AirPods causing tinnitus?

I have not visited an ENT over the issue yet but definitely will if the issue persists or worsens. ENTs cannot detect tinnitus (with the exception of objective tinnitus) so the diagnosis process is basically "Do you hear ringing in your ears?" and from there they will try to suss out an underlying cause, whether that be hearing loss, impacted wax, jaw issues etc.

This thread is mostly just interesting to me because it is one of a few things:

• A large case study in confirmation bias among a subset of AirPods Pro owners suddenly discovering they actually have tinnitus and mistakenly noticing patterns between AirPods usage and symptom onset/intensity through the power of suggestion between one another
• AirPods having some design trait that can exacerbate or cause tinnitus, and commonalities in a subset of the population who are susceptible to it (whether that be temporary or permanent)
• Folks genuinely not realizing how loud is too loud and actually giving themselves tinnitus with their AirPods, regardless of their claims of responsible usage habits

If the problem worsens or persists and I feel like it needs treatment, an ENT visit will be in order and I'll follow up here. Although, as more time passes between my last AirPods use, it does seem to improve.

I'd like to wait a couple weeks and try using the AirPods again to see if the problem returns, but there would be no way to verify if I'd just be having symptoms again via placebo effect, and I'm not sure it's worth the risk of increased tinnitus, perceived or real.

BB_10 wrote:

Has there still been no response from Apple? Clearly there is a serious problem. 29 pages of the same/similar complaint.

This is a user-to-user forum. Apple's participation here is minimal. They don't respond here to complaints.

You can let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

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.

I'm in the process of putting together all of the relative dates and doctor's visits since late December 2020 when I first started using the Airpod Pro. I only used them on 5-7 walks around the neighborhood and only listened to podcasts at a low volume. I sold them in March 2021.

The tinnitus started in January 2021. I made my doctor aware and have had an MRI, visited an ENT, a neurologist and even had my dentist look into tinnitus issues with the jaw. I now wear a mouth guard to see if that has any affect. It does not. Nothing has worked and in the past 3 weeks my tinnitus has grown worse in my left ear.

With none of these doctors visits and dentists visits working I am feeling that this is permanent and now my goal is to prevent it from getting worse. The current spike is feeling less like a spike and more like the new normal. I am at home 98% of the time with the pandemic and I am not around loud noises.

With all of these eerily similar experiences on this forum you have to figure there are others. At what point can something be done? This feel permanent and has impacted my day to day life. I can't imagine it getting worse. I don't wear headphones ever. I rarely wore them before the pros and only over the ear. Sony came out with an in ear and it has airflow built in.

[Edited by Moderator]

Hey guys, updating a year on. Got high pitched T around March 2021 after just a few hours of using Airpods Pro.

I'm not sure it was them. I mean, they could have contributed, but it may be a mixture of things.

• I discovered my T increases when I turn my head to the left
• I have a bit of high blood pressure and it is an issue with T
• And most importantly, anxiety wrecks my T.

The only time my T went down to a whisper was when I meditated. As I said, anxiety fuels T and I think most of my T comes from anxiety.

The more I think about T, the more I hear it, and the spike lasts days. Probably this T is permanent, you cannot control that, however you can control how to react to it. Easier said then done, I know.

Just try to calm down and I promise it will be a little quieter. Take care.

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,

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.

I had the AirPods for 14days with mild use in noise cancellation mode, only between 60-80db (never too high) and also developed Tinnitus and have since returned the headphones. I’ve had high pitched ringing in my ears for 5days now, and the only thing I can pinpoint it to is the AirPods. I’ve see my GP and booked a hearing test.

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. :(

Hello All,

I thought I would add my voice to this conversation. Made the eco-system switch from Android to all Apple. I purchased an iPhone 14 Pro, and a set of AirPod Pro Gen2's, on November 14th. I started casually using them with ANC and Transparency ( did not honestly realize until this forum, that I could turn both options off). Anyway, up until about two weeks ago, my hearing was fine I think, then out of the blue, I noticed a high pitched ringing in my left ear, and a dull lower pitch in my right. I can only surmise, via the web, that this is indeed tinnitus. Today is 12/30/2022 and I am on day two of not using my airpods. Needless to say, I am very concerned. I am hoping the ringing settles down, or goes away. When I am in silent rooms, the ringing is quite severe. It certainly makes it difficult to focus on tasks.

I also want to point out, that I was aware that I had minor hearing loss prior to using these air pods. I suffered horrible ear infections as a kid, and have scarring in my ear drums from it. Also I worked in construction and in concert venues for a while..because yeah I was young dumb guy back then. Still my hearing loss is not awful. I consider myself cautious whenever I believe I will be in a siutation where there is high volume or noise.

I am curious about others experiences, in a more thorough way. For every one suffereing the same symptoms, did you always have ANC on? Same for Transparency? Have you tried turning it off to see if that improved the situation?

Do not like the idea that a pair of $250 "earbuds" could cause hearing damage.

Is not just airpods I experienced the same thing with a sony wh-1000xm3. After 1 year using them daily I developed a noticeable tinitus, I stopped using the noise cancelling and use them as regular headphones, the symptoms haven’t gotten worse.

I think is constant over pressure on the ears that causes the tinitus.

Please i am interested if anyone has a solution to this. I am 100% certain that it was caused by the apple airpod. Tinnitus is a sign of an underlying health condition or problem, in this case, it caused hearing loss for me. I have done all the test and this is evident. I had to take my airpods to apple and had them check it. Guess what, the problematic pod was exactly the side that is now damaged. Even their staff confirmed that this is a common issue with the airpod and i find it ridiculous that apple hasn't commented on it.

As a physician you must know that you need to see an ENT to make a diagnosis.

I am joining the Facebook page and going to an AUDIOLOGIST to get everything documented