Apple Hearing Study Reveals New Insights on Tinnitus

[FrizzleFryBen]

Nothing sets my tinnitus off more than audio/music/videos played on an iPhone. Plus it just does not sound good for music listening (Ex-audio engineer). People get frustrated with me because I ask them to turn down their audio when they are watching insta or tik-tok. I try to explain that it literally hurts my brain (I'm also neurodivergent with life-long audio processing issues) - but they always think I'm just being impatient or a jerk. But it literally, hurt my brain and causes me high levels of anxiety.

Tinnitus is a strange strange thing. I'm 45 now, had it since I was 15 or so (blowing stuff up, shooting guns, loud music, power equipment, deep water diving) I was brutal to my body and head. But every once in a while over the years I thought, gosh, if this gets much worse, I don't know what I will do. It always does get worse, and I just reset my expectations and regroup on my coping methods. If the tinnitus I experience today is what I experienced 'out-of-the-box', I would have lost my mind. Animals are incredibly resilient. I hate it, it drives me bananas sometimes, but you deal with it.

 

[macdisciple]

I drove 2000 miles over 4 days in a 1994 Toyota MR2 (small cabin) with an expensive custom stereo turned up as loud as I could with Evanescence's Fallen on repeat 20 years ago. I think it f'd up my hearing.

 

[hans1972]

So apple is constantly listening to your environment? New Nick name for Tim, big brother.

No, you have to turn on the feature in the Noise app. Also there is a microphone icon on the Apple Watch when the microphone is in use.

Maybe, you should find facts about the world before you form opinions?

 

[Surf Monkey]

I’m 59 and I’ve been playing in bands since I was 14. I have some ringing in my left ear due to a particularly loud drummer we worked with for a few years. He hit his crash cymbal really really hard and it was right next to my left ear in practice. That experience caused me to start wearing musicians earplugs to practices and shows. I’d strongly suggest that any musicians and people who like to go to live shows make sure and get musicians plugs. They will absolutely save your hearing from permanent damage.

 

[Siliconguy]

I have tinnitus and didn't know about this study, but mine is pretty much constant crickets type. Would be lovely if someone could find a cure, but then again, despite how bothersome it can be, it's one of my least important medical issues right now!

Constant crickets? I hadn't heard of that version. I have a 7.8 kHz tone in my left ear, and somewhat lower in my right ear. The audiogram has a pronounced notch from 6 to 8 kHz, but 10 kHz is fine. The volume is variable, right now it's whistling pretty loudly, about as loud as the refrigerator. Sometimes it's nearly gone. No rhyme or reason to it I can tell.

Why? A lifetime in heavy industry, plus the shop. I borrowed a noise meter from work and found out the miter saw puts out over 100 dB.

 

[hans1972]

Surprise, surprise, surprise, Apple study says Apple devices not responsible for tinnitus.

Anyone remember the tobacco companies that produced study after study saying tobacco does not cause cancer.

That's what not Apple is saying. The study says nothing of the sound source. The cause of tinnitus is quite complex and I don't think science has fully uncovered the reasons.

The main purpose of the study wasn't to find the cause of tinnitus but to map its extent among different demographics.

People did self-report that "noise trauma" was the reason for about one fifth of the participants who had tinnitus. Noise trauma can of course be loud music and that load music may have come from EarPods, AirPods, Beats and other loudspeakers Apple have produced.

 

[Surf Monkey]

That's what not Apple is saying. The study says nothing of the sound source. The cause of tinnitus is quite complex and I don't think science has fully uncovered the reasons.

The main purpose of the study wasn't to find the cause of tinnitus but to map its extent among different demographics.

People did self-report that "noise trauma" was the reason for about one fifth of the participants who had tinnitus. Noise trauma can of course be loud music and that load music may have come from EarPods, AirPods, Beats and other loudspeakers Apple have produced.

Exactly. A dB is a dB. It doesn’t matter one whit what company’s transducer made it.

