Eustachian Tubes Directly Affecting Hyperacusis Sensitivity

Hi there!

First post here. I was wondering if anyone else had this issue.

So I am currently sick and under the weather. This has caused my right ear to become super full. I currently wear hearing protection essentially 24/7 except for a few minutes each day.

The strange thing is, that when I do the Valsalva maneuver (don't worry, I don't do it often and I do it very carefully) my sensitivity in my right ear gets WAY worse temporarily. I'm seriously wondering if all of my sensitivity is caused by some sort of ETD. Because my hyperacusis fluctuates constantly throughout the days and weeks (though it's always there and sucks to deal with).

My hyperacusis and tinnitus started after a festival. I seriously wonder though if the culprit is the two 6 hour flights I took to the festival and back during my birthday trip last year. Maybe some sort of barotrauma happened? I don't know.

The last ENT said my Eustachian tube on my left ear is fine but never checked my right ear. And you guys know how ENTs can be with how quickly they rush you in and out.

I was just curious if anyone else's sensitivity changes with the pressure in your ear.

Also I have this really strange symptom in which I press on my tragus and push into my ear. This then causes some air to circulate in my ear and I can hear it "passing through" when I do this action. This symptom is also very inconsistent and goes away/comes back throughout the day.

Any input would be great. Thank you guys!

 

Hello. You could have TTTS.

How is your sensitivity?

 

Oh I for sure have TTTS. And it's generally the same, thank you for asking.

I just really want to know if anyone else has experience ear fullness affect sensitivity. I still get fullness from sensitivity from what I can tell, but sometimes it's the other way around where depending on how full my ear feels my sensitivity changes. Sometimes my hyperacusis feels like it varies from moment to moment. It's never constantly the same.

 

I see. So, do you think the “fullness” is a consequence of TTTS or ETD?

To me, it seems that fullness means muscle tension, but the Eustachian tube could also be affected, I don’t know. What I know is that when we feel pressure on a plane or on a fast elevator, we don’t have sound intolerance. And it makes sense that the particular sound intolerance of certain abrupt sounds, with sudden attack, is caused by a tensed up muscle which at the same time tightens the eardrum.

So, yes, I think that the so-called TTTS is responsible of this particular feeling and “sound intolerance”.

And when you say that sometimes is the other way around, I think it is because the TTM is already a bit tensed up, not normal and completely relaxed, and also because you are “conditioned” psychologically. But there isn’t any fixed damage that produces this “hyperacusis”. This “hyperacusis” is a consequence of the abnormal state of the TTM mechanism. And the state of tension/relaxation of this mechanism varies. And that is why this “hyperacusis” also varies from moment to moment.

 

This is probably not relevant but I get fullness on or off in my left ear only. It drives me crazy. I would not characterize it as pain but more an odd feeling. Like something is in my ear. No sound distortion or anything. I notice it when stressed and allergies are worse. ENT diagnosed ETD (left ear never pops) and TMJ related pain. I have a crown on that side and I swear my bite has never been the same since. I was worried it was a form of hyperacusis.

 

...and what did the doctor suggest to help it?

 

Nasal sprays as well as a systemic anti-histamine. Decongestants when it’s bad.

They also referred me to physical therapy for my jaw. That actually helped for a while. The only problem is my insurance ran out. It only covers physical therapy per body part for so long.

 

Did he not look in your Eustachian tubes? If the other stuff doesn't work, I think that's what needs to be done to check their position and how they work.

 

The 2013 multi-clinic study by Westcott et. al. found that 81% of hyperacusis patients had TTTS, but we know about noise.

The tensor tympani is innervated by the trigeminal nerve as opposed to the stapedius muscle. This can have some association with also having a sinus condition, ETD, or tooth pressure to nerves. With this, one may not feel physical ear, jaw or facial discomfort. A tinnitus spike (often temporarily) can be triggered by vibrational sound waves to the trigeminal nerve. Contralateral reflexes and ipsilateral reflexes trigger at loudness levels around 85 dB. If wide bandwidth signals such as broadband noise are present, acoustic reflex thresholds drop to a range of roughly 70 dB-75 dB.