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

[Lt. Bob]

I like to stick my head right into the speaker the first song or two to insulate my ears from the volume with a layer of numbness.

 

[JimmyS1969]

I like to stick my head right into the speaker the first song or two to insulate my ears from the volume with a layer of numbness.

That way worked for me as well!

8 years ago anyway...Say what?

 

[JimmyS1969]

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!

Just curious if you are not a bot? Would expect to see a link if you were. If so, you are a bad bot...


Hope to hear more from you. Pun intended.

 

[groove25]

Not a bot; just trying to share my story for the benefit of anyone down the road who might be experiencing similar symptoms. Also, I was hoping to hear how things turned out in icyflame's case.

Icyflame's symptoms (posted back in '08) seemed brought about by exposure to sudden loud noise; mine had no clear cause but seemed internal or biological. Also, for me, the "ring mod" or "detune" effect arrived more as a secondary symptom, following an initial reduction or disruption to the hearing in one ear.

My hearing test indicated a neurological loss, so the source was somewhere in that part of the system, not in the middle ear (where all the conductive bones are) or the eustachian tube. I think that's interesting to note. It will be another week and a half before I finish the steroid treatment and then get my hearing retested. Right now, I feel like the volume has been coming back, but I'm still getting some distortion. (A day into treatment, while playing acoustic guitar, it felt like I had a small pickup receiver hooked up to one ear, getting a tinny, detuned audio feed, on a slight millisecond delay. I do think it's interesting that audio effects apparently have counterparts in natural, biological phenomenon.)

 

[JDOD]

Interesting thread, if/when I start playing live again I'll definitely start wearing those ear-plugs that are supposed to protect your hearing while preserving the detail of the sound so things don't sound muffled and shit.

I'm also developing surfers ear in both ears which is a bit of a pain so I should probably get that sorted then start wearing ear-plugs in the water, particularly in winter, too.

 

[Farview]

I still don't see how going to a doctor to sort out a health issue is bad advice.

Asking a bunch of musicians and recordists about an obvious health problem is relatively pointless.

 

[Mickster]

Not a bot; just trying to share my story for the benefit of anyone down the road who might be experiencing similar symptoms. Also, I was hoping to hear how things turned out in icyflame's case.

Icyflame's symptoms (posted back in '08) seemed brought about by exposure to sudden loud noise; mine had no clear cause but seemed internal or biological. Also, for me, the "ring mod" or "detune" effect arrived more as a secondary symptom, following an initial reduction or disruption to the hearing in one ear.

My hearing test indicated a neurological loss, so the source was somewhere in that part of the system, not in the middle ear (where all the conductive bones are) or the eustachian tube. I think that's interesting to note. It will be another week and a half before I finish the steroid treatment and then get my hearing retested. Right now, I feel like the volume has been coming back, but I'm still getting some distortion. (A day into treatment, while playing acoustic guitar, it felt like I had a small pickup receiver hooked up to one ear, getting a tinny, detuned audio feed, on a slight millisecond delay. I do think it's interesting that audio effects apparently have counterparts in natural, biological phenomenon.)

I thought I was the only one.........but this thread hit home for me. About 2 years ago now I was driving home listening to the radio and began to notice that the right speaker was getting muffled and lower in volume. After a bit I realized it was my right ear. By the time I got home in less than 15 minutes.........that ear had almost no hearing at all.

Long story short........it's called sudden onset hearing loss. The first doc did give me steroids and in a few hours I could feel some hearing returning. But the next morning it was pretty much gone again. A specialist gave me huge amounts of much stronger steroids..............and a less than 50/50 chance of good results. I was on the meds for 4 weeks. Way longer than normal. During those weeks my hearing was in and out and high frequency sounds were like torture and even musical pitch was vastly different between both ears...............yes........true.........and so weird. In the end I got about 95% of my hearing back. That ear does not hear low frequencies well at all............but I'm just glad to be better. The doc said it could happen to anyone at any time and was not any more likely to occur again for me than anyone else. Man....that was scary and torture.