Sudden Muffled Hearing & Loud Tinnitus in One Ear

I am confused / on edge right now because I don’t really know what’s going on. This happened at 11 pm last night and is still ongoing.

Long story short, I was lying in bed on my right side when I suddenly felt a pressure/weird (fullness) sensation in my left ear. At the same time my tinnitus in my left ear got significantly louder as if I had ear plugs in. I thought it was one of those intense fleeting tinnitus moments that we all get. I sat up and my left ear felt blocked (near my ear drum if that makes sense) with this pressure/weird feeling. My hearing is also noticeably muffled compared to my right ear. There was no loud noise that occurred when this happened. I went to sleep and woke up to the fullness/muffled and tinnitus even worse.

I tried to move my Eustachian tubes by swallowing, but it didn’t seem to help. I tried drinking water/eating too, but nothing happened. Sometimes when I yawn or blow my nose (even though I have no congestion) it feels as though the pressure feeling changes slightly. The tubes in my left ear also sound a lot louder than my right when I swallow.

The next morning it was still there, but as the day goes on it seems to be getting better. I have never had a fleeting tinnitus episode last this long. I went to my ENT and he said everything looked fine. There didn’t seem to be any infection or fluid in my ear. He suggested an MRI, which I am probably going to pass on. He also suggested a hearing test the next day to see if there is any issue and to rule out SSHR.

Anyone else experience something strange like this? @coffee_girl made a post about something similar happening and it took her two days to get back to normal.

Some miscellaneous other information, that may or may not apply:

- Prior to this my tinnitus was my normal sound and level. I did have a fleeting tinnitus moment in that ear earlier that day but it went away as usual.

- Yesterday I had a bad migraine and felt a little dizzy so I took one 500 mg of extra strength Tylenol. After a little the migraine went away. In the past Tylenol has caused no issue at this dose.

- I don’t think this would apply, but the day before it happened I accidentally walked along the edge of a lawn that was sprayed with pesticide. Upon realizing I washed up at home. I know pesticides can be absorbed through the skin, but I don’t know if it would effect tinnitus.

 

I had something similar happen and took Prednisone that day and the new tone is now a 1/10 (vs the old tones which are mostly the same) from about an 8/10. I have no idea if it would have gotten better on its own but it seemed to help very quickly.

 

I discussed it with my doctor and he said that he would only give it to me if there was a significant auditory shift in my hearing test, which he doubts there would be since I mentioned it was slowly getting better.

Did you have it on hand or did you go in and get some?

Thanks for chiming in!

 

Here is the @coffee_girl post in case anyone was wondering.

 

I *always* keep prednisone on hand because of how hesitant ENTs are to prescribe it. It may not work but the benefit/cost of trying is favorable imo.

 

There’s a good chance that this could be a buildup of fluid behind your eardrum. I’ve had it happen a few times, but I’ve got bad allergies. Anyway, it’s got all the hallmarks of being that but it needs to be assessed. When it happens to me I have sudden fleeting tinnitus and then dulled hearing in the affected ear. If your Eustachian tube won’t open to neutralise the pressure, then it gives further weight to it being fluid trapped in your middle ear.

 

When the doctor looked he said there was no fluid, but I also don't fully believe it has nothing to do with my eustachian tubes.

 

Just had a phone appointment with an ENT doctor. Despite the fullness muffled sensation he told me I don’t have ETD. I’m not convinced.

 

It’s funny that doctors are making diagnoses over the phone without ever seeing the patient for something they already know so little about. Hang in there Mike, most of these ENTs are not going to be the answer to our problems. Are you still having pressure and fullness? I though that was resolved with the saline rinse?

If you feel like you are getting a little more desperate for a resolution there are other things you can try. I have spoken to a doctor/researcher who doesn’t primarily deal with tinnitus but has come across it a lot in his studies. Here are a few things he said might help:

- ow dose naltrexone (LDN)
- ketamine therapy (fully legal in ON)
- psilocybin microdosing/full dosing
- phase shift sound therapy
- vitamin deficiency testing (if you don’t know why you have tinnitus)
- fasting to induce autophagy (not intermittent, but IF can be done as well)

The last one seems to be a touchy subject on here since it’s promoted by people like Liam B. He said it absolutely works though it may not work for everyone and not all types of tinnitus. They have seen pretty miraculous recoveries of diseases using fasting and some of these other treatments, not just for tinnitus. We talked about several other therapies but these were the ones that stuck in my mind.

