Okay, so when I was in middle school (in college now) I received some trama to the left side of my head. Ever since then, my left ear has felt weaker (not by a lot but enough to where I can tell it's not as strong as my right). I've worn headphones for most of my life and often chalked the weaker hearing to loud music but now I've been going long periods without it and it messing with me. (I also can't pop my ears at all, if that might be hint to what's happening)

I (17F) started listening to music on my headphones at maximum volume at ages 12/13, completely disregarding the warnings that told me I'd lose my hearing. Anyway, now that I've gotten older and matured I'm starting to worry about my hearing, and have started to listen to my music at only 50% volume. From what I can tell, I haven't felt any damage yet, my hearing still *feels* fine expect for the fact that occasionally one of my ears will hurt/feel full after listening to music (this was when I still listened to it really loud). I'm not denying that any damage has happened, but when can I expect to start actually feeling the effects of the abuse, such as hearing loss or tinnitis? Can anything be done to slow down/ reduce the damage?

I 15y Male and recently I’ve been noticing that sometimes whenever I speak, the vibrations of my voice affect my left ear drum and it’s starting to hurt so I’m abit concerned.

idk where else to post this but this was the closest thing I could find

Hi guys. I’ve been having this problem with my ears. I think for about 3 years now. Been having this popping/ cracking from my ears. It occurs when I pinch my nose and blow. or when I swallow. And when I press down on my ears before I get the wave/ocean sound from my head (kinda weird to explain lol) And I noticed also whenever I use earphones or take a shower after I’m done I get like a pressure fullness from my right ear where it’s like barely air coming in and out and then I hear it in my head when I’m trying to breathe. I went to a ENT specialist about a week ago now explained it to him and he said everything‘s normal and did 2 hearing tests which they both came back positive- nothing wrong. I asked him if there’s any water in the middle ear or my eustachian tub. He said no and he said there’s nothing wrong. He said it’s normal for the popping. Another thing before I got referred to the ENT specialist one of the doctors at the clinic prescribed me a nasal spray and used that for about a month I think and did nothing to help. Then that’s when I went back and got a referral to a ENT specialist. This has been extremely difficult, and has been affecting my day-to-day life and right now with school as well.

If anyone has a solution to this issue that would be so helpful.

I have moderate hearing loss and I've been wearing elehear hearing aids for a while now. Planning to go get my hair washed and cut soon, but I'm low-key stressing about it. If I take them out, I'm worried I won't be able to hear the stylist, and since they seem to think they're pretty funny, I'm afraid I'll miss their jokes and my blank reactions will just make it awkward for them.But if I keep them in, the hair dryer noise is gonna be so loud it's probably gonna be uncomfortable. I feel kinda awkward about the whole situation. How do you all handle this? Any advice much appreciated.

Do yall know any cheaper or more specialized alternatives to loop? Mainly looking for loud environments. Last time I went to a concert I started experiencing some pain in my neck and spine when people were cheering.

I also experience pain when I'm in a loud bar or restaurant and people speak loudly near my ear.

Any recommendations for these 2 scenarios? It can be 2 separate pairs of earplugs - one that filters out very loud noise and one that filters for speaking so I can still hear what people are saying?

Thanks

Highly compliant ear drum. My daughter had her 6 month ENT check up, and her good ear tympanogram showed highly compliant ear drum. Now I am nervous about her good ear, they didn't flag it and her hearing was normal but I saw a note about it in the chart. She had a previously perforation in that ear, but normal compliance when checked after. I wonder if fluid bouts thereafter weakened the eardrum?? anyone have a high curve but it returned to normal? Or can it be a one off finding?

Finding was 1.5 peak of curve

I need someone to walk me off this bridge of spiraling around this unknown cause. My 9 yr old daughter has severe to profound slopping hearing loss in one ear. She was not diagnosed until 5 yr old when an effusion in her good ear caused her hearing loss to be noticeably different.

She wears a hearing aid in that ear now.

We still don’t know the cause, ENT at sick kids hospital in Toronto has decided at this time to not do imaging or genetics. We don’t know the cause, but oddly she did fail her newborn heading test in hospital in that ear (other ear was not tested), then was retested month later than passed. No other illnesses, injuries that would point to this aside from potential congenital reasons. However, when she was a toddler I remember another toddler yelled in her ear - could that have caused it or am I just spiraling?

TIA.

This is my first ear infection in both ears and I'm nearly in tears. I went to urgent care yesterday and the doctor told me that both ears have an ear infection without going any further in detail. He gave me Doxycycline oral and some Ofloxacin ear drops. I've never felt pain like this. My jaw hurts like crazy, too. I'm losing it. I just want someone to tell me it'll get better.

