AirPods causing tinnitus?

Experiencing the same, persistent ringing on both ears after started using AirPods.

I didn’t make the connection until I bumped into this thread. Scary.

Anyone experiencing decreased symptoms after not using noise-reduction mode?

I have had tinnitus for many years, but after using my air buds to watch a series on my iPad, I noticed it had gotten so much worse and there is no treatment for it. So, my suggestion is, don't use earbuds too often to listen to music or watch TV, if you already suffer from ringing in your ears. It will definitely make it worse and you cannot reverse it. :(

The sheer frequency of additional comments (5-6 per month) on this thread indicates that the air pods pose a significant hazard to ear health.

I am not a doctor but I think the air-tight seal created by some of these devices (especially air pods pro) causes moisture built up in the ears and then eventually results in problems like tinnitus.

The only solution I have found on this so far is not to keep wearing them for a long duration. I have started actively removing them as soon as I am done with them (usually 15-30 mins use) and my tinnitus has completely gone away!

I use headphones for watching movies etc now, only occasional extended use of air pods.

The only problem I have with apple and other companies now is their marketing strategy of portraying these devices as usable for long times in a stretch, which is evidently bad for ear health!

I think if they want to do it, that should be with a warning.

Hope this helps everyone going through the problem.

interestingly enough, I noticed this after I started using airpods pro, and I only use one airpod (mostly the right). One day, my ears were clogged due to allergies, and usually this goes away after a few hrs. I noticed that my right ear never got unclogged. after going to the ENT, he had no solution and said it's likely due to allergies. I just find it curious that now there is tinnitus in the same ear. I don't listen to music - usually only podcasts. coincidence? maybe. I also find it curious that it's the same sound as the noise cancelling sound, and that I'm not alone

AirPods Pro (1st gen) used with noise cancelling every day at work (with caution not to use at high volume). An echoing / crackling (addressed in the "AirPods Pro Service Program for Sound Issues") began in January 2022, and in February, I noticed the tinnitus. Since listening to the AirPods is annoying (due to the echoing) I haven't used them since March, but the ringing persists. I haven't been exposed to any loud noises.

As noted in other comments, it's very difficult for anyone to determine the source of tinnitus. Every possible scenario ends with "You can't really expect that to cause a ringing in your head." -- But something caused it, and there's nearly 2000 experiences on here agreeing that this may have been it.

I have been using my AirPod Pros for about 3 months now. Yesterday, after wearing them for a short (2 hour) flight with Active Noise Cancelation enabled, I suddenly have a persistent, loud ringing in one of my ears. Additionally, it feels as if there is a pressure in my ear that was not there before.

Like you, I am very concerned with the volume of anything I listen to on my headphones. I monitor my volume with Headphone Safety, and carry ear plugs in my pockets should I be in a real world situation with heightened noise levels. I was tested by an audiologist within the last year and had no issues with my hearing at the time.

Having read through some of the comments here and in other forums, it seems like many other people are experiencing this same issue from the AirPod Pros.

If I were the only person experiencing this issue, I would consider that. In the 35 pages of comments on this thread, many people seem to be experiencing the same symptoms after using this one product.

just fyi that i tried using the airpod pro 2s that were just realeased 2022. They also increase the tinnitus :(

wonder if apple will ever address this. with each new airpod i try them becuase i like them so much but every single one has caused/made the tinnitus worse.

Having experienced the same issue and narrowed it to my AirPods I googled the issue and found this thread. I can’t believe it’s still active after 3 years. I’ve been suffering with tinnitus for months and there’s been no known cause. Therefore the ENT prescribes mindfulness and better stress management.

Adjusting my AirPod usage to zero significantly reduced my tinnitus and on a few days it was even gone. When I started to use them again it was immediately aggravated and I knew then the AirPods were triggering to noise.

I haven’t been able to get it to fully go away yet but I was a 12 hr/day user.

JimmyCMPIT — That support article about iOS automatically warning you if you've turned up your earbuds too loud...

Nope, that's not what I'm doing. I've never gotten that warning. I keep the volume on mine as low as reasonably possible while still making out the podcasts I'm listening to or the Teams calls I'm on. That's an average of maybe 60%-ish.

But there's other weird sounds that I've heard when there's nothing playing and ANC turned on. I'm on my third pair of first-gen AP Pros now (all replaced by Apple on their dime), and I think these are worse than the first two — there's a subbass rumbling at times when nothing in my environment is making that type of noise, for example.

So, I try to use them normally, without ANC or Transparency Mode or anything. I think that helps. I may set up yet another Genius Bar appointment to get this third pair tested and see what they say.

Thanks that was helpful. I also use my AirPods much less and make sure that when I do use them I’m on the 70 DB I 60-65 etc.

I am using white noise, meditation and black cohosh, some relief but not gone.

Using my AirPods is helping me read enjoy the world.

I am experiencing this as well. Really weird. Not listening very loudly, but I do use them in my work all day. Never in my life have I noticed such a dramatic affect to my hearing. I thought it was connected to the really loud static sound that inexplicably strikes from time to time. Maybe not?

I’ve been wearing in ear wired headphones for many years with no problems. A few weeks ago I decided to finally get on board and get the new AirPods Pro 2nd gen. After noticing how good the ANC is, I’ve been using it a ton. Within a week I noticed this very loud high pitched ringing that just doesn’t go away. My wife said the same thing is happening to her. There is zero debut in my mind the problem is coming from the AirPods. Very sad because they work so dang well. :-(

I agree! I loved wearing my ear Buds! so convenient and wire free! I have had tinitus for several year but with the buds the noise in my ears was increasing. such a shame! I had to go back to wired ones or my headphones!

Same here. Have used my pros off and on for a couple years now. Had them in for a 2 hour low-volume soft music session and when I took them off I’ve had the ringing. Left ear is more pronounced than right. Very high pitch ring like an old tube TV. It’s been 5 days and based on the comments I don’t think it’s gonna go away which is really frustrating considering I had no hearing issues before.