penningtron wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2024 6:41 pm My left ear issue is still there but much less than at the start of this thread. About a year ago maybe.. don't remember the circumstances too well (may have been high) but all of the sudden I felt/heard a squishy sound in that area, almost like something was dislodging a bit. It lasted several seconds. It was weird and maybe a little.. satisfying? So perhaps that helped a bit, or maybe I've just gotten used to it to the point of barely noticing or caring.

Are you prone to ear infections? Or, have you ever looked into it being a fungal infection?

Not prone to ear infections, but I have had plenty of sinus stuff in my life. A few doctor visits pointed to something going on behind the ear drum, but I haven't gone as far as a MRI yet.

penningtron wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 10:18 am Not prone to ear infections, but I have had plenty of sinus stuff in my life. A few doctor visits pointed to something going on behind the ear drum, but I haven't gone as far as a MRI yet.

I would recommend doing some imaging. Even if they don't find anything, it's worth knowing that you don't have a growth or arterial blockage.

Had tinnitus for about 30 years. It doesn't particularly bother me, but what does bother me is listening to quiet talkers when there's ambient noise. Am considering hearing aids if there are ones that can actually help with directional amplification.

I still listen to loud music, knowing I'm further damaging my hearing, just because I love loud rock.

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 1:07 pm Had tinnitus for about 30 years. It doesn't particularly bother me, but what does bother me is listening to quiet talkers when there's ambient noise. Am considering hearing aids if there are ones that can actually help with directional amplification.

I still listen to loud music, knowing I'm further damaging my hearing, just because I love loud rock.

Hearing aides are definitely a tool used to help with tinnitus in this way.

A couple weeks ago I came down with a pretty bad head cold/sinus infection. Sore throat, hoarse voice etc. Two days after that started and all of a sudden my left ear feels muffled. Like in ten minutes it goes from normal hearing to like 25%, accompanied by some ringing. Decided to go to urgent care because I don't want to risk my hearing. Doctor figures the ear stuff is related to the cold/whatever, prescribes amoxicillin for the ear infection.

Two weeks later the hearing loss is better but not nearly back to normal. Yesterday I saw an audiologist. She tells me that the hearing issues are probably SSNHL and not directly related to the original infection and she wished the urgent care doc would have caught that. Cool. Starts me on Prednisone right away which is two weeks after issues began, unsure how much that delay will impact possible recovery. I get a hearing test next Tuesday after which time I might get direct steroid injections.

Reading other posts in this thread has been encouraging but I still have anxiety about how a limited recovery may affect my ability to play and enjoy music. Seems to affect mainly high frequencies but I won't know for certain until after Tuesday's test. Acoustic drums aren't an issue (we use machines) but my guitarist can be fairly loud and effects heavy, and certain frequencies resonate strangely in my bad ear and cause everything to sound slightly out of tune. I'm sure I'll try to keep doing music in some (possibly quieter) form but I'm feeling disappointed and frustrated.

This morning, I went to an otolaryngologist that specializes only in ears. He thinks I don't have plusatile tinnitus, but rather hyperacusis, which seems plausible. There's some things I can do to try to treat. First, I'm starting with 5 days of steroids.

Good news is I don't have any brain tumors!

In the meantime, I have ear muffs for band practice.

I don't have tinnitus because I don't listen to Black Sabbath sing songs about wizards.

I had terrible ringing after a… Faith No More concert back for their first reunion shows. The tinnitus hung around after. I immediately went to an audiologist to see if years of playing noise rock and weekly loud shows had screwed my hearing. Evidently not, just some high end drop off in my left ear, but I have tinnitus. I got some silicone moulded pro ear plugs and have worn ever since. I think they are probably the best hundred bucks I’ve ever spent. They lower the volume without sounding shitty.

I’m very lucky that my tinnitus has never bothered me and I mostly don’t notice it, even though it’s reasonably loud and consistent. If anyone is really struggling do get CBT therapy, it’s the best option.

I was looking up something on Jason Narducey recently and saw he was playing bass in Superchunk. The reason is because Laura Ballance has hyperacusis, but like a bad case of it (def worse than mine). I wasn't surprised to read this. I have been to more than handful of Superchunk shows back in the day, and they were one of the loudest fucking bands I've ever seen. To the point that I knew to stand as far away from them as possible.

I panicked when I read her story, but then calmed down. Hyperacusis symptoms can be fucking awful, including fear of noise and anxiety towards loudness, but they can be manageable.

For tinnitus, I'd like to try sound therapy. I've had it my entire life so I'm good at ignoring it, but it's gotten quite louder in recent years. Sound therapy is supposed to help the brain focus on other things. You can also use hearing aides to help.

Unfortunately, tinnitus and hperacusis is one of those things that just isn't really understood and there's no cure to remove it 100%, but there are treatments to reduce the effect. One horrifying thing my doctor said was, "we can sever the nerves of your ears to your brain, but then you'd have no hearing and be left with only your tinnitus".