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SSNHL with Sound Distortion / Crackling - Why??
Hi. I was hoping someone could help me with some information. I was hit with SSNHL on March 20th, 2020. I lost my upper frequencies (6k+) in my left ear. After a round of steroids and some time, my 6k has mostly returned, but not much else.
Beyond the hearing loss, I also have Tinnitus (which lately has disappeared from time to time!) and some weird distortion thing. I understand everything except the distortion. My doctors don't seem to quite understand what I'm talking about or they dismiss it as something that my "brain will adapt to eventually". Online I haven't been able to find much... so I figured I would try here.
So, what happens is that certain sounds will become distorted in my left ear. Almost as if they are coming through water or being distorted by a digital filter. The sounds are "cracked". It's almost always when there is a *background* noise - street noise, water running, music and then someone else is talking or making a sound. Then, the sounds become cracked/distorted/digitized. It varies from being slightly annoying to making it hard to understand the situation.
It doesn't seem to matter if there's "bounce-back" from walls or the volume of the noise. For example, talking to someone on speaker phone outside will almost always sound distorted, but inside they sound fine.
Has anyone else experienced this and understood what's going on?
Very many thanks in advance!
best and stay safe,
tom
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I have developed a sudden change in my hearing and your description (tuner between 2 radio stations) is exactly what it sounds like. I can hear someone talking but can't make out the words clearly due to the distortion. Their (and my) speech sounds like it has been filtered through an electronic device to distort it. I already wear hearing aids and have profound hearing loss above 1000Hz.
This is different and happened progressively over the past month or so. At first, I thought it was just a sinus infection or cold as I have had a lot of mucus, esp in the morning. But my sinuses have been pretty much clear for the past week. Planning to see an ENT this week to have this checked out, but based on the posts, I gather this may not likely be effective in identifying what has happened or provide an effective therapeutic.
Taking Motrin has made a small temporary improvement. I also take a Zn tablet and Vit D3 in the morning. Have noticed the problem is most noticeable in the evening. Linkage or just the effects of wearing HA all day? Virus effect?
This type of issue is so complex, and it seems that everyone experiences it differently. Tinnitus covers a lot of bases, but that has many variables and affects people differently.
Please let us know what you learn from your ENT.