Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, or Hyperacusis from Smoking Weed?

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself' started by leftearguy, Apr 15, 2020.

    1. leftearguy

      leftearguy Member

      Tinnitus Since:
      04/10/20
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Weed, Hidden Hearing Loss
      Has anyone ever heard of weed causing hearing loss, tinnitus, or hyperacusis? At 4am about a week ago I smoked a lot of weed at once and probably just a couple minutes later I heard a loud ringing in my left ear. It definitely freaked me out but I'm not sure I consciously noticed it at first. This is gonna sound weird but I really think I was basically hallucinating crashes and explosions in my left ear and I was just looking at my phone and didn't even consciously realize until after I got off my phone and relaxed a little. I really barely remember what happened, but I remember the noise being there for at least some of the rest of the night.

      But anyway, the next morning I hear and feel air fizzing through my left ear and I'm already scared. It wasn't even that perceptible of a sound, but even when I didn't hear anything, I could feel something in my brain and in my left ear that was always going and bothering me. I soon realized that whenever I'm listening to white noise, like a faucet running, a fan, the fridge going, I hear this whistling noise over the exact sound that gets louder with the volume of the object. I can even hear it coming from the direction that the sound is coming from. Sometimes I can make it go away for a little while, even for several minutes a couple of times. But even when I can't hear the noise, I feel like it's probably still playing there in background, and that really scares me.

      If I'm somewhere like in the shower, it seems impossible to not be bothered by the water now. I can't tell if I'm just more sensitive to harsh noises now, if it's just the ringing playing very subtly in the background, keeping my brain alert. I was listening for it in the shower, and after a couple seconds I couldn't hear it but again, I could feel it vibrating in my head. I could turn it on and off but I have to really concentrate to do that. It got louder and louder until it was playing fully over the water running.

      Is this basically just hyperacusis? Or true adaptive tinnitus? The part that scares me is that I think I may have mild, maybe hidden hearing loss in my left ear. People's voices seem to sound a bit muffled, it doesn't seem like I can hear a video quite as well if there's a fan or something going near me. I can't tell if that's really hearing loss or just the ringing playing over it, or both. If I plug my right ear, it definitely seems like my left ear hears worse, and the tone will come to the forefront, over whatever sound is in the background. I feel like my hearing may have always been worse in my left ear though, with very mild tinnitus that only annoyed me when I lay down to sleep. There's definitely this buzzing sound that seems to be mostly in my left ear for quite a while that sounds different when I move my head around, but it's never bothered me. I've noticed now that even keeping my eyes closed will produce this weird faint static tone. I must be really sensitive to noises in my brain and body now. Maybe I have heard somewhat of a high pitched whine over different household appliances? I'm pretty sure I used to think it was the pipes in the shower, or the electricity in the refrigerator. I can't tell if I'm making that up or not. It's definitely louder or at least more noticeable now though, I've never had as much of a problem with listening to music or talking to people. I've noticed myself feeling the need to practically shout when I speak now.

      I've written a lot here, but my main point is that I'm scared that I damaged my cochleas nerve cells when I got really high that night. Something just feels off with my hearing, and even when the tone is silent, it always seems like its there in the background, paralyzing me. I'm really hoping that it's just my neurons being overactive and that'll calm down soon. I'm definitely going to call the ENT tomorrow to get my left ear checked. I think my left ear has felt a bit odd for a while now. I think it feels hot sometimes, itchy, like it almost hurts when I plug it? As opposed to my right ear which always feels more comfortable. Could that be a sign of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, or some kind of fluid or earwax buildup? The way it physically feels is fairly mild though so I don't know if there's any physical issues, but I can definitely usually feel a bit of pressure there as opposed to the other ear. It's weird but I guess I'm "hoping" that it's a physical issue that could possibly be resolved as opposed to the nerve or hair cells in my ear being damaged forever right?

      Thanks for reading this long of a post. I've been practically stunned the last few days since I got this, and just lurking these forums has been really helpful. Lots of good info, support, and people here! I guess I'm just laying out the facts here and seeing what people think. I'll definitely be watching this thread and following up with any replies. Thanks.
       
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