Strange Hearing Distortion/Dysacusis?

[Nathan McAlum]

Yeah I had that also in the early months. The first days/weeks of my tinnitus were the worst. My loudness hyperacusis was already gone, but I heard a high pitched tone over a lot of things like strong wind, rivers, and on the worst day even from passing cars or my PS4 fan. It was never my tinnitus that reacted, it sounded like a complete new tone amidst another sound. If I covered my ear I heard my normal tinnitus.

I think it was totally gone after around 6-7 months for me. On very rare occasions it pops back up but mostly I am not sure now if I rally heard it or if it was my imagination.

Yeah, I had it pretty bad for the first few weeks, it went away for a few months, but it seem to come back worse than ever, hope it goes away soon.

 

[Deamon22]

Yeah, I had it pretty bad for the first few weeks, it went away for a few months, but it seem to come back worse than ever, hope it goes away soon.

Same thing for me, it got better, then a bit worse, then better again and so on. Right now it is A LOT better than last year, i rarely ever notice something.

 

[Nathan McAlum]

Same thing for me, it got better, then a bit worse, then better again and so on. Right now it is A LOT better than last year, i rarely ever notice something.

That's great to hear, glad to see that you're doing better!

 

[Allan Mcmillan]

I still have dysacusis but I've noticed that it's fluctuating. I had a couple days since onset where it was barely noticeable. I heard from an LLLT expert that dysacusis usually resolves itself overtime. I'm currently doing home laser therapy and I do feel as if it could help out in the long run.

 

[Vicki14]

I hear all kinds of crazy stuff. For awhile wind sounds made me hear crickets and I would randomly hear a big ass bird chirp. I've hallucinated loud screams and electrical explosion sounds when falling asleep. This morning at about 3 am I woke up and was falling back asleep and I heard this extremely loud zap sound like a transformer exploding and it scared the bejeezes out of me.

@JohnAdams I get this too and have read it's called 'exploding head' syndrome!

 

[JohnAdams]

@JohnAdams I get this too and have read it's called 'exploding head' syndrome!

Thankfully I haven't experienced this lately.

 

[Allan Mcmillan]

Same thing for me, it got better, then a bit worse, then better again and so on. Right now it is A LOT better than last year, i rarely ever notice something.

Mines got alot better and then significantly worse. I'm now dealing with earpain, mild hyperacusis, worse distortions and louder tinnitus. Crept up over days and honestly I'm not even sure what to do anymore. I'm hoping it's a normal fluctuation but I'm 4 months in and I don't think it'll get better if it keeps worsening.

 

[Deamon22]

Mines got alot better and then significantly worse. I'm now dealing with earpain, mild hyperacusis, worse distortions and louder tinnitus. Crept up over days and honestly I'm not even sure what to do anymore. I'm hoping it's a normal fluctuation but I'm 4 months in and I don't think it'll get better if it keeps worsening.

I had these fluctuations a lot in the first year, I still have them but not as often. Right now I also have a bit of a spike but just with a bit more noticable tinniuts, nothing else. At 4 months my tinnitus was changing all the time, so I would give it one or two years and hope for it to settle.

 

[Vukis]

I had these fluctuations a lot in the first year, I still have them but not as often. Right now I also have a bit of a spike but just with a bit more noticable tinniuts, nothing else. At 4 months my tinnitus was changing all the time, so I would give it one or two years and hope for it to settle.

And how is your situation with dysacusis, it gone, or subsided?

 

[Deamon22]

And how is your situation with dysacusis, it gone, or subsided?

It was mostly gone a few months after onset, first three months were the worst. Now I just notice it a bit when I have some kind of spike. But all the "whistling" over car noises, rain, rivers etc. is gone.

 

[mylesm]

Man! This thread has pulled me out of a very lonely, scary hole. I have the exact same thing!

Whenever a car drives past, whenever I hear the fridge or the tap run I get a morse code distortion.

I was already dealing with anxiety from the tinnitus and hypercusis and this one has just been piled on top. I thought it was game over for me, as after weeks of reading the forum I hadn't yet stumbled upon this condition.

Anyone else getting random ear pain? I'm not sure if its related to noise exposure as Im getting it randomly throughout the day while sitting on the couch?

 

[Hammers]

Following a week of loud noise at work I've come down with slight hyperacusis and distorted noise that sounds like whistling. I can't pin down the affected frequency though.

 

[astaff14]

I've been getting this! I had a noise trauma about 2.5 weeks ago and while my regular ringing is back down to baseline I now get a siren/alarm sounding distortion over a lot of background noises. Tends to go away when I'm not thinking about it I think but it's definitely reactive! Hope everyone's doing okay, glad I found this thread as it seems to resolve a bit over time.

