HELP - Ear damage in the left ear. Sounds like a ring-modulator.

I

iceyflame

New member
Hey guys, I figured this is the right place to put this.

I came back from a show my band played yesterday with no problems, but this morning I seem to have developed something in my left ear - It sounds like it's going through a ring modulator or something - other peoples voices appear to be at a lower pitch and sort of 'sore throat/gargley' sounding, my right ear is fine though. What's wierd is this left ear problem doesn't make any difference to when I talk, only hearing other peoples voices. Another thing I noticed due to this effect, is that music tends to sound very out of tune - it seems that some lingering overtones come out that clash with the notes that are being played, and it sounds very displeasing to the ear.

I think I may know why this condition is occuring but I don't know how to stop it. Yesterday I was sort of 'drum teching' for a drummer in another band and at one point his kickdrum pedal came loose so I got down to fix it mid-song and this guy hits hard, and I recall a pain in my ear from the sound of the snare while i was down there fixing the pedal.

Please if anyone could give me any help it would be greatly appreciated - I really hope this isn't something permanent as I want to do sound engineering as a career.

PS: I'm very certain I will get alot of people telling me to wear earplugs - over the past few weeks I have been really wanting to get earplugs but never had the chance - I am pro-earplugs and do certainly plan to get a pair after this incident.

So please, any help would be appreciated. Thanks alot.
 
It could be an ear infection; I've had middle-ear infections which have caused the sypmtoms you described- but then again it could be something worse. I'd get to the doctor if it lasts too much longer.
 
i`d stay way from sounds you could be doing damage that you don`t know about to your already damaged ear...
i dont know the standard treatment for overexposure to noise but its probably rest
nord
 
this isn't where you need to be trying to decide what to do about a health issue.
While we appreciate the great trust you have shown in our judgment ..... we are not physicians and so must decline to give you advice other than get to an ear doctor.
He's the only one that's gonna have pertinent and reliable info.
 
iceyflame said:
over the past few weeks I have been really wanting to get earplugs but never had the chance...
Click to expand...
Fucking bullshit. You've had no chance in several WEEKS to go to a hardware store and pay $5 for a huge-ass bag of earplugs? You're lazy, and now you're paying for it. Sorry dude!

P.S. Many venues sell earplugs at the bar...
 
The symptom is called threshold shift. It's a change in perception of level, pitch, or quality caused by, well, exposure to loud noises. Whether or not it turns out to be permanent or temporary for you,only time will tell. Temporary means anything up to a period of many months....and I would avoid any more exposure in the meantime if you value your hearing. If the damage isn't permanent now, more exposure could make it that way.

See a doctor, like Lt. Bob said.
 
steve.h said:
Fucking bullshit. You've had no chance in several WEEKS to go to a hardware store and pay $5 for a huge-ass bag of earplugs? You're lazy, and now you're paying for it. Sorry dude!

P.S. Many venues sell earplugs at the bar...
Click to expand...

Man, that's about the most insensitive retort I think I can imagine. I hope that a similar problem does not land in anyone else's head.

I remember when I first began suffering from tinitus. I always had a periodic short lasting (5 sec) ringing since I can remember as a youth. About 10 years ago, the ringing started lasting a few days. I'd say to myself, "Gotta use some ear plugs next jam." But the ringing would diminish over a few days and by the time of the next gig, I'd forget about it. Until the day after the gig, when I realized that I didn't use the plugs I had considered a few weeks prior. As months went by, the ringing lasted weeks at a time, then became permanent. I wanted to drive my truck into a bridge abutment. Glad I didn't. Now, I play it smart and protect my ears and the remaining hearing I've got.

I'd suggest all others do the same. A little advice can avoid a world of disappointment.
 
this is worse than ringing, this guy`s got DES (digital effects syndrome)

results can vary between compression, autotune and reverb; advanced cases
report mother-in-law ringing in their ears

nord
 
iceyflame said:
Hey guys, I figured this is the right place to put this.

