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AirPods causing tinnitus?

After using my AirPods for a while, I noticed a high pitched ringing in my ears (that doesn't go away). I didn't know what it was, so I looked it up and it turns out to be tinnitus. Now understand, I don't listen to music, or anything for that matter, loud. As a matter of fact, I carry a pair of earplugs in my pocket, just in case I encounter anything loud that would damage my hearing.


Having said all that, now I notice that when I put my AirPods in my ears and have nothing playing, they emit a high pitched tone that I would say exactly replicates the tone of my tinnitus, leaving me to believe that the AirPods actually caused my tinnitus.


[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Nov 24, 2019 10:46 AM

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Posted on Jan 12, 2023 5:35 AM

This happened to me too. I already had some mild tinnitus and using AirPod Pro 2’s seems to have aggravated it to the point where it is very noticeable all of the time more so in the left ear. I’m going to stop using them altogether in the hope the volume of the ringing returns to normal.


it’s very disappointing as the sound quality is excellent and the ANC makes such an improvement, but I’m worried I’m permanently damaging my ears using these.


For info my AirPod 2 (not pro) never gave me this issue and we’re used daily. It’s also not a volume issue as I can keep volume lower than ever with these being in ear and with the ANC.


Has anyone had any breakthroughs with this by getting them replaced?

623 replies

May 19, 2022 7:13 AM in response to ChrisBl999

There's a lot of people with fine audiograms that still have tinnitus. But the thing is an audiogram doesn't tell the whole story of the inner ear's health – for one it doesn't usual test hearing above 8 KHz. The other is the concept of synaptopathy that can happen with the nerve cells connected to the hair cells. The result of that is to my understanding shown as "hidden hearing-loss" which is something that makes it more difficult to follow conversations in a noisy environment:


https://hms.harvard.edu/news/hidden-hearing-loss-revealed


It might be that you have some of that, but it also might be that you are just fine in your ears and still have tinnitus. Difficult to know as we don't have a full understanding of howand why tinnitus is perceived. There are some theories and maybe the cause are different for different people.


https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-models-—-learn-how-tinnitus-originates.47546/


Whatever the case, I hope you are okay with it! :)

I am not. :( At least not yet.

May 21, 2022 7:20 PM in response to MacbookProRetinaGuy

I started using Airpods Pro on December 2020. Just after began using it, i had a weird pressure on my ears. I had been loyal to apple for 20 years, trusted the product and kept using it. (on low volume with ANC) and After a few weeks, i realized the tinnitus is constant and stopped using them. But, it was too late. I have tinnitus and hearing loss since then. I wrote an e-mail to Apple last year but no response. Unfortunately I might loose my job since it requires a good hearing capability.

May 31, 2022 10:11 AM in response to MacbookProRetinaGuy

Just adding yet another voice to this issue. I have always been very careful with my ears and protective of my hearing. I purchased my AirPods Pro in January 2022, and I most frequently use my AirPods Pro in noise cancellation mode, and listen to podcasts or music and very minimal volume (typically as calm background music while working). About a couple months ago, I started noticing increasingly persistent tinnitus in both ears. The ringing occurs at two distinct frequencies, which I can only describe in words as one being a very high pitch, and one being a very very high pitch. The only thing that has changed significantly in my life leading up to this that is related to my hearing and/or listening habits is my switching from using my wired Apple EarPods to using my new AirPods Pro.


As many have said, this may only be correlation and not causation, but I find the amount of people sharing similar stories here to be concerning.


I've tried to do a little digging of my own unsuccessfully, but if anyone has found any link(s) to any kind of detailed, unbiased, thorough study of the Apple AirPods Pro and whether they have been found to emit any high frequency sound in and of themselves, and/or anything to do with possible damage caused by their method of connectivity (e.g. anything related to Bluetooth, the head tracking functionality, etc.) please share.

Jun 1, 2022 5:27 PM in response to MacbookProRetinaGuy

You are kidding, i bought Air pods 6 months ago, never had tinnitus now i have extreme tinnitus in both ears and i use them for business calls only no loud music...... Jeezez.... This was the Airpods!!!!! its only happen since i bought them..... I was starting to wonder as that's the only variable in my life and i type this in the internet and its happening to people.... No way.... Apple you have some serious issues to answer for and compensate..... My life is different due to your products!!!!

Jun 5, 2022 9:48 PM in response to MacbookProRetinaGuy

I've got my Airpods Pro in Christmas (Dec 25, 2021). Then, in January I had 4 episodes of Vertigo, and I've started developing Tinnitus (right ear) and Pulsatile Tinnitus (both ears).


I thought it was caused by Covid or Vaccination, so... I visited my primary doctor and got a MRI that came clean of tumors and stuff.

Then I visited an ENT doctor who diagnosed hearing loss, but I didn't notice it, except the Tinnitus.

Since then, I've changed Airpods configuration to avoid loud sounds.

I've changed my diet, by avoiding caffeine, sugar, salt, alcohol,

I've suspended all medications, nicotine, mmj.

I'm still using my Airpods for Sound Therapy, workouts, audio books and meditation.

Always using the noise cancellation and head tracking features. I used to love these features, but now I feel scared of them.


