Indescribable Hearing Problem in Right Ear

[CodemasterRob]

Hi guys. I've had this problem for about 3-4 years. I can't explain it very well, but I'm going to give it my best shot. I have this randomly occurring hearing loss of sorts in my right ear. I can't really find anything to compare it to. I can hear myself breathing, like someone inhaling and exhaling right into my ear. My voice sounds a lot deeper through that ear when this happens. As I'm typing this, it seems like applying hard pressure to the right side of my neck between my ear and shoulders makes it partially go away. I can still hear the breathing if I yawn or talk.

If I really had to compare it to something, it's like a mix between what you hear when you're underwater and when you're really high on a mountain and under pressure. I've had my mother take me to an audiologist(?) and I was told I'm fine and I have "selective hearing". That was over a year ago. I've tried selecting not to hear this, but it's not helping.

[Chana Lerner, AuD]

The sound you are hearing may actually be tinnitus--an auditory perception not produced from an external sound. Tinnitus may be constant or occur intermittently in one or both ears. It may occur suddenly or gradually over a period of time. Tinnitus is a common symptom of hearing loss; so a consultation with an audiologist for a hearing evaluation is recommended. Alternately, the sound may be related to eustachian tube dysfunction. An ENT can best diagnose if this is the case. Lastly, the sequential breathing sound may be related to your heartbeat, since the carotid artery runs close to the ear. You may want to discuss this with a cardiologist and/or ENT.

[CodemasterRob]

Thank you. I'll look into all of these explanations and see what most closely relates to the problems I'm having. I believe I thought it was Tinnitus before but I forgot the name of it, and never got it check out.