Valsalva Maneuver Improves Hearing Higher Frequencies a Lot

[Wojtek Kalka]

I googled it for some time now and found a lot of people asking this question but nearly no proper answer. When I plug my nose, and blow my nose gently (Valsalva maneuver)I get a huge improvement in my hearing mostly in the high frequencies. I can hear really bad over 10k but with the maneuver I can hear easily to 12-13k, like an improvement from 6k-12k for 15+ dB or more. But as soon as I release the pressure my hearing gets worse again. Well it is not bad but I have a pretty decent high frequency loss over 8k.

I asked three doctors so far but apart from the usual bla bla I got nothing out of it. They told me that is the way the ear works and a lot people have this.

Btw the tinnitus gets better too, hehe not really but while doing it, well you notice it less because you hear better.

Some people answered with PET (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patulous_Eustachian_tube) but that does not sound like there is an answer.

Any ideas?

 

[GregCA]

The answer is in this very forum (I've written it a few months ago): when you pressurize your ears, your ear drum gets bulged out and "tensioned", as if you were tensioning a drum head on a snare drum. The result of tensioning a membrane on a frame is more sensitivity, in particular in the high frequencies.
As soon as you swallow, it goes back to its "steady state" and it feels like your ear is closing up.

 

[yonkapin]

Avoid the valsalva maneuver.

I used to do this because I felt the same way, higher frequencies were clearer and tinnitus was better temporarily, at the time I also had a feeling or pressure in my ears the technique relieved. However I did it one day in 2013 and actually caused barotrauma in my left ear which lead to severe hyperacusis, worsened tinnitus, and other symptoms like TTTS in my left ear. I eventually recovered but I was in bad way for a few years.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

This seems very illogical like the eardrum needs to get tensioned to work properly, then every human would have this symptom..which is not the case ... my gf for example has not this result of the VM .. and I found people on the net from 15-60 so it is not age dependent either ... .. yes I read the forum replies here but doubt anything is more than just assumptions so far

 

[GregCA]

This seems very illogical like the eardrum needs to get tensioned to work properly, then every human would have this symptom

It's not that you need to do that to work properly. For a "normal person" (without hearing impairment) the ear drum, in steady state, provides the input that the hearing apparatus needs to hear well at the "normal frequencies". That's enough to "work properly".

But if you alter the shape of the drum, you alter its response, in a way that can enhance certain frequency bands.

It's not magic - it's physics. It's similar to increasing volume perception if you cup your hand around your ear and to reflect the sound waves from a specific point into your ear. If you do that when someone talks with you from a distance you'll notice a significant improvement in loudness. That doesn't mean that your ears aren't working properly, and that people need to be born with parabola-like structures on the side of their ears, but if you think about it, the pinna (and to some extent the ear canal) have formed through evolution to perform a similar task, albeit not as efficient as a larger reflective area.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

Actually @GregCA I found other explanations too, and with some breathing, relaxing exercises I can keep it open for 5-10 min now and the sound stays clear, but when I swallow it pops back and the sound gets muffled. I will try some mechanism to clear my eustachian tube, with salt water shower or air and swallowing ..

 

[Bill Bauer]

I remember someone on this forum saying that their T began after they performed that Valsalva maneuver unusually hard. So be careful.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

I know if your can't equalize and do it too hard you can brake your eardrum, I did my 600+ scuba dives, and a 23 years experience with Tinnitus and ear issues ..

 

[Bill Bauer]

I always wanted to learn Scuba diving. I thought that T meant that it is not a good idea to do that, as my ears have been compromised, and a barotrauma would be devastating. Are you at all concerned about barotrauma?

 

[GregCA]

What you say doesn't contradict the explanation: the ear drum will stay in the "bulged state" until the pressure equalizes again, which is when you swallow.

It does make sense to me (and the 2 ENTs who confirmed this explanation), but I understand it doesn't necessarily mean it will make sense to you.

 

[Wojtek Kalka]

I always wanted to learn Scuba diving. I thought that T meant that it is not a good idea to do that, as my ears have been compromised, and a barotrauma would be devastating. Are you at all concerned about barotrauma?

No 700+ dives from 0 to Divemaster .. with Tinnitus .. T does nothing ... as long you can equalize well ...

Maybe I have underpressure in the ear, I grew up in a surgery, both parents docs .. Greg, 100 docs 100 opinions these days ..

 

[racerfish]

I remember someone on this forum saying that their T began after they performed that Valsalva maneuver unusually hard. So be careful.

Agreed. My brother-in-law is an MD and he's heard of people rupturing their ear drum (though not common) from doing this too aggressively. That said, if done GENTLY it's perfectly safe. Just use common sense.