Sudden Impact: Buzzing and Fullness in the Ear

[Bob Impact]

Dr Steve,

About 1 1/2 - 2 months ago I started to notice a clogged feeling in my left ear, like I was underwater. After about a week I went to the doctor, had my ears flushed and was told that should resolve the situation. Two days later I had the same clogged feeling come back, and slowly get worse. After about 2 more weeks (busy schedule) I was able to get back to the doctor, who then stated that I had a Collapsed Eustation tube, and to take OTC decongestants for a week, which "should" handle it. For the past two weeks the clogged feeling has been getting worse and i've developed an extraordinarily loud buzzing. It's not exactly like when you get ear ringing after loud noise, as I can also occasionally hear a crackling noise any time my ear "moves". I finally got an appointment with an ENT doctor for next week, but my big question is, how long until i'm deaf?

[Bob Impact]

Dr Steve,

About 1 1/2 - 2 months ago I started to notice a clogged feeling in my left ear, like I was underwater. After about a week I went to the doctor, had my ears flushed and was told that should resolve the situation. Two days later I had the same clogged feeling come back, and slowly get worse. After about 2 more weeks (busy schedule) I was able to get back to the doctor, who then stated that I had a Collapsed Eustation tube, and to take OTC decongestants for a week, which "should" handle it. For the past two weeks the clogged feeling has been getting worse and i've developed an extraordinarily loud buzzing. It's not exactly like when you get ear ringing after loud noise, as I can also occasionally hear a crackling noise any time my ear "moves". I finally got an appointment with an ENT doctor for next week, but my big question is, how long until i'm deaf?
To update this, I just got back from the ENT doctor and this is what I was told:
My left ear physically looks OK, they did a pressure test and everything responded normally, but my hearing is "greatly" diminished for low and high frequencies, along with the Tinnitus in that ear. They ordered up a group of tests for Friday to test the auditory nerve and my brain stem, so the answer to my previous question appears to be "not very"

[Dr Steve]

To update this, I just got back from the ENT doctor and this is what I was told:
My left ear physically looks OK, they did a pressure test and everything responded normally, but my hearing is "greatly" diminished for low and high frequencies, along with the Tinnitus in that ear. They ordered up a group of tests for Friday to test the auditory nerve and my brain stem, so the answer to my previous question appears to be "not very"

Bob:


sorry for the delay in my response to you. I would have wasted time having you work on equalizing the pressure in your ear had I seen your original post, so perhaps it was for the best.

To review, you have a fullness in one ear, with a buzzing sound (tinnitus), and decreased hearing in that ear.

Ok, this is just a shot in the dark, but there is this thing called Meniere's disease, and the symptoms include fullness, tinnitus, and hearing loss, generally in one ear. It's caused by an increase in the fluid volume of the inner ear. The one symptom you didn't mention, however, was vertigo (room spinning)...most but not all meniere's patients have this symptom as well.

If you do have meniere's disease, know you are in good company. Alan Shepard, the first American in space had Meniere's...it kept him from flying for many years until he was cured by some fancy schmancy surgery that allowed him to FLY TO THE MOON AND BACK. There are other things it could be, some benign, some less so, but if you have Meniere's, it's treatable through a variety of methods (one of which is simply taking a drug called HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE, which is a diuretic that costs about $4/month).

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out ok?


your friend,


Steve

[Bob Impact]

To add a weird piece to this:
1) It seems like the amount of buzzing I hear is random, sometimes it's brutally bad and all I can hear, and sometimes the buzzing is diminished but I feel like I still can't hear well out of that ear.

2) The buzzing is decidedly worse at the beginning and the end of the day. When I first wake up it's brutal, and around 3-4 pm it gets bad again, with the middle of the day being reasonably OK. It's also more of a high pitched buzz during the day, and a low pitched buzz in the morning and at night. Will this affect the tests they are doing tomorrow? They are scheduled for 1:30pm.

[Dr Steve]

To add a weird piece to this:
1) It seems like the amount of buzzing I hear is random, sometimes it's brutally bad and all I can hear, and sometimes the buzzing is diminished but I feel like I still can't hear well out of that ear.

2) The buzzing is decidedly worse at the beginning and the end of the day. When I first wake up it's brutal, and around 3-4 pm it gets bad again, with the middle of the day being reasonably OK. It's also more of a high pitched buzz during the day, and a low pitched buzz in the morning and at night. Will this affect the tests they are doing tomorrow? They are scheduled for 1:30pm.


should not affect the tests in general. just let them know where your symptoms are at the time of the test. and good luck, man. keep me/us in the loop.

[Furtherman]

If you do have meniere's disease, know you are in good company. Alan Shepard, the first American in space had Meniere's...it kept him from flying for many years until he was cured by some fancy schmancy surgery that allowed him to FLY TO THE MOON AND BACK. There are other things it could be, some benign, some less so, but if you have Meniere's, it's treatable through a variety of methods (one of which is simply taking a drug called HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE, which is a diuretic that costs about $4/month).

I'll have to mention this to my doctor because I too have the buzzing and hearing loss, but the original diagnosis was nerve damage.

