Hearing Distortion in One Ear

[jdv]

So happy I found this page! I felt very alone for the past 5 months. No body seems to know what we have and how we can fix this. No info on the web as well!! As a musicien sound engineer and producer im stopped in my tracks... Impossible to work with this problem. If anyone has a cure please share!!

Thank you Shoegaze for creating this page!!

 

[Contrast]

So happy I found this page! I felt very alone for the past 5 months. No body seems to know what we have and how we can fix this. No info on the web as well!! As a musicien sound engineer and producer im stopped in my tracks... Impossible to work with this problem. If anyone has a cure please share!!

Thank you Shoegaze for creating this page!!

Your only hope is for future medicine to be able to regenerate cochlear hair cells and synapses.

A cure isn't going to be on a damn tinnitus forum.

 

[Contrast]

These problems are probably a mix of hidden hearing loss, tensor typamni spasms, loudness hyperacusis and tinnitus reacting to stimuli.

There is no one dysacusis or hearing distortion problem, it's hilariously sad how if my hearing distortion came back I would just off myself.

 

[MarkF]

Hi Folks.

Yet another person suffering this crackling in one ear - I've had it for nearly 15 years now and it drives me mad. Like most on here, I am an avid musician and music lover, and have played guitar since the age of 12. Unfortunately, this issue has really head me back, and affects me a various times - loud gigs, in the pub, restaurants, and in the car listening to music or on the phone hands free - it is awfully annoying, and is often depressing.

I've seen many different doctors and ENT's and have also had balloon dilation of my Eustachian tube to rule out ETD, but to no effect. As its stands now, the doctors tell me that they just cant figure out whats causing this and are blaming tinnitus, however I'm not convinced by this. There are rare times when the issue will subside, and often situations arise where it is not as severe as normal, which leads me to believe there is some other cause, as I would expect tinnitus to be constant. However, I could be wrong.

Sometimes, if I apply pressure to my ear like I'm trying to block it, the crackling will go away, but this will only last a short period of time and then its back again. The crackling is also affected by jaw movement.

I believe myself that this is a buildup of moisture in my middle ear, however this is hard to prove.

I think its good to hear of others with this, and the more that people post the greater the awareness - if you suffer from this, or have any ideas I'm all ears, crackle and all!

Mark

 

[Contrast]

Did you see an Otologist, not an ENT but an Otologist.

Audiologist are hearing aid salesmen, an otologist will understand more about the inner ear then a hearing aid salesmen.

 

[ChrisTheWelshman]

Hi, I've been reading these posts, and a lot of the information concurs with my experience. First of all, let me say that I have been a choral singer for over 30 years, and have sung in the main concert halls in London and also in Europe. A large chorus can make a pretty loud sound, and I would say that I have a loud voice!

I first experienced tinnitus in 2006, but it's only in the left year and manifests itself as a high, hissing sound. Over the years I have got accustomed to it and it does not really impact my life.
More recently, however, I suffered a mainly chesty cold, and during this I suffered hearing loss in my left year, also accompanied by distortion. This made singing difficult and stressful and I am currently resting. The hearing has now returned to normal, except that the distortion is still there, though not severe.

When listening to music at home, the distortion is quite dependent on the musical programme. It is most evident on soprano vocals in the mid-high range, appearing and disappearing at various frequencies, as if an unwanted resonance was being triggered somewhere in the inner ear. Some music, for example chamber music, appears relatively unaffected. The volume level also plays an important part.

I am working on the possibility that there is fluid somewhere in the inner ear, and trying to clear it, and will add to this post if I find anything positive.

Hearing is a most precious thing. All the money in world cannot compare.

 

[BigMuffled]

And here's another one...

This all sounds mighty similar. I have had some low level tinnitus for as long as I can remember and learnt to ignore it. Relatively quiet - just a nuisance at night.

I seem to have some hyperacusis too - not causing actual pain just severe discomfort - especially plates and stuff (so I can get out of washing up pretty easily ).

