Hearing loss support - anyone have this feeling in their ear?

Author

anyone have this feeling in their ear?

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

two and a half weeks ago i was subject to a loud music performance. my
girlfriend was sitting right next to me and she was ok afterwards. it
did not seem brutally loud when we were there. there were feedback
problems and we both had our ears plugged with our fingers but both
felt comfortable enough to continue sitting there like that waiting for
the music to end. my friend was also sitting with us for half the
performance with uncovered ears. he was fine.
since that evening i have had a feeling of pressure and discomfort in
my left ear (my right ear is fine). it feels like my ear could pop
(well it isn't that severe, i guess) or like someone is tugged on
something in the middle of my ear or pressing outwards from the inside
of my ear and sometimes it becomes a sharper or duller pain. my
hearing seems to be a bit muffled but just perhaps a fraction off from
my unaffected ear (from my own dumb informal earphone testing). i am
having trouble determining if my hearing is messed up or if this
feeling of pressure or swelling is making me think my hearing is
muffled. i haven't gotten a formal hearing test because i am waiting
for the pain and pressure to subside, first.
i have seen two doctors since the performance. the first doctor said i
probably just damaged my ear and it was sore and recovering and this
could take up to a month.
the second doctor gave me two explanations-
1.i am not really feeling anything in my ear at all. i am partially
deaf in this one ear and do not know how to express this so i am
expressing it as a feeling but it isn't a feeling, but just a lack of
hearing. sort of a weird metaphysical answer. i don't really agree
with this since if i was in a completely silent room or underwater, my
ear would feel this same weird way.
2.my adenoids are swollen and inflamed and this can cause pressure in
the ear.
from my own internet research, adenoid issues can take a while to clear
up. he gave me some prescrption nasal spray drugs to try to clear this
up. i do think the pressure felt best the one day i took a bunch of
decongestant pills, but i was also at a funeral and might have been
distracted.
this doctor also said he doubted the music had anything to do with my
current problem, though i find the timing suspicious.
let me also mention about 3 months ago i was having ear and throat
pains and i went to the doctor (well the cheap local clinic) and the
doctor stuck these camera tubes up my nose and got freaked out and
asked if i had AIDS or cancer because my adenoids were inflamed in a
way that is only seen in adults with AIDS or certain cancer. i said no
and then was tested to make sure. i never resolved this adenoid
problem, though. and for a month before the performance and for a few
days afterwards, i had a nagging non-allergy cough and congestion which
didn't seem to go away. i say it wasn't allergies just because i kept
taking prescption allergy medicines which did absolutely zero to help.
so i guess my question is-has anyone had this pressure and pain feeling
either related to ear damage or asymetrical hearing loss.
let me also add, i have no ringing or anything.
i am taking this supplement vinpocetine i read about in the hopes if i
did damage my ear, it can help the healing process. i read about the
supplement in this newsgroup and i appreciate the information.
thank you for any input of any kind here.
but i am going crazy because the feeling in my ear isn't going away and
it has been two and a half weeks now and i have not been given any
straight answers by any of the medical professionals i have seen so
far.
thank you again.

Paul Revere

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

I went shooting with inadequate protection once and the
same thing happened. I hurt for 60 days or so. Wear ear
protection next time. Every time you listen to
something that leaves you with residual ringing in your
ears you have done some permanent damage to your
hearing.

