Sudden Onset of Dysacusis/Diplacusis — Please Help Me!

[DimLeb]

Hi guys. I need your help. It's been around 10 months with mild (multi-tone) bilateral tinnitus and some TTTS symptoms and mild visual snow syndrome for me. I got normal hearing (only -10 to -20 dB dips on my audiograms).

So now, I suddenly seem to have a weird hearing distortion. I mean my left ear listens to some specific frequencies 2 semitones apart from the right ear, creating a distracting dissonance. It appears to be at a specific frequency range (970-1250 Hz) only.

It almost feels surreal to have this detuning thing... It's 3:30 am and I'm all shaken up... What do you think is the problem? What can I do? So far, I didn't have any problem with external sounds apart from mild TTTS spasms.

Please, any help is appreciated.

 

[DebInAustralia]

I'm sorry this has happened to you.

You are safe. You are going to be ok. You are not alone.

A dear friend of mine has experienced this. Ended up being cochlea hydrops. Managed with low dose Naltrexone.

I'd get an urgent audiogram and ask for an extended frequency one.

If there's hearing loss, then you could look at Prednisolone... HBOT... Antivirals.

Maybe have a look at the John from Ohio protocol.

Please let me know how you get on. I know you are frightened.

 

[DimLeb]

@DebInAustralia, thanks for replying! Apparently it lasted around 4 hours in the night and went away. I booked an appointment at an ENT later today.

I also didn't have any hearing loss or other symptoms at the time (now neither), as I was checking myself with tone generators (being a music producer I know what my hearing is approximately and how to use them). Also, not any significant changes to my tinnitus, just the usual stuff.

Anyway, I'm still frightened... I'll discuss all these at my ENT appointment. These ear problems don't seem to end!

 

[DimLeb]

A small update on my situation:

I went to my ENT and thankfully my audiogram is more or less the same as always. He found lots of earwax again (last cleaning was 2 months ago, go figure), and I insisted he remove it with a curette (no microsuction), which he did.

He told me that the earwax could cause the diplacusis/disharmony symptom, but still it's so hard to believe. He also told me how the brain might have caused it because of the obstacle in the way of the incoming soundwaves.

I told him all about cochlear hydrops etc, which he dismissed and eventually said I'm okay and there is nothing to worry about after an extended talk about how it could be more serious.

During the episode of dysacusis, I had no hearing loss, no ear pressure, no tinnitus increase, but still I'm scared af and I can't put it out of my mind...

 

[GoatSheep]

A small update on my situation:

I went to my ENT and thankfully my audiogram is more or less the same as always. He found lots of earwax again (last cleaning was 2 months ago, go figure), and I insisted he remove it with a curette (no microsuction), which he did.

He told me that the earwax could cause the diplacusis/disharmony symptom, but still it's so hard to believe. He also told me how the brain might have caused it because of the obstacle in the way of the incoming soundwaves.

I told him all about cochlear hydrops etc, which he dismissed and eventually said I'm okay and there is nothing to worry about after an extended talk about how it could be more serious.

During the episode of dysacusis, I had no hearing loss, no ear pressure, no tinnitus increase, but still I'm scared af and I can't put it out of my mind...

Sometimes issues like this can be one-off. When I first got tinnitus/hyperacusis I had one day where I had a very brief period of distortions with sound. Music sounded broken. After that day I never had this issue again. This was about 2.5 years ago.

After an ear surgery I had a horrible tinnitus sound with a very distinguished sensation. It sounded like a rattlesnake and felt like the tail of one was whipping around on the top of my entire scalp. It lasted a couple of days and has never come back. This was about 2 years ago.

 

[DimLeb]

@GoatSheep , wow those sound tough, really glad they went away so fast for you! I also experienced a kind of reactive tinnitus/distortion in the beginning for like 1-2 weeks, then resolved. It was a 6000 Hz pure tone appearing on top of cicadas, running tap water etc, but it sounded like it was just riding "on top" of the external sound.

This time, my ear actually pitched down the external sound. In a tone generator, the same 1000 Hz beep was sounding 1000 Hz in right ear, and 950 Hz (or so) in left ear.

Thankfully it lasted for a few hours and it was gone. I also feel that my regular tinnitus is more quiet today for some reason...

 

[DimLeb]

Ok, this is strange. The past 2 days, after the diplacusis episode on Sunday, have been the most silent days in terms of tinnitus since last summer. My tinnitus is mild anyway (20-40 dB fluctuating), but now it's hard to notice it even at near-silence environments (~20 dB).

I've been suspecting cochlear hydrops (although I haven't had hearing loss and ear pressure), but this is confusing. If someone could offer some help/ideas, I would be very grateful!

 

[Benjaminbb]

Hey man.

Honestly the only way we can move forward is not worrying about these temporary things. I'm a music producer too. Ive learnt here's no point jumping to the worst case scenario.

Like sb1981 said; these things can come and go.

Most people wouldn't notice these temporary changes, so unless something is consistent you absolutely should not worry. At the least wait to see if it happens again. But don't be looking our for it as normal people wouldn't.