I came back from a show my band played yesterday with no problems, but this morning I seem to have developed something in my left ear - It sounds like it's going through a ring modulator or something - other peoples voices appear to be at a lower pitch and sort of 'sore throat/gargley' sounding, my right ear is fine though. What's wierd is this left ear problem doesn't make any difference to when I talk, only hearing other peoples voices. Another thing I noticed due to this effect, is that music tends to sound very out of tune - it seems that some lingering overtones come out that clash with the notes that are being played, and it sounds very displeasing to the ear.

I think I may know why this condition is occuring but I don't know how to stop it. Yesterday I was sort of 'drum teching' for a drummer in another band and at one point his kickdrum pedal came loose so I got down to fix it mid-song and this guy hits hard, and I recall a pain in my ear from the sound of the snare while i was down there fixing the pedal.

Please if anyone could give me any help it would be greatly appreciated - I really hope this isn't something permanent as I want to do sound engineering as a career.

PS: I'm very certain I will get alot of people telling me to wear earplugs - over the past few weeks I have been really wanting to get earplugs but never had the chance - I am pro-earplugs and do certainly plan to get a pair after this incident.

So please, any help would be appreciated. Thanks alot.
Click to expand...
I'd always recommend ear plugs, but when you're teaching they can be very annoying.
 
Arranger said:
Man, that's about the most insensitive retort I think I can imagine. I hope that a similar problem does not land in anyone else's head.

I remember when I first began suffering from tinitus. I always had a periodic short lasting (5 sec) ringing since I can remember as a youth. About 10 years ago, the ringing started lasting a few days. I'd say to myself, "Gotta use some ear plugs next jam." But the ringing would diminish over a few days and by the time of the next gig, I'd forget about it. Until the day after the gig, when I realized that I didn't use the plugs I had considered a few weeks prior. As months went by, the ringing lasted weeks at a time, then became permanent. I wanted to drive my truck into a bridge abutment. Glad I didn't. Now, I play it smart and protect my ears and the remaining hearing I've got.

I'd suggest all others do the same. A little advice can avoid a world of disappointment.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry if I came off as insensitive: I just hate to hear another musician/engineer use lame excuses for not taking care of his/her ears. I'm very passionate about people getting over themselves and realizing that a show is an extremely harsh, destructive environment for your ears, and you need to take the proper precautions if you plan on enjoying your hearing for more than a few years. Nobody ever told this guy what he needed to hear before now, and now he might not even be able to hear them when they do...
 
Thank you for posting this question! It was helpful and reassuring for me to learn that others have had symptoms similar to what I'm currently experiencing. (I found at least two other forum threads similar to this topic, but yours was the first.)

Did this ever resolve for you?

In reaction to some of the responses in this thread, I'd like to say that visiting a doctor for a problem like this may be an essential component to self-care, but it's not a magic bullet, as seems to be implied. The medical care system is rife with potential hurdles: bureaucracy, miscommunication, misdiagnosis… It can be very difficult getting appropriate treatment for a less-than-common problem, or knowing (as a patient) what qualifies as appropriate treatment. Doctors can differ greatly in their philosophies and experience—for instance, whether they tend to adopt a "wait and see" approach or suggest a more pro-active solution.

Also, many doctors would have no idea what's meant by "ring modulation" as it's more of a musical or audio engineering term. Therefore, it makes complete sense to me that you would seek counsel from others in your field who understand this terminology (and who might have had a similar experience).

In the past week and a half, I've seen an urgent care physician, two otolaryngologists, an audiologist, and spoken with my primary care provider. My otolaryngologist's initial recommendation was a saline nasal rinse, which had no effect and seemed based on a misdiagnosis. Following a hearing test, which I had to request, I'm now taking an oral steroid at the recommendation of the second otolaryngologist. The hearing test seemed to be a crucial step in the process; without it, doctors tended to discount my reported symptoms. In my case, I had a sudden moderate hearing loss in one ear (adding to a pre-existing loss) with no obvious cause. (Perhaps a virus? It was initially accompanied by a tender area on the same side of my throat.) Days later, I began noticing a mild "ring modulation" effect for certain sounds—I play guitar, and my instrument currently sounds out of tune to me in my right ear. I'm actually hoping this later symptom might be a transitional state as the hearing gradually restores itself… but I really don't know, and neither do the doctors.

