AirPods causing tinnitus?

@Gregpillow. The majority of these comments are people mentioning their shared experience with a particular product. We are not engineering experts that understand the intricacies of active noise cancelation technology, nor do we claim to be. I'm 43, and as a musician, have taken extra precautions to protect my hearing as long as I can remember. I do not have an underlying condition and I bet most other people commenting here don't. Most of the people here, like myself, are very sensitive to changes in their hearing. This is my 3rd pair of Airpods and the first 2 caused no problems for me so I'm not here to trash any particular product or brand. In fact, I'm (usually) a huge proponent of Apple products because of their great design. But really, thanks for helping us get to the bottom of this mysterious situation though.

[Edited by Moderator]

Hi thofli, thanks for detailing your situation. I have experienced exactly the same - I have just been using it for a week after not using for 3 months and my tinnitus got worse again. I hope yours got better since you don’t use AirPods Pro. However, wanted to check if you contacted Apple re the problem or still do not use them and ringing has gone? I’ll appreciate your response.

Modemmom wrote:

Do you work for Apple? You are really defending the AirPods pretty heavily here.

This is a user-to-user forum. Apple’s participation is minimal. The only people from Apple you’re likely to see posting are the Community Specialists. They are labeled as such.

Perhaps JimmyCMPIT just has a different opinion than you do.

Same. I only listen to podcasts walking the dogs. What can be done to reverse it? If I stop using them for a period of time will it go away? Can I return my AirPods or file a claim? A shame. I loved them but this sound is making me crazy.

When in ear devices first came out, there were all sorts of warnings and alarms about how they could cause hearing loss and that people should stick to over ear headphones. Then that discussion stopped. I wonder if research didn't support it or if big business/big tech just silenced the discussion.

Well, I’ve been wearing earbuds quite a bit for the past six months and noticed about two weeks ago noise in my left ear. I have only use it mostly in my left ear and now I cannot hear very well at all went to doctor. He prescribed some pills and no score stuff for five days but it’s on my fourth day no change yet. I am wondering if my hearing will come back which is about 50% in my last year of what it was my next step I guess he’ll be an otologist to see if my hearing is damaged forever I had no hearing problems before this. I’ve worked in noisy environment so anyway, it is concerning. Bothersome but not painful.

ijk Las Vegas

So it has been three weeks. Was getting better. Used them one day got so much worse. I do have an ear infection 100%. On day 13 of antibiotics right now. I honestly can't say 100% that they caused the tinnitus, but I can say that I am done with in ear earbuds. Only over the ear from now on for me. I don't ever want to go through this ever again. It has been ****!

I have also started experiencing this after using AirPods for 11 months. No other headphones have done this to me. I would listen on very low volume and started noticing the ringing intensifying when in my ears. I don’t want to use them anymore out of fear of further ear damage. Now I have very sensitive ears and cannot even tolerate loud voices in a room. I regret using these. :/

Again, it is not damaging your hearing. There are two options;

1. Your low volume is not as low as you think for using it for a few hours. A few hours is a lot!
2. Silence is created, resulting in your brain hearing and amplifying tinnitus.

Saying that blabla Airpods this Airpods that then you just jump to conclusions about a subject you know nothing about.

Guessing you didn’t experience the screeching sounds that the first airpod pros did and got guaranteed warranty replacement because it was defective & emitting high pitched tones as you place them in your ear. Not everything is black and white, stop bullying people discussing their issues. Even if we’re potentially wrong, we have the right to discuss it.

Vincee95 wrote:

With no intention of bullying, I want to spread information about this subject.

And you're doing a great job. Unfortunately, some people mistake a civil disagreement for "bullying". But, I think your good intentions are obvious.

Vincee95, I’m afraid you are wrong! The theory may be correct, but I DID get tinnitus which I noticed immediately on taking off the iPods. The tinnitus lasted three weeks. Now it is intermittent. I did not have it before using the pod.

I used mine last night for the first time. I was playing background noise with noise canceling on while I went to sleep. At some point I woke up and took them off. I had a headache and wondered if it was from pressure in my ears. This morning I woke up with tinnitus. So it wasn’t too much silence in my case. Maybe it was the pressure?

Same. Just used them last night with background noise and noise canceling on. I loved it and was looking forward to using them on a long flight I have coming up. I’m afraid to use them anymore and will have to return them. 😞

Does anyone have any tips please for how to remedy tinnitus that may be caused by Apple Airpods, or for how to stop Apple Airpods from possibly generating tinnitus? I haven't used either of my Airpods for months due to health concerns. Please share technical suggestions, thank you. I am suffering a great deal [honestly]