Tinnitus Ramps Up in Hearing Protection

[in_the_shadows]

Does anyone else experience a significant increase in tinnitus loudness and the number of tones when using hearing protection?

Whenever I wear earmuffs, I notice dozens of tones that gradually grow louder over time. The volume keeps increasing indefinitely until it becomes unbearable, almost as if my brain is stuck in a loop.

Has anyone encountered something similar?

 

[withintention]

When you reduce external sounds like that, your tinnitus can seem much louder. I've been using the new Apple AirPods for hearing protection whenever possible. They provide hearing protection with audio pass-through, which limits the number of decibels reaching your ears while still allowing you to hear external sounds. This helps prevent your tinnitus from sounding as loud.

 

[Jupiterman]

Yeah, this is normal.

As you brain isn't hearing external noises, it amplifies/focusses on the internal noise.

It's one of the reasons why some argue that ear protection is bad for tinnitus.

However, if you don't protect your ears from levels of noise, it can cause further damage and worsen your tinnitus.

 

[orenge01]

Yeah, this is normal.

As you brain isn't hearing external noises, it amplifies/focusses on the internal noise.

It's one of the reasons why some argue that ear protection is bad for tinnitus.

However, if you don't protect your ears from levels of noise, it can cause further damage and worsen your tinnitus.

Yes, it's quite a dilemma. I think the most practical approach is to use ear protection when necessary, but not all the time. For instance, if you know you'll be in loud environments, it's a good idea to wear it. Similarly, if there is a chance of unexpected loud noises, using ear protection makes sense. However, wearing it 24/7 is probably not advisable. That's the main caveat here.

 

[LukeYoung]

It's very annoying. Whenever I use hearing protection, everything is fine while it's on, but afterward, I seem to experience a bit of a spike. Alternatively, it might just be an increased perception of the sound.

 

[Thomas_83]

The earmuffs I use at work are the Peltor X Alert.

They are incredibly helpful because they allow you to cancel out ambient noise while still being able to talk to people. If there is a sudden loud noise, it cancels it out effectively.