Low-Pitch Tone in Right Ear When I talk, Hear Any Sound, Bend Over, BUT Goes Away When I Plug My Ear

A small introduction...

On December 4th, 2016, my ears were perfectly fine. I had extremely mild tinnitus only noticeable in extreme quiet, only when I tried to focus on it. Turns out they were full of wax. So I thought, well, it would be very hygienic to get them cleaned out, right? So I went in and got them syringed.

Biggest mistake of my life.

The doc seemed rushed, used too much water pressure, cold water, it was the loudest and most painful experience I've ever had. Now I have severe fleeting 24/7 tinnitus, rumbling in both ears, hyperacusis, a fullness in my "good" ear, which renders it not good any more as it ruins it's high frequency.

Anyway.

I also have a strange type of tinnitus that I described in the title, which I'm wondering if anyone else has. It's weird. It's in my right ear, a low pitch at around 385Hz, it's worst when I'm in bed and I hear a plane/helicopter/large vehicle drive by. If I bend over, I hear it. BUT - if I plug my ear with my finger, the tone goes away. How is that possible? Doesn't that mean that I'm hearing an external sound? But it's an internal sine wave. It makes no sense.

 

it sounds like what I generally categorize under hearing distortion, i have several of them. frequencies in sound which show up as T like tones instead of the actual sounds. very upsetting. I theorize that it's caused by partial haircell/synaptic damage, and that with further degrading, these distortions can become constant tones (I have read of others who had similar conditions, and this did in fact happen with them, the tones started out as distortions, or intermittent, and became permanent). I haven't had that happen yet though, instead i had massive low frequency loss.

 

It went away for me. I had a mild/moderate case, and it slowly got better over the course of 3-4 months. @SilverSpiral if you search the forum you'll find threads about this, and it does go away for a lot of people! Your distortions seem to be quite severe (?), so my guess is that it will take more time for your symptoms to go away.

 

I had it with white noise sources (fridge running, rain sounds, traffic, shower etc).

 

Yes exactly, the white noise sources show up the distortions so clearly and make trying masking the constant tones pointless. I'm glad yours has gone away. I tried loads of supplements and avoid sound. I have had mine over a year, and now recently SSNHL...

 

My 2 cents - don't avoid sounds. That's how I got better. I really hope you'll see some improvements soon!

 

I meant avoid excessive noise that could worsen my condition physically. I must admit I do avoid sound generally because of my conditions, especially since I don't enjoy music anymore, but as far as "sound enrichment" I live near constant traffic, so there is constant ambient noise, as well as the fridge, and sharing a 1 bedroom apartment with another person and them watching tv etc. Not to mention there is no soundproofing so I hear noise from several neighbouring units. I have many sources of safe noise throughout the day which I can hear the distortions over/in and annoy me. In fact silence (environmental silence, as we with T never have silence anymore) is not even achievable in anywhere my living environment.

 

May I ask how old you are? Also do you have any other medical underlying conditions that may contribute to your symptoms? I understand your frustation, but give it some more time. Improvements will come.

 

Adult 25-30. besides acoustic trauma over a year ago and SSHNL this month, if by underlying medical issue, you may mean Autism and related stuff probably makes me suffer from my hearing problems a lot more, but I see lots of non-autists with mild T come on here suicidal so who knows. It definitely compounds though, like the H you develop after an acoustic trauma, is different from the "H" you have from normal autism. In my experience at least, one is an innate sensitivity, the other is an injury. It's like before (using sight instead of sound as an example) you were very sensitive to colors, and could be overwhelmed/bothered by certain colors/patterns, but because of this perception, paintings/colours that were good were your favourite thing, but now since an eye injury, colors actually physically hurt your eyes, so you are no longer able to enjoy even the good combinations/shades of them. Yes you were sensitive to colours before, but they didn't physically bother your eyes, the input from your eyes bothered your brain, but now your eyes are actually messed up! You could also extend this comparison to the distortions by saying you now see colours improperly, everything that has a tint of red is now converted into a piercing colour that distracts from those around it. It's like that except for your ears/hearing.

Hope @LowHumPulse is getting something out of this discussion.

 

For me, what you hear in the video went away (it's still like 5% kinda there) and it changed itself into a low hum pulse whenever a vehicle goes by, or whenever I talk. So it's extremely reactive, but to lower sounds. I'm hoping this will also go away. I'm 4 months in. I will definitely update with any...... updates.

 

@Flamingo, could you please describe the period of time over which it got better for you? Also, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?

I've been dealing with something similar. In my case, I currently hear a dial-up modem-like noise whenever I'm around white noise, most notably road noise/car engine on the highway, but also the kettle, shower, and toilet flush. The noise goes away as soon as the external sound stops (which is why I don't think it's reactive T, but rather a kind of hearing distortion). After my noise exposure, this noise was a ringing (very similar to T) at first, then it changed to a whistling, and now the modem-like noise. What concerns me is that it doesn't really seem to be any quieter.

 

Yes, I would also describe it as a sound distortion and for me it began 2 weeks after my noise induced onset. It started notice improvements about 2-3 months in, until it gradually went away about 4 months in.

 

Thanks @Flamingo. Was the distorted sound consistent throughout this time? Or did it change similar to mine? I'm currently just more than three months after my initial exposure and a little worried that it doesn't seem to be improving for me.

 

Sometimes I thought it was getting better, and then it got slightly worse again. But I would describe it as a two step forward one step back kind of process. It slowly improved until it was gone. I think it is common with noise induced T. It will go away, but you shouldn't compare yourself with others. Some people take longer time to heal but I also take a shit load of supplements so I don't know if that has helped me.

 

And oh, I'm in my mid twenties.

 

What supplements? any of the ones commonly mentioned around here? Any you think may have helped specifically? I've tried Coq10, astaxanthin, ginkgo biloba, magnesium, msm, zinc, krill oil, NAC.

 

I take b12, b6, vitamin C, vitamin E, omega 3, vitamin D3 and magnesium (good quality vitamins).

 

In my opinion you need to stick to your supplements. Some people try a supplement during 1 week and then stop because "it didn't work"... it takes time.

 

What dosage D3, E, and magnesium? Vitamin E is one of the few vitamins I have reservations about supplementing.

Yes, supplementation takes longer than a week. However at the same time "give it at least 3 months to work" is a commonly recycled mantra in the supplement industry. There is no one size fits all approach to supplementation. The lowest period of time I tried any of those supplements is 2 months. Most I tried for 3-4 months. Still taking all them, but out of astaxanthin currently.

also C, b complex, and Tulsi.

 

D3 5000 ug a day. E and magnesium one pill a day (recomended dosage) @SilverSpiral

 

Thanks for all the info @Flamingo. We're similar ages (I'm 27) so I hope that I'll also recover eventually. I have one more question. Did you avoid the kind of sounds that cause this distortion? So far I've been trying not to drive on the highway too much, because that's when the distortion is worst. I don't know if this is the right approach, or if I should expose myself to these noises as much as possible so that my brain/ears can readjust to them. Any thoughts?

 

In my opinion you should expose yourself to these sounds. You're ears will figure it out eventually @Casper

 

Maybe don't drive for hours and hours. Do what feels right. I don't drive myself, so it hasn't been a problem for me @Casper