Low Hum, Recently Triggered Again by COVID-19 Home Test

Hi all,

I’ve been lurking here without an account since April.

I have a low hum similar to some members - which has been intermittent for a while. It seems to be related to jaw clenching maybe or some Eustachian tube dodginess. Even when the hum isn’t there, my ear has been blocked consistently since April.

It got triggered again tonight by a COVID-19 test, when I shoved the thing up my left nostril I heard and felt a sudden hum like I’d twinged something in my ear, and it came back pretty strong after being gone for months.

It was a bit sh*te at first but I’ve learned to cope with it now and it’s not so bad. I’m only 22 so was a bit of a shock to effectively ruin my ears a bit this young but honestly it doesn’t really faze me much anymore lol.

Anyway I’ll probably be more active here for a while, at least for the foreseeable future while my ears giving grief again.

Cheers,
Harry

 

The hum is perhaps caused by awareness of blood flow near your ears.

It may be caused by local inflammation.

Just my thoughts.

 

Yes, there’s probably some inflammation. I remember it came on suddenly after I had chewed something.

Still waiting on my referral to an ENT.

 

Hey @hburden, how are things now?

Is your hum suppressed (not masked) where there are other sounds around it?

I notice you do music, is this something you've done for a long time and potentially loudly?

21 is very young to have a low hum - could be a good sign that its related to a physical aspect like you think.

 

Hi, yes, it’s still there all the time but I believe I’m just well habituated as it doesn’t cause me too many issues. Still waiting for ENT.

Other sounds at certain frequencies do mask it but they need to be loud enough, like a fan or the hum of a boiler.

Yes I have been involved in loud music for much of my teen and adult life, I was in a band for a few years and didn’t wear ear protection and I now DJ which involves headphones at high volumes.

I suspect this has not much to do with my low hum tinnitus, as that feels very much related to a blocked ear and my jaw clicks and it constantly feels like I need to unblock my ear. I do have a high pitch tinnitus too but it’s not that bad yet and only comes on sporadically.

I struggle additionally with hearing people talk in loud environments, or mishear people quite a lot. If loud music is playing (at a club, gig etc) then I have a weird distortion of sound and vocals seem weirdly pitched up or muffled.

Thanks,
H

 

Hey. It's true that low-frequency hearing loss would usually take a long time and you'd notice loss in the high frequencies first. So you're right it may not be due to that but until we have answers it's best to be safe. I see nearly all people with a low hum have other tinnitus - that correlation isn't the best sign although the fact it started for you when doing the COVID-19 test is some interesting information.

As you've probably read the hum goes away for some people at least intermittently. So that's a good thing. However, one of the key theories I'm investigating still relates to permanent damage, so it wouldn't hurt to treat your ears respectfully in the intermediate future.

You may be overthinking the "struggling with hearing people in loud environments." That's common for anyone in loud environments. I went through that phase thinking too much about it when I was younger, got my ears checked and everything was fine and never thought about it again for the next 15 years. That thought usually occurs when you catch yourself saying 'what' a few too many times but it's usually just a coincidence.

However,

1. You should get a hearing test for the sake of having it on record and to be safe. You can get this from an audiologist. As well as making sure your ears are/aren't blocked from earwax, like you suggested above.

2. You should also get molded musician's earplugs, ideally above 20 dB reduction. It's very easy to get used to and very smart. Promise me this. Also keep your headphones down, only loud enough to only JUST be able to mix.

Regardless of if the hum is related to this or not, if you don't do this, the high pitch tinnitus will get worse along with damage. Trust me, you'll thank yourself in the future. I DJ/do music and I had a bout of hyperacusis (sensitivity) at age 21, I wore earplugs in loud places ever since and it was fine. I protected one ear more than the other and it worked, however I can now see the damage on my headphone that I didn't protect as often. Lots of friends have mentioned the headphone ear being the first to show signs so always check to see how low you can mix with it.

I'm not trying to scare you, it's more so that you never know how long your career in music may be and, if you want it to be a long time, it's best to be safe starting now rather than having issues midway into your career. Without hearing protection you could expect a 25 dB dip at 4-6 kHz within 10-12 years of starting. Everyone is different, but there's only so much ears can handle. Again, you can prevent most of this damage easily and enjoy your career.

As another warning, the effects of loud noise can also show up many years later even once the loud noise exposure has stopped. We have too much life left to take risks like that. Again, it's been super easy for me to wear earplugs ever since, so don't be turned off by the first few times if you find them annoying.

Get that blocked feeling sorted, you may find that it's not a simple explanation - many of us get this 'fullness' sensation from acoustic trauma so it's best to look into that and get the likely things like 'earwax' out the way.