Peace
Phil
<robotbird@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154710326.789553.130340@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
: two and a half weeks ago i was subject to a loud
music performance. my
: girlfriend was sitting right next to me and she was
ok afterwards. it
: did not seem brutally loud when we were there. there
were feedback
: problems and we both had our ears plugged with our
fingers but both
: felt comfortable enough to continue sitting there
like that waiting for
: the music to end. my friend was also sitting with us
for half the
: performance with uncovered ears. he was fine.
: since that evening i have had a feeling of pressure
and discomfort in
: my left ear (my right ear is fine). it feels like my
ear could pop
: (well it isn't that severe, i guess) or like someone
is tugged on
: something in the middle of my ear or pressing
outwards from the inside
: of my ear and sometimes it becomes a sharper or
duller pain. my
: hearing seems to be a bit muffled but just perhaps a
fraction off from
: my unaffected ear (from my own dumb informal earphone
testing). i am
: having trouble determining if my hearing is messed up
or if this
: feeling of pressure or swelling is making me think my
hearing is
: muffled. i haven't gotten a formal hearing test
because i am waiting
: for the pain and pressure to subside, first.
: i have seen two doctors since the performance. the
first doctor said i
: probably just damaged my ear and it was sore and
recovering and this
: could take up to a month.
: the second doctor gave me two explanations-
: 1.i am not really feeling anything in my ear at all.
i am partially
: deaf in this one ear and do not know how to express
this so i am
: expressing it as a feeling but it isn't a feeling,
but just a lack of
: hearing. sort of a weird metaphysical answer. i
don't really agree
: with this since if i was in a completely silent room
or underwater, my
: ear would feel this same weird way.
: 2.my adenoids are swollen and inflamed and this can
cause pressure in
: the ear.
: from my own internet research, adenoid issues can
take a while to clear
: up. he gave me some prescrption nasal spray drugs to
try to clear this
: up. i do think the pressure felt best the one day i
took a bunch of
: decongestant pills, but i was also at a funeral and
might have been
: distracted.
: this doctor also said he doubted the music had
anything to do with my
: current problem, though i find the timing suspicious.
: let me also mention about 3 months ago i was having
ear and throat
: pains and i went to the doctor (well the cheap local
clinic) and the
: doctor stuck these camera tubes up my nose and got
freaked out and
: asked if i had AIDS or cancer because my adenoids
were inflamed in a
: way that is only seen in adults with AIDS or certain
cancer. i said no
: and then was tested to make sure. i never resolved
this adenoid
: problem, though. and for a month before the
performance and for a few
: days afterwards, i had a nagging non-allergy cough
and congestion which
: didn't seem to go away. i say it wasn't allergies
just because i kept
: taking prescption allergy medicines which did
absolutely zero to help.
: so i guess my question is-has anyone had this
pressure and pain feeling
: either related to ear damage or asymetrical hearing
loss.
: let me also add, i have no ringing or anything.
: i am taking this supplement vinpocetine i read about
in the hopes if i
: did damage my ear, it can help the healing process.
i read about the
: supplement in this newsgroup and i appreciate the
information.
: thank you for any input of any kind here.
: but i am going crazy because the feeling in my ear
isn't going away and
: it has been two and a half weeks now and i have not
been given any
: straight answers by any of the medical professionals
i have seen so
: far.
: thank you again.
:

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

60 days? man.
yeah i am generally good about wearing ear protection. this was a bad
mistake. generally i would have just walked out but i was
participating in the event which was going on.
but you had this annoying feeling for 60 days?

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

also-how signifigantly was your hearing damaged from this incident?

keyes04@netscape.net

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

On 4 Aug 2006 09:52:06 -0700, robotbird@gmail.com wrote:
>
>but i am going crazy because the feeling in my ear isn't going away and
>it has been two and a half weeks now and i have not been given any
>straight answers by any of the medical professionals i have seen so
>far.
>thank you again.

The second doctor may have actually told you correctly. I had 100%
hearing loss in one ear 3½ weeks ago, and there is a feeling of
fullness, and almost a feeling like my ear and my upper neck just
immediately under my ear are numb - yet they're not (that's largely
gone now, however). I can touch them while making identical touches,
light scratches, taps, etc., on each side, and there's no difference
in the actual feeling on either side - it just FEELS like it's numb.
As for the fullness, I've not yet seen an explanation for it, but know
that it's very, very common with significant hearing loss,
particularly with sudden hearing loss. I feel it almost as strongly
today as I did the morning all this started - like my ear is stopped
up or something.

Brains don't like "nothing" when there's "supposed" to be "something"
there. So when the brain gets no sound input from one side, it fills
something into the blank spot. That probably accounts for the
fullness or numbness you're feeling - it's an artificial feeling. The
brain is much smarter than we give it credit for - it may well be
saying, "Well, this guy's ear isn't working, so we'll put a feeling of
numbness or fullness/dullness in there to represent the loss of
hearing."

Last, and certainly not least, I HOPE that the docs you've been seeing
are ENT docs, or even an otologist, if there's one in your area. I
was fortunate enough to be seen by an ENT doc within 24 hours, and
after research and an MRI, was already being treated within 5 days.
To date, there's limited return in the 200-400hz range (nothing
useful, just technically there - but it's a start!). Don't play games
with your ears. Trust me, life is very, very different, even with the
loss of "just" one ear. Go get it looked at by a qualified
specialist, and do it quickly in case there's anything that can be
done about it if started early. I was lucky to get started quickly,
and it may have paid off in a rather low-odds situation.

C.R.

