Low-freq loss, distortion/frequency-shifting and tinnitus = otosclerosis?

Hearing Loss
#1

Hi all,

My first post here, so hi! :slight_smile:

I’m a recording engineer/producer with near-total low-frequency hearing loss in my left ear from about 1khz down, and above that from maybe 1-3k frequencies don’t track normally and there is distortion, then above that is fine. My right ear is fine.

By not tracking normally I mean if I play, for example, a major scale I will hear a normal major scale in my right ear and in my left the notes just don’t follow the same scale, with distortion at lower frequencies. In practice it means it’s hard to hear men’s speech and impossible to guess the key of songs. Not super easy to produce music either…

is this otosclerosis?

Matthew

#2

Have you had an audiogram preformed? They can test for Bone Conduction which will tell you.

#3

Hi William,

I have. They used headphones and also put on bone conduction “headphones”. Would that mean they were testing for otosclerosis?

#4

Was the bone conduction headphone put behind your ear?

It will tell you if you have an issue with your middle ear which is what you need to find out.

image

#5

Who did the test for you? Did they give you a diagnosis at the time? Has an ENT doc reviewed it or an Audi? Given your profession knowing definitely what’s going on it important to be able to provide the best solution for you.

Edit: can you supply the results of the audiogram you had performed? I think that will help some of the most knowledgeable people here to give you more targeted suggestions.

#6

Audiogram hearing test copy
Audiogram hearing test copy2601×1902 874 KB
The test, including the bone conduction headphone, was done by the audiologist then reviewed by a couple of different ENTs. They seemed to think sensorineural.

I think it was behind the ear tho it was all fairly stressful so unfortunately I can’t recall if I heard low frequencies better or the same through the bone conduction. Perhaps it indicates in the chart?

In lay terms, if someone with otosclerosis puts on bone conduction headphones, do they hear better? Or the same.

#7

I should add: I’ve had an MRI done, so they confirmed it’s not Meniere’s Disease, nor, thankfully, any kind of tumour.

#8

Your test confirms it isn’t a problem with your middle ear so yes, it’ll be sensinural (can’t spell the word).

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#9

Better as it’s by passing the damaged part of the ear. It may not be ‘perfect’ but it’ll be better.

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#10

In that case do you have any ideas what could be causing this distortion and weird tracking of frequencies? The low-freq loss is annoying, as is the tinnitus, but the distortion physically hurts when things get loud.

#11

Left ear low frequency loss and distortion.
Diagnosis nerve damage.

#12

The problem with that diagnosis, which very well may be right, is that it doesn’t tell me anything. This started a year ago, during lockdown, the quietest months of my adult life, when I wasn’t sick or otherwise undergoing any health problems.

Any ideas what might have caused the damage?

#13

Very few people find out why they become hard of hearing / deaf.

#14

Does the distortion/frequency shifting at least sound like anything known? I’d feel better if I at least knew what the name was.

#15

Not sure what caused it.
No one really ever told me what may have caused it .
In my case may have been work related.
Used to do commercial refrigeration.
Lots of big noisy compressors, fans.
Also used a lot of noisy tools.
To be honest no one really seemed to care.
The last ENT I went to wanted me to go to a different doctor for maybe an MRI.
I never followed up.
I don’t know maybe I will one day.

#16

I tinker with kegerators now and then. Replacing a compressor on a commercial reach in now, Hoshizaki.

#17

35 years can’t tell you how many compressors I replaced.

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#18

Just to be clear, I work in audio and was taught at an early age to wear earplugs in loud environments and have done so, religiously, for 25 years. This condition came on during lockdown, when there were no shows and I didn’t even own speakers, so my concern was actually that it was caused by a lack of loud sound rather than too much.

So, to be clear, it’s 100% not caused by any kind of abuse. There’s no family history of it that I know of, at least not on my mom’s side, and nothing showed on an MRI.

I do often feel some kind of physical sensation around my ear on the left that I’ve never felt on the right and I feel like it’s related to the hearing loss but, again, the MRI didn’t show anything different.

#19

I’m the only one in my family that is hard of hearing. Also my MRI was clear. Very few people find out why they become deaf or hard of hearing.

#20

All kind of hearing loss in my family.
Brother, sister, mom. Pretty sure dad but he never wore aids.
I’m the only one with low frequency loss.
Was also told low frequency loss can be genetic.
Beats me.
Left eat absolutely sucks.
Bad tinnitus plus distortion.
Why, don’t know.
I wouldn’t drive myself crazy over why.
Not worth it.
Just do what you have to do to help your hearing the best you can.