 

[AlbertJ]

Hello Everyone,
I started experiencing the same about more than a week now.
At first, I heard a different sound on top of running water and I thought it was the exhaust fan. Then the night after, I noticed that my ceiling fan in my room was producing this whistling siren-like sound. Then I realized the sound of AC, television, inside the car, and anything that is loud and at a certain frequency triggers this distortion!
I was, or still am, downright scared.
I have bilateral tinnitus that I acquired last year and some form of hyperacusis.
I am deeply, deeply hoping this would subside.

 

[HootOwl]

I'm convinced that this distortion that we have here in this thread is a form of synaptopathy (or maybe I'm more desperate than anything to believe that because there are treatments in the pipeline).

I think if we can restore the synapses, this regenerating the nerve fibers from SGNs, the distortion will resolve since the signal will no longer be dysfunctional.

The question is if the DCN can "reboot" once it receives the correct signal, and stop the hyperactivity in the fusiform cells.

Fingers crossed because I can't live with all this distortion around me...

 

[HootOwl]

Does anyone else hear different distortions depending on the source of sound? I feel like I'm the only one who has that...Like the distortion in the fan will be different than the one in traffic, which is different from the one in water.

 

[Hammers]

Does anyone else hear different distortions depending on the source of sound? I feel like I'm the only one who has that...Like the distortion in the fan will be different than the one in traffic, which is different from the one in water.

I have different distortions from different sources too. One of them is am ear splitting whistle and it drives me nuts.

 

[AlbertJ]

Does anyone else hear different distortions depending on the source of sound? I feel like I'm the only one who has that...Like the distortion in the fan will be different than the one in traffic, which is different from the one in water.

Running water = Has a slight low tone
Fan = Has a low siren-like sound
White noise = Whistle
Car AC = Whistle
Traffic = Siren-like
Machines = Whistle

It is also strange that I mostly hear the distortion if I am at a distance from the sound source.

 

[Nate52]

Running water = Has a slight low tone
Fan = Has a low siren-like sound
White noise = Whistle
Car AC = Whistle
Traffic = Siren-like
Machines = Whistle

It is also strange that I mostly hear the distortion if I am at a distance from the sound source.

My ear responds to the noise sources you listed with a ringing sound. If I enter a quiet room the ringing stops.

 

[Hammers]

I get it over those same sources, except unfortunately certain voices are having it now too...

 

[nicole76]

Running water = Has a slight low tone
Fan = Has a low siren-like sound
White noise = Whistle
Car AC = Whistle
Traffic = Siren-like
Machines = Whistle

It is also strange that I mostly hear the distortion if I am at a distance from the sound source.

Yes! I thought I was the only one. If I'm right next to the source there is little to no distortion but is it's further away the distortion is much more noticeable. I hate it more than the tinnitus.

 

[AlbertJ]

Yes! I thought I was the only one. If I'm right next to the source there is little to no distortion but is it's further away the distortion is much more noticeable. I hate it more than the tinnitus.

I guess this has something to do with the eardrum.

I consulted my ENT doctor a few days ago. He found that my left eardrum is a bit inflammed and retracted. Possibly because of eustachian tube dysfunction brought about by an allergy or a cold. I am hoping that this would subside.

 

[Hammers]

IMO I think this is caused by loudness hyperacusis of certain frequencies. About the same time the distortion started I found I could (and still can) hear lightbulbs buzz. Not like a barely audible buzz either, I mean like a the level of a refrigerator hum. Wacky stuff bro.

 

[AlbertJ]

IMO I think this is caused by loudness hyperacusis of certain frequencies. About the same time the distortion started I found I could (and still can) hear lightbulbs buzz. Not like a barely audible buzz either, I mean like a the level of a refrigerator hum. Wacky stuff bro.

Hello @Hammers.
I now mostly hear the whistling from distant and/or loud vibrating sounds. When I am inside the car and hear the traffic, what I hear is a siren played on post-apocalyptic films.
Some low vibrating sounds "sound" like water running from pipes. Crazy indeed.

 

[HootOwl]

@Gabriel

Hey there, what you described with the frequency distortion is basically exactly what I have! I did a frequency sweep and there's a substantial amount of damage around 1k-1.5k hz. And some sort of buzzing that attaches itself to low frequencies (130-200 hz). What's odd is if I turn up the tone more loudly the distortion disappears and it becomes normal again. Which makes me think synaptic damage.

Did things ever get better for you? A lot of music I've now come to realize sounds completely distorted and wrong as a result, and it's completely destroyed me. Other songs completely normal which is I'm assuming because the tones in those songs remained undamaged.

I'm one month in and there's been no improvement.

Also the ocean, traffic, and road noise inside the car has kind of this white noise layer on top of them. Im not sure if this is just distortion or hyperacusis because it makes everything sound so loud to my ears. I can't stand the heater now because it's like walking next to a lawn mower - it really does sound that much louder. Or maybe the distorted frequencies are causing this extra sound layer to appear?

And then there's my 2 reactive tones (the low siren sound and the high pitched whistle that like to respond to pretty much everything)...god my ears are a mess.

