My Ear Suddenly Felt Blocked and Now My Hyperacusis and Tinnitus Are Way Worse

Hello fellow sufferers,

Unfortunately my hyperacusis and tinnitus suddenly went from good to severe (according to me) today. It has been a long time since I have had a bad period, but I have never experienced what I am at the moment.

For the last year I have been doing relatively good. I have actually been doing a lot of stuff I only could have dreamt of the year before (you can read about it in my introduction thread). I have always protected my ears when needed though! Yet here I am, with ears worse than ever before, and close to breaking down...

So today when I sat at work, my right (bad ear) suddenly felt blocked and I started reacting to every small sound. I got flex-hours so I immediately went home to rest my ears. I am wondering what the hell I am experiencing and if anyone have had the same thing happen to them.

The thing is, my right ear reacts to what my LEFT ear is hearing!? If I plug my left ear, the reactions in my right ear decreases drastically. The symptoms are pretty standard otherwise. I feel warm/swollen inside the ear, it feels blocked, and my ears react (dysacusis) to every little sound.

Weird thing is that these past weeks have been calm and my ears have not been exposed to any loud sounds at all.

What the hell am I experiencing at the moment? Could it be some hearing loss and now my brain amps up the sound? I am quite scared to be honest.

//Daystar

 

Update: The tinnitus is now at an all time high, I've never heard it this loud

I need some advice or encouraging words.

 

If it got blocked suddenly for no reason and worsened tinnitus and sensitivity followed, I'd consider a course of steroids. But at least have an audiogram and compare with your previous results.

Otherwise there's not much you can do. You've had these conditions long enough to know that all we can is wait and hope things improve. There are no good treatments.

 

Yes, it did get blocked all of a sudden. I have taken steroids before throughout my tinnitus/hyperacusis journey, I have not experienced any side effects from them either. So i might as well try.

Oh I know there isn't, but I just need to let it out, talk and get advice. I'm kind of panicking right now, that's why. Many thanks!

 

It sounds like it’s a hyperacusis spike. I get them and they go away. Including fullness. But if you’ve had actual sudden hearing loss, then go for steroids. Often with my fullness, the sensation feels like you’re going deaf but actually aren’t.

Please explain what you mean by "right ear is reacting to the left ear"? If you put an earplug in the left ear, what happens? Also, what is your version of dysacusis in this scenario? Hearing tones in your right ear as sounds enter your left ear?

 

Yes, well I am quite familiar with setbacks but this one was out of the blue, compared to the other setbacks where I kind of always have been exposed to loud sound.

And yes, exactly like you described, as I am hearing sounds with my left ear, my right ear is making all the extra tones. And if I did plug my left ear, my right would calm down. I know the ears and whole auditory system is connected so it isn't that weird, but the scenario is new to me.

Anyways, I started a course of steroids this morning just in case. As I said previously, I don't really suffer any side effects from them so I might as well try.

 

Yeh! Okay, that is interesting. I had that for a very brief period too. I wondered if it has to do with a sudden change, possible hearing loss or uneven change and the brain trying to play catch up to balance everything back out again.

 

This sounds exactly like what happened to me. I was having a shave and then all of a sudden my right ear felt blocked. The tinnitus in that ear is louder than it’s ever been and seems extremely reactive. I can even relate to what you said about the left ear.

Again, all of this came after a period of while I was doing well, so this is currently a big kick in the teeth.

Did this resolve for you?

 

Have you tried an OTC earwax remover and carefully swapped w/ a Q-Tip? What you are describing has happened to me several times over the years when a piece of earwax got loose, and my hearing in that ear went down while the tinnitus went up. It can sometimes cause the tinnitus to increase in the other ear too for some odd reason.

I use a product that's liquid and comes in a small bottle like eye drops. Before using it though I fill a small hypo w/ hydrogen peroxide, lie down w/ my head on a pillow and let that flow into one ear. You can usually hear a sort of bubbling sound, but if not it doesn't mean anything. After about 4-5 minutes I do the same thing w/ the other ear. I get up and go about my business and usually after a few minutes both ears will let the peroxide drain out. Then I lie down and do exactly the same protocol w/ the earwax remover fluid. It doesn't seem to matter which protocol you do first.

Then I'm back up and leave things alone as the earwax fluid drains. The last thing I do is CAREFULLY take a Q-Tip and clean the ears sort of at an angle to avoid possibly pushing any earwax back in the ear canal. This either lowers my tinnitus afterwards right then or after a few days. If not, I do it again. So far it has worked to one degree or another. But even a small amount of improvement really helps. Some people use one of those bulb shaped things to flush their ears out w/ warm water, but it has never worked for me.