So I am a 21 year old still-in college student who has had a number of hearing issues in the past year.
Frankly, my problems with hearing loss and T started a few years ago, as a result of repeated exposure to high volumes on my ipod; I have stopped such behavior since Spring of 2014, however.
Enjoying about 8 months with no more hearing problems, hell then broke loose last February when a firecracker went off by my ears, creating instant hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. I was still, luckily, in the normal range for all speech frequencies (had hearing of a 30 something year old now) and only had large losses in the very high frequencies, particularly in the right ear.
Fast forward to May where I had 2 seperate noise induced incidents, where I lost hearing and got more T while wearing earplugs in only a 100-105 decibel environment (one event for only 15 minutes, the other for about 2 hours). Given that nobody else was losing hearing (even temporarily) in these events, I thought it odd, especially since I visited nightclubs (occasionally) and went to school concerts even after the firecracker incident with no problems.
Anyway, then things started to get really weird around August after a labrynthitis attack, where any exposure to a relatively loudish noise, no matter how brief and regardless of protection worn, was setting off episodes of permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. Now I have the hearing of a 50-60 something year old :/, and have developed a 40 decibel notch at 6 K in the left ear (which was not there in May) with high speech frequency losses. Since August, I have had events caused by:
Riding a bus with earplugs
One loud crowd scream with earplugs in, and then people talking loudly for a brief time
Wisdom tooth surgery
Ear suction at ENT office (recovered from that fortunately)
Jackhammer on other side of the street, or Taiko drums a block away for 3 minutes, with earplugs in
Taking a shower that was only a bit louder than most
Singing 2 folk songs in the car at a moderate volume
Watching a 25 minute movie segment with volume up slightly high (but absolutely not earsplitting or even close)
Singing at lower volume with earplugs in (occlusion effect?)
I have also had other weird symptoms accompanying the usual inner ear damage more recently, including:
Any insights as to what could be going on, or is there anything I could do to continue finding a solution to the problem? I am so desperate to be free of the ringing, and the emotional and mental health hell that occurs whenever I lose more hearing.
Thank you so much!
Frankly, my problems with hearing loss and T started a few years ago, as a result of repeated exposure to high volumes on my ipod; I have stopped such behavior since Spring of 2014, however.
Enjoying about 8 months with no more hearing problems, hell then broke loose last February when a firecracker went off by my ears, creating instant hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. I was still, luckily, in the normal range for all speech frequencies (had hearing of a 30 something year old now) and only had large losses in the very high frequencies, particularly in the right ear.
Fast forward to May where I had 2 seperate noise induced incidents, where I lost hearing and got more T while wearing earplugs in only a 100-105 decibel environment (one event for only 15 minutes, the other for about 2 hours). Given that nobody else was losing hearing (even temporarily) in these events, I thought it odd, especially since I visited nightclubs (occasionally) and went to school concerts even after the firecracker incident with no problems.
Anyway, then things started to get really weird around August after a labrynthitis attack, where any exposure to a relatively loudish noise, no matter how brief and regardless of protection worn, was setting off episodes of permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. Now I have the hearing of a 50-60 something year old :/, and have developed a 40 decibel notch at 6 K in the left ear (which was not there in May) with high speech frequency losses. Since August, I have had events caused by:
Riding a bus with earplugs
One loud crowd scream with earplugs in, and then people talking loudly for a brief time
Wisdom tooth surgery
Ear suction at ENT office (recovered from that fortunately)
Jackhammer on other side of the street, or Taiko drums a block away for 3 minutes, with earplugs in
Taking a shower that was only a bit louder than most
Singing 2 folk songs in the car at a moderate volume
Watching a 25 minute movie segment with volume up slightly high (but absolutely not earsplitting or even close)
Singing at lower volume with earplugs in (occlusion effect?)
I have also had other weird symptoms accompanying the usual inner ear damage more recently, including:
- A feeling of pressure and swelling all across my head in response to loud noises or me raising my voice
- Frequent mild temple headaches (especially around episodes of hearing loss)
- During episodes of hearing loss I get facial tingling and numbing
- Sometimes hand/feet tingling, as well as 'vibrations' in parts of my body, that occur after loud noise
- Shooting eye and sinus pain (from loud noises)
- Feelings that circulation has been cut off from ears, which induces very loud tinnitus and pain radiating from one ear across the head to the other
- Dizziness and vertigo are frequently experienced, but not debilitating
Any insights as to what could be going on, or is there anything I could do to continue finding a solution to the problem? I am so desperate to be free of the ringing, and the emotional and mental health hell that occurs whenever I lose more hearing.
Thank you so much!
