Thought I'd ask here as we're all quite tuned into to our hearing in hifi land.
For a long time I've had 'distortion spasms' in my ear(s) mainly the right one. It gets triggered by certain kinds of sounds, and situations, not necessarily sheer volume. I can get it in the car while listening to the radio if there is a big difference in the sound between the left and right ear or a phase effect. Also when one riding my motorbike. Sometimes it happens randomly for no reason. It feels like a kind of spasm/cramp in my ear but generates its own sound, which is very much like the kind of distortion you get when touching signal leads together, plus white noise, plus someone crushing a crisp packet!
Anyone get something similar?
I ask because I've been very sensitive to what I assume was HF distortion in my HiFi but have not been able to track it down to a single component. Maybe it's me!
For a long time I've had 'distortion spasms' in my ear(s) mainly the right one. It gets triggered by certain kinds of sounds, and situations, not necessarily sheer volume. I can get it in the car while listening to the radio if there is a big difference in the sound between the left and right ear or a phase effect. Also when one riding my motorbike. Sometimes it happens randomly for no reason. It feels like a kind of spasm/cramp in my ear but generates its own sound, which is very much like the kind of distortion you get when touching signal leads together, plus white noise, plus someone crushing a crisp packet!
Anyone get something similar?
I ask because I've been very sensitive to what I assume was HF distortion in my HiFi but have not been able to track it down to a single component. Maybe it's me!
yes, I know it well
but lucky to have have it under control
it can get permanent
have tried it for a short period
and that is really bad
Tinitus is actually a a hearing problem that has roots in ones brain even though it is caused by exposure to loud noises .
Personally, I got a bit of tinitus caused by loud music ( I'm a former rock bassist) and loud work enviorments but, no distortion as you described .
I would be extremely careful as it can only get worse
Also, I would strongly suggest getting a professional evaluation of your heaing problem.
Personally, I got a bit of tinitus caused by loud music ( I'm a former rock bassist) and loud work enviorments but, no distortion as you described .
I would be extremely careful as it can only get worse
Also, I would strongly suggest getting a professional evaluation of your heaing problem.
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Its not new, had it for years, comes and goes, tinitus has improved since not being so exposed to loud sound (former rock guitarist). Crunching doesn't seem to be getting worse but I do also seem sensitive to perceived HF distortion which I'm not convinced is actually real. Just wondering if this is linked to the crunching and if anyone had something similar.
Loud sounds sometimes cause a knocking sound in my right ear, almost as though something is hitting the endstops. I have wondered if I have a fault with my AGC system (the little bones which conduct sound adjust their attenuation - maybe mine don't always get this right). I had my ears tested a few years ago and they were 'fine for my age'.
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Just an off the wall thought. Have you been checked for any earwax buildup? A collected amount of that can occasionally work loose or shift, and apply pressure to the eardrum. I occasionally have that, and now and then a drop of water from bathing or sweat gets under it, causing effects similar to those you describe.
Lets see, I have constant loud tinitus causing a 20 db hearing loss in one ear, 40 db in the other, random crunching that sound like crushing a bag of potato chips lasting a few seconds. Random low frequency rumbling sounds like a large truck going down the street also lasting a few seconds. Random clicking sounds. Random periods of distorted hearing where some sounds are semi normal and others, mostly mid frequencies sound like extreme crossover distortion. These can last for seconds, hours, or days. Cranking the volume on the stereo masks it.
These sounds and the tinitus mask most external low level sounds, but sounds above the threshold sound normal, and sometimes abnormally loud. Music below the threshold sounds dull, lifeless, and missing all information above a few KHz, masked by the tinitus. Crank it up loud and it still sounds excellent and realistic. The tinitus is masked by the music.
I have trouble understanding many female speakers unless I can see their lips. Most guys are understandable. The lip reading stuff doesn't work on TV shows. I don't understand why. I have to crank the volume to understand the females, then the guys are loud, and the commercials are unbearable. Most of what's on TV sucks, so it doesn't matter much. Football games are perfectly watchable with the TV sound off and the stereo on!
