AirPods causing tinnitus?

I was bought AirPods last year. After using them for a couple of months I noticed a consent hissing in my ears. I was diagnosed with tinnitus. I learnt to live and deal with it. For the last few months, it died down without me being consciously aware that it had. This was about the same time I stopped using the Airpods. I have realised this as I used the Airpods yesterday for a couple of hours and the hissing has come back with a vengeance. I did not have them at all loud and was in fact listening to chilled music to help me relax. The Airpods have I feel damaged my ears and as such I will not be using them again. I will be looking to take legal advice on this, although who would want to take on Apple!

Interesting observation. So it may possibly be something in that particular connecting signal that’s changing the neurotransmitters in the brain.

I wish Apple’s tech people would get on to this and look into it.

In the meantime someone contacted me with info on how to retrain the brain not to hear Tinnitus which worked for him and has for many others. I’m asking Apple to please let me share this info here because of so many people suffering.

1- Try not to think and read about your condition. The more you think, the more you will be a prison in this condition.

2- Avoid quiet environments as much as you can. You need to listen to pink noise ( read the instructions). 

3- Avoid ear plugs in daily life but this should be gradual until you can remove them during concerts etc.. We call this rehabilitation of hearing. i.e. in my first days of treatment, I could not play the violin without earplugs. now I can thankfully as my ear has been much stronger in handling sounds after hours of exposer to pink noise.  

To sum, healthy pink noise is crucial for your treatment. Try to use it as much as you can. Try to be exposed in daily life noise sounds as much as you can.

If you can visit a specialised audiologist that will be perfect. Remember, hyperacusis and Tinnitus are curable. It is just rehabilitation of your ears to become strong again and the professor in the lecture showed data regarding this. 

I hope this info can help and good luck with your journey. 

[Edited by Moderator]

I have been able to lessen the effects of my APP induced tinnitus by doing a number of things. If 100% is the loudest it ever was, and 0% is silent, then I think I've gotten down to about 50-70% doing these steps:

*I did all these within the same day so I don't really know which one is working and which ones aren't. Sorry about that.

1. Listen to a continuous loop of pink noise during sleep or when awake. You can find many noise "machine" apps in the App Store. I use Sleep Cycle but it doesn't matter as pink noise is all the same. It doesn't have to be loud and you can play it in earphones or through a speaker(stay away from your APP, though!).
2. Do Austin Gohs tinnitus exercises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztSBhvt4v-E&t=148s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsCTBeGrT8k&t=214s
3. Do the "reddit tinnitus cure" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBgkPOGD6gw

I don't prescribe to Chinese or any kind of "natural" medicin or know why these exercises work, or if any of this can give permanent relief. But it definitely seem to have helped a bit for me and urge all of you to try these things out. All of it's free and only requires your hands and a computer or device for watching the videos.

*I've also only experienced the APP tinnitus for a few weeks and maybe it's just going away by itself(it's been with me 24-7, except when I'm not awake. So I doubt it goes away by itself). I know next to nothing about the field of ENT or hearing so I wouldn't know anything about what's going on.

I have the same experience as many here with Airpods Pro. Purchased a set in late 2020, and after the second or third session of moderate volume use, experienced a weird discomfort in both ears. Initially thought it was some skin allergy to the silicone tips. Woke up early the next morning and the ringing was terrible in both ears. No previous ear issues, had perfect hearing.

Have been through the Audiologist approach (hearing is otherwise normal, pain threshold normal, no physical factors (hairs, wax), they cannot directly test for tinnitus). Tone amplitude varies, made worse by loud environmental noises (ambulance with siren passing, for example). Have tried a few medication and meditative treatments, pink noise etc. It is now over one year, and it will be permanent for me.

I have read this thread about 100 times, and weirdly it is a source of comfort. I would suggest that anyone commenting can be specific about the exact model to which they are referring (regular Airpods (1, 2 or 3), Airpods Pro or Airpods Max). This may be useful as we seek to find a way out of this sometimes dark place.

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 too am experiencing this as a result of wearing AirPod Pros for a few weeks before returning them--they were simply physically uncomfortable compared to the original AirPods--too large for my ears. I replaced them with 3rd Generation as the were more similar in shape to the original AirPods which were physically comfortable. After just a few wearings for 45 minutes each on walks, I got the same high pitched ringing people are describing. The answer you give, while thinking you are being responsible is actually not. It's irresponsible. Tinnitus can be caused by these devices as is quite obvious from the variety of people reporting issues. Of course there are other causes to that--but these reports follow people wearing these AirPods. The ringing is constant and certainly worse at night when it is quiet. I continue to have it after immediately returning the 3rd Generation as well and not using anything--for about 2 or 3 weeks now. I never had this issue with the original version. It's quite clear what the cause is, but it's less clear it will ever clear up and go away.

