Left Ear Hyperacusis Might Be Hopeless — Please Read

tldr ; Hyperacusis in left ear around 70 dB and higher. ENT's clueless. I am ready for any procedure even if it risks losing all hearing in my left ear.

What's up everyone! I just discovered this forum and decided to join to see if I could maybe find some ideas for the ear predicament that I've had for a while.

First off, it's a long read. If you are busy or have something you need to do, it's cool.

I have hearing issue in my left ear (left ear only, right ear is perfectly fine) where everything sounds fine until a moderate volume... say around 73-78 dB then after that my ear starts to painfully distort. All I really hear when there is distortion is a sharp painful sine wave around 1100hz. Sounds with a quick attack are the worst (ex. Someone talking loudly or yelling near my ear or in the same room as me, a trumpet, an accelerating motorcycle, things like that) and sounds with higher frequencies distort easier as well. I've had this problem now for around 3 yrs and the problem seems to be stable or potentially getting slightly worse, but at a very slow rate. I've been to over 5 ent's in my state and they all have been nice but pretty clueless on what the problem could be. I've had an MRI and Catscan that came back with no answers. Right now, an ENT put me on Hydrochlorothiazide which is a high blood med because he thinks there is fluid buildup in my middle ear. However, it isn't working (and I'm getting tired of peeing every 10 minutes! lol). If I can get an ENT to perform it, I think it's getting to the point where I would prefer to deaf in left ear and remove the ear drum (or however it would be done) than live my life like it's been going due to my hearing issue.

I don't recall ever damaging my ear in a way that would cause this distortion problem. A stick from a bush when I was doing yardwork went in my ear in around 2012-2013 and there was some blood but I don't think it was my eardrum bleeding just the ear canal. Anyways, I went to the doc and they said it was fine. I remember going to a concert sometime around a few months after that and had no hearing issues. However, I did get some bad concussions from bike jumps a little after that... maybe that's the cause somehow?

Having this issue has completely ruined my life. There hasn't been a day in over two years where I haven't thought about or felt pain from my ear. I'm currently 19 and a college student in Asheville, NC. My true goal and aspiration in life is to be able to be a musician (don't care if its a career or not ... just want to be able to perform and record) and my ear stops me from that...even with earplugs(it makes my voice louder in my head and still distorts). I can still practice singing to an extent, but any high notes will distort, which is pretty limiting. Plus I need to be in a room without walls that are very reflective because that will amplify the problem.

The only thing that gives me some relief is the valsalva maneuver (plugging your nose and blowing) but that only gives relief for around 5-10 seconds. For those seconds the problem goes away 90%. So that made me think the problem could be Eustachian tube related... maybe mild Patulous Eustachian Tube.... but all ENT's don't think the Eustachian tube is a possibility. I am completely clueless on how to go about fixing this problem now and I feel that I can't live my life dealing with it. I have been a person who has always been independent in living my life and solving any problems I have and I have run into a battle that is seemingly endless and it brings me down further every day. People see me and ask why I always bail on them for things like concerts, parties, bars, etc but they don't understand. That has left me fairly lonely in college... luckily I've had a tight group of friends since HS that i'm still good friends with that understand my problem. My goal in life has simply become to be normal and be able to enjoy my life. In reality, I still have try to have fun every day by getting outside, playing sports, and practicing music/music prod. but it is hard when you have an extremely annoying and painful issue that follows you everywhere you go.

I found someone with similar issues online who suggested going to the chiropractor and getting something called atlas orthogonal. Quick summary- they adjust your vertebrae right under your ear and apparently that fixes common ailments. This seemed like a logical solution because their is a lump behind my left ear that is not behind my right ear (I told my ENT's about this and they said my vertebrae stuck out more and it was normal) I went to an Atlas Orthogonal specialist. I went to him a few times before I figured out that he had no idea what he was doing. He wouldn't give me a general set plan of how many visits that it may take after ensuring me that he could fix my problem (don't worry I didn't get my hopes up but I wanted to). Long story short....he was a complete nutcase and was the most unprofessional adult I have dealt with in my entire life. This was in February so for about a month after I tried to ignore any thought of my hearing problems because it would send me a wave of depression that would last for days. However, ignoring the problem isn't going to fix it. So, I haven't completely eliminated Atlas Orthogonal as a potential treatment but my insurance doesn't pay at all and it appears the Chiropractor business is one that is set on profitability and keeping return customers rather than customer well-being.

Thankfully, my Dad currently has a fairly well-paying job and he is willing to support me on whatever expense my ear takes to fix. So finances aren't too much of issue if there is a treatment that insurance won't cover.


So now I'm here and searching for answers... anything at all. Medicine, surgery, you name it. Do you have something you want to get off your chest about your hearing issues? I'm down to listen and give my advice. I know how hard it is to have a problem that is invisible and people think you are completely over-exaggerating. They don't know how it feels to be afraid or angry because you can't do normal things like a normal person does.

Thanks everyone and have I wish you all good luck.

Rick C

 

You could look into this surgery.

A New Treatment For Hyperacusis 2016 2nd...

 

I've heard about his treatment. I'll look into contacting him.

 

I recommend going to a physiotherapist that has one of those radiofrequency machines that drive heat and waves into your body. Try it for your neck and back and see if it helps. Also, would try to realise if you have anxiety of any kind (this is very normal when one has hyperacusis), because it can affect the way you breathe and how tense your back, shoulders and neck are.

I would not recommend performing the vasalva manouver, as pressure in your ears may be a lot worse than you think, and it can do harm too.

 

I had an ear injury after a concussion. Unfortunately, nothing has helped the tinnitus (so far).
ENTs no help. Are you finding they will diagnose ETD but not treat it? Several doctors suspect it in my case, but do nothing. Fortunately, it's not as severe as your case. A friend of mine is having the same bad doctor experience with his terrible ETD. No one is treating it. There is a balloon procedure that can be done.

Try a neurotologist instead of an ENT. There's a good one at Rutgers in NJ. You can see this surgeon's work on YouTube channel "earinformation". His name is Dr. P A Wackym.

I went all over seeking help for bad vestibular symptoms caused by ear injury. I couldn't function and was usually nauseated, dizzy, and had one big headache. I even tried to see Dr. Silverstein (his video link in Lymebite's post), but he wouldn't see me because I also had a brain injury. Eventually had Round Window Reinforcement surgery for cochlea facial nerve dehiscence in NJ.

Ironically, RWR is the same surgery Dr. Silverstein does, so he could have helped me. After surgery, my comprehension and brain fog improved, too. Be persistent! There's help out there somewhere!

I have family who see a very good atlas orthogonal chiro in Columbus Ohio. I think he's the only one in Ohio. His name is Dr. Brian Niedenthal. I was too sick before having ear surgery to travel that far, but found a local chiro who did specific upper cervical adjustments that helped a lot. I believe it helped me regain my sense of smell after the head injury and two other concussion patients told me their sense of smell improved, too, after cervical or atlas treatment.