 

[Nate52]

@Gabriel

Hey there, what you described with the frequency distortion is basically exactly what I have! I did a frequency sweep and there's a substantial amount of damage around 1k-1.5k hz. And some sort of buzzing that attaches itself to low frequencies (130-200 hz). What's odd is if I turn up the tone more loudly the distortion disappears and it becomes normal again. Which makes me think synaptic damage.

Did things ever get better for you? A lot of music I've now come to realize sounds completely distorted and wrong as a result, and it's completely destroyed me. Other songs completely normal which is I'm assuming because the tones in those songs remained undamaged.

I'm one month in and there's been no improvement.

Also the ocean, traffic, and road noise inside the car has kind of this white noise layer on top of them. Im not sure if this is just distortion or hyperacusis because it makes everything sound so loud to my ears. I can't stand the heater now because it's like walking next to a lawn mower - it really does sound that much louder. Or maybe the distorted frequencies are causing this extra sound layer to appear?

And then there's my 2 reactive tones (the low siren sound and the high pitched whistle that like to respond to pretty much everything)...god my ears are a mess.

I think have similar symptoms. My one ear responds to high pitched sounds with a reactive whistle/ring. I do ok in a quiet room. Unfortunately, the world is a noisy place. If anyone has any treatment or coping ideas it would be appreciated.

 

[Phat Tuna]

I have the same thing going on. It seems to be highly related to hyperacusis as I noticed them at the same time. There was a period of 2-3 days 3 weeks ago when both seemed much better (I seemed much less sensitive to everyday sounds and I was noticing the sound distortion much less). But then I had an Audiologist appointment I had scheduled a while back. She did an LDL test and she let things get too loud. I would say it's uncomfortable and she would still raise the volume. Both the H and this sound distortion and reactive T instantly got worse and continued to get worse over a period of a week. I have gotten a bit better since then, but not much. Currently, I think I have a cold coming on, which is not helping so I think I will have to wait for this cold to pass before I start to improve again. It's all very weird, but yeah mine seems very much related to hyperacusis.

One thing that is weird. I also have had this whistling sound in my ear(s) that others have described. It actually started in my right ear. Then moved to my left, then was in both ears for a while, now it is mostly just in my left. I notice it the most when lying in bed. And it seems to react to external sound. At one point even the very low volume of my girlfriend breathing would make it react.

I also have electric/scary sounding morse code sound in my left ear. I only hear it later in the day though and do not hear it in the morning. Back when I only had normal T I had a high pitched hiss in both ears that wasn't too bad and a morse code beeping in my left that I could always hear if I covered my ears but would only be able to hear uncovered when I was having a bad spike (90% of all my spikes were always from some sort of noise exposure). I do not have that morse code tone anymore. either that or it has evolved into this scary electric sound.

My original T is from getting my teeth cleaned for first time using via the ultrasonic scaler 9 months ago. And this H, reactive T, and sound distortion seems to originate to getting my teeth cleaned a second time via ultrasonic scaler. I did not realize after the first time that the scaler was the problem. I play, well used to play :'(, in a band so everyone attributed my T to the music. I'm sure being a musician made me more vulnerable, but I'm 99% sure the dentist/hygienist are to blame.

Also, I noticed when I take Ativan (not often, like twice a week at lowest dose) the symptoms of H and noise distortion are reduced by like 70%. I also take seroquel at night for sleep because when this new H sound distortion reactive T stuff started, my sleep went to complete shit.

 

[Gabriel]

@Gabriel

Hey there, what you described with the frequency distortion is basically exactly what I have! I did a frequency sweep and there's a substantial amount of damage around 1k-1.5k hz. And some sort of buzzing that attaches itself to low frequencies (130-200 hz). What's odd is if I turn up the tone more loudly the distortion disappears and it becomes normal again. Which makes me think synaptic damage.

Did things ever get better for you?

Hey, I still have distortion over specific frequencies. Like you I did a sweep and some frequencies, like 1816 Hz for example, are distorted, but like you, only at a very low level! If I increase the loudness level, it comes back normal.

I think we both did the same experiment and had the same results. My theory is that it's a specific hearing loss, and at a low loudness level only, few hair cells, the ones damaged, are transmitting, but at higher sound levels than the other hair cells that are involved and so the brain decides to hear the good tone, not the distorted one.

It got better in the sense that I don't hear any distortion anymore.

What helped me: magnesium and vitamin B + sleeping next to my kitchen which makes a lot of weird noise...

 

[Gabriel]

I think have similar symptoms. My one ear responds to high pitched sounds with a reactive whistle/ring. I do ok in a quiet room. Unfortunately, the world is a noisy place. If anyone has any treatment or coping ideas it would be appreciated.

See above, try magnesium + vitamin B. And time heals.

 

[Nate52]

See above, try magnesium + vitamin B. And time heals.

What would be a good dosage for the magnesium and b vitamin? Do you recommend sleeping in silence or using white or pink noise?