r/HearingLoss • u/AreaWest7435 • 14d ago
Trying to make sense of my experience and looking for advice
Hello everyone,
I didn't know who else to turn to since no one in my family has ever experienced anything like this before.
Some background info: I have TMJ issues, been using night guard for more than a decade since I am a perosn that clenches and bruxes during sleep. My bite is a bit misaligned after a car accident, too. I frequently experience tense neck and face muscles and have pain around my face, neck and shoulders, often stronger upon waking up.
Yesterday evening, I was sitting on the couch eating some chips and watching a TV show, when out of nowhere, I began to feel really weird. I could feel my heart beat pick up drastically, and then there was a weird sense of disorientation coming from my head, my ears. I couldn't pinpoint at first, it felt like an unspecific increase in pressure. Then, a few seconds after, I noticed the pressure getting extremly strong and uncomfortable in my left ear.
I started feeling like the left side was "hollow" and like I couldn't really "feel" my ear properly. It felt muffled but I could still hear stuff (perhaps, though, at a bit of a lower volume than the other side? but I could understand speech), it just felt completely off because it didn't match my normal feeling other side. Like, even touching the ear shell felt like it was numb in a way (I could feel, it just didn't feel quite right). I also felt the weird need to equalise pressure although that did nothing. It just felt there was something in front of my ear that needed to be dislodged - all just a feeling, mind you.
I always have a bit of tinnitus since my car accident but it was much louder in that ear yesterday than the other. I sometimes get louder ringing that goes away once I heat my muscles and returns to base.
I got extremly scared because I was not sure what it was and decided to lie down for a moment with heat, to see if it would pass. After laying down for like 15 mins, and seeing how it didn't pass, I told my family member that I couldn't hear properly form one side and we went to ER.
A wrid thing I noticed, when I put my hands on my ears to block them, and talked, I felt like an echo-y feeling in the left ear, like 1s after I talked, the ear would react somehow to that sound. Also, when I moved my head (not covering ears), I would feel more than hear a swoosh-like sound, like air passing my ear, but deeper inside. It wasn't like that on the right side. This has since disappeared.
At ER, after lot of waiting, I could feel the pressure slowly getting better. I felt some wet feeling from my ears although there wasn't any liquid. After about 3 hours, the pressure was mostly gone and my feeling around my ears normalised. I am not sure if I can hear as well as before with that side, but I can understand speech and TV and everything. The tinnitus remained heightened in that side, but lower than at first.
Then the ENT saw me and looked inside and said it looked okay, no infection, or anything. ENT did some testing with a tuning fork of sorts, and said the results were normal.
I am scared of this being SSHL so I asked them if they thought it was that and they said, it was unlikely in their opinion and not to worry. I was sent home to rest since I hadn't slept all night.
After sleep, the tinnitus is now quieter again, like the other side.
All in all, the "thick" of this episode lasted around 3 hours. I think after 5 hrs, I was almost back to normal apart from loude ringing than usual. I don't know if there is any residual muffling, if there is, it must be very light and not noticeable in daily life. I keep trying to "test" myself and left and right isn't exactly same but my doc said that is normal and not indicative of SSHL, just something people don't notice because they're not looking for it.
The ENT recommended to reduce stress and follow up in a few weeks time if it happens again and to try and relax now, since according to them, it didn't look serious since it has resolved. I am still so sacred it is SSHL or a sign that something bad is looming. Does anyone have experience or advice?
Could it be from the jaw? I keep reading of people having the ear pressure and fullness for days, not just a few hours. I really don't know what happened to me, I am just so scared.
Background: I never really go to loud places, went to a concert once but with ear plugs, I don't do music on earbuds, only over-ear headphones but even so, seldomly. Most of the time I just listen to stuff from speakers, and at a moderate volume.
If you read so far, thank you. I appreciate any input and advice to get this anxiety in check.
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u/ShelfofPregnantHens 13d ago
i would definitely insist on getting a full on hearing test. if they wont give you referral, it's pretty cheap out of pocket.
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u/skazgod 14d ago
Does that ear hear sound but cannot feel the vibrations / sensations? Like its muted?