It's June 5, 2022 and I feel desperate to hear the silence again, not a high pitch ringing or alternating with the pulsatile tinnitus.


I came today to this forum to realize the amount of people affected by these Airpods. It might not be a coincidence that everything started a week after I've received them.


I'm not here to blame or complain about Apple, perhaps it was my fault. I'm just sharing my story and trying to find similitudes, solutions or at least testimonies from people who has experienced the symptoms and has overcome from this frustrating and debilitating noise, it's disrupting the way I'm seeing life now.


I just want to be in silence.


SO, If someone has stopped completely the use of Airpods Pro, have you found any improvement after a while ?


Thanks,

Jun 9, 2022 1:51 AM in response to MacbookProRetinaGuy

Tinnitus is such an odd physical and neurological condition and it’s important to note that most hearing health organisations do recommend noise cancellation to make music listening easier on the ears. But I can’t ignore how I feel now that I have tinnitus.


If I sit with only the noise cancellation on, the quiet humming I sometimes hear does come with a little bit of pain and a slight increase in the humming in my left ear. I’m starting to feel that - regardless of volume - my AirPods Pro do make my tinnitus slightly louder regardless of what I’m doing. Let’s remember though, that noise cancellation and transparency mode do both play a frequency, albeit inaudible or unnoticeable, directly down the ear canal. It’s natural to assume that this will have an impact of sorts. For ear protection in general, over-ear headphones are clearly far better than in-ear earphones and if I’m honest with myself, I’ve not really taken care of my ears over the years. It’s a real shame that apple’s HomePod mini has such high bass, even on ‘reduce bass’ mode - Apple isn’t that concerned with general hearing health as it claims to be with its watch features. I’d say use with extreme caution and favour over-ear cups wherever possible, always taking care with volume.


There’s doubtless nothing Apple can do with this AirPods Pro technology for people with sensitive ears, given how the buds need to fit snugly inside the ear, playing a frequency that combats noise, right down your ear canal at a volume equal to the noise it’s drowning out.

Jun 9, 2022 8:56 PM in response to Jomi_

I suffered from tinnitus after airpod pro use for 6 months. It finally subsided. Then months later someone brought a pair of AirPods into my home and left them in my kitchen and as I walked by them the tinnitus started again. I didn’t even put them on and they emitted something that caused my tinnitus to return. :(

Jun 10, 2022 10:10 AM in response to Jimmy of swans

I think an ear infection can affect the hair cells etc. in the inner ear damaging things in a similar way that too long or too loud noise can.


We need research to cure these horrible ear conditions that can affects one's perception of reality so much. It can truly be life altering. :(


Good thing is ther is stuff happening research qise. I just wish it would go faster.

Jul 7, 2022 8:52 AM in response to Jimmy of swans

I wouldn't be so sure. It might be a decade or so away, but there's a lot of research being done when it comes to restoring hearing via biopharma. It's interesting that in birds any damage to the hair cells heals up within a few weeks. For some reason this does happen in mammals, but we have progenitor cells next to each hair cells that once created the hair cell for us. The challenge is to get them to do their work again. Complex, but not impossible and research had been going on for some time now.


For example Hough Ear Institute has a treatment that has been licensed to pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim:


https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/gAeHN2p/TheOklahoman


They (Hough Ear Institute) has been able to regrow hair cells in the lab and shared a photo of their cell on their Facebook on Valentine’s day this year.


And there are a bunch of other companies and institutions doing research about this too.


I'm keeping the hope up that it won't take that long, but yeah – at least a decade it seems.


Now, for tinnitus there might be things coming even sooner. Lot's of research being done about that too. The company Otonomy has a drug in phase 2 trial (OTO-313) with results coming out in August if all goes well.


A lot to learn about hearing research and tinnitus over at https://www.tinnitustalk.com


[Edited by Moderator]

Jul 7, 2022 3:33 AM in response to MacbookProRetinaGuy

Airpods pro triggered tinnitus in my right year. I have used AirPods second generation for like 2 years and never had any issue with it. But with this AirPods pro within 4 months of use I got this problem and its very annoying. I hear very high pitch ringing sound in my right year continuously and sometimes when I am at quite place, it gets worse. I thought I was alone but after reading all these posts , I am sure its the AirPods pro that triggered tinnitus in my year. I don’t know how to get rid of this. I invested in Apple just to get quality and reliable products, but it gave me something that I don't know, will bother me for the rest of my life.

Jul 7, 2022 6:53 AM in response to Farhaan-Ahmad

Try to remain positive and if the AirPods Pro are causing you problems, make sure you stop using them. Tinnitus is much worse when it's quiet, so the noise cancellation will doubtless make it seem worse (even though it isn't, necessarily). One thing that definitely makes it worse is loud noises and in-ear headphones/earphones are definitely an aggrevator for that - they send the sound right down the ear canal.


Look into how to manage the symptoms - you are not alone - and try to find better ways to listen to your music. It's best not to think about the money you spent on the AirPods Pro if it makes it any easier. Many people suffer from this condition, so there's plenty of us out there sharing information.

AirPods causing tinnitus?

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