I guess the best way I can describe it: when you scratch your ear, the outside of it, you can hear, as well as feel, it being scratched.

But when I scratch my left ear, I can only feel it being scratched, but I do not hear the scratching sound.

Does that (no pun intended) sound like nerve damage that cannot be fixed?

[Dr Steve]

I'll have to mention this to my doctor because I too have the buzzing and hearing loss, but the original diagnosis was nerve damage.

I guess the best way I can describe it: when you scratch your ear, the outside of it, you can hear, as well as feel, it being scratched.

But when I scratch my left ear, I can only feel it being scratched, but I do not hear the scratching sound.

Does that (no pun intended) sound like nerve damage that cannot be fixed?

if it's your left ear that has the hearing loss, that would be consistent with "nerve" hearing loss. what tests did they do to figure this out? an ear nose and throat doctor would be the place to go for this. let me know.

[Furtherman]

wait...which ear is the "bad" one...it actually makes a difference.

Left one.

I've had it checked out. A virus attacked the nerves and I've lost about 60% of hearing in that ear. I can't hear squat from that side in crowded rooms.

[Bob Impact]

Left one.

I've had it checked out. A virus attacked the nerves and I've lost about 60% of hearing in that ear. I can't hear squat from that side in crowded rooms.

What?











That's a little deaf guy humor, the rest of you wouldn't understand.

[Bob Impact]

Update:
Just got back from the ENT finally with a diagnosis: Sensorineural Healing Loss. I'm scheduled for an MRI and some blood work to try to localize the anatomical region causing it. That's next week... fun stuff.

[Dr Steve]

Update:
Just got back from the ENT finally with a diagnosis: Sensorineural Healing Loss. I'm scheduled for an MRI and some blood work to try to localize the anatomical region causing it. That's next week... fun stuff.

ok, man, keep us in the loop, and good luck!


your pal,


steve

[Bob Impact]

As a quick update, MRI got rescheduled to this coming thursday. Also I've noticed that the buzzing has subsided to a quieter hig pich ringing that is only really noticable when I'm in a quiet place. There is also a low pitched "thrumming" that is audible at all times.

Tl;dr: I can live with it this way.

[Bob Impact]

Two things on this, one to update from my BAWWing thread in that's life:
So, final update on this:
Heard from the doctor today, the final diagnosis is permanent hearing loss in the left ear caused by nerve damage. I also have mild tinnitus in that ear. The positive are that the MRIs and blood tests were normal, so there aren't any tumors or cysts. The hearing loss is apparently not treatable though they want to continue to monitor it.
To be honest, once I got over the happiness of hearing that there's nothing that needs to be removed from my brain stem it kind of sunk in that I'm never going to be able to hear correctly again. That is a very sad feeling.

Also, I want to say a quick thank you to those of you who took the time to send me a PM to commiserate, each and every message meant a whole lot to me.

Second, on a gross note I've noticed that I tend to get "pimples" inside of my ear now, and then when I have one of these the ringing gets worse (the hearing loss stays the same no matter what is going on). Any idea wtf this is? I'm hesitant to go to the doctor over it because I'm not sure it's a problem.

[Dr Steve]

Two things on this, one to update from my BAWWing thread in that's life:


Second, on a gross note I've noticed that I tend to get "pimples" inside of my ear now, and then when I have one of these the ringing gets worse (the hearing loss stays the same no matter what is going on). Any idea wtf this is? I'm hesitant to go to the doctor over it because I'm not sure it's a problem.

First, I'm sorry it wasn't something reversible (though things do progress in medicine...next year it may be), and Second, I'm really, REALLY glad the MRI was normal and you don't have something awful like an acoustic neuroma in there. That's something to be happy about.

Regarding the pimples, you got me on that one. I'd mention it to the ENT next time you see him/her, and definitely see someone if it gets worse (i.e., blocks the canal, etc...hell, go see someone way BEFORE one blocks the canal if it's going that way!)

Hang in there, and keep in touch.


your pal,



steve

[Bob Impact]

I was going to make a new thread for this but meh, screw it. First as an update, It's very hard to explain to other people but it's been incredibly difficult to adjust to living like this, it just never goes away, it's made me a much more bitter man. It's taken an huge toll on my life as well as Sarah's, the woman is a saint for dealing with the constant hum of white noise machines and having to repeat things constantly. The hearing loss has gotten worse over time but to be honest the tinnitus is worse... It's hard to explain to people how terrible it really is to live this way. Some days its so bad I can't sleep. I reread this thread before I posted this and I hate how cavalier I was about this back then, it really doesn't seem so fucking funny now.

At any rate, back to the purpose of this thread, which honestly was NOT me bitching about my ears... I've noticed a new symptom that I was interested in getting your opinion on doc... I now hear sirens, very very faint sirens in the buzzing every so often. It's not just modulation of the noise, and it's not from one of my white noise machines, it happens everywhere so it's not an acoustic trick of a certain location. I've read some things about people with tinnitus hearing specific songs over and over but never sounds, and never randomly. Just interested in if there's anything to this.

Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure the pimples thing was from me and the doctors constantly screwing with my ear because I've never gotten another one.