 

[MrMojo1]

Have tinnitus since an earlier age many moons ago, which I remember started when going to sporting events and some idiots were blasting those air horns near me.
Recently had a hearing test then a CT scan due to experiencing some vertigo. CT scan was negative but hearing test showed a slight drop in my left side with high frequencies.
Doesn't help as one ages and other health issues also complicate matters.
Don't rely on ANC enabled hearing devices, as that can be misleading. By using ANC or any other type of hearing devices, users tend to turn up the sound volume which is a no-no as that will eventually affect your hearing eventually.

 

[FrizzleFryBen]

I drove 2000 miles over 4 days in a 1994 Toyota MR2 (small cabin) with an expensive custom stereo turned up as loud as I could with Evanescence's Fallen on repeat 20 years ago. I think it f'd up my hearing.

For me, it was 1997 and I was driving an 86 Escort with a stereo worth twice what the car was. Drove from NE Indiana to SW Florida blasting Pantera, Helmet and Deftones for 23 hours strait.

 

[ghanwani]

They won’t, see another news story here – these guys are planning to put OLED in MacBook Pro in 2026.

Right now there is a semi-solution of putting matte screen protector and using device at full brightness all the time and not using it during nighttime at all

And unfortunately none of those can address temporal dithering. The closest thing I've seen to a solution for that is an app called stillcolor.

 

[deckard666]

Surprise, surprise, surprise, Apple study says Apple devices not responsible for tinnitus.

Anyone remember the tobacco companies that produced study after study saying tobacco does not cause cancer.

I dont think anyone was claiming phones were causing Tinnitus on any sort of percentage - way to overact guy !

 

[Harry Haller]

I drove 2000 miles over 4 days in a 1994 Toyota MR2 (small cabin) with an expensive custom stereo turned up as loud as I could with Evanescence's Fallen on repeat 20 years ago. I think it f'd up my hearing.

Great car.
Shame Toyota stopped making it.

 

[pianophile]

He then prescribed AMITRIPTYLINE, which is an antidepressant. He said that the side effects help those with tinnitus.

Interesting. How long did you have to take it?

 

[pianophile]

I have had tinnitus in my left ear for about 20 years and have learned to live with it.

Me, too: since a very loud flight in 2005, left ear, a constant high-pitched hiss. After all this time, I, too, have learned to live with it. I always read about new treatments with interest.

 

[CarpalMac]

Deleted.

 

[aitachi]

Could you use them but at a lower volume? Or was it volume independent?

I had the same thought and tried listening at a lower volume after the tinnitus faded. It helped somewhat but eventually, the ringing came back and I just had to stop using them. I think my frequency of use contributed too. I would have the AirPods in all day while I was working. Sometimes with music, sometimes just with ANC.

I use a pair of over-the-ear headphones now but I don't play anything through them. Just have them for the psychological, "it's time to work now" effect. Ringing still comes and goes sometimes but it's not a constant thing like it was when I was using AirPods.

 

[JH101]

I had the same thought and tried listening at a lower volume after the tinnitus faded. It helped somewhat but eventually, the ringing came back and I just had to stop using them. I think my frequency of use contributed too. I would have the AirPods in all day while I was working. Sometimes with music, sometimes just with ANC.

I use a pair of over-the-ear headphones now but I don't play anything through them. Just have them for the psychological, "it's time to work now" effect. Ringing still comes and goes sometimes but it's not a constant thing like it was when I was using AirPods.

Thank, it is not only me then with Airpod pros. Got rid of them too, much better on Sonys

 

[mikejd1]

44. Tinnitus here. Started one year and one month ago exactly. 1am a high pitch noise woke me up in my sleep, right before leaving on a 1 week vacation. My life changed from that moment on. It took close to 3 to 4 months to get used to it and ignore it the best I could.

 

[LSUstang05]

I have tinnitus in my left ear. It's so effin annoying. Endless high-pitched screeching that never goes away. I can mitigate it by constantly playing music, audio books, or various types of noise files from the White Noise app.

Same thing here. Quiet rooms are the worst. If I close the door to my office I have to turn on music or something to help drown out the constant high-pitch screech. 90% of the time I can just tune it out enough that I don't notice it but lately I have noticed it seems to have caused hearing loss in my left ear, which absolutely blows. I tend to find my tinnitus is significantly worse after a night of consuming alcohol. Does it stop me from drinking and enjoying the company of others? Absolutely not. It just means I have to deal with the ringing being a bit louder the next day or so.