Clicking and tense jaw are also super common without any hum so it's hard to say that the hum relates to things like that. Better to be safe than sorry - we'll keep digging to find a cause and hopefully in the meantime it sorts itself out and you walk away from this experience with some safe habits for the future.

 

Thanks for the advice... I know I need to protect my ears and it’s definitely best to start sooner rather than later. I’ll follow up with my GP’s advice and when I get seen by the specialists.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and for the very insightful information

Thanks,
H

 

You're 21, apparently already dealing with tinnitus, but still being a DJ (meaning loud environments, headphones, etc.)

Be extremely careful with your choices

Former semi-pro musician speaking. Tinnitus can get loud. Really loud.

 

I know, I get it and it is silly to keep going but it’s hard to give up a hobby just like that when you really enjoy it.

I’m convinced my low hum is an issue with clenching my jaw and not high volumes otherwise I’d have stopped it. My high pitched ring is not frequent and manageable at the moment.

 

Yup, just hope you won't be coming back around here in a few years realizing it was maybe a warning from your hearing you should've listened to

 

Hey,

I would love to know more about your story. How hard did you go, did you ever use hearing protection and did your tinnitus increase slowly or suddenly?

Any other symptoms?

I’m a pro musician too and some issues are starting to show. I prefer creating in studio so I’m trying to work out how long I should be in the live game.

 

I always used high quality hearing protection while playing live. I would mostly play acoustic/folk/songwriting stuff on stage, so not really having to deal with drums, etc. BUT I did all the recording/mixing/mastering myself when I would record albums, so I spent a lot of time with headphones on.

End of the day, I moved from mild tinnitus to multiple/unmaskable tones + hyperacusis and hearing distortions.

No other symptoms, but I'm done with music for the rest of my life It's just how it is, I've learnt to live with it (which is easier than living with hardcore hearing issues tbh).

 

Exactly, sometimes we can say 'ok we did that, time to move on to something else.' I wasn't super worried about mild hyperacusis because I've had it before and it went away, but as the other symptoms started to show up, I've been questioning things. Crazy to hear you used earplugs all that time too. Do you mind if i ask how old you are?

I'm at the stage where I want to avoid ruining studio life (quiet creation at speakers) and can feel it teetering on the edge with hyperacusis, low hum, and occasional low level distortions.

Did the multiple tones come after you quit music or while you were still pushing it? And did the distortions tie in with hyperacusis? Has either of those improved for you, and over how long?

As my hyperacusis got worse, it coincided with mild distortions, but I've seen people heal from both those before.

 

I'm 34

Multiple tones came after I quit music and yes, the distortions are linked with my TTTS and Hyperacusis joining the party. Back when I was pushing it, I mainly had one mild tinnitus frequency in my left ear.

I've now got 10-ish different sounds (that I handle fine emotionnally speaking) + hyperacusis/TTTS/reactive-distorted hearing (which is harder to deal with).

Nothing has improved so far, it's actually getting worse years after years I stopped hoping for it to get better anyway, as I tried so many things to help my ears "heal", but nothing worked.

 

Ahh man, sorry to hear. That's a shame things got worse after quitting. I've been handling this stuff emotionally pretty well as well but it's hard to gauge the long term when I read stories like this. I'm mid 30's too, I know quite a few people with 25 dB dips and none of these other symptoms.

Did you try hearing aids at all? Sounds crazy for someone young to use but maybe there's a chance they help.

 

Oh yeah, I used hearing aids when I started investigating what could possibly go wrong with my hearing. Obviously, I've got a good old 30-35 dB dip in both ears, as many musicians do, but while hearing aids would help back in the days when I would only have one pure tone frequency, I can't bear them anymore now because of hyperacusis and hearing distortions and all the mess that's happening in my ears haha.

I'm still shocked though by how it got so much worse over the years. I've had an MRI, complete blood tests, and there's not much going really bad with my body except for high family cholesterolemia. (I'm thin though, and I eat healthy). Cholesterol in itself cannot explain why I've developed 10-ish tones, TTTS and hyperacusis. So yeah...

Good thing is I work in a very quiet environment, that my young daughter has learnt that yelling and speaking loud is not an option when I'm around, that my wife is very understanding of this handicap and that I have other passions that I can still do (board games, RPGs, video games, etc.)

Still, my life has changed A LOT as I cannot even drive more than 30 minutes straight (even with hearing protection) or I get a new permanent tone and hyperacusis aggravation. I feel a bit sad about it, because I cannot take my family on holidays, cannot do any outdoor activity anymore, but my wife takes care of it so that my daughter is not always staying home.

Strange life for sure, but I feel happy to be surrounded by love.