New Here. Low-Frequency Hearing Loss and Tinnitus... Please Help

[yag4199]

Hi
I have tinnitus (it sounds like something between white noise and a high frequency sound in both ears and I also hear a high frequency sound in my right ear) and low tone hearing loss. I can tell that because I usually can't hear the bass when listening to music and it's frustrating and depressing.

After listening to music (not at a very high volume,usually less than half actually) my ears feel full and the valsalva maneuver (holding your nose and blowing) won't help. It feels like my tympanic membrane is stretched and bent inwards (is that possible ? ). It seems like the more I listen to music the worse my low frequency hearing loss gets and if I stop for a long time (a few week or even a few months) it gets better again but if I listen to music for about 30 mins or one hour every day, in a week I will have low frequency hearing loss again. How is this possible ? I only listen at 5 out of 15 volume. Yes, I admit that I use bass heavy headphones (because I can't hear the bass otherwise) but still, isn't loud noise supposed to give you high frequency hearing loss and not low frequency hearing loss ? Why are my ears so sensitive ? The first time I listen to a song it seems to have more bass than the next times. I know this sounds crazy and I really don't know how it would be possible.
My audiogram looks fine and the doctors said I have normal hearing:
125hz 15 db
250hz 15 db
In both ears. The higher frequencies were almost perfect. I think I have hearing loss at lower frequencies but they don't test those. I have had my hearing tested multiple times and the audiogram at higher frequencies was the same. In the most recent audiogram I had :
125 hz 10 db
250 hz 5 db
I really don't know how that was possible because my headphones ( pretty decent 100 $ headphones that were supposed to be bass heavy ) sound like cheap headphones with no bass at all most of the time. It's really depressing.
Apart from not being able to hear music properly I have had other problems: in a noisy place I often can't understand what other people are saying and that doesn't seem to happen to them. I read somewhere that this can happen if you have low frequency hearing loss.

Things that sometimes improve my hearing :
-driving through hills ( I know this is suppose to clog your ears but a few days after I do this I sometimes hear better)
-swimming ( although sometimes it makes it worse )
- taking a very long break from listening to bass heavy music.

I made a list of other symptoms. These don't bother me too much but they might help you figure out what's wrong with me:
- tinnitus louder after not very loud noise (for example walking on the street, or blow drying my hair or taking a shower)
-when I touch my face I sometimes hear a sound in my right ear
-when I'm listening to music only in my left ear I sometimes hear a sound in my right ear
-sometimes I hear high frequency sounds very loudly (and the doctor said I might have hyperacusis)
-when I hear a loud high frequency sound I sometimes hear another sound in both ears
-when I talk I sometimes hear a sound in my ears
-fullness in ears
-sometimes I have a cold sensation in my right ear when breathing in like that air is going to the back of my ear(that's not possible, is it ? )
-sometimes I feel a slight pain somewhere between the back of my ear and my throat
-when I yawn I sometimes hear a popping sound mostly in my left ear

Here are some causes i have ruled out:
-earwax
-eustachian tube disfunction (i had etd in the past but the doctor said i am ok now and my ears don't feel full usually and my nose isn't clogged so i am pretty sure i don't have etd now)

I know fluctuating hearing loss can be a sign of meniere's disease but i don't have vertigo.
I have done a ct scan and i don't have any tumours.

Another theory was that i had tonic tensor tympani syndrome but the doctors said that i actually had no stapedal reflexes in the right ear. I still think i might have ttts but it's probably very unlikely.

I have back problems and a bad posture. I also have impacted wisdom teeth.I think there might be something slightly wrong with my jaw because it sometimes pops when I open my mouth and I have the impression that my teeth don't meet together correctly. Could these have anything to do with my hearing problem and tinnitus ?

Thanks for reading all this, I know this was a lot of text. Also sorry for bad English, it's not my first language.

 

[Michael Leigh]

HI @yag4199 I advise you to stop listening to music through headphones as you will make your tinnitus worse, don't be tempted to even listen at low volume. If you do listen to music then listen through speakers and at a low volume to give your ears a rest. If you click on the link below there is information about tinnitus that you might find helpful
You also need to be seen at ENT for tests on your auditory system.
All the best
Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

 

[Jkph75]

You don't have a fluctuating hearing loss. Your hearing needs to fluctuate at least 15 db between tests for that. It is normal for your hearing to fluctuate 10 db or less between tests. What do your drs think is wrong with you?

