Long-Wear, Noise-Canceling, And Wireless: How Earphones Damage Our Hearing

On Nov. 24, 2019, a new thread titled “AirPods causing tinnitus?” appeared on the Apple community forum page.

The Apple user said that after using AirPods for a while, he noticed a high-pitched ringing in his ears that didn’t go away.

According to him, he has always been highly protective of his hearing; he doesn’t listen to anything loud and always carries earplugs in case he encounters anything that could damage his hearing. But things only got worse.

“Having said all that, now I notice that when I put my AirPods in my ears and have nothing playing, they emit a high pitched tone that I would say exactly replicates the tone of my tinnitus, leaving to me believe that the AirPods actually caused my tinnitus,” the user wrote.

Since the thread was published in 2019, over 3,200 Apple users have responded with “Me too.”

The introduction of Apple wireless earphones has had a noticeable effect on earphone use, with younger generations using them more than older generations, said Julie Prutsman, an audiologist and founder of the Sound Relief Hearing Center. For the past few years, she has seen an increasing number of younger people show up to her clinics with hearing loss and tinnitus.

AirPods and other Apple earphones make up the majority of earphones used by teenagers today. In 2021, Apple earphones were ranked first in the American headphone and earphone market. A 2022 survey by Piper Sandler surveyed more than 7,000 teenagers and found that 72 percent owned AirPods...

The American Osteopathic Association estimates that 20 percent of teenagers today will experience hearing loss, partially due to their headphone and earphone use.