds in the environment would have masked it. In a quiet room or late at night, tinnitus no matter how faint becomes more noticeable.

Please click on the links below and read my posts. Go to my started threads and read: How to Habituate to Tinnitus, The Habituation Process, Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset, Acquiring a Positive Mindset, Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? Hyperacusis, As I See It.

I advise you to print the threads I have mentioned above and take your time to read them. This way you will absorb and retrain the information better than reading on your phone or computer screen.

Start using low level sound enrichment at night using a sound machine. More about this is explained in the links below. I advise you not to listen to audio through any type of headphones even at low volume. Keep away from overly loud sounds, more about this is explained in my posts.

All the best,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Bruno Silva]

I don't understand how online tests work compared with a proper audiogram with an audiologist. How do they test what the dB level is when they are playing the beeps?

It is not a standard hearing test (see the images attached). The video only plays a range of sound in different frequencies (20,000 Hz to 4,000 Hz) and a classification. I saw this video on Instagram for a few seconds and from that I got tinnitus. I`m really concerned the damage caused was permanent. The image I showed before is a standard audiometry test that I did after this incident. I`m desperate, guys...

 

[Esploratore]

I got the same issue. I listened to this exact hearing test, but it didn't cause issues for me. Then my brother let me try another, one that goes from 20 Hz to 20 kHz; 1 hour after I got tinnitus as well and it's now been going on for a few weeks.

Did yours ever get better?