 

[lcseds]

I have a high pitched tone in both ears 24/7. I do not know what silence is. Likely from my Navy years, but I can't lay all of the blame there. Spent a lot of time with headphones on listening to really loud music also. So here I am now, with a constant distraction in my life.

I don't understand why more progress hasn't been made on this front. Seems to me there could be an implant of some sort to neutralize the effect. But, what do I know?

 

[AdeFowler]

I’m 59 and I’ve been playing in bands since I was 14. I have some ringing in my left ear due to a particularly loud drummer we worked with for a few years. He hit his crash cymbal really really hard and it was right next to my left ear in practice. That experience caused me to start wearing musicians earplugs to practices and shows. I’d strongly suggest that any musicians and people who like to go to live shows make sure and get musicians plugs. They will absolutely save your hearing from permanent damage.

I might have been that drummer 😆

I’m 62 and played drums in bands all through teens and into my forties, before the use of in-ears. I’m now paying the price with 24/7 tinnitus. In truth, I’ve learnt to live with it. It’s only really annoying at night when I’m thinking about it.

 

[star-affinity]

It should be noted that while active noise cancellation is great for mitigating nuisance noise (airline cabin, traffic, etc.), active noise cancellation is not a proper substitute for actual hearing protection, as mentioned in the article. (Don't take my word for it, do your own research.) This is especially important for those suffering from tinnitus, as exposure to sudden loud noises can worsen the condition.

I did just that. Ended up in a loud venue a month ago with two friends. Didn't have my earplugs. Should have just left, but staid a while after having made ”plugs” of napkins (don't dampen much sound at all). Feel like an idiot because my tinnitus is now worse, I have hyperacusis and the hearing is different (worse).

Apple should make a “cure” for sensorineural hearing loss with J&J collaboration

Yes! That would be absolutely life changing for some many people if could be done. I also think it would be beneficial for the music, venue and hi-fi/sound/speaker business if we could fix hearing issues. I don't feel like listening to music at all at this stage.

Speaking of this, venues should take more responsibility for the sound volume and sound quality and not risk people's hearing just because they don't have ear plugs. I also think it would be good with some kind of international standard warning sign that shows if a venue has measured a certain dB level during the sound check so people know what they are getting themselves into (I don't think many people know about the horrible conditions – maybe people have heard about tinnitus and hearing-loss and tinnitus, but I don't think many have heard of hyperacusis.

WHO global standard for safe listening venues and events

WHO global standard for safe listening venues and events

Publicaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud

www.who.int

SHOULD NIGHTCLUBS BE DOING MORE TO PROTECT YOUR HEARING?

https://mixmag.net/feature/should-nightclubs-venues-events-festival-be-doing-more-to-protect-your-hearing-tinnitus-awareness

 

[Sezel]

May be neuralink can help in future with these brain related issues.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Surprise, surprise, surprise, Apple study says Apple devices not responsible for tinnitus.

Anyone remember the tobacco companies that produced study after study saying tobacco does not cause cancer.

Where does it say that in any shape or form? This is not a study on Apple devices nor on digital device use in general. It makes no claims on whether Apple devices affect tinnitus. The only thing Apple related the article offers that is related to the results is how to lower the exposure to loud sounds based on the preliminary findings.

Now if this was an Apple sponsored study on, for example, app security and third party app stores I’d be a lot more skeptical about the findings but the hearing study is about as unrelated to Apple’s business model as it gets.

 

[spiralynth]

Tapping vigorously with the tips of my fingers along the entire curvature of my hairline on the back of my head — a personalized variation of the concepts described in the video below — has proven to either give me immediate relief or extended periods of calm. I’ve used it often over the past few years.

I gather it doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, but hope it helps at least some of you. I would encourage you to keep tapping around the entire back of the head/neck from ear to ear if you need to. As I mentioned, that’s how I found what personally worked for me; not necessarily doing exactly what he’s demonstrating.

Berg 30 Second Tinnitus Technique