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

what was your issue caused by and how did you get hearing to return?

keye...@netscape.net wrote:
> On 4 Aug 2006 09:52:06 -0700, robotbird@gmail.com wrote:
>
> The second doctor may have actually told you correctly. I had 100%
> hearing loss in one ear 3=BD weeks ago, and there is a feeling of
> fullness, and almost a feeling like my ear and my upper neck just
> immediately under my ear are numb - yet they're not (that's largely
> gone now, however). I can touch them while making identical touches,
> light scratches, taps, etc., on each side, and there's no difference
> in the actual feeling on either side - it just FEELS like it's numb.
> As for the fullness, I've not yet seen an explanation for it, but know
> that it's very, very common with significant hearing loss,
> particularly with sudden hearing loss. I feel it almost as strongly
> today as I did the morning all this started - like my ear is stopped
> up or something.
>
> Brains don't like "nothing" when there's "supposed" to be "something"
> there. So when the brain gets no sound input from one side, it fills
> something into the blank spot. That probably accounts for the
> fullness or numbness you're feeling - it's an artificial feeling. The
> brain is much smarter than we give it credit for - it may well be
> saying, "Well, this guy's ear isn't working, so we'll put a feeling of
> numbness or fullness/dullness in there to represent the loss of
> hearing."
>
> Last, and certainly not least, I HOPE that the docs you've been seeing
> are ENT docs, or even an otologist, if there's one in your area. I
> was fortunate enough to be seen by an ENT doc within 24 hours, and
> after research and an MRI, was already being treated within 5 days.
> To date, there's limited return in the 200-400hz range (nothing
> useful, just technically there - but it's a start!). Don't play games
> with your ears. Trust me, life is very, very different, even with the
> loss of "just" one ear. Go get it looked at by a qualified
> specialist, and do it quickly in case there's anything that can be
> done about it if started early. I was lucky to get started quickly,
> and it may have paid off in a rather low-odds situation.
>=20
> C.R.

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 4:28 pm

and yes, i first saw an ENT doctor and second i saw an ear specialist
(on..whatever..ist)
oh maybe i should have mentioned my hearing in the sore or whatever
ear seems oversensitive at times. i have had a few unfortunate
incidents where it got blasted since the initial "incident" such as
being too close to a slamming door or walking past a street fair with a
loud band or being close to a referees whistle when he blows it

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 9:26 pm

two dumb follow up questions-
1.after the "incident" a few weeks ago-i noticed my ear seemed super
sensitive. like i was hearing the buzzing of electric lights and things
like that. does extra-sensitivity ever precede hearing loss?

2.i just plugged in a pair of earphones and tried to do an informal
test where i played a CD and reduced the volume as low as i could
possibly hear it with my unhurt ear and saw if i could hear it with my
injured ear and i could. not sure it was as clear, but i could hear
it. since music is stereo, no way of really telling if it was less
clear or the music was just balanced differently in the two channels.
i gave my girlfriend the earphones and she couldn't hear through either
ear (she has very slight hearing loss due to childhood ear infections).
i also took some of those online hearing tests where different
frequencies are played just using my hurt ear. i could hear the
different tones ok. are these tests totally useless? and was my
earphone test with music a reasonable way to sort of test ear
functionality or am i insane?

actually here is another follow up question-
has anyone had any success with vinpocetine? going on the premise my
ear is injured, it seems like the drug could be beneficial in helping
it heal. maybe taking some ginko as well....
in the studies it sounds like vinpocetine helps best when taken within
a week and i am outside that, but i imagine that other people in the
study had waited a month or more or even a year or longer and i am at
two and half weeks so i am hoping it can still be beneficial. but has
anyone actually had any success?

thank you for the responses so far.

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-04, 9:26 pm

also-responding to the last person who wrote-i definitely can hear
things. so i have that full pressure feeling, but based on trying to
hear things through earphones, i can hear decently at least. so the
feelings isn't making up for no sound. i don't know-does the ear get
bruised and sore on the inside?

keyes04@netscape.net

2006-08-04, 9:26 pm

On 4 Aug 2006 12:00:45 -0700, robotbird@gmail.com wrote:

>what was your issue caused by and how did you get hearing to return?

I won't ever know for sure - sudden sensorineural hearing loss can be
from one of three things, normally: viral, immune response, or
vascular accident. I suspect viral, but who knows? It's usually not
determined.

For THIS condition, the treatment is steroids. I can't take oral
steroids, so I opted for intratympanic steroid injections. However,
this may not have any applicability to your situation at all. And
even with this, I've only got a very narrow range of frequencies that
barely get to the point where my brain "hears" them. There's no real
sound from the real world making it to my brain. My wife can yell in
my left ear and it merely hurts for a while from the overload of
vibration - but I don't hear it.

