AirPods causing tinnitus?

This affects me as well. I'm a heavy user of the original 1st gen Airpods. I am a die-hard Airpod lover. They've changed my life. I listen to 20 books on audible each year. I'm significantly more productive being able to speak with people while accomplishing other tasks with ease. I've purchased every single generation of Airpod at this point. Here's my story:

I had been using the original Airpods for years with seemingly no ill effects of hearing or tennitus. Extremely happy user. Would tell everyone to get them. When I saw the Airpod Pros come out, it was a no-brainer purchase for me.

So after wearing the Airpod Pros for 2 weeks, I noticed a constant high ring in my ears. I stopped using them and the high ringing sound greatly diminished. I used my original Airpod and the ringing did not return to the high levels.

As soon as the Airpod 3s came out, I got them. After 1 week the high ringing returned. I stopped using them and the ringing diminished (still there but only noticeable once in a while).

I then purchased Airpod 2s! Thinking maybe it's the shape of the Airpod 3s. (since I knew it wasn't the noise-canceling since the Airpod 3s don't have noise-canceling). After using the Airpod 2s for a week, the high ringing returned!

At this moment, I'm discontinuing the use of the Airpod 2s and returning those. We'll see if the ringing subsides again. I've already purchased original Airpod 1s on eBay lol. We'll see what happens.

Definitely really sad that I may not be able to use Airpods anymore. For me, there's a very strong correlation between using anything 2nd generation and up with tinnitus. Assuming that the original AirPods are the only ones that do not cause tinnitus for me, I'll be out of options in a couple of years. Apple, please figure this out!

I had reported here earlier: On only my 2nd use of new AirPods Pro in Oct. 2021, on noise cancellation only, not with music etc., after only 2 hours of use, I lost complete hearing in one ear. (My first use of the AirPods was for a phone call--no loud music, etc. I never listen to loud music.) Over the next 2 days most of the hearing seemed to return but I immediately saw an audiologist (2x) and an otolaryngologist who did tests and found I had some loss in both ears and significant hearing loss in one ear in "the upper registers" (high-pitched sounds). I also developed mild tinnitus. The doctor could not identify a cause--sudden loss happens, she said, in young and old. A 2-week course of oral steroids did not help so the loss is permanent. I had fine hearing prior to this. I returned the Air Pods convinced that they were the cause as no other health or situation causes were present. I have what seems to be permanent mild tinnitus. This was all extremely upsetting given the cost and supposed fine technology of AirPods. (My Bose QuietComfort II headphones never caused me a problem.)

Since I got my Airpods Pro 3 weeks ago I’ve developed an intense tinnitus. I’ve had a history of tinnitus but the symptoms have been very mild for the last years, only occuring on very busy days now.

A few days into using my Airpods Pro that I predominantly use on ANC-mode without even playing music, for podcasts and taking calls, I’ve noticed an aggressive high pitched white noise in my ears. Since it’s been so long since there were parties with loud music, since my job isn’t as stressy anymore and since I am very aware of loud situations I’m in, it’s very easy to see that the only variable in my situation was the use of Airpod Pro headphones, also because the earpain is almost instant. I want to stress out that I hardly listen to music and wear them about 1h a day maximum.

I’ve worked days on end with Bose’s over ear noise cancelling headphones for years without the slighest problem. Instead of calming my ears like my previous Bose headphones did I feel that this Apple Pro’s digital ANC is very stressfull on the ears and could actually cause damage.

Is there a way I can officially report this issue, or that other people with this issue can unite?

natalie_h wrote:

Is there a way I can officially report this issue, or that other people with this issue can unite?

You can contact Apple using the "Get Support" link at the top right of every page of this forum.

Feb 2022 and I'm noticing this after a month and a half, too. I wish it wasn't true, but it's getting on my nerves now. I know what to listen for — I've been in some very loud situations in my music career and this ringing is just as bad even if I've simply listened to podcasts at 50% volume. I'm going to read through all these responses and see if anything stands out.

That's what I'm hoping to find out with mine, too. I've had mine since mid-Dec last year (so about 6 weeks, too) and don't use them every day, but I notice ringing ears on the days I do. I may have posted here that it's like I just finished playing in a bar band like back in college, except that I was on a work call and then watched some Youtube, or simply walked to the train station.

