Suddenly Can't Hear Any High Frequencies in My Left Ear — Everything Sounds Muffled

[johnsole65]

See the ENT (or another one) at your earliest convenience.

If you are diagnosed with sudden hearing loss, the steroids could be offered to you as either a pill or an intratympanic shot. I imagine you don't want the pill because of its systemic effect, but you can talk to your doc about the shot, as the drug is localized to the middle ear only, which limits the scope of side effects and interactions.

Good luck!

It doesn't work like that in the UK unfortunately, there are waiting times.

Also I'm worried their tests won't show the hearing loss as it seems to be in the higher frequencies, and their tests are really basic.

I'll go see my doctor again.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ken219]

Also I'm worried their tests won't show the hearing loss as it seems to be in the higher frequencies, and their tests are really basic.

What value do you get out of knowing your hearing loss?

 

[Niamh]

I'm 14 and I've had the ringing in both ears since January this year and constantly ever since. It started with an ear infection, then the infection went and the ringing stayed.

The doctor said I had wax build up but that's gone too.

I always listen to music and now I'm petrified it's permanent because people are saying it is.

I'm waiting to be referred to the ENT Doctor. I really don't want my tinnitus to stay forever. It's getting me depressed and now I'm starting to lose hope and now my mind is telling me it's going to stay.

My doctor said it can fizzle out and go over time but I'm so scared it might not. And everyone is telling me to stop stressing and even it's permanent you just got to live with it and I can't because it's making me feel down all the time.

Is there any chance it can go away? Please someone help.

 

[Juan]

I don't have anyone else to talk to about this, and I've been in such mental pain today. I've gone from hopeful and loving to feeling true, real despair. I can feel the anxiety creeping on my back again.

I've had tinnitus for a few years, I believe it began when I abruptly stopped some medicine and also had a fire alarm go off near my head.

I am a musician and my hearing is very important to me, in fact THE most important thing in the world, since the way I escape and deal with any sort of pain is playing instruments.

I successfully dealt with tinnitus and it no longer remained a problem in my life for quite a few months.

I had a symptom that was something very unique (nobody can still tell me what it is) in that every now and again my hearing would "pop" suddenly. I will lose my hearing near completely in one ear and then have a loud ring, in different frequencies for 2-10 seconds and the go.

A month ago it happened, but this time it was different, it lasted for AGES and the ringing at that frequency was so loud it was beyond any other sound in the room. I had seriously muffled hearing in that ear for ages and was so afraid to even try out headphones because the pain of losing hearing is too much for me to face. I began to sink into real depression and like balloon you pop in the weak spots. Every time I was stressed my ears would go and further the stress of me believing I was losing that frequency or my hearing. The hearing was never obviously worsened until testing which phone etc.

The last few days were miraculous, sound returned to my left ear in a big way, I could hear things again properly, like my guitar and headphone sounded balanced. I can only assume it was some auditory nerve damage or alike as the damage (which I thought was permanent) healed.

I have been truly over the moon, until today.

I was sitting down and I became slightly stressed at my left ear slightly getting louder, no biggie, I shrugged it off safe in the knowledge that this has happened before and that it didn't actually damage my hearing.

Then it hit me, a sort of lowish high frequency. It carried on for 30 minutes and at this point I was getting very upset. I tried pouring water in my ears, shaking my head, everything I could to get it to go.

It has NEVER stayed this long. It lasted for about two hours after which I was completely depressed and hopeless. I can't hear properly out of my left to a degree that I have never experienced. Everything in my left ear is completely muffled and I can't hear any high pitch frequencies properly.

Why this would happen now, among some of the most hope and love I've ever felt is beyond me. I even bought an interface and really nice headphones and a Mic to start recording today some music I'm really proud of making on the guitar.

If I wake up tomorrow and I still can't hear out of my left ear I don't know what's going to happen. I have serious dissociation and obsessive problems and this is making me feel suicidal.

Please help me.

This happen to me but only for a very brief moment, a couple of seconds. Suddenly I dont hear anything for those seconds but a very loud and high-frequency beep. Usually after this happens I feel less pressure in my ears and better hearing, so it is kind of scary because for a bit I dont hear but then it is ok. I have absolutely no idea about what causes this.

 

[johnsole65]

So, after my brief episode of very strange ringing (which was completely different than I had in any number of years of tinnitus) the tinnitus went COMPLETELY. It was bliss. Later that day I started feeling shitty.

I just had a sinus infection for two days. At the end of the sinus infection, I had a blocked right ear and a LOT of pressure inside my right ear, none in left.

I woke up the next day to no pressure but ridiculously loud tinnitus in the left ear. It has gone down but now I have no ringing in my right and it's just loud in my left.

My issue lies not with the tinnitus but with the not knowing if I'm getting hearing loss or not.

I have been thinking these things are the sign of something sinister, as in supernatural, considering logically the timing and other conditions and problems that occur just after asking certain things not to happen they do.

 

[Cojackb]

I had a similar thing a few weeks back - I suddenly noticed any sound through my right ear was extremely muffled to the point where I felt as though I couldn't really hear much at all and the T had amplified ten-fold.

This also spiked my hyperacusis in both ears dramatically.

It did go back down after a few days - the muffled sensation began to ease until it was relatively normal again and the T slowly followed suit.

I sincerely hope yours starts to improve as well but please don't feel alone there's lots of people who have or are experiencing very similar symptoms.

EDIT: Sorry just saw the last updates and that your hearing got better etc. I'm glad!!

 

[Cojackb]

I'm 14 and I've had the ringing in both ears since January this year and constantly ever since. It started with an ear infection, then the infection went and the ringing stayed.

The doctor said I had wax build up but that's gone too.

I always listen to music and now I'm petrified it's permanent because people are saying it is.

I'm waiting to be referred to the ENT Doctor. I really don't want my tinnitus to stay forever. It's getting me depressed and now I'm starting to lose hope and now my mind is telling me it's going to stay.

My doctor said it can fizzle out and go over time but I'm so scared it might not. And everyone is telling me to stop stressing and even it's permanent you just got to live with it and I can't because it's making me feel down all the time.

Is there any chance it can go away? Please someone help.

Yes it can go away - have a read through the Success Stories category on here. Lots of people that have experienced T have found theirs fade out to nothing. Hope you're Ok!

 

[Candy]

Yes it can get better x

 

[Mila9828]

I feel you pain. I experienced muffled hearing for months after my noise trauma.

The inner ear is a very poorly researched organ, there are probably a lot of unknown problems the ear can have that aren't medically classified. ENT's really don't care about scientific research regarding the inner ear, it's pointless when their only goal is to sell hearing aids.

Does muffled hearing mean you can't understand or hear words very well?