Having a strange issue with my hearing recently

[Isaac_James]

Something unusual has happened to my hearing over the past few days. A little background context first - back in January I had an infection in my left ear, which I was able to treat (mostly) with antibiotics. I've continued to have some unusual pressure behind that ear though.

Over the weekend I noticed that some sounds in the high frequency range are EXTREMELY uncomfortable to me now. I've always been sensitive to high frequencies, but now something like putting away dishes makes me wince just from the sound of plates and glasses clinking together. My tinnitus (which I've had for years and years) also sems more pronounced now. I went in to see my doctor this morning, but he didn't see or feel anything concerning in or around my ears. He did put in a referral to audiology, so hopefully I'll get some more answers there. I'm really puzzled about what's going on, usually people lose higher frequency hearing as they age. The only thing I can think of is that the infection knocked out a lot of that high frequency, and I got used to it over the last couple of months, and now that it's healing back to normal it suddenly seems much sharper than before. But that's just a wild guess.

For now I'm dealing with it by wearing my wireless over the ear headphones throughout the day, which helps block out noise even when they're turned off.

 

[bwildt]

It is my understanding that one of the effects of tinnitus is sensitivity to sharp, sudden high-freq sounds (like the clinking of dishes).

 

[Isaac_James]

It is my understanding that one of the effects of tinnitus is sensitivity to sharp, sudden high-freq sounds (like the clinking of dishes).

Interesting! I didn't know that, but that could certainly be related.

 

[Zooberwerx]

A visit to the audiologist is in order as is a follow-up with a good ENT...not the schlub who prescribes Flonase for every malady.

Riis

 

[DrBnz]

Tinnitus - had it my whole life. BUT.... if/when my blood pressure gets up a bit too high, it gets louder. At times it even sounds like birds chirping. So check your BP now.... If it's high, deal with that immediately.... Mine comes and goes..... So does my High BP

 

[Zooberwerx]

Tinnitus - had it my whole life. BUT.... if/when my blood pressure gets up a bit too high, it gets louder. At times it even sounds like birds chirping. So check your BP now.... If it's high, deal with that immediately.... Mine comes and goes..... So does my High BP

Million different causes. My brother has Meniere's which can be aggravated by something as simple as a high serum sodium. Mine gets worse after I take my statin cholesterol meds.

One bright note: mine has begun to selectively filter-out the frequencies within the range of my wife's normal speaking voice.

Riis

 

[DrBnz]

Oh how convenient

 

[Isaac_James]

Tinnitus - had it my whole life. BUT.... if/when my blood pressure gets up a bit too high, it gets louder. At times it even sounds like birds chirping. So check your BP now.... If it's high, deal with that immediately.... Mine comes and goes..... So does my High BP

They checked my BP at the doctor's office. 119/76, and the tinnitus was ringing like crazy. Sometimes it's higher than that, I haven't noticed yet a connection to high pressure and tinnitus, but I'll keep an eye out for it now.

 

[Isaac_James]

A visit to the audiologist is in order as is a follow-up with a good ENT...not the schlub who prescribes Flonase for every malady.

Riis

That reminds me though, it is getting to be allergy season here (the grass pollen capitol of the world) so I should get ready to use flonase and allegra as needed. Might not be the root cause but congestion from allergies does make it worse.

 

[Zooberwerx]

That reminds me though, it is getting to be allergy season here (the grass pollen capitol of the world) so I should get ready to use flonase and allegra as needed. Might not be the root cause but congestion from allergies does make it worse.

Yeah, I've had two sinus surgeries and a brain surgery that pretty much inflamed the network and saturated the mastoid (honeycombed bone). My hearing returned all-at-once after weeks....sounded like a stick of dynamite going off next to my ear. My wife eroded her tympanic membrane after a tub placement / myringotomy. They had to graft-in a new ear drum from a donor site.

They patched my skull together with a mix of cadaver dust and Bondo (common practice). I asked the surgeon why he chose a particular lot #....maybe it came from an executed serial killer or something. He said "...the shade matched".

Riis

 

[Isaac_James]

Yeah, I've had two sinus surgeries and a brain surgery that pretty much inflamed the network and saturated the mastoid (honeycombed bone). My hearing returned all-at-once after weeks....sounded like a stick of dynamite going off next to my ear. My wife eroded her tympanic membrane after a tub placement / myringotomy. They had to graft-in a new ear drum from a donor site.

They patched my skull together with a mix of cadaver dust and Bondo (common practice). I asked the surgeon why he chose a particular lot #....maybe it came from an executed serial killer or something. He said "...the shade matched".

Riis

My wife had a similar procedure done about a year ago. I joked with the surgeon that he was basically spackling the hole and he said, "well, yeah, that's pretty much it"

 

[Wood and Wire]

I asked the surgeon why he chose a particular lot #....maybe it came from an executed serial killer or something. He said "...the shade matched".

Who the heck is ever looking at exposed human bone, and saying "Oooooh... The colour matching is superb!" ?

In fact, I would have thought that in the unfortunate event that somebody else sees the exposed skull, it would be useful to have a very clear indication of where there has been prior work / damage to the bone, by using a brightly coloured bonding agent, or replacement section of skull.

 

[Wood and Wire]

One bright note: mine has begun to selectively filter-out the frequencies within the range of my wife's normal speaking voice.

Hmmmm.....


Have you every read a short story called "First Anniversary" by Richard Matheson?

 

[klattman]

Go to audiology and get tested and then see a real ENT. As soon as possible. Some things can rob your hearing if they aren’t dealt with quickly. General practitioner missed mine entirely.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Who the heck is ever looking at exposed human bone, and saying "Oooooh... The colour matching is superb!" ?