There are random episodes of vertigo and dizzyness, sometimes debilitating. The first episode occurred about 20 years ago leaving me unable to stand up. My world would spin wildly causing extreme nausea. I could not function at all for a week.
The first hearing expert (20 years ago) called all this "Menieres Disease" (Google it...it sucks). He said that there is no cure or treatment, but in most cases the symptoms would diminish over time, but would likely return randomly for the rest of my life. Each attack would cause a further reduction in hearing, and increased tinitus. Leading to eventual total hearing loss. He has been right so far.
Life slowly returned to normal over about a year, leading to a 10 year period of relatively few symptoms. About 10 years ago it began again. None of the attacks have been debilitating, but a few have left me unwilling to stand or walk for an hour or two for fear of falling down. There were a few incidents that resulted in sudden contact between my body and the floor, or a wall.
Each attack has resulted in further hearing loss. My random dizzy spells now usually last for a minute or so, and usually result from rapid positional changes. They can come a few times a day, or not for several weeks. There have been none in the last few weeks, despite riding some of the relatively mild thrill rides at Universal Studios last weekend. I chose rides that keep me vertical, and get no problems. Roller coasters with loops or rolls are a big No No.
Today, however I had a temporary near total loss of hearing in one ear for about an hour at work. I was sitting at the computer with headphones on, and I thought one side had died. It wasn't the phones. I took a long walk around the building (about 1 mile) and my hearing was back when I returned.
I learned of an expert that has helped some sufferers through surgery. He said that I was too far gone, and basically told me the same thing that the other guy said. Then he tried to sell me $4000 worth of DSP powered bluetooth capable hearing aids. He also tried to convince me to have my whole head MRI'ed in case this is all caused by a brain tumor. I told him that If I had a brain tumor for 20 years, I would be dead by now. He agreed.
He also said that my hearing response curves are not indicative of noise induced hearing loss. Loud sounds kill high frequencies. My lows and mids are gone too.
These sounds and the tinitus mask most external low level sounds, but sounds above the threshold sound normal, and sometimes abnormally loud. Music below the threshold sounds dull, lifeless, and missing all information above a few KHz, masked by the tinitus. Crank it up loud and it still sounds excellent and realistic. The tinitus is masked by the music.
I have trouble understanding many female speakers unless I can see their lips. Most guys are understandable. The lip reading stuff doesn't work on TV shows. I don't understand why. I have to crank the volume to understand the females, then the guys are loud, and the commercials are unbearable. Most of what's on TV sucks, so it doesn't matter much. Football games are perfectly watchable with the TV sound off and the stereo on!
There are random episodes of vertigo and dizzyness, sometimes debilitating. The first episode occurred about 20 years ago leaving me unable to stand up. My world would spin wildly causing extreme nausea. I could not function at all for a week.
The first hearing expert (20 years ago) called all this "Menieres Disease" (Google it...it sucks). He said that there is no cure or treatment, but in most cases the symptoms would diminish over time, but would likely return randomly for the rest of my life. Each attack would cause a further reduction in hearing, and increased tinitus. Leading to eventual total hearing loss. He has been right so far.
Life slowly returned to normal over about a year, leading to a 10 year period of relatively few symptoms. About 10 years ago it began again. None of the attacks have been debilitating, but a few have left me unwilling to stand or walk for an hour or two for fear of falling down. There were a few incidents that resulted in sudden contact between my body and the floor, or a wall.
Each attack has resulted in further hearing loss. My random dizzy spells now usually last for a minute or so, and usually result from rapid positional changes. They can come a few times a day, or not for several weeks. There have been none in the last few weeks, despite riding some of the relatively mild thrill rides at Universal Studios last weekend. I chose rides that keep me vertical, and get no problems. Roller coasters with loops or rolls are a big No No.