All you can do is protect your ears. If it continues consistently then it may be worth looking deeper into cochlear hydrops. But at this point is sounds like it should have minimal effect on your life.

I had something similar with 80 Hz, but I'd only notice it if I sit there playing that exact tone comparing.

 

[DimLeb]

@Benjaminbb, yeah you are absolutely right. It was mostly the shock that this gave me. I'm okay physically and mentally now. The neuro-otologist I visited told me it probably was a temporary ischemia episode of some blood vessel in the ear. Otherwise, she found no hearing loss up to 18 kHz, neither other symptoms, so I think it's safe to say there are no hydrops involved.

The problem was that it would be very obvious to normal people too. All sounds that had 900-1200 Hz in them created a punchy distracting dissonance because the pitch difference was between the ears. Just like a real-life detuning/chorus effect. Scary stuff...

Anyway, thanks for dropping in, I needed some extra reassurance!

 

[imaginElizabeth]

I started hearing a doubled flute tone about a third above my singing voice (I'm a private voice teacher and songwriter) March 8th which has now progressed to constant distortion - only in my right ear. MRI showed nothing, ENT says my eardrum is a little opaque, Audiologist found low frequency hearing loss. I am constantly tortured by sound distortion whether water or voices or AC, anything! Hissing in the other ear too. No one seems to know how to help! My life and living are gone right now!

 

[Benjaminbb]

I started hearing a doubled flute tone about a third above my singing voice (I'm a private voice teacher and songwriter) March 8th which has now progressed to constant distortion - only in my right ear. MRI showed nothing, ENT says my eardrum is a little opaque, Audiologist found low frequency hearing loss. I am constantly tortured by sound distortion whether water or voices or AC, anything! Hissing in the other ear too. No one seems to know how to help! My life and living are gone right now!

Do you hear it with earplugs in? I'm assuming if you're singing, yes, but maybe not in reaction to external sounds?

Does it happen at all volumes or only when it reaches a certain loudness?

I've heard of this disappearing for many people. So consider taking a break for a while and not putting yourself in scenarios where you will notice it. You should keep hope and just focus your thought process and attention elsewhere for the moment. Think about it like a break from the normal pressures of life whilst it potentially heals. A chance to take some mental time off. At the very lease that will help with any current fear and anxiety.

When you say low frequency hearing loss, how much are you talking about compared to your other frequencies?

 

[DimLeb]

I started hearing a doubled flute tone about a third above my singing voice (I'm a private voice teacher and songwriter) March 8th which has now progressed to constant distortion - only in my right ear. MRI showed nothing, ENT says my eardrum is a little opaque, Audiologist found low frequency hearing loss. I am constantly tortured by sound distortion whether water or voices or AC, anything! Hissing in the other ear too. No one seems to know how to help! My life and living are gone right now!

I'm really really sorry for what's happening to you. I know how devastating ear stuff are, especially for us musicians. Sound, composition and music production are my passion and literally the only thing that keeps me alive, so I understand how you feel.

I pray and thank all the gods every day that the above episode I had was only temporary. Tinnitus is one thing, but anything more, like distortions, diplacusis and what not are something else, a whole new level of hell, even worse than tinnitus.

My guess is that it will be temporary for you too. Distortions will take some time, but will go away. I'm not so sure about the tinnitus, but at least those other things usually go away for a lot of people on this forum.

I wish you all the best and quick recovery!

 

[imaginElizabeth]

Do you hear it with earplugs in? I'm assuming if you're singing, yes, but maybe not in reaction to external sounds?

Does it happen at all volumes or only when it reaches a certain loudness?

I've heard of this disappearing for many people. So consider taking a break for a while and not putting yourself in scenarios where you will notice it. You should keep hope and just focus your thought process and attention elsewhere for the moment. Think about it like a break from the normal pressures of life whilst it potentially heals. A chance to take some mental time off. At the very lease that will help with any current fear and anxiety.

When you say low frequency hearing loss, how much are you talking about compared to your other frequencies?

@Benjaminbb, yes, I hear the distortion all the time, even with an earplug. The audiologist said there's an 8% loss in my right ear, but the low whooshing I hear in there could be the reason I didn't detect those tones during the test.

The problem with taking time off is that music is my only income.

 

[Strawberryblonde]

I started hearing a doubled flute tone about a third above my singing voice (I'm a private voice teacher and songwriter) March 8th which has now progressed to constant distortion - only in my right ear. MRI showed nothing, ENT says my eardrum is a little opaque, Audiologist found low frequency hearing loss. I am constantly tortured by sound distortion whether water or voices or AC, anything! Hissing in the other ear too. No one seems to know how to help! My life and living are gone right now!

Hi @imaginElizabeth, do you still have these distortions?

Mine have come back from stress or maybe exposure to sounds, dunno it's driving me mad as I hear beeps and whistle like sounds over low frequency noises like wind, distant cars, running water etc.

Does this ever go?

My hearing test came back fine according to my audiologist so something must be amiss somewhere, just don't know where or what.