I have been dealing with an ear infection (inner ear) in both ears for about three weeks. The tinnitus was so bad that it was louder than my TV, truck engine, outside road noise. It has been non stop. Yesterday it was 80% better. Just talking and room noise would cancel it out. I have been very lax on my workouts because of this and yesterday finally said, that is it. I am going to work out. I did so for one hour. I went hard on that treadmill. It was awesome. I wore my AirPods Pro 2's and used the ANC. IMMEDIATELY when I got off the tread mill (I walk very brisk on an incline, not run) I could hear the ringing loudly again. Sitting at my desk it was overpowering. Going to sleep it was loud, and now today, it is louder than I can take again. I didn't wear the AirPods for 4 days. It got constantly better and the first time that I put them back in, boom. It is back with a vengeance. I am not going to wear them for 7 days and see if it gets better. If it does, then I will be done with the AirPods Pro 2's. I will find an over the ear (no anc) design. I just don't think that there has been enough research with enough variables. I will update if it does get better without use.

Heads up the current CV-19 going around can cause swelling in the eardrum that can cause tinnitus. Talk to your doctor asap if you notice tinnitus. It could be both or one or the other of course, but this info is important to be talked about.

Nothing, what you considered no a high volume your ears may have believed differently. Make an appointment with an ENT.

Go to an ENT, get a letter from them saying that the AirPods Pros are causing a health issue, then contact Customer Service and ask for a refund even though you are past the return deadline.

I also have tinnitus prior of owning the airpod pros, and yes, when I first tried the pros the tinnitus got worse, but this is not exclusive to the airpods, I get the same problem with my sennheiser gsp500, even tough I notice this with the sennheiser right away.

That said, some in ears and headphones I have actually seem to remediate the problem, like the sony mdr 1A, the razer hammerhead, and some chifi like Tinhifi P1, T4 and Ikko OH10 actually seem to work in a way that the tinnitus seem to be at a moderate level if not better, I can use the sony mdr 1a all day without much issue.

Maybe this have to do with an specific frequency response. If the iphone had some kind of system wide equalizer we could remediate this by identifying the problematic frequency and turn it down a bit.

I purchased the airpods pro 2 weeks ago. When I used it for about an hour, I started to hear high pitch sound in my ear even after taking out the airpods. The tinnitus started and lasted for a day or so, and I logged a case to Apple and the next day I got a call from them who advised me to go and see an ENT specialist.

Around a week later, I used airpod again, this time over a period of several hours, and by evening, the tinnitus started again, and it’s continuing since then for a week now.

I went to an ENT specialist, and after doing the hearing test, he said that the cause is due to exposure to loud sound, but I couldn’t understand because I don’t listen to music that often (maybe max one hour a day) and the volume is always at moderate level.

I had been using Airpod 2 and Bose QC II for a while but never had tinnitus before that, so the most probable cause is due to airpods pro ANC or the pressure system..

I will contact Apple again to see what can be done, but if anyone has similar issue as me and the original post, please let me know.

My ringing stopped after about a week of no use. I've switched back to using wired earbuds after the problem first occurred. The sound is much softer on my wired buds than the AirPods. Wireless is great but not at the expense of my hearing which is the whole purpose of the product, right? That you can hear!

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.

I want to make sure you reach the right team for help with your AirPods Pro. I recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here: Contact Apple Support

Airpods have ruined my life.

Three months ago, I was listening

to music on the Spotify Connect app on my smart TV. I was using the

Spotify app on my iPhone to control the music via WiFi. I then needed

to make a call, so I put in my Apple Airpods. Unexpectedly, the

Airpods automatically connected to my phone via Bluetooth, and the

Spotify music started streaming right into my Airpods at an 85 dB

volume, which gave my ears quite an acoustic shock. I have had

ringing (tinnitus) in both my ears ever since that fluctuates in

intensity, but always present. I believe Apple should've built in a

default volume limit (that needs to be manually overridden) whenever

music automatically switches to Airpods in order to protect

listeners' ears from unexpected volume blasts at or above 80 dB

(levels above which is considered harmful to hearing). Or better

yet, Apple could've put in a safe default volume limit instead of set

volume limit to “off.” Or Apple could've defaulted “automatic

ear detection” to OFF, as I didn't know that would mean any media

playing and linked to my phone would switch to over to Airpods as

soon as I inserted them in.

I was diagnosed with tinnitus and

hearing loss after the incident by my ENT doctor. Also, a hearing

test with an audiologist showed mild hearing loss in my right ear,

although both ears showed a dip at the 2000 Hz frequency.

Thanks Apple for giving me

lifelong hearing loss and tinnitus. I will never use Airpods again.