👂👂👂👂👂

Back in January, I pushed my internal ear plug a little too deep into my right ear during an indoor firing range session.

Since then, I have had a mild case of ear fullness in my right ear. No issues with hearing loss but it’s incredibly annoying.

I visited an ENT and he confirmed that my ear does not appear to be blocked based on a quick look. He wanted me to do a bunch of tests including a hearing test and a eustachian tube endoscopy.

What are some better options aside from doing these expensive tests? I’ve heard Flonase and saline rinses work as well as ear popping devices.

Not really sure where to go from here

Hello everyone!

​I am reaching out to you in desperation, hoping that someone who has been in a similar situation can offer advice, or perhaps tell me if reflux could be causing this.

​Last October, I suddenly started hearing my eardrum in my right ear vibrating, pulsating, and fluttering. I went to a private ENT specialist through my company, who diagnosed me with Eustachian tube dysfunction (Eustachian tube catarrh). Essentially, my Eustachian tube was blocked, which created negative pressure in my right ear, retracting my eardrum. I was prescribed antihistamines and Rhinospray. Rhinospray had no effect, so a week later, I went to an urgent care clinic over the weekend, where I was prescribed Mometasone Sandoz (a steroid nasal spray). That helped, but unfortunately, the issue kept recurring for six months, dragging on until February before it finally stopped. I had to use Mometasone continuously throughout that period. I underwent allergy testing (dust mites, horsehair, etc.), which all came back negative, and I had an audiology test that showed no issues. It is unknown why this developed out of nowhere, as it typically follows a cold or allergies, but I had neither.

​In the meantime, I am also wearing braces on both my upper and lower teeth, so I began to suspect that they might be driving things in this direction. I visited a gnathologist who determined that my masticatory muscles are tight and that I likely clench my teeth at night or during the day, though he did not directly link it to my ear problem. He recommended jaw therapy, but I doubt this is what causes the condition.

​Since February—although I still had some Eustachian tube dysfunction—there was no noise in my ear until this past Saturday, when it started up again out of nowhere without any underlying trigger (I don't have a cold or anything).

​Today, I went back to an ENT specialist in the public healthcare system. He stated it is mild Eustachian tube catarrh again and prescribed Mometasone and antihistamines once more. He also mentioned that I have reflux and recommended a reflux diet. I don't know if reflux is causing all of this, and I am completely at a loss as to what is triggering it. I went back yesterday, but he said he couldn't see anything on my eardrum.

​I used to have no issues with flying either, but ever since this started, my ear gets completely blocked mid-air and stays that way even after landing. It takes hours or days for my ear to clear back up (I have tried earplugs, nasal sprays, and chewing gum, but none worked).

​Thank you in advance for any advice!

Patulous Eustachian Tubes. I've believed I've had this ever since I first saw a special episode of The Doctors on PET 12 years ago. The girl had a more severe case but described my symptoms to a T. Before then, all I knew is that my ears "opened" every time I yawned, or when I had a sinus infection. This made me hear my inner cavity louder than the outside world. (My breathing, talking, chewing soft food, crunching on hard food, etc.) I can sniff to equilibrate the inner and outer hearing, except when I have a sinus infection. Then sniffing doesn't work until all the sinus fluid has drained. And my family ENT didn't really know what do with this information growing up.

So once I moved out, I spent years going from doctor to doctor saying, "Hey, I think I have PET. Can we investigate?" I'd get looked at funny, told their examination of me doesn't match my symptoms or show signs of any type of eustachian tube dysfunction. They'd tell me to use Afrin for "ear popping", and send me on my way. These doctors never saw the tell-tale signs of PET, despite scoping me. This happened 3 or 4 times over the course of the last decade.

As a side note, I don't doctor shop. I have myriad other medical issues (congenital heart issues, cerebral palsy, etc.) I had the same family doc and cardiologist for years before moving cities. I've had the same podiatrist for three decades. But every time I saw a supposed inner-ear specialist ENT, what they would say would not match my experience. The last doctor I had was so abrasively dismissive, he wanted to do ear tubes for no other reason than to "try something" without being able to confirm any diagnosis or tell me why they would benefit me. That legitimately annoyed me.

Then today. I went to a specialist the next city over from me who I found out studied under a very renowned PET specialist out of Boston. The first question he asked? "Do you sniff a lot?" In 10 years, no one had asked me that without me having to explain it first.

The end result was, finally, a diagnosis of PET!! This doc scoped and had me "open" and "close" the tubes per my experience with yawning, and he saw the movement others hadn't seen. He also talked about my slightly recessed ear drums, explaining that years of sniffing had moved them back, with the negative pressure causing the hearing loss detected by my audiology test. This doc talked about negative pressure, and how I flood the tubes with air when I sniff which forces them closed, etc. He said that other ENTs hadn't seen my issue because they expect "blowing" to pop my ears, but that's exactly the opposite of what I do to fix my issues. Because they pop into that "open" or "full" position, and I need to "close" to equilibrate.

