Audiogram and Other Hearing Test Results

Our audiograms look very similar (2nd one).

Can I ask how old you are? Have you had any changes over the last 9 months?

 

Thanks for the reply!

I was really wondering if anyone had come across this kind of audiogram before. I have a low tone, around 900 Hz in my left ear that came on suddenly around 4 months ago. No fluid in ear but I have had a lot of mucus from my nose that I can’t seem to clear. This led me to get my hearing test and this was the result.

I’m 33, can’t think of any instances where I could have damaged my ears and the audiologist couldn’t give me a definitive reason for the result and resulting tinnitus, other than he didn’t think it was NIHL but that ETD could be the culprit.

Next stop an ENT?

 

Is the tinnitus you had previously in both ears higher pitched?

In this case I would recommend you to see an ENT. Usually ENTs know almost nothing about tinnitus and it's no use seeing them, but I think this kind of audiogram is unusual and can have causes that an ENT might know something about. Don't expect too much though, but I think it's worth a shot.

I'm in audiology school but we haven't really started looking at audiograms as they relate to specific pathologies yet. In a few months we will, I'll try to remember to show your audiogram as an example and ask my teachers what they make of it.

Any specific event that stands out 4-5 months ago? Virus infection, COVID-19 even? Any vertigo or balance issues?

 

Yes, the tinnitus I normally have is very high pitched - I’ve had it since a child and has never bothered me.

The new tone in my left ear is unusual in that it is much lower, almost a resonating sound much like a tuning fork rather then the continual hiss I’m used to.

I don’t have any memory of feeling particularly ill at all, just woke up one day feeling stuffy, no cough or other cold symptoms at all. I believe I may have caught covid-19 around February so a long time before the issue. I can’t recall any recent balance issues or vertigo either. I have had in the past but couldn’t say when - A long time ago, maybe over a year at least.

That would be great if you can remember this post, and, as it stands at the moment, from your understanding you don’t believe it’s NIHL or age related and is something middle ear related?

 

Based on the info I can find, it seems more likely to be ETD, otosclerosis, Meniere's, ETD, viral cause rather than noise induced hearing loss. NIHL almost always affects the higher frequencies first. Don't be worried by all these possibilities, they are just examples.

 

I'm 39 years old.

I'm now 11 months post-acoustic trauma. As for improvement, it's hard to tell, e.g. I don't remember exactly how loud my tinnitus was at all points in the past. It's also hard to tell if things have objectively improved vs. habituating. That all said, I think the % of days where my tinnitus is "very annoying" is definitely lower than it used to be. Today is one of those annoying days however.

 

Here are two audiograms taken a few months apart almost two years ago. I am 37 years old. When I wonder why my tinnitus is severe, I guess this is the explanation. Hearing loss was the main factor and antidepressants triggered it.

 

My right ear is so jacked.

My first audiogram is three weeks post my acoustic trauma:



This one is six weeks later:



I had another one four weeks later and all high frequencies are 25 dB or higher.

I had yet another one last week and I have 60 decibel losses in all low frequencies and 60 to 70 decibel losses in the high frequencies. FML. 1000 Hz is @ 20 dB loss. Audiogram looks like a circus tent.

 

This is pretty severe hearing loss in the normal speech/music frequency range. What antidepressants do you feel caused this? Most SSRIs are not considered to be ototoxic. They may increase tinnitus due to serotonergic stimulation, but they do not cause sensorineural hearing loss like NSAIDs, certain antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs.