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Perforation of ear, distortion, sensitivity to loud sounds, please help me.

Hello all, my name is Cory and I am 18. I am male and for some time now (past few years maybe) I have been experienceing some form of distortion and fuzziness in my left ear. When I hear a sound, it sounds fine up to a certain point, when my left ear just seems to distort (the way a speaker with too much volume distorts) and everything gets really fuzzy and sounds like it's buzzing. It's difficult to describe, and it has been irritating me for some time. I am purchasing a nice car audio sound system soon, and if there is a problem with my hearing, I would like it sorted out before so I can fully enjoy my stereo.

When I was younger, I understand I had quite a few ear infections. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be wrong with my left ear?  I would greatly appreciate any help on the matter. I take my hearing very very seriously, and I listen to music at very low volumes, and wear earplugs the entire time I am at work. (Construction/ job-site) Thank you all so very much.
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Avatar universal
Hi, i'm 20 and also have this issue in my left ear, and is quite bothersome. i think i see a pattern here. i read a lot of drummers have issues in the left ear as well. its because the frequencies of the snare and hi hat are coming in strong on your left side. the only thing that we can all do from here on out is prevent it from getting any worse, wear ear protection!! unless you want to be half deaf
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Avatar universal
Can't believe this thread started on 2006 and there are no "success stories" :(

I suffer from the same problem with a very important difference which I'll mention in a minute.

-My left hear distorts the sound after it reaches a certain volume.

-It also happens when there is an ongoing sound and someone talks on top of it even if it is not that loud.

-No, I don't have problems hearing people speaking at low volume or... anything at low volume, Did the whole test thing and came up normal.

-Popping my hears is very difficult for me (have to blow really hard so it scares me) but it will help for about 10 seconds then it comes back.

-Pulling my hears back and down, up to a point (without using my hands, I can move my hears ) really helps but it is very difficult to find the right spot and impossible to hold for long.

-There is NO tinnitus or weird noises when everything is quiet

-it gets worst when I'm congested, but it doesn't go away if I take meds for that congestion.


This started probably at 18, I am now 30, I play guitar, and bass, and used to play sax and love music and this problem drove me away from taking it more seriously back in the day.

Yes I was exposed to loud music growing up but usually if it was for a long period of time I would use hear plugs.

Growing up rhinitis was very common, and I'm pretty allergic to dust and whatnot.


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The thing that differs from the other cases is that I used to have this on BOTH hears, I basically couldn't play guitar anymore, I couldn't hear myself.

I then had a stupid but very fortunate accident with a Q-tip, yes your momma was right, it happens.  I left it on my hear for a minute to pick up something, when my hand came back up looking for it, I missed and instead of grabbing it I bumped it in good, almost only the opposite tip was showing. it was very loud and shocking I even felt to the floor, but wasn't that painful. Went to the doctor, they just covered my hear and said that we could only wait and it would heal itself and hope for no hearing lost.

I didn't lost any hearing, I was lucky, but I was even more lucky when I noticed that  my "injured" hear was not distorting sounds any more.

************************

My right hear is perfect now, my left hear is worst than ever :(  I will go back to a doctor to see if I get some help, I would actually pay someone to pop a Q tip up my bad hear if it wasn't that dangerous
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3 Comments
I really appreciate how detailed you are, I am the same way, super observant of tiny details of the problem, and simple workarounds. I just started having this issue in my left ear only, about 5 months ago. It is a distortion, just like the audio coming into my left ear is passing through a distortion guitar pedal, only at certain frequencies, and volumes. The one thing that's different for my case, is that I can almost feel a muscle in my ear reacting to the sound. It's like this... once the distortion starts (let's say it's caused by someone talking a little louder), even after they stop talking, I can hear/feel the distortion for a split second. The best thing I can compare it to is if something touches your eyeball and irritates it, and your eyelids automatically close, to protect your eye, and it takes a while to open them back up. I know I read that there are muscles in your ear that do act to close up and dampen the sound levels when too loud, so I wonder if that's what I'm feeling.

I'm so skeptical about going to an ENT, it seems like there are so few doctors who can help odd/bizarre issues like this, and  you have to go through a chain of 5 - 10 doctors before you get one that takes you seriously, and/or knows how to help. I do swim about once a week, so I'm seriously considering trying the swimmers ear kit, and the earwax softener kits before trying to start the doctor saga.

It's so nice hearing from people who have the same issues, I'll keep you updated on what happens, and I'd love to hear your feedback :)
I forgot to mention, I'm actually a music guy too. I'm a 29 year old audio engineer. (not just as a hobby, but it's the job that supports my wife and kid). I know there are workarounds to changing how you mix and stuff, but i'm really still trying to be optimistic about getting a solution to the problem. So I feel your pain on the effect this had on your music life :/
I just spoke to an ENT who told me he wanted an ear test to discover the issue. When i mentioned distortion he said its a mystery. Never mentioned estation tube or however you spell it. I have had this for years with loud sound. Also an engineer. I mix on headphones. Sometime on my Adem 2.5s but thinking about going to Germany to find a good doctor.. Been recording since 1969.
Avatar universal
I'm 24 and I've had this problem with my left ear for years. I just blew it off as a minor annoyance since it happened so rarely, but recently I've started to wonder if/how it was related to my frequent migraines. Yours is the first post that I've found that mentions this problem in conjunction with migraines. Thanks for the information!
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Avatar universal
Hi everyone, 19 year old here with the same problem in my right ear... only happens at certain frequencies. Doctors arent helping.... I had a few ear infections when i was younger from swimming. I was listening to my ipod a lot when I first noticed it about 8 months ago (though not at excessive volumes). its gotten slightly worse but still bearable. probably happens on about 25% of music which is annoying but bearable. aside from that, people talking louder etc. can set it off. blowing my ears sometimes helps. My life is not very stressful at all so I don't think thats it... I'll try to stay off caffiene and also to clean my sinus and see if that helps, thanks. Hopefully someone can find an effective way to cure this...
Helpful - 0
3118195 tn?1341969672
Ive narrowed this problem down to Eustachian tube dysfunction , i had a tough case of it a couple years ago and have a little spell every now and then on and off and the swimmers ear stuff you can buy at the drug store ..basically alcohol usually opens it up over night or after a couple days . The distortion WILL go away . Put that stuff in there and plug your ear with some cotton . Hang in there . Also have found some interesting links on clearing your Eustachian tubes with nasal steroids and a neti pot .   Joseph , contact me at ***@**** for more details
Helpful - 0
3118195 tn?1341969672
Ive narrowed this problem down to Eustachian tube dysfunction , i had a tough case of it a couple years ago and have a little spell every now and then on and off and the swimmers ear stuff you can buy at the drug store ..basically alcohol usually opens it up over night or after a couple days . The distortion WILL go away . Put that stuff in there and plug your ear with some cotton . Hang in there . Also have found some interesting links on clearing your Eustachian tubes with nasal steroids and a neti pot .   Joseph , contact me at ***@**** for more details
Helpful - 0
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