Comment by outside415 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by outside415 | Hacker News Reader

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the newer generations of AirPods absolutely trigger tinnitus for me. The gen 1 AirPod Pros are the best. I really have to crank the volume to trigger it. The Gen 2 AirPod Pros are the worst. Even low volumes rip apart my ears. Constant ringing all of the time. The USB-C Airpod Pros Gen 2 are ok at low to mid volumes, can't use them at high volumes what so ever though, they also let in a terrible amount of wind noise for outdoor activity which makes them unusable since turning up the volume to mute the wind noise causes tinnitus for me.

The AirPod Pro Max also get too loud, they are ok at low to mid volumes, high volumes = extreme tinnitus.

HomePods are similar, I can only have them on at volume levels I appreciate for short periods of time or I get tinnitus.

Compare this with my old sennheisers and audeze headphones, 0 tinnitus even at extreme volumes. Similar for my in ear Mochi headphones.

Or compare the HomePods to my Panasonic Surround Sound Speakers for my TV from 12 years ago that I still use, I can make the walls shake with no tinnitus. If I turn up my homepods to a volume close to that my ears will be ringing for hours or days after. It really bums me out, I wish I understood what is changing about the technology. Like are they going from Analog to Digital and is digital more harsh or something? I don't know.

There have been theories about ANC headphones, earphones, and in-ear-monitors causing tinnitus over the years, but nothing concrete with evidence.

There are also theories that they will prevent tinnitus because one can play music at a lower volume and still enjoy it.

You can also set max volume levels which has helped me listen to music at more reasonable volumes.

What do you do when that piece starts and you remember you don’t really care about anything anymore and you just need some of that energy shot into your brain at the highest volume possible even if it hurts?

Nothing can stop a sufficiently motivated individual

I don't have tinnitus on most of my devices at medium to high volumes. only apple devices and more recently built wireless in ear monitors. victim blaming is great though.

I personally like to pick apart all of the layers of music and hear all of the nuance/production. At low volume this is generally not possible. Not all of us have audiophile tendencies though I suppose.

I think the point the parent was trying to make was that when using ANC you likely listen to things using a lower volume setting--reducing the chance you'll develop tinnitus. Without ANC what you're listening to competes with what's around you and you're likely going to keep the volume higher. I immediately noticed I was using a lower volume when I first used some headphones with ANC.

I've head some people suggest using AirPods Pro with ANC as a form of hearing protection at concerts--I think Apple might have even mentioned that in today's presentation.

Yeah, they should lower the noise floor and allow same dynamic range at lower volume, just like Apple touts here for the new AI noise cancellation (which also mentions they use eartips for part of the reduction).

The burden of evidence should be on the side who wants us to put their electromagnetic devices in our body-cavities.

To put it less bluntly: even if there is no evidence of harm, one can rationally decide to avoid these products out of caution.

"triggered" tinnitus from in-ear headphones or normal headphones is not necessarily from the sound level. Try to massage ears (pull earlobes forward, back, up down, and massage muscles around ears) head and jaw muscles. Stretch your neck muscles.

If you do it from time to time and tinnitus eases even a little, it might come from how the AirPods or headphones press your ear or head causing tensions.

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