For the last 4 weeks or so I’ve had something going on with my right ear. Everything sounds distorted and it’s really bad with children’s or women’s voices, they sound very robotic or as if they have been doing helium. There’s no pain or blockages and I’ve never suffered from ear infections or blocked sinuses.
Tried cotex for 2 weeks in case it was ear wax but that didn’t help so finally got an appt with the GP last week who said there was no wax or infection present, the ear looked fine to him. He has requested an ENT referral but said it could be up to 6 months here.
The other day I was on the phone and got put on hold and the music sounded awful so put the phone to the left ear and it sounded fine. To me it seems like I’ve lost the lower freq hearing in my right ear.
I struggle with some women’s voices. Had them checked for wax or damage.
Think it was down to not wearing ear protection on site. If I hear a bright system it really hurts my ears.
… Many people with otosclerosis first notice that they are unable to hear low-pitched sounds or can’t hear a whisper …
I know absolutely nothing about it though, beyond him saying that at one point they operated on his other ear to stop it spreading, but it does have the loss-of-bass symptom. Then again, for all I know so do loads of other conditions.
I have frequency distortion in my left ear. This is a legacy of playing in bands, using “side-fill monitors” at stupid volumes.
It manifests itself as sharp screeching tone to voices or sounds, worsening as volume increases.
It is at it’s worst when I am tired.
Short of hearing aids, there is nothing to be done.
I can hear whispers ok and it doesn’t seem to impact my general hearing ability but just makes certain sounds distorted.
On music it’s almost like the amp is going into clipping and things like guitar or piano are distorting, women voices where there is normally a steady note turns into a distorted warble.
Why not get a tone generator and some headphones and see what frequencies are fucked? Might help with diagnosis. You could just use a balance control to flip left and right and get a fairly good handle on what’s going on.
If it’s something that has come on suddenly, sounds similar to the issue I have been living with since my early teens. I have ‘eustachian tube dysfunction’ (Glue-ear for children) which basically is a build up of fluid/blockage in the inner ear. I’d suggest to try, some decongestant tablets, a nasal spray antihistamine and an Otovent, all over the counter stuff that may help.
I’ve had an ENT refferal for my ‘ETD’ but as its variable, some weeks its really bad, other times its fine, when I went for the hearing test, that day, it was fine so they said basically ‘why are you bothering us, your hearing is great’…
Saw the consultant and it’s none of the stuff mentioned above. Pressure test came back fine but rather strangely the hearing in my left ear is 20dB lower than the right which he said is above the levels for my age.
He’s saying the difference in levels alone is cause for concern and it could be an acoustic neuroma so next step is an MRI.
Once again waiting list for NHS is 3-6 months here so self funding again.
eventually understanding my history, the diagnosis for my hearing loss and tinnitus was down to wind noise from driving convertibles for a long time - in particular it started with the Honda S2000 and too much loud music in headphones
Ah, I have ears like the FA cup so convertibles are out of the question.
The other one he said was firing guns as the noise comes back to hit the left ear but I always used ear defenders on the range with rifles and squidgy things with pistols so I’m fairly sure it’s not that.
