Tinnitus and Hyperacusis from Deadlifting: New to All This

Hello,

I am very new to all of this and pretty frustrated. Any help is very appreciated. I don't mind research and reading but honestly not sure where to start.

In March I was deadlifting and holding breath when my left ear felt like it plugged. The ear fullness remained and after a week I managed to get into an ENT before the COVID-19 shutdowns. He thought perhaps nerve damage and put me on prednisone which did nothing and put in for an MRI which I cant get yet due to COVID-19.

Fast forward 4 months and here is where I am.
I have some high frequency hearing loss in my left ear.
I have mild to medium tinnitus in my left ear.
I have sensitivity of sound in my left ear (which I understand is called hyperacusis)
The above give be occasional ear fullness feeling and most impactful I have what feels life sinus pressure ranging from light to high across my sinus area (think about the feeling after squinting for a long time). It does seem considerably better or worse depending on mood, stress and level of distraction.

I last week saw a specialist in Mississauga ON, CA called Metro Hearing & Tinnitus Treatment Clinic (https://metro-hearing-tinnitus.com). Though their materials seems a bit shoddy, their information made sense and they proposed a treatment where I would wear devices in both ears for two years, sound machine at night and CBT therapy. All that treatment, was $3,400. Only the CBT portion would I have any insurance coverage for.

I am feeling desperate and despite a few concerns I am feeling willing to roll the dice if it has any chance of helping the sinus and head pressure by reducing the hyperacusis.

I am very appreciative to any direction or assistance anyone can provide. These past 4 months in COVID-19 isolation has made this far worse and feeling pretty helpless.

Thank you all in advance.

 

First time I have heard someone suffer ear damage from deadlifting though I can see why it happened as you are putting pressure on ears when lifting. I personally think you may need to just rest your ears from all sounds and not lift. It's vital the ears are protected in the early months. There are no guarantees that the treatment will work though it has mixed reviews. There are some others on this forum that can advise on when to get TRT.

 

Hi Greg, I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately I am in a similar boat. I also visited the metro clinic for their assessment. For the same treatment as yours I was quoted at $5000. Did you end up takin their treatment? If so, was it helpful? Thank you.

 

Yeah. Never.

 

@Brian Newman, sound familiar?

 

I think you should see an ENT and ask about a bloodpatch. Also get your spine and neck aligned up.

Deadlifting seems to make dead ears as well as gains. Reasons are pressure or pinching related.

Be sure your losses match air bone gaps.

I have some experience with this but basically just getting worse distortions when exercising.

 

I wonder how this guy's doing. Shit he has not been on in a year, I want to know if he found out what it was.

 

Do you have trigeminal nerve, jaw, neck or shoulder issues as well?

My ear problems started the same time as when I started lifting weights. I believe I had bad posture and misalignments in my neck/back/hips that have basically caused pressure on the ear nerve and Eustachian tubes… I have yet to figure out how to fix the issue but hyperacusis can often be related/exasperated by neck/TMJ issues. There is medical journal on this forum that backs this up.

 

I have been seeing a chiropractor as I have been getting tension headaches due to hyperacusis. He found some tightness and knots on the right side of my neck. It is a long shot but hoping it can reduce the hyperacusis. I do think that, for some, fixing the neck may alleviate some of the impact of hyperacusis. Anyway, worth a try.

 

As some of you know I have tinnitus and pain hyperacusis. I have been in treatment at the Metro Tinnitus & Hyperacusis clinic in Mississauga for the past three and a half months (will be for two years) after being assessed as "catastrophic."

The ear pieces I wear dampen sounds while still emitting low level sound (currently I can't hear it).

The ear pieces are adjusted every time I go.

Is it helping?

I think so. When I wear them, I do not have the strong pain I had before. I still experience some, but it is nowhere as bad as it was.

If I don't put them in first thing in the morning, I have stronger pain and it will last all day.

The tinnitus also seems to have quieted down. Some days when it is very low, it's almost like it's hardly there.

(I still get days though where it can be loud).

I know TRT is a debate on this forum. Some people believe it works, some people don't.

Right now it's still too early for me to form an opinion. It has given me some hope (he's the only one who understands what I am going through, he said he has been doing this for 30 years, many years here and previously in the UK). So... at this time I am cautiously optimistic.

Time will tell.

Everyone has to make their own decision whether to pursue TRT.

 

Yes I am at the breaking point, either I’m gonna get a blood patch, oval window reinforcement, or do TRT. I suspect a fistula and everybody here tells me I have one but doctors don’t. I gotta do something because I am going batshit insane with this hyperacusis. I have been dealing with it all my adult life and now it’s catastrophic like yours.

 

Thanks for posting this Linda and glad you are feeling better. I hope you continue to improve with no bound in sight.

 

Good luck Brian. I’m so sorry you’re going through this during your adolescent period. I hope you find solace soon.

 

Fuck TRT.

I listen to white noise every day to stay sane... ISH....

It's been 8 months, I'm not any better.

 

Thanks man.

 

It’s going to be that or oval window reinforcement, I’m done living my life with 30-40 LDLs lmao. Shit is ridiculous, I hate it, and I know my head problems are causing something in my ears. Too damn confusing.

 

Why not give Cyclobenzaprine a try?

Risk level is no more than benzos if not less (it's Amitriptyline minus a double bond).

If the ear pain is related to spasms of the middle ear muscle it might be causing contractions at volumes it shouldn't be.

I'm doing a 2nd trial of it this week.

 

Let me know how it goes. I have been doing serious thinking, and ever since I moved houses a few years ago my room always gave me major headaches. I always put on an air purifier and would be fine for a while. The headaches started to get back last year when I was home a lot cause of COVID-19, then I magically get worse ear problems at the end of the year.

I might not have a fistula bro, I might have some kind of intracranial hypertension issue, that could explain all the headaches and weird pressure problems. I remember always having headaches in the gym last year and having more head pressure but it never affected my ears until now, that’s why I never worried about it. Gonna be going back to my parents for a while and see if I improve.

 

I'm not going to pretend to know. If you measure your hearing after exercise and you have a big 30 dB drop, you can bring THAT to an ENT. Otherwise, probably no PLF. If it were it would've healed by now or you'd be deaf.

If it's anything hypertension (from steroids perhaps), then Lasix should help (as well as hydrops). You'd know in a day or less.

Gotta keep moving, yes it's a risk but you need to start widdling down the possibilities because doctors won't help you unless they have a carrot to chase.

 

The trial on Cyclobenzaprine was done at 30 mg daily. I sure as hell couldn’t tolerate it after 2 days but it might act differently on you. If you can take it for a week at 30 mg per day (10 mg x 3 times) then that would likely give you the best/fastest results and you’ll know if it’s working for you.

 

Hi @LindaS!

I am happy to read that things seem to be going well for you at the Metro Hearing Clinic - I know you have had a rough time of it. I sincerely hope that things continue to improve and that you are getting your life back. Please let us know how it is going - I am thinking of going there myself, but not sure yet if I can afford it.

All the best!
Sarah

 

How are you doing now?

 

Any progress at all?

 

Hi @LilSass!

I'm a Mississauga resident too and my tinnitus has been getting progressively worse since it first started about 2 years ago. I was hoping that it was either going to go away or remain constant. Of course it took the wrong path and things are worse now in that my tinnitus has spread from my left ear to my right ear and it seems to last all day.

I noticed that you mentioned Metro Hearing Clinic in one of your posts and I'm considering checking them out. Did you eventually wind up going there? I believe you mentioned that their pricing might be high; do you have any details that you can share?

Thanks for any information you can pass along.