My point: It's nearly impossible to be certain of the right course of action for a problem like this. It boils down to giving the issue the amount and type of attention you think it merits, whether that means visiting many doctors—until a reasonable solution or treatment is found—or none at all.

(I will say, in my case, the doctor who recommended the steroid indicated that it produced the best outcomes when begun earlier rather than later—that is, as soon as possible after symptom onset. So a "wait and see" approach may have its risks.)

Thanks again!
 
groove25 said:
Doctors can differ greatly in their philosophies and experience
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...not nearly as much as random home recording forum members with zero medical training!

Glad that you sought out professional medical help. I hope that they can find the right course of treatment for you. Just be sure to insert earplugs before using a jackhammer or a JCM800.
 
Back in May, I go a bit of sore throat and head cold...then it got a bit worse...and a couple of days later I noticed that my left ear felt stuffy, like when you get some water in it, and it doesn't come right out.
I gave it a day and though it would pass, but it got a little worse, the stuffy feeling, and then just stayed like that. It didn't hurt or anything, just felt clogged up.
I then ended up taking some antibiotics because of the sore throat and head pain, as it was apparent I had some kind of sinus infection, triggered by springtime allergies. So I thought once I get through the antibiotics, everything would clear up, including the clogged left ear.

Well two weeks later, everything did...but my ear stayed clogged up. It was somewhat disorienting and annoying at times, but most of all what sucked was that I now had a 4dB hearing drop in that ear. All my audio tracks were "leaning" to the right, and I had to crank up the left side by +4dB to get the balance back, plus it was a bit duller sounding on the left side.

3 weeks later...I was getting concerned, but I found out that sometimes you can get fluid inside the ear, just like you can get water in the outer canal...and that it was often from sinus crap...and that sometimes it could last for a couple of months.
At this point I could hear the fluid movement if/when I tried to "blow" my ear out, like when you come off an airplane.
When I would do that, I could feel the canal open up for a bit...but it would close again.
However with each day, I notice s slight improvement...and when I checked against my audio mixes, I notice that the left side was coming back...I was able to lower the boost I had applied down to +3dB...then after a few more days, down to +2dB...and at that point I felt less concerned, and another couple of weeks and it was all back to normal.

Still...it was very freaky and a concern during those first 3 weeks. It basically took 6 weeks from the start until it was all clear again. What helped was taking Sudafed (the old recipe...good stuff that you have to get from the pharmacists and show ID...not the "new' version that you can by OTC). I would take just one every 6 hours (two gets you zooming a bit too much)...and I just kept it up for a week or so, and that opened up the inner ear canal and let it drain out.
 
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I don't know where Icyflame hails from but medico/hearing advice was easy for me to get in UK.

My GP referred me to the local hospital's Audiology dept where I underwent a quite lengthy hearing test. The diagnosis (for both lugs but right was by far the worse then, 12yrs ago) was "Early Onset Senile Deafness" . I had no wax, infection or other obstructions so the only recourse was an aid. Annyloggy and not very useful*.

Some 6 yrs later I went back and was give two digital aids. Better but things still sound like a bee in a tin so I only wear them when I have to.

*Very good if you are one to one with a person in a quiet place but that was never a problem! Fucking crowds, factory noise and crap telephone headsets and whispering receptionists were the problem! WTF do they employ people with a poor command of English and a heavy accent as COMMUNICATORS?!!

Oh! And the every increasing practice of loud music on TV documentaries and drama. Fork! the Olympic archer's link speaker was even overpowered at times by the pratt on the Rio PA! I think everyone in the world should be made to wear -20dB plugs for a day. ESPECIALLY TV progg' producers!

Dave.
 
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