However.... about a couple of months ago I noticed my left ear was blocked with wax and the volume of the tinnitus had gone up. After the ear was syringed I noticed hyperacusis was much worse and this awful hi freq distortion which basically sounds like one of my existing tinnitus sounds (a hissy high pitched sound) superimposed onto high harmonic content music and just in one ear (I think). Like others here music is for me a lifeline - I cannot live without it. Lifelong musician and listen daily for several hours (at a sensible volume). Unfortunately I like distorted guitars which seem especially effective at triggering the distortion which unlike most tinnitus does not get masked. It really is the last thing I wanted. But we don't choose...

I have an appt with ENT soon and I am roping in my dentist as the same noise associated with distortion gets much louder if I clench my teeth, open my mouth or move jaw to the left. The other tinnitus tones don't respond to movement at all. So its not so very uncommon by the looks of it.

Is it going to get better? No idea. I do have good/bad days and if I listen quietly its just about bearable. Also found that using in-ear headphones somehow seem a lot better (less distortion) - that must be significant?

I will watch this thread and report if I get anywhere at all with the UK medical system.

All best.

 

[TEOL]

I have sensory issues and a non annoying blowing of wind tinnitus sound in my ears since the start anyway as I have Asperger's and the sensory issues that come in the package of being me.

However after picking my itch with my finger and watching what happened to be an episode of BBC Robin Hood with a huge crashing cymbal in the intro at the time later on in the program I started getting foghorn broken speaker distortion on Tucks voice as well as voices by women on the news.

Odd thing is on music my foghorn distortion doesn't go off in my ears at all and doesn't even go off on a Robin Hood cymbal when I gave it a go neither.

However any music like a Top of the Pops 80s or music in an advert or film sound like 22khz mono without much distortion though not having the forghorn sound on music so suspect half of the issue is a remix of impacted wax from the picking, infection from it as feels like fire and fluid build up as well.

I have just been a part of a triple bout between flu, cold and head cold as well that also I've heard has impact on your ear tubes.

It's weird something that started after some loud Robin Hood music doesn't impact on music other than quality and volume and only impacts on the speech of mid high talking.

I find the broken speaker foghorn noise annoying more than anything and spent the full day asking people is the TV broken and hearing feedback back that it's loud and clear not broken at all.

 

[michael_2]

Hi folks,

27-year-old male, played in a rock band in my early 20s, but generally am far more careful with my hearing than most people my age (headphones at reasonable volumes and always have earplugs at loud shows).

I have the same issues: distorted hearing in my left ear, stress (about unrelated things) seems to make it worse, and a feeling of fullness in my left ear from time to time (as if there were water in it).

The left ear is particularly sensitive to distorted guitars, as someone already mentioned. A guitar with disortion can cause the crackle, even at quite a low volume. That said, any sounds in the mid-range can cause the distortion. Sometimes when it's bad I have to leave situations of normal loudness. Earplugs don't seem to help much. As others have noted, this is very depressing. I just attempted to join a band, but alas my left ear makes it impossible to enjoy it. I'll need to tell the guys I'm quitting if I don't find a solution.

Sometimes my left ear feels itchy, as well. Hoping this may be allergies, I tried daily usage of antihistamine and nasal corticosteroids, which doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm going to try other suggestions in the thread, and hope to update with a solution.

 

[Reinklasen]

Greetings all,

I've been searching for anything that sounds similar to my case... this thread hits the nail on the head.

Like many of you, I'm an avid musician, don't gig but do rehearse with friends every couple weeks.

I definitely have been exposed to my share of loud sounds. I've had tinnitus in my R ear since 2000... learned to live with it.

After a stubborn cold or sinusitis a couple months ago I started to notice some mild tinnitus in my L ear.

Then about a week ago, about an hour after being exposed to the loud sound of a bottle breaking in the garbage room where I live, I noticed a reverb/resonance sound in my L ear while talking on the phone hands free, driving. It's been there ever since. Not all sounds elicit the resonance but those in the higher range seem to do it. It's not horrible but based on what I'm reading... I'm preparing for a long haul. On some other points, I'm also pretty sure I have herpes (used to get cold sores as a kid), and clench/grind my teeth at night.

I have an ENT appointment this week; will update on anything that I find out.

It's been a while since anyone has chimed in... Any thoughts or feedback would be welcomed. Cheers.

 

[SD7]

@Reinklasen, does your ear rumble when you hear this sound? I can't tell if I have distortion or some kind of TTTS that causes this. I usually feel it when using Facetime or if someone is talking close to me. It's a physical sensation that sounds like crackling.