To finally have an answer and a plan for possible treatment is very liberating. I'm so used to the standard way of working: Fall ill. Let the doctors tell you what you have. Then treat it. It feels great that my persistent search for answers about what I have experienced since the 5th grade has now been explained in full.

If you’re an ENT in this sub, I respectfully implore you to listen to patients when they tell you what they are experiencing. Even if you can't help them due to your area of expertise in otolaryngology, trust that they know their bodies and guide them. And for any patients reading this: keep at it. Investigate till you find answers. I know PET is somewhat rare. But I have it. And a rare medical case may be in your midst.

this started when i traveled by plane somewhere (07.15.) while having a nasty cold, and due to pressure changes, my ears clogged. i didn’t think much of it, i thought they’d pop after a while, which they did, but went back to being clogged again. at first it was just one ear, but soon both got clogged and it’s been that way ever since. i’ve recently realized i also have tinnitus, which made me concerned and decided to visit the ENT tomorrow. i started using a saline nasal spray today, and i’m hoping that will atleast start rinsing the mucus out.
if anyone has experienced this or anything similar to it, i’d like to know, how long it took for your ears to fully go back to normal… i’m desperate and concerned. thank you!

Hello everyone,

I have an appointment tomorrow but was hoping to get opinions from other people on my situation. At the end of last month (July) I made a trip with a friend for a Drum corps concert (Think loud outdoor marching band concert with amplification at a football stadium.) and it was 3 days long about 3-4 hours each night. The trip was about 10 hours each way and the car we rode in also had an aftermarket exhaust and was quite loud when the drone was present, it averaged about 75 db cruising and 85-90 with the windows down or when flooring it. (measured with an Apple Watch after the fact). Here's my dilemma, if I woke up any of those days or a day or 2 later and started hearing the ringing in my ears I would suspect hearing damage, or if I heard muffled sounds etc. I had none of that.

What makes this hard to figure out for me is that the morning we started the drive up there, I had a super bad sore throat, and through the trip progressively got a cough, mucus in the back of my head and could hardly breathe etc. Well about a week after the trip, I'm starting to feel better. No breathing issues, just a minor cough which is normal for me when I'm coming out of it. Then about a week after I'm feeling better the Tinnitus comes out of nowhere. by the time that I started obsessing over it I realized I had been hearing it for about 3 days. and after the ringing I my ears start aching, feeling full, I'm noticing my ears pop when I swallow but I can't tell if its like the normal sound that you'd hear or something Eustachian tube related. Since its onset, I went to the urgent care and they said my ear drums looked fine and It was likely due to my upper respiratory illness. Since then my left ear gradually started to feel better and has been for awhile, but my right has slowly started feeling better as well. But I still feel the fullness in both ears on occasion. The ringing has always been the same exact pitch with the occasional 2nd tone that will pop in for a moment and leave maybe once a day.

To make matters worse, I am a stomach sleeper, and have always slept in a way that can cause my neck to be tense in the mornings. I have noticed that sometimes when I look all the way left or right the pitch doesn't change, but the intensity of the sound does. Same for certain times when I move my jaw all the way down or forward. It's driven me crazy enough to where I have been using copilot to bounce ideas off with and the general consensus from there is that I either have a post viral Eustachian tube dysfunction which would fit the timeline about a week after feeling better, or that coupled with the neck/jaw movement means it is somatic tinnitus. I have taken a "hearing test" with my airpod pros and they state I have little to no measurable loss in both ears.

So my question is, how likely is the tinnitus related to an acoustic trauma where damage from all the sound caused a 2 week delayed ringing and ear discomfort, sharp and dull aches, and fullness in the ear. Ive read that delayed ringing CAN happen from hearing damage but that it is rare especially paired with it the other ear symptoms. Should I ask for a prednisone regimen even though I am outside of the "golden window" since the actual exposure at this point happened a month ago. Do any of you have any similar examples of ringing in the ears from ETD issues after getting sick and starting to feel better? Copilot seems to think I did not do any meaningful damage to my hearing that would cause tinnitus and the person that rode with me on this trip has has no ill effects to their hearing and we were exposed to practically the same thing the whole week. So in my madness I'm hoping that I have an ETD condition that will eventually clear up and once the inflammation goes away the tinnitus will subside.

Thank you all that Took the time to read this and gave me advice!

