Has anyone else suffered from ear issues?

stangman67

Being that this is an audiophile community, hearing is obviously of the upmost importance. I’ve had a weird phenomenon with my right ear where loud noises trigger it into a buzzing/muting effect. I noticed it first about a year and a half ago when I was at a hockey game and the loud music caused my ear to buzz loudly. It has happened sparingly since, sometimes when I listen to music at home and when I’m in loud live music situations it really presents itself.

I was able to conduct a in depth audiogram yesterday at Walter Reed medical center in DC. Unfortunately / fortunately? everything checked out just fine and my hearing was described as “awesome” by the tech. Looks like I will have to go to an ear specialist and probably have to get a CT scan to see what’s going on.

Has anyone else suffered from ear/hearing issues? I am still able to enjoy my music but I have to be very careful with the volume

verb

Sorry to hear that Captain Stang. For sure get it checked out. Lot's of stuff on Google if you do a search for "ear buzzing loud music", my friend.

stangman67

Almost all of it relates to tinnitus which is not what I have. I’ve tried to track something down but have not found much short of being some type of trauma that should have healed itself

verb

stangman67 wrote: »

Almost all of it relates to tinnitus which is not what I have. I’ve tried to track something down but have not found much short of being some type of trauma that should have healed itself

Good to hear! Pun intended! Whew!

Jaybeez

I have periodic issues when it gets loud. One keyboard player at Church likes his monitor loud. Everyone else needs their monitors up to hear their mix. Kills my right ear (where my monitor is). Got a couple sets of Hearos and problem solved. Cuts volume but not frequencies. Clear but not quite as loud.

Clipdat

I blew out (literally) my right ear earlier this ear on my birthday by standing too close to a speaker that was blasting. Before it happened, I notice a similar sensation to what you are describing.

Something triggered my right ear to go into that mode where it felt slightly prickly while combined with a muting/buzzing effect. I think it's the ear's natural way of trying to limit damage to itself when it gets exposed to sudden loud noises, or continuous exposure to loud noise.

When you first noticed it at the hockey game, it could've been a time that your eardrum or another part of your inner ear got slightly damaged.

When I was recovering for 2-3 weeks after my incident, I noticed that even quiet-ish music would cause my ear to go into the ringing/muting mode you are describing. I had to really be careful with my exposure and watch my volume of music playback.

If you do end up seeing a specialist you'll have to let us know what they have to say.

gmcman

I had some similar issues early this year. Had a bad head cold, intense congestion, hearing seemed slightly muffled at times.

Seemed to get better, could be ear infection or wax buildup also.

On day I felt some drainage and could tell it was inner ear.... I'm still going to have it checked to be sure.

[Deleted User]

What?

txcoastal1

My right ear was perforated when another diver pushed me into an upward current years ago. Took over a year to get full hearing back.

Since then flying, or colds/congestion's will irritate it and cause a tinnitus effect or muffling. It suucks.

Hope tests show little severity

stangman67

I’ve tried all the normal stuff. No wax buildup. My hearing is great, that ear has had pressure issues since I was about 13, so that could play a role as well. Hopefully I can see the specialist quickly, military medicine can move sloooow though. I was hoping it would correct itself, but a year and a half later and no change so something is definitely wrong

Nightfall

I have to sleep with the TV on because the ringing I hear in dead silence is maddening. Too many 12 gauge shotgun blasts right next to my ear while hunting and indoor concerts where the soundboard guy feels his job is to make the audience feel pain both without hearing protection.

gmcman

Something else came to mind....I have a pair of Bose QC 20 noise cancelling earbuds, picked them up not too long ago and I wore them a couple times for a good part of the day.

That night I had a substantial amount of ringing in my ears that went away the next day. Apparently while cancelling the noises, they seem to create what could be pressure waves in the inner ear during the noise cancelling process.

That may not be the case, could be your ears increase their sensitivity when exposed to long bouts of low noise.. not sure. I did find many users with the same effects after using noise cancelling earbuds....just something to consider.

Viking64

I've suffered from OAR issues before.

oldrocker

FWIW

I've had a situation with slight ringing in my right ear for a few months now.

Not to terrible but a nuisance all the same.

As far as physical trauma to my ear, I've had none.

Spoke to my Doc about it and he said the blood flow/vessels in people ears can become restricted for various reasons.

Good blood flow gives proper oxygen in the inner ear as the tiny hair cells in the cochlea that are responsible for translating sound vibrations into electrical impulses for the brain. Damage/changes can occur when the blood flow is altered/asphyxiated.

