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Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Aug. 24 2008, 04:06 About 3 weeks ago I went to bed/sleep. At some point in my sleep cycle I woke up to a very loud explosion sound. Very similar to a war movie where a soldier has a shell explode close to him. I noticed my left ear felt funny and I snapped my fingers next to it to test it. The sound was very muddy and distant and there was a constant ringing. I knew I needed to sleep for my job, and prayed it was just a dream so I fell back asleep. The hearing in my left ear never came back just like the "Ripples" in a song by another famous rock act from England. So I went to a local Pro-med clinic, paid the $30 co-pay and got examined. The Dr. prescibed me amoxicillin, the antibiotic of choice for ear infections. Nothing after I took them all. About a 50% loss in my left ear. Things now sound......it's like I can't judge the exact "direction" of a sound anymore. What was once easily picked out as far to the right and in front of me, could be far to the left....or center.....and in back of me. My spatial sense of direction for sound has now become impaired. And a loss of high frequency sounds in the left ear. So I was refferred to an ear specialist. I spent about 2 hours doing hearing/conduction tests. All I ended up with was "take a baby (81mg) aspirin a day, and from now on be VERY protective of your hearing. I am scheduling an MRI of your head to rule out any tumors mainly around the cochlear nerve, which is very rare." Well, I never do anything small and I love aspirin, always have, so I take 325mg/5 grains every day, 2 of them if I feel pissed. Going on a month now, no change. I think all those years with high dynamic range drum machines and distortion stomp boxes took their toll and my poor wee little tympanic membrane or else the little bones, malleous, stapes, whatever......took their last abuse and collapsed like a wet taco. Anyway, I figure what is the point in climbing into an MRI machine? Even if it finds a "cause", what the hell can you do? Fit me like an old man with a hearing aid? I can make my own hearing aid with custum EQ designed for me alone. I have therefore decided not to waste my money on an MRI. "If it's that broke, you can't fix it" is how I see it. Perhaps the explosion I heard was a mini-stroke affecting left-side hearing. I'll never know. But I did listen to Incantations at HIGH VOLUME on these 2 Sony tower speakers about 5 feet high with 2 8" woofers, a midrange and tweeter, right after this bullshit came down. It was great fun and freakin' loud. And I don't care. Spatially, everything still sounds great thru headphones. In my car, it's wierd, spatially. I guess if I ever finish that 1 hour CD I've been working on, I'll need to hire someone with 100% hearing to help me mix it. It's been 20 years work and I think money well spent.     I guess my point is, if I blew a gasket in my ear, MO was a big part of it. You can't listen to MO at low volume, it's like eating french fries with no ketchup, making love with no love, getting high with only low. If I've suffered hearing loss permanently due to music, it was a friggin'  honor doing it with MO and my other favs and my own hand(my beloved new Parker Fly). Crank it up Tubularians, nothing lasts forever, so I say MAX IT OUT!!!!!!......well use -some- discretion I suppose as you see fit....I just...I now feel like I have some idea what deaf people live like. And I work with blind kids. Go figure....     Your newly and partially deaf freind,                                                Jimbo -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: Aug. 24 2008, 05:28 Jesus Christ!  Jim, I don't know what to say.  I've never heard of that sort of phenomena, I mean, for this to happen out of the blue while you were sleeping, with no immediate cause at that particular moment.  It just seems to be the cruelest thing.  But you seemed to be cool as a cucumber through it so far.  In fact, you took, what seemed to me, to be far more proactive steps to get things checked out than most people probably would have.  A lot of folks would have been too freaked out and intimidated to head to the MD.  It's just the shittiest thing to shlup upon a music lover, and an MO lover to boot!  Vent away whenever the urge comes along.  Got a couple of fingers crossed for you that somehow the situation improves. -------------- Turn up the music... Hi as Fi can go. Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 24 2008, 08:27 Quote (Scatterplot @ Aug. 24 2008, 04:06) The Dr. prescibed me amoxicillin, the antibiotic of choice for ear infections. Sorry to hear about your problem... Your doctor must be a bit of a cretin to prescribe amoxicillin, though - virtually all bacteria have developed an immunity to it now; it's practically worthless. In my experience doctors generally prescribe it so that you have to go back and get something stronger, ie, pay more money. I had an unusual ear infection as a child: "coral ear". When you swim in tropical waters there's a risk that you can get coral growing in your cavities, and that's what happened to me. My hearing didn't lose its sensitivity, fortunately, but in a strong wind I get a strange "buffety" feeling to this day. I'm no expert, but it could have been a mini-stroke. If it were a tumour the effects would have built up gradually; it wouldn't have been like an explosion. Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: Aug. 24 2008, 08:40 Quote (Scatterplot @ Aug. 24 2008, 08:06)     I guess my point is, if I blew a gasket in my ear, MO was a big part of it. You can't listen to MO at low volume, it's like eating french fries with no ketchup, making love with no love, getting high with only low. If I've suffered hearing loss permanently due to music, it was a friggin'  honor doing it with MO and my other favs and my own hand(my beloved new Parker Fly). Crank it up Tubularians, nothing lasts forever, so I say MAX IT OUT!!!!!!......well use -some- discretion I suppose as you see fit....I just...I now feel like I have some idea what deaf people live like. And I work with blind kids. Go figure....     Your newly and partially deaf freind,                                                Jimbo Good grief Jim, What an awful thing to happen. Is the partial loss of hearing temporary, or is it more permenant.  If it's an infection, could you have an allergy to pennicillin. I know I tried some penicillin antibiotics once and it caused me to come out in an itchy rash. I have to warn doctors not to prescribe anything ending in "cillin". I think that "one size fits all" approach to medication of many doctors doesn't always work.  