What Is Causing This Sound?

Hey Dr. Nagler,

I desperately need some advice. Here's where I'm at right now.

I've been through a lot the past year, a lot that's toughened me up and has taught me to give stuff time. Saying that, as scared as I am right now, I know stuff takes time and not to obsess over something. But this is totally different.

As you know I shot a .38 special handgun twice, which caused ringing in my ears that stopped after a few seconds. But ever since then my hearing has been off. My tinnitus was hissing loud and ringing for about 2 weeks. Then I began to get the morse code sound in my left ear along with the others. I have no idea why it started almost 2 weeks after, but it did.

Here's what I'd like to hear your take on. I keep hearing this crazy feedback morse code sound with everything that enters my ears. I was just at a friends house playing Foosball. We were playing music on the radio and having a good time. I had cotton balls in my ears to keep sharp sounds out and for the safety of my hearing. The entire time I kept hearing this crazy feedback sound from the music that was coming from my ears. The music sounded distorted, really badly, and off because of that. And it sounds the same when the cotton balls are out. When I walk away from the music, say I go outside where it's quiet, I don't notice the loud feedback/distorted sound but I still can hear that little morse code beeping/whistling in my left ear somewhat.

When the bathroom fan is on, or the toilet is flushing/filling up, it causes that morse code sound to really act up and get louder but in different tones. So you see, everything I hear creates a different morse code/feedback/whistling sound. Today is was similar to a shovel being dragged across concrete. Or a buzz saw cutting through wood.

It's not like the pure hissing/ringing tone. It's super fast. Off and on with different sounds that enter my ears. What causes that? Have I done serious damage to my ears and this is what I'll have to hear for the rest of my life? Is there any chance that my hearing is just extremely sensitive right now? Have you ever heard of anything like this? I truly truly hope that this gets better. This is so awful to listen to.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and to offer me some help. This is all I've got until I get an MRI done next week and see another ENT.

 

Hi @kevin89carolina -

Very difficult to give you any sort of definitive answer long distance. My hunch - strictly a hunch - is that your "Morse code" phenomenon might be related to tensor tympani spasm or stapedius muscle spasm, neither of which is tinnitus. I do not think it is indicative of further auditory damage. Your best bet would to describe your Morse code symptoms in detail to Dr. Levy and get his take on it after he evaluates you thoroughly. If he himself does not have the necessary expertise, I am sure that he will know somebody who does.

Dr. Stephen Nagler