Does one-time earbud use cause tinnitus?

[greatsun]

Hi all,

I have OCD that manifests as health anxiety and have a very specific phobia of developing tinnitus. Today I decided to try and combat one of my fears---when I went to the gym, I listened to music using my earbuds. I normally avoid earbuds because I'm afraid that using them just once will be enough to cause tinnitus. I tried to disprove this theory today, but now I find myself in a full-blown panic attack, thinking I may have done something horribly stupid by using the earbuds. I don't have any ringing in my ears currently but am afraid it will start at any moment, and that I will have done something horrible and irreversible. I'm hoping that this is irrational but need some reassurance from you guys. What do you think?

[Davit]

Tinnitus comes from medication and isn't the same as the ringing from loud music, Tinnitus goes when the medication does or you adjust to the meds and the tinnitus stops.

[anthrokid]

Davit, whilst tinnitus can be caused by medication, it can also be caused by other things, including prolonged exposure to loud noise. However, the ringing in your ears that occurs immediately after a one off event (e.g. after a loud party or attending a concert) generally goes away. It is long-term exposure to loud noise that can cause permanent tinnitus. Greatsun, I don't think that you will develop tinnitus from using earbuds to listen to music once, or even several times for that matter. You are unlikely to have any effects as long as you don't blast the music loudly. For example, keep the music at a level where you can still hear people and things around you.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi greatsun,

Well done for trying, that alone is a massive hurdly to get over. I think that given the response, maybe try to approach it from a gentler angle in exposure so that you can build up to this as it seems a larger goal based on your response.

In terms of cancelling this out, well I have used earbuds for many years. I would be walking daily with them in for hours at a time. My hearing is fine. So, if we use your thought that even once could cause tinnitus then my risk level must be huge compared to yours. But my hearing is fine.

I think you have to counteract it with evidence to prove its not based on anything solid, only irrational fear.

So, think about how many millions of people wear ear buds everyday. Surely your health system would be flooded with cases and you would have tinnitus being described as being on epidemic proportions in your country. It would be a national health crisis. Have you ever heard your government or the media report that? Then think about the rest of the world for instance, we use them just like you guys and we have a nationalised health service which is always struggling and reporting anything causing them products. We have had no reports of tinnitus being an issue that is crippling your healthcare system.

Then think about the fact these ear bugs are available very freely in shops, supermarkets, online, etc. Do any of them carry a warning that says "even single usage can result in tinnitus"? If the answer is no, then there can't be a link between their single use and tinnitus. In fact our NHS state it can be caused in young people due to excessive noise which will mean loud music on earphones/headphones/ear buds. I've worn mine with music blasting on loads of occasions yet my hearing is fine.

Does that make sense?

How about going the CBT homework route and using one of the Thought Records on this link to do this as an exercise?

http://psychology.tools/download-the...orksheets.html

It can be useful to get beyond the issue and tell your subconscious that its not an issue, but it will take a lot of work to make the subconscious change so you have to keep doing things like this. So, fill one in and keep reading it occasionally to remind you that it is not an issue and why and maybe your subconscious will start to change the associations it has made to new ones and stop firing the old neural pathways off.

Wearing your ear buds is obviously a massive trigger. So, break it down as ERP would into a set of steps that lead up to the worst form it takes. For instance, if it is about putting ear buds in & playing music, why not put something safe in your ear for a few seconds for a few exposures and then moving it on to a few minutes, etc. Keep going and build it up to the final issue. You could even have a step where you do this with the ear buds but initially play no music, then play it low, switch it up another day, etc.

[Emilym80]

It would be unlikely to cause tinnitus unless you had the music on REALLY loud. If you then developed tinnitus from that, it would go away pretty quickly.

Take it from me- I have chronic tinnitus from playing in a band! The guitarist liked to point his amp right at me and crank it. It was a 500 watt Marshall stack... pretty loud. He was a dickhead. Anyway, I'm 18 and have permanent hearing damage from that but I've never had tinnitus from earbud use. I always have it but it is exacerbated by exposure to loud noise (concerts etc). If you keep the volume at a reasonable level when you use earbuds I don't think you'd ever develop it from them. Don't use them with the volume higher than halfway- I think that's a good (if rough) guide.

Well done on overcoming this fear and using the earbuds. I think you'll be okay with them.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Is it above a certain decibel level, Emily?

I can remember when they were running programmes about this years ago and they were demonstrating the dangers of standing next to speakers at gigs.

Sorry to hear about the idiot who caused yours. You should have tied some money on to him and kicked him into the mosh pit!

[Emilym80]

Hi Terry,

Yeah, it would be! Unfortunately I've never known the decibel levels of shows I've attended, but it definitely doesn't always happen- only for particularly loud ones or festivals, as it's exposure for a whole day, I suppose.

