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AirPods causing tinnitus?

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Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#21

Post by garyfirestorm »

blindriver wrote: post #4

I wonder if it's the noise cancellation causing problems. I definitely hear a high-pitched noise from the noise cancellation feature and rarely use it at all specifically because of that, except very infrequently like on planes. Maybe the high frequency noise is damaging the ear drums at high frequencies? But I can definitely say I do not have tinnitus despite wearing AirPod Maxes quite often.

Ummmm. ANC attenuates certain frequencies and fails to attenuate other frequencies. Which you would end up hearing anyway if you weren’t wearing the headphones. So effectively the sound power reaching your ears didn’t change for those frequencies.

I have worked on ANC systems in automotive applications.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#22

Post by Applejinx »

causality0 wrote: post #7

Sometimes I wonder about electronic noise cancellation. On most of the headphones and earbuds I've tried it on, it's felt like having cotton rammed into my ears. It almost feels like a sonic version of having minor surgery/dental work with local anesthetic, like my ear is being absolutely blasted with something I can't actually hear. I worry about what the side effects could be. After all, you can't see ultraviolet l…

I'm wondering if there might be some kind of interaction with the drivers and amplifiers?

They've gotta be pretty wide-range drivers, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's class D amplifiers in there. That can produce loads of power, efficiently, but high-frequency switching noise could be a concern.

Might be worth measuring these with a reference microphone, capturing at something like 192k. Might only need 96k. You want to find out if it is producing 'ultrasonic' noise, particularly at high amplitudes.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#23

Post by jws »

More anecdotes! I use the AirPod Pros many hours a day and have mild tinnitus. I find the noise canceling makes me more aware of the singing in my ears. I don't live in a place where silence happens, but the cancelling will kill the outside noise enough for me to remember that the ears are always singing to themselves.

For people experiencing loud noises, be aware that if the microphones can come loose, then they can get weird transients from vibration, shock, or even the sound being driven through the AirPods. The original AirPods were subject to that, I had mine replaced once and when they came loose again stopped using them. (Gross note: the original ones made me more subject to disgusting things happening best left unmentioned when used many hours a day. That was most of the reason for not getting them replaced again. The new ones definitely breathe better and don't cause me trouble.)

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#24

Post by pwthornton »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #8
tracerbulletx wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please be open to the possibility that it also might not explain it. There is going to be a natural overlap between people developing tinnitus and using Airpods considering the number of people that have them. But is there an increased rate of tinnitus among people who use Airpods?

I am under the assumption constant use of any headphones at the volumes most people listen to inevitably causes tinnitus.

If you don't set a volume limit on your iPhone, it will damage your hearing. Apple has a mode to do this, and I've set mine at 80 decibels and rarely have the volume all the way up. The iPhone can output over headphones at 100+.

The smart move is to get headphones that fit well that naturally dampen outside noises and to set your volume limit judiciously.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#25

Post by splap »

I started getting spasms of my tensor tympani muscle around the time I began using AirPods with noise cancellation. Could hear it clearly and had a doc visually confirm.

Correlation not causation, but weird enough that a stopped using them.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#26

Post by ctoth »

makk wrote: post #2

Based on personal subjective experience, my AirPods Max have definitely worsened my tinnitus. Given my 30-year history of tinnitus, I'm very careful about volume levels and I am certain that "too loud, too long" is not the thing that's made things worse for me. The only thing that changed is I started using AirPods, specifically the Max. I immediately noticed, when I first put them on, that I could hear better with t…

I have been hesitating to buy headphones with ANC after noticing similar anecdotes in reviews[0][1] of the Sony Wf-1000xm4. As a blind person my ears are super-important to me, and I am pretty sure that something's going on here with most ANC today. This feels like it's gonna be a big deal here in a couple years with some form of class action.

[0]: https://www.reddit.com/r/sony/comments/vl3cpb/wf1000xm4_and_...

[1]: https://www.amazon.in/gp/customer-reviews/R2E9LQN575IFWB?ASI...

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#27

Post by bredren »

clbrmbr wrote: post #18

Poor man’s AirPods: construction earmuffs over old-school wired Apple earbuds. You can keep the actual volume setting quite low, and the suppression of outside noise is powerful. Feels like you’re underwater or you’re Frodo wearing the One Ring.

I have done this with APP2’s on noise cancellation while running a leaf blower. Pretty amazing, just can’t use hey siri.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#28

Post by karaterobot »

Between music, podcasts, audiobooks, zoom calls, etc. I’ve spent probably years of my life with earbuds in. Maybe sad, but definitely true. I’ve expected some noticeable hearing loss or tinnitus the whole time, but haven’t developed any yet. This is anecdotal, like the original post.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#29

Post by rr808 »

causality0 wrote: post #7

Sometimes I wonder about electronic noise cancellation. On most of the headphones and earbuds I've tried it on, it's felt like having cotton rammed into my ears. It almost feels like a sonic version of having minor surgery/dental work with local anesthetic, like my ear is being absolutely blasted with something I can't actually hear. I worry about what the side effects could be. After all, you can't see ultraviolet l…

Me too, I feel something pressing my eardrum. I can't use noise cancelling.

Re: AirPods causing tinnitus?

#30

Post by mumblemumble »

jokoon wrote: post #16

I suspect all ear plugs will always cause tinnitus. Having sound emitted so close to your ear drum is not a good idea. Not to mention that often, air cannot escape, which increase energy and/or air pressure inside the ear canal. A better alternative would be to have helicopter-type headset (not as much soundproof, though), so that you won't increase volume to mask surrounding noise in public transport or outside.

There are also Etymotic earbuds. I swear by them for listening to music in noisy environments such as the subway or airplanes. They cost less than ANC They do a much better job of reducing ambient noise -- I can keep the volume to a whisper even in environments where having a conversation is uncomfortable. And there aren't any batteries to worry about keeping charged.
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