Hearing Loss/Pressure After Tympanometry

Also have panic attacks, screaming doesn't help it either sadly.

 

How are you doing now?

 

These doctors are friken insane and need to be held accountable.

 

Can you elaborate on the inflammation please? I’ve been having hearing issues in my left ear after a caloric test (didn’t want to do it but it was needed to rule out other causes) and now I have a feeling of inflammation in my ears. It makes sounds dull and even when I talk or whisper it feels like there’s something blocking the sound from being clear. I’m in prednisone following the caloric test because i got scared of hearing damage. Any advice please? I don’t want a permanent loss and my hearing tests have come back normal. Also have T.

 

Basically the protocol recommended after being exposed to loud noise is to use prednisone. However, its benefits are very limited, if any, and do not work in every case. On top of that, prednisone and corticoids have side effects (also in the long run) and they shouldnt be used often or for a long period.

So one never knows... after many years with hearing problems I tend to avoid over-using corticoids. Sometimes I have them mainly to think I have done all that was in my hand not to have more hearing damage, but it's benefits are very limited.

 

Thanks so much for letting me know! I’m currently on a 5 day course but it’s my 3rd time doing it although there’s no hearing loss... did it to be safe rather than sorry. I’ll have to stop them after this time.

 

It's actually not the tympanometry (that's just the test where you feel a little pressure) but it's the acoustic reflex test that it seems some devices and careless audiologists run at the same time as the tympanometry test. The acoustic reflex test plays a loud tone to test your ear's reflex to a loud noise and it's really a bad idea for anyone that has hyperacusis.

I assume many people are confusing the tympanometry test with the acoustic reflex test (it seems some audiologists are careless and don't distinguish between the two either). To trigger the acoustic reflex in most normal people, you need a loud tone.

 

I didn't get a loud tone. I told the audiologist about my hyperacusis and asked her not to use any loud tones. Thankfully she understood and fully complied with my request. I still felt pressure rather than volume during the test with the tube in the ear, and for several days afterwards. So i guess that's the Timpanometry test which affected me, and which I would not recommend for anyone whose symptoms have ever included ear fullness or pressure.

 

Yeah, the accoustic reflex test is a killer for hyperacusis sufferers.

 

these tests were the exact reason I got this loud pitch hyperacusis/tinnitus which has never stopped since I left the ENT's office mid July 2019...it is now October 11, 2019. I went into the ent's office that day with intermittent ringing that I had first noticed in May 2019. At that point it was mild and I didn't even hear anything most days. I just knew the intermittent sound wasn't normal for me so I wanted it checked out. I went in totally blind to the possible effects of the tympanogram, acoustic reflex, etc., and if course all these things were done. I sure as heck wish I had researched all these tests prior to that ENT appt.

 

Isn't it ironic that loud sound is used in most tests to assess a healthy hearing? Evoked potential, accoustic reflex.. let alone the dreadful MRI.

 

Personally, I haven't experienced any decrease in volume. However, I remember reading several posts where the posters described decreased volume accompanying their full ear sensation. It is my understanding that those symptoms (along with hyperacusis) normally go away after 6-12 months.

You will want to do more than cover your ears - you will want to get yourself away from all of the noises that feel loud as fast as you can.

In case you haven't seen it before, check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Hi again sorry to bother you. Did you ever experience the numb hearing feeling that Marceline is describing? I’ve been having this for a while as well as pain, my ears get extremely sore and all sounds just cause my ears to hurt so much they go numb. It’s terrible.

 

What she describes sounds a lot like the "full ear sensation" that I had been experiencing... Eventually it went away (I think it took 6-12 months before that happened).

 

Everything sounds slightly quieter and a bit muffled... I’m assuming this can be normal with ear fullness as well right? My fullness just feels like a foggy feeling in my ears.

 

It's ear fullness... For a small minority of people it doesn't improve. But it goes away for the majority of the sufferers...