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Ear Pain for over a year (on and off)

Posted , 3 users are following.

MichaelS
MichaelS

Over a year ago I had an incident where I was exposed to loud music and noticed inner ear pain in my left year. The next day I had horrible peircing pain and dullness. Im a music producer, I decided to take two weeks off to let my ear rest. I went to see an audiologist and 2 ENT's. They told me I had no signs of hearing loss and that my ear looked ok. Their edvice was to keep the volume down and that I aggrivated my ear drum, and im lucky its not worse. Over the next 10 months I noticed I was sensitive to loud-very loud music 90db+. I work long hours infront of speakers but im careful and it has never caused me any pain until this incident. No when I would be exposed to 90 or 100db music for even a minute I would notice pain would immediately occur in my left year. Sometimes it could take 24 hours for it go away. I noticed this started to happen more and more often. I could be sitting in a room with people listening to a song and im the only one with pain in my ear. It became a real issue when I would get headaches at night from the pain and it was effecting my job. I attended one concert and could only stay for 5 minutes and my left year was in pain (this was when I thought my ear had "healed). About 2 months ago I went to see another ENT. They saw no issues with my ear at all and I had a hearing test. No hearing loss. They did an MRI on me and that also came back normal. Im continuing to deal with this ear pain on a daily basis. I took 3 weeks off from music/loud environments and my ear was fine. But when I got back to work after the holiday I immediately started to experience pain in my ear. Im 26 and have been producing for over 10 years. Never have had this time of pain. Even from lower volumes at long periods of time. Always the left ear. Im worried not only because I can't get answers but how to stop this pain. And to make sure im not causing long term damage. Any information or people with similar issues would be so much appreciated! Thanks

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • edgarpena
    edgarpena MichaelS

    Posted

    I recently damaged my hearing from a loud phone call. Similar symptoms, except it's my right ear, and my hear thunders/pops with the tiniest noises, but very little pain and ringing. I can't even talk loud without my ear freaking out. My hearing was already pretty crappy before that, I mean I could still hear fine but my hears would constantly hurt when I would listen to music. The thing is, like you, I had thought my hearing was healed. Nope. I was wrong, and now I'm paying the consequences. I'm angry at myself because I feel like I could've prevented this from happening (I'm a jackass). Don't know yet if it's permanent hearing sensitivity/ hearing loss or temporary. I also blew my nose real hard and it hurt. My advice right now would be to completly shut everything out for a while. Buy some ear plugs and try them out for a couple of weeks. I'm sure you could still work with one ear. Yeah it'll probably be annoying but you got to take some precations. Also, avoid concerts for now, but if you must, take a pair of earplugs and avoid putting any unnecessary strain on your ears. I would reccomend getting one last opinion, and be stubborn. Tell them you're sick of dealing with the ear issues and you can't freaking function, Don't let them send you home empty handed! Keep asking questions and get more opinions.
    • MichaelS
      MichaelS edgarpena

      Posted

      thank you for this reply. Im going to take your advice and wear an earplug until it heals
  • everett23536
    everett23536 MichaelS

    Posted

    Hi Michael, what you are experiencing is called hyperacusis. I own a tree service and have had it for several years. It is a intolerance of sounds that you would normally not be bothered by. Sometimes it is accompanied with tinnitus and sometimes not. I developed tinnitus first and like you didn't have any idea of what I was experiencing . Ear doctors don't run into hyperacusis everyday so it is a easy thing to overlook. You fall into that 10%. If you would like to discuss it further respond back.
    • MichaelS
      MichaelS everett23536

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply. I've read about this. I do not have tinnitus. But hyperacusis seems like a possiblity, but I don't have issues with regular everyday sounds. It's just when I hear loud sounds for even strong low end pressure from music after a few minutes (if its loud enough) or after usually 30minutes (if its not too loud) that my ear will start hurting. It also hurts when I wake up as well.
    • everett23536
      everett23536 MichaelS

      Posted

      Hi Michael, it is only prolonged exposure to loud sounds that I have a problem with also. Read about hyperacusis as you work to resolve the problem along with medical advice and God Bless.
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