In fact, I would have thought that in the unfortunate event that somebody else sees the exposed skull, it would be useful to have a very clear indication of where there has been prior work / damage to the bone, by using a brightly coloured bonding agent, or replacement section of skull.

Dentists do it with crowns and such but point taken. No tinted bonding agents but there's a big gnarly scar sitting on top...that's the giveaway. He did mark the site with a Sharpie pre-op so he addressed the correct side....maybe he should have "tagged" the skull "vascular decompression" like a highway overpass.

 

[monsterthompson]

Audiology was in the cards for me when I had some odd hearing issues a few years back. Like the OP, I expected to have high frequencies fade out with age. Nope. I lost bass. Not sure if it was that way for years and I din’t realize it, or if something triggered the issues.

First issue was bass loss. I noticed it when my headphones seemed to have a poor balance of bass on one side. I flipped them around and the issue was still on the same ear, so it wasn’t the headphones. I took a sine wave in my DAW and ran a sweep from 20-20k and found one ear quit hearing lows before the other.

Second issue was an odd echo, particularly at high mids and up. I thought I had odd reflections echoing in my room watching TV. Nope. The doc said it was a brain trick. The brain was glitching trying to process the Left and Right ears “hearing” different frequency ranges. The faux echos eventually went away.

I’m pretty cautious about sound levels these days.

Definitely get some professional feedback an analysis. The TB crew has some knowledge and experience, but we aren’t doctors (most of us) and we can’t test your hearing. We can sympathize though. Being a musician with ear issues is a drag.

 

[Lammchop93]

Do you have jaw pain? I’m not clinical by any means, but I have had issues with me clenching my jaw while i sleep (from stress), and a side effect of TMJ is ear ringing.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Some of this also sounds a bit like hyperacusis.

I've had some hearing damage/loss over the years from going to lots of shows, not wearing ear pro when I should have, and having a few acute events that left me ringing for days with some pain. In the immediate aftermath of one of those exposure 'events', I noticed something similar to what you described. Higher frequencies felt shrill, painful, louder than usual, grating, etc. It was blenders, dishes clinking, the pneumatic brakes/suspension 'pssssh' of buses on the street. All of those things felt magnified and sharp, and my tinnitus was flaring through this same period.

Anyway, after visiting a couple audiologists and talking to a hearing specialist, my actual hearing was within/better than normal ranges in terms of frequency and sensitivity. The hearing specialist I saw (and worked with on appropriate ear pro for shows/playing) suggested it could be hyperacusis. I'm sure a visit to the audiologist will help you sort through it. One thing the specialist mentioned was that I should avoid wearing plugs/ear pro for the everyday things that were irritating but not loud enough to do damage to my actual hearing. I found this helpful in not exacerbating the hypersensitivity by wearing plugs and then having things perceptibly 'louder' whenever I wasn't wearing the plugs.

Good luck, and try not to stress while you figure things out with doctors - stress always makes the tinnitus and sensory issues seem worse, in my experience...

 

[Captain Comet]

Good thread here, I learned a few things, thanks!

I am 66 and have had tinnitus in just my right ear for 30 years. That was the side facing two Marshall stacks in my first band. I caught on to hearing protection in about the second month there but the damage was done. Playing the car stereo at stupid volumes didn't help.

The ringing does let up at times and it is pretty subtle when it is active. Sinus issues/allergies do tend to be connected. Surprisingly, my hearing test showed left ear still barely in the good range and the right ear just one point down, barely in the next range down. I figured the difference between the two would be more pronounced. There is probably a bigger difference between the two at louder volumes encountered in daily life. The testing is done in very quiet levels. Put me in a crowded restaurant with a lot of talk going on, and I may have to lip read the person across the table. I can't sort out different sources well. The best part of this is that I still hear music really well, human voice, not so much.

With some of the talk here about not wearing plugs all the time and having sound be perceived louder with them out, I find that interesting. I am pretty sure your brain turns nerve sensitivity up and down. I had a moustache for 15 years and when I shaved it off the first time, my upper lip hurt for days if there was a gentle breeze. No kidding.

 

[murphy]

Something unusual has happened to my hearing over the past few days. A little background context first - back in January I had an infection in my left ear, which I was able to treat (mostly) with antibiotics. I've continued to have some unusual pressure behind that ear though.

Over the weekend I noticed that some sounds in the high frequency range are EXTREMELY uncomfortable to me now. I've always been sensitive to high frequencies, but now something like putting away dishes makes me wince just from the sound of plates and glasses clinking together. My tinnitus (which I've had for years and years) also sems more pronounced now. I went in to see my doctor this morning, but he didn't see or feel anything concerning in or around my ears. He did put in a referral to audiology, so hopefully I'll get some more answers there. I'm really puzzled about what's going on, usually people lose higher frequency hearing as they age. The only thing I can think of is that the infection knocked out a lot of that high frequency, and I got used to it over the last couple of months, and now that it's healing back to normal it suddenly seems much sharper than before. But that's just a wild guess.

For now I'm dealing with it by wearing my wireless over the ear headphones throughout the day, which helps block out noise even when they're turned off.

You describe my issue two weeks ago....loud gig..drummer in my ear..wrong side to usual
Woke up with mega loud ringing....huge pressure and noise sensitivity
left ear worse than right.
One doc prescribed antibiotic ear drops saying I had ear infections ....and no swimming

I had an abscess in my left upper gum too.....dentist treated

Left ear still has a bit of pressure, but much less.
Ringing volume down to acceptable
Right ear seems normal...
but ringing in both

Doc appointment next week