Also, I have spoken to a neurologist in Tulsa who claims he has treated about 10 patients with a neuropathy device. I made a thread about it here but for whatever reason, I haven’t gotten a single response on it. If it weren’t for COVID-19, I would be there tomorrow but crossing the border and quarantining both ways isn’t in the cards right now.

 

@Lukee thanks for all the ideas. I was pretty bummed out after I spoke to the ENT.

I had the fullness muffled sensation last evening but without the mild headache. It's completely gone this morning.

I started drinking Chamomile tea to help with the anxiety. I'm wondering
if I'm having a mild allergy reaction to it. I just read it is in the Ragweed family and I'm allergic to Ragweed.

I accidentally had some peanut butter many months back, which I'm also allergic to, and recall a very similar sensation.

I'm drinking green tea on the porch outside this morning . I'm still really experimenting with everything. Thinking I may even try fasting after something I read this morning but not sure I could do it.

I should probably be keeping a journal of everything. I wonder if there is such a thing as CBD tea.

How are you making out?

 

@Lukee, good morning, Looks like another beautiful day with a high of 15 C.

Now I’m wondering if my wood stove might be a factor. Sunday was so nice I let the fire go out and had my doors and windows open all day.

When I lay down last night I had major sinus drip, actually more like a constant stream down the back of by throat. This lasted for about 45 minutes and still a tiny bit this morning. Ears still screaming but I don’t think as bad as they usually are in the morning.

Wood stoves really dry the air out and I’m now doing a little research on that. Seems they can really dry out your sinuses and cause problems for some people.

Viruses spread more easily as they are able to stay suspended in the dry air longer. As I am understanding it dry sinuses allow any virus to pass right through. The moisture in your sinuses is able to trap bad stuff acting like a filter.

I’m hopeful. I hope the nice weather is helping you as well.

 

Yes i have had severe tinnitus for about 2 years after using saws without hearing protection. Sometimes i will have that same thing happen 2 or 3 times a week. Its very scary and makes me nervous that it can get that worse permanently... Infact i just got a spike as im typing this... Want to cry

 

I would say that the dry air and ragweed might be making the tinnitus and maybe fullness worse. I see a lot of people complaining of worse tinnitus during the spring season so maybe adding a dehumidifier might help a bit as well as some allergy meds.

I’m much better on the fullness and even headaches are a touch better now but my ears were screaming the last 3 days. Last night was terrible and I felt like I was back to the first two weeks when I couldn’t sleep and anxiety was eating me up. Feel a little better today and I work in fairly noisy environment so it helps mask it throughout the day. Have you ever tried some steroids for your tinnitus? Maybe you have some inflammation that needs to be taken care of.

Hope you’re doing better either way.

 

Glad to hear you are feeling better Lukee.

I can’t figure it out. Up and down like a yoyo. Yesterday was great. Not much of a fire in the woodstove last night because it was warm but today tinnitus volume up again.

I had a bit of ache in my left ear for a few hours today as well.

What kind of steroid would one take to reduce inflammation? I’ll have to do some reading up on that. Is Prednisone a steroid? GP prescribed me something she felt was safer or better but I wanted to wait and see the ENT before I picked it up.

I’ve heard so much about ototoxic drugs now that I’m afraid to try anything else.

 

I forgot to provide an update to this. After about 24 hours and a good night's sleep everything returned to baseline. It slowly reduced over the 24 hours. Very scary and intense though.

 

That is great Jack. Did you feel any drainage down the back of your throat as it was clearing up?

 

Yes, Prednisone is a steroid and commonly discussed here as a treatment to help but generally in the first couple weeks of onset. It maybe wouldn’t hurt to try an anti-inflammatory protocol of some sort and see if that helps... things like turmeric, diet, exercise, fasting might help. @engineerLA has a whole thread where he forced saline into his ETs and cured his tinnitus but prior to doing that he has 6 or 7 different things he was doing in conjunction to reduce inflammation.

Here Is How I Solved My Tinnitus — New Protocols and Supplements To Try