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"The HUM", a persistent Low Frequency Noise
As I sit, writing, my left ear is filled with the Classic Hum. Both my ears used to hear it, but after an ear infection in the right ear, leaving no measurable loss of hearing as determined by yearly workplace hearing tests, I no longer hear it in the right.
Certainly, others must hear it.
My wife, largely complete loss of hearing in one ear, high frequency Tinnitus in the other, and myself, excellent hearing as tested by yearly workplace physicals, started hearing the HUM on the same day, in the same location, over a decade ago. We hear it exactly the same in a number of places separated by hundreds of miles. We have experimented by asking if the other could hear the HUM, whether in certain parts of the structure we were in (home we rented in the Country, home we owned in the City) if it was louder, quieter, or audible at all, and had an extremely high degree of concurrence.
It appears to be a real world event, not Tinnitus, but IMHO, the American Medical Community is trying to pawn it off as Tinnitus. I've seen a few references to the National Institutes of Health claiming, on flimsy questionnaires sent out, that the HUM is, indeed, Tinnitus.
My wife heard it, simultaneous to me hearing it, for a decade, I still hear it, but if you mention this to doctors, they look at you like you have snakes coming out of your head. My ENT has been sick, so my appointment with him has been delayed, he's back to work but catching up. I see the ENT due to a cancerous thyroid he removed. But recently, my right ear has been acting up. It makes a spontaneous rumbling noise that I can voluntarily reproduce. But telling this to my family doctor, that I can voluntarily make this rumbling (not the HUM) and also mentioning the HUM, since I hear it in my left ear but the right ear is acting up, on both counts, I don't think he believes me, or understands. Yet, yesterday, I found an article that says that some people have voluntary control over a muscle attached to the Tympanic Membrane. That's my voluntarily induced rumbling (not HUM).
So, there are some forms of Tinnitus, "Pulsatile Tinnitus (PT) is a symptom that affects nearly five million Americans. The sensation of hearing a rhythmic noise, such as a heartbeat, swooshing or whooshing, from no external source, is, at best, a little unsettling; for many, the near constant sound exceeds annoyance and becomes completely debilitating" that can cause noises in your hearing, but decidedly is not the HUM. I'd be interested in reading what others have to say on these experiences, if you don't feel like outing yourself, you could always say a friend of yours.......
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....not sure if this will help but your saying that hearing/noises etc. differs from day to day and mine is the same so hard to pin down cause. Reading about it all, it is very complicated sorting out hearing loss/tinnitus/hyperacusis/involving sometimes TMJ, sinus, what we eat/drink and what noises are around us.. I even read weather can play a part. I have moderate hearing loss and tried hearing aids for a few days couple years ago but didnt suit; also now have tinnitus but even that fluctuates. I feel mine could be hereditary but parents passed and I am 78 so cant ask... but also from many medications especially antibiotics but no proof and damage is done. The tinnitus is horrible but last year or so realized a lot of the noise I put down to tinnitus is hyperacusis (and having mri's with no ear protection over the years may have contributed, who knows?)...I can hear things much louder - so a mix of hearing loss yet can 'over-hear' shower on my head, machinery running/neighbours; even dropping something is overly loud compared to before yet can only hear half of what husband says! If there is a test for Menieres I havent had it and where I live there are only two ENT doctors and I cannot travel much due to fecal incontinence. So I just do what I can .. Ihave ipad and listen to relaxation tapes a lot and pick ones with vocals I can hear/tolerate... and when have mri ask for double hearing protection; so I hope you can find ways to cope because depending on the cause, it's hard to find a "cure" ... and with other medical issues to deal with can accentuate symptoms. Wish you the best, J. (Canada)
I am one of those women over 48 and lost complete hearing in my right ear 5 days after my 2nd vaccine over 1 year ago.
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1 ReactionSimilar to @videojanitor: I have voice and music distortion after, up until now, being born with perfect pitch. Classical and jazz sound horrible to me and yes, I have hearing loss as well. No one has explained any of this to me since it popped up in 2018.
My tinnitus isn’t similar to others either: I hear music fragments, drumming, repeated rhythms, mush. It gets noisy about once/twice a week, then quieter (sometimes very quiet) on other days. In addition I have hyperacussis which eliminates going to gatherings of any kind over 5-6 people, restaurants, etc. All this has been a shocking life changer.
I appreciate reading what others hear and how they’re managing. Thank you!
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2 Reactions@vickies This is certainly not fair. Have they held the shot manufacturers accountable yet? Seems I heard that the shot is no longer considered emergency use???
Tony in Michigan
I'm so sorry to hear that you also lost all your hearing in one ear after the Vax. My heart goes out to you.
As far as I've heard the manufacturers are immune and cannot be held accountable. I wish they would pay for the cochlear implant my Dr has recommended since Medicare won't.
I have similar issues. The tinnitus was a pleasant whooshing sound in time to my heart beat initially and I still had excellent hearing. Then a few months later I suffered SSHL & went severely deaf in that ear and the tinnitus changed to an unpleasant, non-pulsating buzzing static sound that is constant but varies in loudness. My rt ear is now hypersensitive. Everything is louder and startling. My husband is emptying the dishwasher and I just want to scream. I hate being in the kitchen with him at same time when we prepare meals. Restaurants are horrible or even visiting with 3 people in a home takes real effort and is tiring. Sound localization is frightening to me. Once I thought we were having a freak summer rain storm because I heard it pouring outside, so put on my raincoat to take the dog out. Figured out it was the dishwasher running. The fullness in my ears, feeling like I'm underwater or in a barrel fluxuates and sometimes when I talk the sound reverberates or buzzes in my deaf ear so that I don't want to talk. But fortunately that doesn't happen all the time. If I raise my voice for any reason it always does but often even when my voice is low. It's such a difficult experience because everyone's symptoms are a little different and they change hour to hour. I'm trying to meet the challenge but my world has become very small & I seldom leave the house. I'd like to get the cochlear implant that my Dr recommends but Medicare will only cover an Osia bone anchored device since I have good hearing in my right ear.
I live up n Wimington NC and would like to find a chapter near me. Thank you for your help!!
Thanks for relaying your story. It's surely helpful that we can share our experiences. It does seem that the reasons for all this are not really known -- doctors are just taking their best guess. I'm still trying to figure out if I actually have Meneire's, or if it's something else. The ENT diagnosed it as "possible Meniere's," but seemed mostly stumped.
The weird "pitch shifting" effect I experienced over the weekend has vanished. Now I'm just experiencing a loss of low frequencies in one ear, and when I speak, it feels like my voice is being conducted internally from my throat to that same ear. The other ear is fine. It just feels like it might be some kind of congestion (allergy??). Hopefully my MD can figure this out.
@jaynes40 Yes, the distortion when listening to music is very shocking. I'm an audiophile going back to the early '70s, always investing in the best audio equipment and cherishing good sound. Everyone considered me to have "golden ears" -- well, not anymore. I almost have to laugh when I hear how distorted some of my favorite tracks sound -- it's like they're being played through rolls of tissue paper, or blown speakers. But at the moment, that problem only affects one ear, so I've resorted to putting an earplug in the bad one to minimize the distortion.
If this is the way it will always be, it will be, as you said, a shocking life changer. Three months ago, I had no hearing issues at all.
Thanks for relating your story.