I probably shouldn't have put up with it but every time I told him to turn down he'd sneakily gradually turn his amp back up again. Unfortunately I was doing it as a favour for him and the drummer as they were doing music performance as a year 12 subject, so if I'd pulled out it would've stuffed up their ATAR scores (like A-levels). I've become used to it and my hearing is average- I did a recent test- but it used to be a fair bit sharper than population average, based on the last test I did. It's very frustrating as a musician to have ears that constantly ring but I rarely notice it anymore.

Anyway, sorry to hijack your thread OP! But I really think the earbuds will be fine as long as you don't turn them up way too high.

[Serenity1990]

Honestly I don't see how an earbud could cause this. I've had tinnitus all my life and it most certainly isn't always caused by medication as suggested above. I'm not on any.

[Emilym80]

Earbud use can cause tinnitus because it can damage the ears permanently. You need to use them at an extreme volume, though.

[Serenity1990]

Earbud use can cause tinnitus because it can damage the ears permanently.

With all due respect, absolute rubbish.

No earbuds I've ever used (or indeed seen) go anywhere near deep enough into your ear to cause any kind of damage to the structures around the drum. Aside from which, many studies suggest that tinnitus originates in the brain, not the ear.

[Davit]

I drove heavy equipment and fell trees for a living, but wore protection. Chain saws run 90 plus DB. Caterpillars even more. Ringing was always temporary. Those who didn't got the same only when we did the yearly hearing test those without hearing protection lost the ability to hear highs and lows, no tinnitus just loss of hearing. Even running my tractor for hours making hay only left a temporary ringing. I had mild tinnitus for a year or more from medication many years ago. Aline has it from medication. I found it extremely annoying.

[feelthelove]

Davit, whilst tinnitus can be caused by medication, it can also be caused by other things, including prolonged exposure to loud noise. However, the ringing in your ears that occurs immediately after a one off event (e.g. after a loud party or attending a concert) generally goes away. It is long-term exposure to loud noise that can cause permanent tinnitus. Greatsun, I don't think that you will develop tinnitus from using earbuds to listen to music once, or even several times for that matter. You are unlikely to have any effects as long as you don't blast the music loudly. For example, keep the music at a level where you can still hear people and things around you.

I got tinnitus back in 1999 when i went to a night club and was dancing right next to the speaker, it freaked me out and i had a near breakdown because of it , i still have it all these years later , some days its hardly noticeable but others its loud enough to cause anxiety .

[MyNameIsTerry]

With all due respect, absolute rubbish.

No earbuds I've ever used (or indeed seen) go anywhere near deep enough into your ear to cause any kind of damage to the structures around the drum. Aside from which, many studies suggest that tinnitus originates in the brain, not the ear.

I think she meant with high volume, not the physical presence of the ear bud.

Do those studies mean it always originates in the brain or that it is possible to originate by either?

[Serenity1990]

I think she meant with high volume, not the physical presence of the ear bud.

Do those studies mean it always originates in the brain or that it is possible to originate by either?

To be frank, nobody seems to know. It is almost always present where visual snow is, and that is known to be caused by hypermetabolism in part of the brain, so in my case it's almost certainly from something like that; certainly in my case my ears were scanned to death when I was a child and not only were they healthy but my hearing was exceptional. However tinnitus is a symptom not a disorder, so it could well originate in the ear for some also. The fact is nobody really understands it, but who cares, as it's as benign and boring as a headache.

[MyNameIsTerry]

To be frank, nobody seems to know. It is almost always present where visual snow is, and that is known to be caused by hypermetabolism in part of the brain, so in my case it's almost certainly from something like that; certainly in my case my ears were scanned to death when I was a child and not only were they healthy but my hearing was exceptional. However tinnitus is a symptom not a disorder, so it could well originate in the ear for some also. The fact is nobody really understands it, but who cares, as it's as benign and boring as a headache.

Thats interesting.

True, it isn't an issue as its something people cope with but it can be more severe for others so is it like headaches & migraines that way? The issue here is really the irrational fear and that is every bit as relevant to anything anyone has ever worried about who has a disorder. Sometimes the big issues are dealt with easier when they happen and it can be the small everyday stuff that spikes you.

[Serenity1990]

Thats interesting.

True, it isn't an issue as its something people cope with but it can be more severe for others so is it like headaches & migraines that way? The issue here is really the irrational fear and that is every bit as relevant to anything anyone has ever worried about who has a disorder. Sometimes the big issues are dealt with easier when they happen and it can be the small everyday stuff that spikes you.

I've always had it, I thought it was normal until my teens. Sometimes it's quite bad, particularly when tired, but it's always there on some level. It's really nothing more than a slight inconvenience even at its worst. It's really not something to fear.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've had a hissing for years and I've found that it is more prominent when I am tired. I've never reallly thought about it to be honest but I'm wondering now whether it is this?

I do agree Serenity, its just the nature of the beast isn't it?