I just had an MRI which came back fine.

I do have some slight hypertension and I used to smoke which he said both items can sometimes cause the auditory nerve to not be able to accurately tell the brain what kind of sound is really being processed.

He also mentioned stress, diet, exercise, a bunch of stuff all of which we are working on.

One thing I've noticed is after the Wife and I finish our workouts at the gym, I don't have the slight ringing in my ear until the next morning.

Certainly a PITA situation to have and I hope all who have some sort of this issue get it resolved.

stangman67

I appreciate the input everybody. Hope there is something can be done about it. It doesn’t really affect my music enjoyment now but does effect my ability to see live shows or go to loud bars etc. I’m relatively young so want to get it figured out now before it gets worse as I age

Jaybeez

stangman67 wrote: »

I appreciate the input everybody. Hope there is something can be done about it. It doesn’t really affect my music enjoyment now but does effect my ability to see live shows or go to loud bars etc. I’m relatively young so want to get it figured out now before it gets worse as I age

Seriously, check out: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/hearos-high-fidelity-ear-plugs/421214000000000?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqPLIsujg2QIVksVkCh2KjQC5EAQYASABEgIjB_D_BwE&kwid=productads-adid^221957295803-device^c-plaid^323968413063-sku^421214000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA

Massdrop has another brand with similar properties from time to time. I think there is another brand (Ruth?) as well. My daughter's drummer uses those.

BlueFox

Hearing damage is subtle, and is irreversible. Your ears are sending you a message. Ignore it, and one day you will wake up wondering where the ringing is coming from. After searching all over you will realize it is coming from your ear. That happened to me in 2005. I am fortunate in that it isn’t too bad, but is constant in the left ear. Now I wear hearing protection for any noise exposure; computer lab, lawn mower, vacuum, etc.

One benefit is it provides a good excuse to buy better gear that can play louder with less distortion.

charley95

I've been told that I have selective hearing.

tonyb

charley95 wrote: »

I've been told that I have selective hearing.

You and me both pal. Just a matter of subconsciously tuning out "unwanted" noise I guess.

mhardy6647

Joey_V

So far, I've been lucky. It's also my worry.

stones89

Joey - if that's you in your avatar pic you are too young - but it's coming. Natural part of aging.

I cannot believe the number of concerts I went back in the day. The one that scared me a little was Eric Clapton at Lakewood Ampitheater in Atlanta in the 80's. I had box seats at the back of the floor seats and the sound reflected off the roof and right to my ears. My ears rang for 2 weeks - that cured me of no ear protection at rock shows.

Good Luck Stangman!

Jstas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

stangman67

If you had read any of my posts, you would know what I am suffering from is not at all related to tinnitus

Jstas

I did read your posts.

I think you aren't a doctor and you should go see one if you are that concerned.

Tinnitus comes in many forms. It can be mild or severe, temporary or permanent. It can come from an infection or it can come from physical trauma.

steveinaz

I think I can relate somewhat--as I had a similar result many years ago. When I was 20, I was firing an M60 machine gun (Army) in a night fire exercise. The gun vibrated my left ear plug out. I could not find it and had to continue firing. For quite some time after that, my ear would crackle/distort, much like a severely over-driven speaker when loud sounds happened. It took quite a few months to slowly go away, but I'm sure there was some permanent damage as well.

Tony M

I'm suffering from tinnitus now for about a year or less. It sucks!

steveinaz

Sometimes ear-ringing is a symptom of high blood pressure...just saying, maybe get your blood pressure tested.

Tony M

My blood pressure has been fine all my life. Just had a check-up a couple of moths ago. Fluid behind the ears.

I just read the other day sudden stoppage of a Valium prescription will cause it too. That's when mine started ringing/ hissing/ buzzing.
Depression is another cause for some reason. I'm not depressed but I'm not jumping for joy either. The volume changes quite often so I think there's hope. My right ear comes and goes once in a while but my left is always ringing.

Like others have said, we can ignore it somewhat but at night, that's when it sucks real bad.

mhardy6647

I think that some of the BP meds can have tinnitus as a side effect.

dolbyd

I came down with a case of Bell’s Palsy in December. I am about 85% recovered today. The big issue still is tinnitus It has improved but still there.
The nerve that swells causing the palsy runs right behind your ear.
I am told 6 months is the recovery time for most people. Crossing my fingers it keeps improving.
I do feel for anyone with hearing issues.