Hello -
For nearly 30 years I've been dealing with a cymbal like sound in my left ear. It all started when a firecracker went off near me. With the explosion, I had a sharp pain in my left ear. About 10-15 minutes later I was talking with friends and heard a cymbal like sound while talking. I now hear it when speaking, yawning, strenuous exercise, eating crunchy foods, hearing certain external noises (clinking of glasses, loud atmospheres like restaurants and even during normal conversations). I always have a feeling of fullness in that ear as well and perform the Valsalva maneuver regularly to provide a small short term relief of the fullness sensation. It feels like something is loose or torn in my ear (causing the noise) and I feel a vibration or rattling in my ear. I can invoke the cymbal like noise and vibration by tensing my head and then relaxing, which results in the cymbal sound. My hearing is normal along with multiple normal tests and scans so my conditioned has been discarded by Doctors until recently.
About two months ago I had surgery to apply Botox to the stapedius muscle to determine if that was the cause of my symptoms but it was ineffective. The next option is to cut the tensor tympani and/or stapedius muscle. Since it's an irreversible procedure and they're not certain if that's causing the noise and fullness sensation, I'm not sure that's the best option. My fear is that the condition may get worse after the muscles are severed. My situation is different than random spasms as I only experience the noise and movement in response to internal or external noises. It is worse depending on my orientation. For example, when I'm laying on my back it is far worse (more sensitive) than standing up. I also feel pressure in my ear when quickly bending over to pick something off the ground or tie my shoe.
Has anyone experienced anything similar and been able to determine the cause or find relief? This has a major impact on my day to day life.
Thanks,
D
For nearly 30 years I've been dealing with a cymbal like sound in my left ear. It all started when a firecracker went off near me. With the explosion, I had a sharp pain in my left ear. About 10-15 minutes later I was talking with friends and heard a cymbal like sound while talking. I now hear it when speaking, yawning, strenuous exercise, eating crunchy foods, hearing certain external noises (clinking of glasses, loud atmospheres like restaurants and even during normal conversations). I always have a feeling of fullness in that ear as well and perform the Valsalva maneuver regularly to provide a small short term relief of the fullness sensation. It feels like something is loose or torn in my ear (causing the noise) and I feel a vibration or rattling in my ear. I can invoke the cymbal like noise and vibration by tensing my head and then relaxing, which results in the cymbal sound. My hearing is normal along with multiple normal tests and scans so my conditioned has been discarded by Doctors until recently.
About two months ago I had surgery to apply Botox to the stapedius muscle to determine if that was the cause of my symptoms but it was ineffective. The next option is to cut the tensor tympani and/or stapedius muscle. Since it's an irreversible procedure and they're not certain if that's causing the noise and fullness sensation, I'm not sure that's the best option. My fear is that the condition may get worse after the muscles are severed. My situation is different than random spasms as I only experience the noise and movement in response to internal or external noises. It is worse depending on my orientation. For example, when I'm laying on my back it is far worse (more sensitive) than standing up. I also feel pressure in my ear when quickly bending over to pick something off the ground or tie my shoe.
Has anyone experienced anything similar and been able to determine the cause or find relief? This has a major impact on my day to day life.
Thanks,
D