Today, however I had a temporary near total loss of hearing in one ear for about an hour at work. I was sitting at the computer with headphones on, and I thought one side had died. It wasn't the phones. I took a long walk around the building (about 1 mile) and my hearing was back when I returned.
I learned of an expert that has helped some sufferers through surgery. He said that I was too far gone, and basically told me the same thing that the other guy said. Then he tried to sell me $4000 worth of DSP powered bluetooth capable hearing aids. He also tried to convince me to have my whole head MRI'ed in case this is all caused by a brain tumor. I told him that If I had a brain tumor for 20 years, I would be dead by now. He agreed.
He also said that my hearing response curves are not indicative of noise induced hearing loss. Loud sounds kill high frequencies. My lows and mids are gone too.
Quick question from the spelling Nazi: 
How come everyone so far has spelled Tinnitus with only one N? Is it spelled differently in other areas?
I have heard some pronounce it "tin-eye-tis", hence my confusion. With one N, it should be pronounced that way but with two consonants in a row it becomes Tin-i-tis and that's the way I grew up with it. Help me out here.
How come everyone so far has spelled Tinnitus with only one N? Is it spelled differently in other areas?
I have heard some pronounce it "tin-eye-tis", hence my confusion. With one N, it should be pronounced that way but with two consonants in a row it becomes Tin-i-tis and that's the way I grew up with it. Help me out here.
Quick question from the spelling Nazi:
How come everyone so far has spelled Tinnitus with only one N? Is it spelled differently in other areas?
I have heard some pronounce it "tin-eye-tis", hence my confusion. With one N, it should be pronounced that way but with two consonants in a row it becomes Tin-i-tis and that's the way I grew up with it. Help me out here.
I've always understood it to be spelled with two Ns, and google bears this out as it returns no hits for this single N spelling seen here..
I've heard it pronounced both ways here, not sure which is correct for a New Englander..
OK, you busted me......I slept through most of elementary school.....except when my ADHD was getting me a trip to the principals (or is it principle
) office. I get 2 demerits for spellin!I have heard both pronounciations, but the uber expensive doctor I visited last year used "tin-eye-tis".
Neurologist in the house...
Pronunciation is often dependent on what part of the world/country you are from, but Cal has it most right for US and UK at least. "Tin-it-us", with the accent on the first syllable.
George, sounds awful. Especially for a music lover. I am not convinced that Menier's disease has to result in permanent, progressive hearing loss. There are other disorders (I am not an otolaryngologist by the way), such as auto-immune labyrinthitis and probably others that may have treatments. I would seek a second opinion. That first guy sounds like a hearing aid salesman or quack. You might try a university.
For the OP, I wonder if you have a problem with the tensor tympani muscle. This small muscle does just that, applies tension to the tympanic membrane to reduce stress under high SPL. I have seen conditions that I suspect have resulted from what I can only presume is a dystonia of this muscle (intermittent spasm), and your complaints resemble this.
What to do? Not much. I could think of several medications to try, by the results may be less than ideal and complicated by severe side effects. So, sorry. If it has been going on for years, it is not likely dangerous, as George was wise enough to realize.
Pronunciation is often dependent on what part of the world/country you are from, but Cal has it most right for US and UK at least. "Tin-it-us", with the accent on the first syllable.
George, sounds awful. Especially for a music lover. I am not convinced that Menier's disease has to result in permanent, progressive hearing loss. There are other disorders (I am not an otolaryngologist by the way), such as auto-immune labyrinthitis and probably others that may have treatments. I would seek a second opinion. That first guy sounds like a hearing aid salesman or quack. You might try a university.
For the OP, I wonder if you have a problem with the tensor tympani muscle. This small muscle does just that, applies tension to the tympanic membrane to reduce stress under high SPL. I have seen conditions that I suspect have resulted from what I can only presume is a dystonia of this muscle (intermittent spasm), and your complaints resemble this.