Don't mess with this just on your own with some remedy you read about
on the internet or in a book. Stay with the best medical professional
you can find, and follow his/her advice. I'm not entirely convinced
you should be ruling out what the two doctors told you. Trust me -
you don't want/need this life changing experience, and this is not a
do-it-yourself-at-home project. You may just be able to wait it out
30-60 days, but if some doc thinks there's more going on than just
that, why decide on your own that he/she is wrong? I don't worship
the ground doc's walk on (I work with them in a hospital setting as a
mental health professional). They've got flaws just as the rest of
us. But they also have training in specialized areas that most of us
don't. Take care of your hearing - you won't possibly be able to
imagine what it's like to lose it unless/until you do. At least I'll
know I gave it my very best shot with the very best medical advice I
could get in this area, even if it doesn't come back to a useful
level, and I won't be kicking myself in the rear.

C.R.

P.S. I'm not anti-alternative remedies. I'm also taking a
homeopathic remedy, due to having some knowledge and some limited but
reasonable skills in that area. But I'm NOT making that my first line
of treatment, because I'm not the expert.

robotbird@gmail.com

2006-08-05, 2:25 am

thank you for the response-
well, the first doctor at the ENT clinic just said to me that my ear
was damaged by the noise and it would heal. that's it. he didn't
offer anything else. just said to give it like a month.
the second doctor-an ear specialist-gave me some prescription nasal
spray stuff which i am shooting up there as i should, though i am so
stuffed up on the side of the sore ear that it isn't going anywhere.
the sprays are to cover the adenoid/pressure situation possibility.
he also suggested i get a hearing test "at my convenience" to make sure
i am not impaired and the feelings i have aren't how i express my loss.
he didn't say to get it ASAP. he said "at my convenience".
so i am messing with the herbal homeopathic stuff, but i am not veering
from anything the doctors told me. i should schedule a hearing test,
though. a REAL test. as i said, trying to test myself, i seem to be
not in a real bad way.
i actually noticed while driving tonight, i kept yawning which was
making my ear feel sort of crackly poppy inside and just for a split
second i felt relief from the feeling and i though to myself "that's
what it should feel like!" and i got happy but then it was back to this
weird feeling.

Paul Revere

2006-08-05, 4:26 pm

<robotbird@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154717682.466944.295330@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
: 60 days? man.
: yeah i am generally good about wearing ear
protection. this was a bad
: mistake. generally i would have just walked out but
i was
: participating in the event which was going on.
: but you had this annoying feeling for 60 days?

I took the kids and we spread around the earmuffs. I
usually use 30 db plugs and the shooting muffs /
headphones. That time I think I shot a clip with 12 db
plugs only and wow. The pain lasted for weeks then the
full reeling and messed up sound. Yeah 60 days before
all was back to normal and I stopped wondering if I
would soon be totaly deaf.

On the other hand I don't think the peak sound
preasure level at a rock concert is anywhere near as
loud as a pistol at an indoor shooting range unless you
have your ear to the speaker drivers.

Peace
Phil
:

Paul Revere

2006-08-05, 4:26 pm

<robotbird@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154717731.136696.309540@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
: also-how signifigantly was your hearing damaged from
this incident?

I think I recovered back to my normal before the
incident hearing, with probably a few more cilia lying
down in the forest of my Cochlea and not really
discernable to me.

Phil
:

keyes04@netscape.net

2006-08-05, 4:26 pm

On 4 Aug 2006 22:51:11 -0700, robotbird@gmail.com wrote:
>...i kept yawning which was
>making my ear feel sort of crackly poppy inside and just for a split
>second i felt relief from the feeling and i though to myself "that's
>what it should feel like!" and i got happy but then it was back to this
>weird feeling.

Hmmmm! Sounds like you could possibly have some inflamation that's
affecting your eustachian tube. If you were yawning and got a brief
relief with a popping sound, it's very possible that the eustachian
tube is blocked by something (swelling, mass, etc.). There could be
any number of things, but the bottom line is that if your eustachian
tube is not allowing air pressure to equalize between the outside and
your middle ear/inner ear, you're going to have a dullness, or full
feeling even with hearing. Maybe the adenoids suspicion has some
validity???

As for the audiology testing, at least one advantage would be to find
out which - if any - frequencies you can't hear or at least hear well.
You may still have hearing loss, but since you can hear human speech
range you're not fully aware. It's worth checking out. Inflamation
is one thing, death of some hair cells in the cochlea are quite
another.

C.R.