I'm this close to contacting my doc and getting an ENT appointment. I've got semi-regular audiograms stretching back twenty years, so it would be useful to find out for sure if my hearing curve is getting wrecked.

I've heard some strange additional noise at times when mine are in noise cancellation mode. I don't know if it was a software glitch or something, but one ear would begin rumbling *very* loudly well below 100Hz, as if there's an earthquake nearby, even though I'm in a park far away from any noise sources.

"...and discovered that if I have both AirPods in my ears, turn on Noise Cancellation but with no audio playing, and push them both as far as they go, I hear a very low frequency rumble that gradually increases in volume on the right side. "

I've heard the same thing occasionally. It reminds me of subwoofer demo tracks way back in the day, and those were 15" subs being driven by 500-watts-plus. Sub-bass frequencies can be awfully strong before we can perceive them, meaning that they're pushing on our eardrums even if the cilia aren't registering them.

"Question to all guys with T from airpods. Is it a very high pitched noise, around 12/13Khz?"

Yup, somewhere over 13-14k, not just a sine wave but a range of pitches. Reminds me of walking into a school computer lab with old CRT monitors.

(digging way back in this thread)

I would wager that most of us who’d spent the extra money on headphones which should protect our hearing have already taken multiple precautions over the years and already know what to listen for. Myself, I’ve got a small collection of musicians’ earplugs that I use for anyplace loud, including work conferences and vacuuming around the house; and I’ve been using foam-tipped isolating earphones when traveling for almost twenty years.

We know that loud noises are bad. We *know* that playing media at high volume is just as bad.

[Edited by Moderator]

I followed the link and "officially" reported this to Apple on February 7th. No response at all. I also know all about hearing protection from work environment and also as a sporting clay shooter. I have custom ear plus and even have used the throw away type with that loud noise, and I NEVER had the ringing I have now from the Air Pod Pros. I was mainly using them for phone calls and not even listening to music (and definitely not loud).

I haven't been using them for about three weeks, and there has been no improvement.

“It would be helpful to the ongoing discussion if everyone specifically stated whether their problem is from AirPods or Pros.”

Good point — the Pros’ active cancellation is, as far as I’m concerned, a yet-to-be-proven technology. I’ve heard some strange behavior from mine, like random moments of very loud sub bass for no clear reason. I’ve never heard standard earbuds or headphones do the same thing.

“I'm a composer and am extremely careful about my ears. Always use noise protection at concerts and don't listen at loud volumes when using headphones.”

Glad to hear your response, too. I’m getting offended by others who dismiss complaints as if we aren’t already trying our best to take care of our hearing. I’ve spent many years on the “other side of the horn” as a performer, not composer, and many of those years were with earplugs to protect myself.

I would never have expected ringing ears after sitting in my dead-quiet home office, but after yesterday’s experience with my AirPods Pro — and realizing that I’ve been hearing ringing at bedtime dating back to when I got them — I’ve had enough. I’ve got an appointment at my local Genius Bar in half an hour, and we’ll see what they find.

I ended up using the Apple Support app and starting a chat with a rep. They arranged for me a callback from another rep at a higher level, which was done right away; and that second rep set me up with a Genius Bar appointment, which was earlier this afternoon.

They tested my AirPods Pro and said that they were both defective. I asked for the nitty-gritty technical details, and he said that they put them in a sound-isolating box with a sort of receiver inside, play a controlled ambient noise signal into the box, and measure the output response of the earphones. Both of mine failed the test, so he gave me two new replacements.

I have the case number and documentation by email, and can reopen the case if I notice any more problems.

I’m going to stop using them for a few days and see if the ringing subsides, then maybe give them another chance.

I’ve used AirPods since they came out. In January I too suffered from severe vertigo after the onset of tinnitus in late early a January. I stopped using AirPods for over a month. I used them today on a walk, with a podcast and my ears seem worse. Looking at the past 3 months I think there is a high probability that I had covid (never tested positive and am vaxxed) but I had to travel for a death in my family in early December and being on an airplane could have easily exposed me. All of this unfolded in December and January. I was going to blame AirPods but I suspect it’s not JUST AirPods. My tinnitus has gotten a tad better but has not gone away completely (and as I said after wearing AirPods today it seems much worse). It was only in my left ear but now seems to be in my right too. It seems weird that I would have only now had the reaction to the AirPods and that it was accompanied by 5-8 days of severe vertigo.