Hum Test: I Hear Better in My Good Ear — Do I Have Nerve Damage?

[ShaunR]

Hi,

When a single-sided hearing loss is suspected, most doctors will perform a hum test. Basically you hum and if you hear the hum clearer in the unaffected ear, it's a clear indication of sensorineural hearing loss in the affected ear.

When I hum, I hear it much clearer in my left, my good ear.

When I talk, I also hear my voice gravitating to the left, good ear.

However, otherwise both ears test evenly.

No doctor has an answer for this.

My concern is I have nerve damage... It would explain my constant face ache and occasional face burning.

I was wondering if anyone else has the same reaction with the hum test?

Shaun.

 

[Tinker Bell]

No doctor has ever asked me to do a hum test. That I have auditory nerve damage is obvious based on their audiology tests.

I just tried humming and do not notice a difference. I have 70+ dB loss across multiple frequencies in one ear. I can certainly tell with external noises that I have hearing loss.

What does your audiogram look like? Does it indicate any hearing loss?

ETA: Your post inspired me to do a bit of research because I've been told before that everyone has a good/bad ear or a dominant ear even without hearing loss. Apparently a study of children found our ears can be different with one hearing music better and one hearing speech better. One ear being dominant is normal, too. Maybe your left ear is your dominant ear.

 

[ShaunR]

No doctor has ever asked me to do a hum test. That I have auditory nerve damage is obvious based on their audiology tests.

I just tried humming and do not notice a difference. I have 70+ dB loss across multiple frequencies in one ear. I can certainly tell with external noises that I have hearing loss.

What does your audiogram look like? Does it indicate any hearing loss?

ETA: Your post inspired me to do a bit of research because I've been told before that everyone has a good/bad ear or a dominant ear even without hearing loss. Apparently a study of children found our ears can be different with one hearing music better and one hearing speech better. One ear being dominant is normal, too. Maybe your left ear is your dominant ear.

Hey,

Thanks for the reply

My audiogram is perfect with very little change from 5 years ago. However, my right bad ear just feels bad all the time... I'm suspecting TTTS.

My DIY high frequency test is good up to 14 kHz.

Yes, I've read the dominant ear thing too. Maybe my mega hypervigilance to my bad ear coupled with a dominant left ear makes me hear my voice in the left so much more.

Cheers,
Shaun.

 

[Tweedleman]

I basically had this, or something just like it after my acoustic trauma. It sounded like my voice curved off to the left ear and was all fuzzy and distorted in my right. Despite both ears testing equal and in normal thresholds.

I was able to clear it up with massage techniques. Turned out, I had some intense form of muscular inflammation all around my head (particularly near the mastoid) that was responsible for constricting the conduction of sound.

You might find this guide helpful. These are the kind of exercises I've been doing on myself in order to release the tension, with pretty great success:

https://www.liebscher-bracht.com/en/tinnitus/3-exercises-tinnitus/

Good luck!