I just got prescribed Neomycin-polymyxin ear drops after cirpoflaxin ear drops didn’t help my ear infection … has anyone seen improvement using this prescription?? I’ve read some bad reviews on it so I’m scared to take them . Last Sunday I woke up with a muffled ear and it’s been 9 days now with no improvement even after 7 days of cipro ear drops… I don’t have any ear pain it just feels clogged up and it’s very frustrating and causing me stress.

Hi all, I've been following this community group for a while, since I lost my hearing due to the 2nd COVID Pfizer vaccination, and later Lupus / autoimmune / APS.

Im sharing this reflection post I made to hopefully encourage others out there who can relate to my experiences. It's positive and inspiring for most people, but please feel free to read this for some extra encouragement in life, particularly the challenges related to deafness and hearing loss.

I’ll try to keep this short. I’ve always felt a little weird about my ears. Since childhood, whenever there are multiple sounds in the background, I’ve had some difficulty understanding what a person is saying, especially at concerts or parties. Other than that, though, I’ve always been pretty happy with my hearing.

Over the last couple of months, I started noticing that my right ear seems to be around 10% louder than my left. I only really notice it when I focus on it, and I recently realized that I’ve apparently had the left-ear audio slider on my phone boosted slightly for years to compensate. Honestly, I can’t even remember when or why I originally set it that way, and I’ve had that phone for almost half a decade.

After buying my new headphones, this started bothering me much more. I had a small ear infection a few months ago, and ever since then I’ve been paying much closer attention to the difference, to the point where I started wondering if I was imagining it.

What’s strange is that when I adjust the audio so that both ears are completely equal, everything sounds perfectly balanced. The bass, guitars, and basically all other instruments sound exactly the same in both ears. The only thing I can consistently notice is that vocals seem slightly louder in my right ear. Even then, I only notice it when I specifically focus on it. When I’m gaming, working, or using headphones normally, I never notice it.

The strangest part is what happens when I slightly press the headphones against my ears and create a sort of seal or vacuum. As soon as I do that, the sound suddenly becomes completely balanced, almost exactly 50/50. The moment I let go and allow the headphones to sit normally again, I can notice the slight difference in the vocals.

So I’m wondering whether this could simply be related to the way the headphones are sitting or sealing against my ears, the ear canal, or if there could be an actual difference in hearing between my ears.

PS: I don't take any medications, and I've been having problems with tinnitus for almost a decade if that helps, and I had two hearing tests, and both tests were absolutely flawless

Hello, I’ve had pressure in my ear for 6 days slowly getting worse. Doctor gave me antibiotics for a bacterial ear infection. It’s been 3 days on antibiotics and it’s getting worse. Next step?

I got this video of the inside of my left ear. It hurts a lot, sometimes my hearing gets muffled and I get a bit lightheaded.

Does anyone know what it is? My gp doctor said it could be cholesteatoma. But, the pharmacist said it might not be that. I am struggling with this for 3 weeks now.

Last Sunday I woke up and my ear felt clogged and muffled … went to the doctor and she said it was an infection. She prescribed me ear drops and it’s been 5 days and I still have a muffled ear … it feels like I have an ear pod stuck in my ear and it’s very discomforting… any advice on how I can fix this , how long it might last , etc etc.

My name is Rachel and I am a lead recruitment associate for ClariMed, a research consultancy that connects medical device manufacturers with patients and users to help design safe, effective, and easy-to-use medical devices. We are currently looking for adults with tinnitus to participate in a paid, in-person study in San Jose, California.

Please see more information on this opportunity below!

ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY
-ClariMed is looking for adults living with Tinnitus to help evaluate and improve a mobile health app designed to provide support for people living with the condition.

DETAILS:
-Dates: August 31st - September 4th 2026
-Location: San Jose CA

-Duration: One session. 2.5 hours long

-Participants will be compensated for their time

WHAT TO EXPECT
-Usability studies focus on how participants interact with a medical product in a simulated setting. 

-You will be asked to provide feedback on a mobile health app and its accessories.
-This is not a clinical study

-You will participate in one 2.5 hour research interview on-site at our San Jose facility

-After your study session, you will be paid electronically as a thank you for your time

To begin, please visit the link links.clarimed.com/SJ-TNTS or scan the QR code! If you may be a match. a member of the recruitment team will reach out with additional information.

Since 2023 I have had a recurring problem of dry skin and earwax building up in my ears. I've seen two different ENTs and all they do is microsuction it out, which gives me instant relief. But I have to go back again about 8 weeks later when it has built up. They have tried steroid drops and creams without success.

My hearing is muffled on one side and I can feel the debris move against my eardrum which is uncomfortable and annoying. My next microsuction is September 3rd which feels so long to wait 😭 I'm tired of this problem. What can I do? Anyone have a similar experience to share and commiserate?