SSNHL with Sound Distortion / Crackling - Why??

Posted by Tom Zed @tommyzed, Jun 10, 2020

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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dloos | @dloos | Jan 16, 2025

In reply to @distortedhearing "What are ALL of your symptoms? What caused your ear problems? How does your voice sound..." + (show)

I developed muffed, clogged hearing six weeks after recovering from Covid. We flew to Hawaii. After getting off the plane my ears never “popped” back to normal. That was three years ago. Since then it has developed into pressure in my head, tinnitus and hyperacusis and hearing loss.
My own voice seems very muffled, like I’m down a hole or under water. What I hear is distorted. Most music sounds tinny, and I have a lot of trouble understanding people. I wear hearing aids now but they don’t help much.
I have seen multiple ENT doctors, audiologists, Neurologists....nobody has answers. I also have impaired vision and extreme constipation.
I attribute all to the after effects of Covid 19.
It really sucks. I continue to seek answers but nobody really knows how to help. My life is nothing like it was before I had Covid.

distortedhearing | @distortedhearing | Jan 16, 2025

In reply to @dloos "I developed muffed, clogged hearing six weeks after recovering from Covid. We flew to Hawaii. After..." + (show)

I'm so sorry to hear this. My life has been horrible since my infection too. Do you have Cochlear Synaptopathy (hidden hearing loss), recruitment, or Auditory Nuerothopy? What is the best answer that you have so far? Do you belong to any support groups on Facebook where we could chat more since we have this rare similar problem?

distortedhearing | @distortedhearing | Jan 16, 2025

Can you exchange numbers on this site or email addresses?

dloos | @dloos | Jan 16, 2025

In reply to @distortedhearing "I'm so sorry to hear this. My life has been horrible since my infection too. Do..." + (show)

I am not on Facebook, or any support group other than this site. My diagnosis have varied from Eustachian tube dysfunction to age relate sensorial hearing loss. Frankly, they just don’t know. I have had three CT scans of my inner ears and they are all normal.
I was told cochlear implants are not for me.
???? I wish I had some answers for you. Sadly I do not.

rlsutton | @rlsutton | Jan 17, 2025

Good luck finding someone with your symptoms. I haven’t found anyone with mine in the year and a half I have had sshl

distortedhearing | @distortedhearing | Jan 12 2:06pm

I have the same issue. How is your hearing now? Did you get used to the distortion? How have you been doing?

distortedhearing | @distortedhearing | Jan 12 2:12pm

In reply to @mark888 "Hey Tom, I have similar distortion. I lost all hearing in my left ear in 2006...." + (show)

@mark888 I have the same issue. How is your hearing now? Did you get used to the distortion? How have you been doing?

What is your word discrimination score?

I have normal audiograms but distorted hearing since an infection. It has ruined almost 6 years of my life. I have seen Nuerotologists and they don't seem. To care or understand.

mark888 | @mark888 | Jan 13 10:14pm

In reply to @distortedhearing "@mark888 I have the same issue. How is your hearing now? Did you get used to..." + (show)

@distortedhearing I'm so sorry to hear that you're experiencing similar issues and that it's been six years, I know how hard that is.

I looked at my post and it was from September 2020, which was five years into my deafness.

I can very happily say that I am much better now, but paradoxically, my hearing hasn't changed for the better.

I was a professional musician and when I lost my hearing, I was devastated and suicidal. That felt quite natural to me, because why would I want to be around as a musician who couldn't hear, so I didn't think of my situation as possibly being clinical depression.

It took me seven miserable years before I found out that I had major depressive disorder that came about from the trauma of losing my hearing. I had no previous history of depression, anxiety, etc.

Once I got medication for that, my life turned around and all the things that drove me crazy about my hearing loss, every minute of every day, became much more tolerable. They didn't go away, i'm still deaf, still have tinnitus, etc., but now I can handle all of that. It wasn't instantaneous, but four years later I'm no longer focused on the horror of losing my hearing, or the incessant sounds in my head, etc.

As mentioned, I still have tinnitus, but for the most part I don't even notice it. At this moment, while I'm writing about it, it is very loud because I'm focused on it, but I know that I'll wake up tomorrow and it won't even be an issue.

I wish I had a better answer that there was some neurotology, neurology, otolaryngology-based, etc., answer, but for me personally, it was dealing with the trauma of losing my hearing that made the difference.

I want to mention one other thing, and I hope this does not apply to you, but in case anyone reads this and says "that sounds similar, but I know medication wouldn't work for me."

I knew with every fiber of my being that medication was not going to help me. I was 100% sure of that. I only got on anti-depressants so that my family and friends wouldn't have to say to themselves "why didn't we push him harder to take medication" when I eventually killed myself. I was more shocked than anyone that it helped me, but I'm happy—and still here—to say that it did. So if anyone reads this and says "that sounds similar, but I know medication wouldn't work for me," please read this paragraph again and know that I felt exactly like you do—but I was wrong.

@distortedhearing I hope that things ease out for you soon and wish you all the best.
Mark