Hi everyone,
I've been reading many posts here, and it's encouraging to know that not only might someone understand how I feel, but also that maybe, just maybe, there's hope for me.
I've always had what my mom called "sensitive ears." She would warn me in advance about certain noises so I could shut myself in a room or leave the house. Add to that constant childhood ear infections and being a musician, and I guess it's no surprise that my ears are a mess now.
I do have ringing in my ears and have had it for a very long time. I can mostly ignore it. But what's happening now is a static, crackling sound in my left ear that gets much worse with external noises. For example, if I listen to a podcast, the speaker's voice makes the static worse. Scratching my head makes the crackling worse. If the dishwasher runs, it gets worse. Sometimes I don't even speak because my own voice triggers it. I first noticed it years ago when I would scratch my ear during allergy season—it would crackle for a few days and then go away.
My ENT can't explain it, and my doctor had a compounding pharmacy make ear drops, but they aren't working. Is this unique to me? I feel like I'm going crazy because no one in the medical field seems to have heard of this. I have no hearing loss, my ear pressure is fine, and my exams all come out normal. My right ear has had a feeling of fullness for decades, which I've just learned to live with.
As I type this, I have noise-canceling headphones covering my left ear. It pops and cracks sporadically, and I can hear the light ringing. Sometimes the static and crackling don't go away even with the headphones, but they help a little. My ear is getting sore from wearing earplugs, and my sleep isn't great.
Thanks for listening.
I've been reading many posts here, and it's encouraging to know that not only might someone understand how I feel, but also that maybe, just maybe, there's hope for me.
I've always had what my mom called "sensitive ears." She would warn me in advance about certain noises so I could shut myself in a room or leave the house. Add to that constant childhood ear infections and being a musician, and I guess it's no surprise that my ears are a mess now.
I do have ringing in my ears and have had it for a very long time. I can mostly ignore it. But what's happening now is a static, crackling sound in my left ear that gets much worse with external noises. For example, if I listen to a podcast, the speaker's voice makes the static worse. Scratching my head makes the crackling worse. If the dishwasher runs, it gets worse. Sometimes I don't even speak because my own voice triggers it. I first noticed it years ago when I would scratch my ear during allergy season—it would crackle for a few days and then go away.
My ENT can't explain it, and my doctor had a compounding pharmacy make ear drops, but they aren't working. Is this unique to me? I feel like I'm going crazy because no one in the medical field seems to have heard of this. I have no hearing loss, my ear pressure is fine, and my exams all come out normal. My right ear has had a feeling of fullness for decades, which I've just learned to live with.
As I type this, I have noise-canceling headphones covering my left ear. It pops and cracks sporadically, and I can hear the light ringing. Sometimes the static and crackling don't go away even with the headphones, but they help a little. My ear is getting sore from wearing earplugs, and my sleep isn't great.
Thanks for listening.