I’ve been dealing with a strange issue lately. Last night, I realized my headset was damaged on the right side and was making a sharp, high-pitched noise. I ignored it and kept using them for about an hour. When I went to bed, I noticed a whistling sound in my ear, similar to what you hear after a loud explosion. It didn’t stop, so I looked it up on Google and started worrying it might be tinnitus. I’m really panicking because I use headphones constantly. After I calmed down, I noticed the sound was persistent but only in my right ear. I hadn’t used my earbuds much that day. When I woke up, it was gone, but then it returned in both ears, though it’s stronger on the right. It fluctuates throughout the day—sometimes it’s there, sometimes not. It was mostly gone today while I watched a movie, but now that I’m trying to sleep, it’s back and quite loud. My hearing seems fine otherwise. My anxiety is through the roof, and I even ran a fever last night from the stress. I’m lost and could really use some help.
This sounds like it could be intermittent tinnitus. I don’t experience this myself, but I remember seeing a post where someone used a color-coded calendar to track which ears were ringing on specific days. Sometimes they’d go two weeks without any noise, followed by a day or two of ringing in one or both ears.
So your headset was making a high-pitched noise, you kept using it, and an hour later your ear started making the same sound? Are you certain the device was actually broken? It’s possible you were hearing tinnitus from the start and just assumed it was the headset. This is often how it begins for some people—it shows up for a few days, disappears, returns for weeks, leaves again, and then eventually comes back for good. Like others mentioned, stop listening to loud audio and let your ears recover. You could also try taking NAC; that’s really your only option right now.
Welcome to the club, you have tinnitus. It could be a temporary thing or it might stay forever. I’d recommend giving your ears a break for a few days. For instance, going to see New Year’s fireworks would be a bad move right now. Get plenty of rest and eat healthy. It might clear up on its own, but there’s no way to know for sure.
That is definitely tinnitus, though it might just be temporary. There’s no need to panic; staying calm will help. You’ll feel better once you understand the causes and how it works. I’ve explained the mechanisms of tinnitus and how low-level light therapy (PBM) might help on my YouTube channel, THE PBM & TINNITUS LAB with Dr. katayoon. Check out the videos and feel free to ask any questions afterward.