 

[Spam101]

Hi, Just signed up to say this is exactly what happened to me 12 days ago. I'm 32.

The thing that's maddening to me is that I went to sleep fine, and woke up like this.

I was convinced I must have slept on my phone and it went off right in my ear or I had some unusual congestion.

I'm a metal musician, I abused my ear a lot in the past but would always use protection in the last decade, but not at gigs or nightclubs I was attending rather than playing.

I had a tinnitus scare right around the time of the end of the band 4-5 years ago. It started to compete with television level sound. But within a couple of weeks it subsided and it's at such a level that it doesn't bother me. Most of the time I don't even notice it in my conscious experience. I'd not been to a gig for 2 years because of COVID-19 and I had COVID-19 and recovered fully about 3 and a half months ago. I had a lot of pressure in my ears that I couldn't release for a few days during the recovery but I suffered no long term consequences.

The only things that were out of the ordinary were:

1. I was slamming Ibuprofen nearly every day for a couple of months due to neck pain.

2. I have a really messed up septum which causes me to have blocked up sinuses on the affected side... I was blowing a hell of a lot the day before but I know my limits and this is fairly typical for me though I was being quite aggressive for an extended duration.

4. A few days prior i had a really tight jaw and I had some aching and tightness with chewing, at first greater and then on another occasion lesser so.

3. I had a very strange sensation that night when I reclined in my chair, like a rush of blood to my ears/around my jaw, and it felt like my ear drums were buffeting and clenching but not like it was full of air, I was intrigued so I allowed it to continue because it was an interesting sensation, but it became quite pressurised and uncomfortable/borderline painful so I sat up to prevent it.. Never had an experience like this in memory. That night I went to sleep was the night I woke up with the problem.

Everything else is exactly as you described.

I will say that my left ear has always rung slightly more high and brightly when I've itched the inside with my pinkie, but now it is insanely sensitive and amplified. It's that same frequency of reverberation that is accompanied by all normal noise, it's as if something has come loose so to speak and is rattling.

Also, this is probably one of the worst things about it. It seems to be a conductive problem, it's created regardless of whether my ear canal is closed or open. Even with earplugs in I still get the squeal from certain mid frequencies if it's loud enough, when watching a pub band for example. So there is no workaround. Truly awful, very quiet stuff is the only thing that has any clarity.

I'm not sure, because as you say. Your brain gets used to the new normal. But i've noticed a tinnitus without an external noise source appearing in the last few days, but I don't know if I'm just amplifying my existing tinnitus because I'm constantly thinking about my hearing. It seems to have morphed over the last few days from a super high pitched spinning/whirring, very atypical in my experience and a regular one.

In the last 4 days I've seen 3 medical professionals, all have agreed I have no damage to my eardrum, no sign of infection and I didn't fail a preliminary hearing test. I have struggled to hear conversation in crowded noisy places for at least a decade though and I believe my left ear his lesser hearing loss than my right.

 

[swisspooch]

This is an old thread, but it describes my distorted left ear situation so well. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any answers from ENTs or audiologists. I'm 67 years old, with decent hearing overall. I worked professionally in video and sound editing and enjoy music every day.

One thing I'd like to add, as others have mentioned, is that aggressive massaging and applying pressure around the back of the ears, along with performing the "Valsalva maneuver," can bring moments of beautiful clarity—but only for a few seconds. My guess is that this temporarily balances air pressure on the back of the eardrum, reducing the distortion. Eustachian Tube Dysfunction is often used as a blanket term for unequalized pressure, but I've been told I don't have ETD based on a healthy tympanometry test.

Another home remedy I've tried for short-term relief involves placing my thumbs in my ears, my index fingers on my nostrils, closing my mouth, and gently blowing. It's similar to the Valsalva maneuver but feels more controlled. I don't experience a hard "pop" in my eardrums, just a slight release. Be cautious—this can make you dizzy, so it's best to sit down while doing it. Hold the pressure for 5 to 10 seconds. For me, this eliminates the distortion, but only for about 30 seconds.

What's really going on here? I'm not impressed by my ENT's insights. Good luck to everyone dealing with similar issues!