What to do? Not much. I could think of several medications to try, by the results may be less than ideal and complicated by severe side effects. So, sorry. If it has been going on for years, it is not likely dangerous, as George was wise enough to realize.
Interesting, seems a few of us have something similar at least.
@wahab: mine is not directly related to sound pressure either. Certain situations cause it, most often its in the car or on the motorbike (only at speed though). It's like a spasm in the ear.
@mr_push_pull: resonance, yes maybe, but its not necessarily at loud volumes (though its certainly loud on my motorbike!)
@Enzo: Earwax, could be related I suppose. I have in the past had excess of it.
@Tubelab - your situation sounds awful, I'm really sorry to hear about it. Thankfully your hearing returned today, must have been very worrying for the hour. I agree with the house neurologist - don't give up and get some more opinions and steer clear of quacks trying to sell you stuff. Contacting a university dept. seems like a good idea.
@jrenkin: you may have hit the nail on the head, it feels like a muscle spasm so could well be the tensor tympani muscle. Thanks for the info.
The reason I brought it up here is that I have an ongoing issue with sensitivity to HF harshness in my system. Problem is it comes and goes, sometimes my system sounds pure and 'flat' while other times its 'spikey' and unpleasant or like my cartridge is mistracking. I just sold my valve amp and have completed putting together a Helder tripath based 100W amp. This has helped considerably but some days it sounds worse than others. On digital I sometimes resort to rolling off the treble in iTunes' EQ.
I'm wondering if the crunching is related and the harshness is not real.
@wahab: mine is not directly related to sound pressure either. Certain situations cause it, most often its in the car or on the motorbike (only at speed though). It's like a spasm in the ear.
@mr_push_pull: resonance, yes maybe, but its not necessarily at loud volumes (though its certainly loud on my motorbike!)
@Enzo: Earwax, could be related I suppose. I have in the past had excess of it.
@Tubelab - your situation sounds awful, I'm really sorry to hear about it. Thankfully your hearing returned today, must have been very worrying for the hour. I agree with the house neurologist - don't give up and get some more opinions and steer clear of quacks trying to sell you stuff. Contacting a university dept. seems like a good idea.
@jrenkin: you may have hit the nail on the head, it feels like a muscle spasm so could well be the tensor tympani muscle. Thanks for the info.
The reason I brought it up here is that I have an ongoing issue with sensitivity to HF harshness in my system. Problem is it comes and goes, sometimes my system sounds pure and 'flat' while other times its 'spikey' and unpleasant or like my cartridge is mistracking. I just sold my valve amp and have completed putting together a Helder tripath based 100W amp. This has helped considerably but some days it sounds worse than others. On digital I sometimes resort to rolling off the treble in iTunes' EQ.
I'm wondering if the crunching is related and the harshness is not real.
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Try pranayam(Yoga). Go to some Yoga teacher. Don't worry of the scientific proof.
Nearly 15 years back, I had cervical spondylosis and this was creating all sorts of problems including difficult standing, vertigo and so on associted with it.
I do not advocate that these alternatives cure anything but within three days of the yoga from Art of Living, these problems reduced a lot, drastically.
I used to oscillate like a pendulum from the leg up front-to-back very low frequency. One of the aquaintance saw this and advised me to go for accupressure. One sitting and the damn thing stopped.
Later now, I found that most of my problems are due to overworked body in the teenage period
Gajanan Phadte
Nearly 15 years back, I had cervical spondylosis and this was creating all sorts of problems including difficult standing, vertigo and so on associted with it.
I do not advocate that these alternatives cure anything but within three days of the yoga from Art of Living, these problems reduced a lot, drastically.
I used to oscillate like a pendulum from the leg up front-to-back very low frequency. One of the aquaintance saw this and advised me to go for accupressure. One sitting and the damn thing stopped.
Later now, I found that most of my problems are due to overworked body in the teenage period
Gajanan Phadte
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