Severe TTTS in Both Ears — Can It Settle/Heal on Its Own?

[matt89]

I had a second acoustic trauma 3 and a half months ago, which left me with severe fullness, muffled hearing, and sometimes temporary pulsatile tinnitus.

The fullness and muffled hearing sensation haven't improved, even 3 months after the event. However, over the last couple of weeks, I've started experiencing a fluttering sensation in both ears when I hear certain sounds or music.

After researching extensively, I'm convinced it's TTTS (tonic tensor tympani syndrome), which can result from acoustic trauma. If I understand correctly, after every acoustic trauma, the ear's natural defense mechanism is activated. In this case, the muscles (tensor tympani and stapedius) tighten, which removes the eardrum's elasticity to prevent excessive sound from reaching the inner ear. From what I've read, this mechanism works for only about 30 minutes, after which it no longer protects the inner ear. Additionally, this mechanism doesn't work in cases of acoustic shock because the ear muscles cannot tighten fast enough. After acoustic trauma, these tightened muscles may normalize, but if they don't, TTTS occurs. Is that correct?

As for my situation, my audiogram after the trauma showed no additional hearing loss, so I'm now pretty sure that my fullness and muffled hearing are due to TTTS. The tightened inner ear muscles and reduced eardrum elasticity seem to be causing these sensations.

Some of the symptoms I experience because of TTTS include:

• 24/7 fullness and discomfort with occasional tickling sensations in my ear. It feels like there's a foreign object or water in my ear that I need to get out.
  
  
• Loud, unusual crackling sounds in my ears when I swallow.
  
  
• When I'm talking on the phone (for example, using my left ear at low volume), my right ear flutters whenever the person on the other end speaks.
  
  
• When I listen to music at low volume on a device with poor sound quality (like cheap smartphone speakers), my ears constantly flutter in response to almost every sound. Interestingly, this doesn't happen when I listen to movies at low volume on my high-quality Bose sound system or in my car, which has a high-quality sound system.
  
  
• During conversations, if the person I'm speaking with laughs loudly, both of my ears flutter. The same happens if someone shouts or raises their voice.

I've read almost every thread about TTTS. Is there any hope that TTTS can go away on its own? Typically, spasms in other muscles (such as after an intense gym session) eventually settle down, so why doesn't this apply to the inner ear muscles? Why do constant spasms and fluttering persist?

Surgery to cut the muscles (tenotomy) isn't an option for me because it's a risky procedure, and it doesn't always lead to improvement.

Is there anyone who can share a positive outcome or success story after dealing with severe TTTS symptoms following acoustic trauma? I would really appreciate it, as I'm in desperate need of some encouragement. From what I've read, in most cases TTTS, like tinnitus, doesn't go away, and you have to habituate. Is this true? If that's the case, I have to say that habituating to inner ear muscle spasms is far more difficult than habituating to tinnitus.

 

[henkess]

Earplugs help reduce the noise I hear, and having a fan next to my ear helps a lot. I can't hear the sound as much then. My tinnitus is caused by GERD and can last for up to 30 hours. I find that a high dose of magnesium seems to help a little, and applying liquid magnesium around the ear also provides some relief.