 

[yag4199]

@Jkph75 First time I went to the doctors they thought I hat ETD and gave me a nasal spray, but it didn't do anything. Then, a year ago, they gave me something to improve my blood circulation to the brain , something whith ginkgo biloba if I remember correctly, but it also didn't make any difference and they didn't find anything wrong with my ears and couldn't explain my tinnitus.

 

[GregCA]

Does your audiogram show an air-bone gap?

 

[Jkph75]

How did they explain you not having any reflexes in your rt ear?

 

[yag4199]

@Jkph75 I asked them if it was possible that I had tonic tensor tympani syndrome and they said that I actually had no stapedal reflexes in the right ear but that it was normal and about 20 % of the population doesn't have them. I did have stapedal reflexes in the left ear though.

 

[Cam Cam]

hey man i am the exact same as you! The bass sounds like a blowing speaker but i have no probs hearing higher frequency, although my ringing is how pitched? I get a low tone sometimes but its not very often so i am very confused as well

 

[Coyotesheaven]

I've been having the same problems (low frequency hearing loss and tinnitus). However, mine is not cause by loud music. Mine is caused by blood vessel spasms and pressure trauma like experiences arising from a defective eustachian tube.

Like other people have suggested, you have to stop listening to music through headphones until further notice. Heavy bass noises CAN damage low frequency as well as high frequency hearing. Believe me, I have experienced it before. That is likely the first thing to rule out if it is indeed noise damage. The tinnitus experiences and a few of your other symptoms are pretty indicative of noise injuries.

The other thing you could have is some kind of eustachian tube dysfunction (yes it's still possible even without allergies or fluid in the ear), or middle ear problem (ossicular chain issue). Any defect there often leads to low frequency hearing loss. Your problem almost seems to be a patulous E-tube ( eustachian tube that stays open), granted that you hear noises inside when you talk and that you feel air rushing through your ears.

Just some things to consider, but for a professional opinion try to find a neurotologist in your area (ENT's are useless for more complex ear problems).

 

[yag4199]

@GregCA Hi. Sorry it took so long to respond. I don't think they tested that. My air - conduction hearing looked fine on the audiogram anyway.

 

[iDred]

I think I have a similar issue to you and am wondering if anything got better?

Hearing test showed I had hearing loss at 1000hz and below, but as the frequency got lower I had more hearing loss.

I woke one morning with low frequency hearing loss in one ear and also distortion echos etc. The distortion was probably caused because lower frequencies sound different in my left ear then my right. The brain then processes it incorrectly.

My right ear was and is still perfectly fine.

My hearing in my left ear fluctuated, it got better and worse. When it was worse I heard echoes and more distortion.

I think it may be something with the inner ear fluid or cochlear hydrops without the vertigo or dizziness.

I thought my low frequency hearing loss was permanent but it improved a lot and just recently the distortions are gone. I have a lot less low frequency hearing loss and it starts at about 500hz and lower instead of a 1000hz.

In the 100-300hz range it has improved greatly to where I can use the phone in my left ear. I'm not sure what is going on because I thought the hearing cells were damaged it would be permanent hearing loss.

One odd things that seemed to make my hearing better which didn't make sense.

I accidentally played a real loud noise into my left ear for a couple of seconds while using ear buds and then my bad ear got a lot better after an hour, didn't make sense.

When holding nose and putting pressure on my ear drum, I would hear water squishing around, but this stopped all of a sudden when my ear got better.

What I found that may be a coincidence is why my hearing got recently a lot better after two months is that I stopped using my sound machine at night. This was just a sound machine which had a fan but I believe it was lower frequency because I used to not be able to hear it well in my bad ear.

I stopped using that because I thought maybe it was bothering my ear and since then my hearing really improved and has stayed good. But this is probably just a coincidence, but I find it odd that you mentioned your hearing got worse when listening to music. My sound machine really isn't that loud and I keep it on the low setting.

I had T, both a minor ring and hiss sound, but this all has gone away after a while. However, a louder T always followed right before my hearing really improved. I also had once where everything sounded really loud but this only lasted an hour.