Would a hearing aid restore your loss of hearing in that ear. I don't know what is worse to lose my sight or hearing, both senses I probably use most along with touch.   I do know a couple of profoundly deaf guys, one is my neighbour, and the other works in my local Tesco's (UK supermarket chain) I know he enjoys music, but I don't know what he picks up on it.  I think with music there are some frequencies beyond the range of normal human hearing, as was demonstrated by The White Noise on their 1969 album, "An Electric Storm" , considered a cult classic. My ex husband has the CD of this, and I did find it a bit to way out, a bit head doing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Vorhaus I don't know what my dogs  made of it. Apparently White Noise are doingelectronica/trance/dance  music, reminds me of The Orb see their my space page http://www.myspace.com/whiteunderscorenoise. I have to agree with you about listening to Mike's music at low volume,  is a bit like eating chips (French fries) without fish with salt and vinegar, Laurel without Hardy, but it was Stan Laurel who wrote many of the L&H classics, I can't imagine one without the other, or indeed making love without love, yes I think in my younger days I confused love and sex, and often found myself dissapointed.   Yes I do enjoy the odd blast of loud music, and mydoctor said to me that my  hearing is probably better than hers. -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

Airborne Group: Members Posts: 192 Joined: Sep. 2006 Posted: Aug. 24 2008, 15:26 Quote (Scatterplot @ Aug. 24 2008, 09:06) I noticed my left ear felt funny and I snapped my fingers next to it to test it. The sound was very muddy and distant and there was a constant ringing. Jim, About 10 years ago I started to get the first symptoms of otosclerosis and they were similar to what you have described. The disease is hereditary and is not the result of infection or listening to loud music. I'm not giving you a diagnosis here but it is something an ear specialist will be trained to pick up. You need to eliminate this possibility before discounting an MRI scan. I too lost 50% in my left ear and the right is going the same way. I have had constant tinnitus for the past 10 years and it will never go away. I spent £5000 having a stapedectomy on my left ear to restore some conductivity to the cochlea and that has helped greatly. I did have a hearing aid for a few years before the operation. I do hope you get this sorted soon as it is terrible not knowing. Please follow up what the specialists suggest as it is the only way you will get your problem resolved. Do look up the disease "otosclerosis" on the internet and read about the symptoms - if it all looks familiar then you will know what you are up against Kind Regards, David Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: Sep. 09 2008, 07:42 hey Jim.How's the hearing now? -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Sep. 09 2008, 11:59 I'd say about 25% loss, weird thing is I can sometimes make it go away. Imagine if you yawn......but then inhale quickly thru your nose. I've made it come back as much as for a minute at a time but it always cuts out again. The ringing is always there. But I still listen to MO. The stereo image is rearranged a little, but I can enjoy. Loud noises bug me more. The ear specialist I saw said "I want you to be extremely protective of your hearing from now on." I'll ignore him to some extent. I'll use headphones. I'll crank it up if I please. I just turned 47 so I plan to enjoy what time I have left in this life. Music, brewskys, guitar, motorcycles, and Eddy the avatar. Jim -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: Sep. 09 2008, 11:59 I was wondering the same thing, myself.  Was about to ask, but then I saw you responded. -------------- Turn up the music... Hi as Fi can go. Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Sep. 13 2009, 02:07 It's been about a year since the last post on that deal. Very strange phenomenon. I never went back for that MRI over a year ago. I had my reasons, least of which it would lead to nothing to bring the hearing loss back(I'm well trained medically and in anatomy). The wierd part......as time went by the periods I could hear normally became more frequent. But the ringing/loss never quite went away. Some days, like this morning, bad. Nothing but 100% ringing since I woke, after a long time of about 78% normalcy. I plugged in my 12 string and jammed to drums and bass. I've been FINE ever since. That was like 10 hours ago. I hear 100% in both ears as of that jam. And this is not the 1st time. But I am happy. That may change in 24 hours. I was wondering if any others here have experienced this phenomena? Right now my hearing is 97% perfect(for the moment). -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Inkanta Group: Admins Posts: 1453 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: Sep. 13 2009, 07:52 No, but here is a link to otosclerosis, which Airborne described above. That source is from Medline, which is a reliable source of medical information. This piece, from the wiki, really isn't as reliable cos its the wiki, but it's not bad--tons of references to peer-reviewed medical journals--but what is striking is the differential diagnosis section, i.e., all the things that it could be. If it were me, I'd want to start out with a thorough exam, because it can be so many things--and then get a referral to a specialist associated with a university hospital. All specialists are not created equal. I learned that with my knee 9 years ago. I wish  I had learned it even earlier, but it didn't sink in then, apparently. When I had horrible dizziness back in the mid-90's, I went to an ear specialist who didn't find anything and then referred me to a neurologist. I had an MRI--he wanted to rule out a brain tumor, MS--pretty serious stuff. In the meantime (and don't do this at home, ha ha) I self-diagnosed and decided it was benign proximal positional vertigo.  Turns out, I was right. There wasn't any cure, so the doc sent me home with a series of exercises to help.  As it turns out, my uncle's second wife had the same thing and had gone to the Mayo clinic. Nearly simultaneously, my uncle sent me the directions that she'd been given, and I found similar instructions on the Internet. I did them and never (knock on wood) have had the problem again. I should have gone to Columbia, MO first (university hospital), rather than more locally for somethng like that. I suspect I'd have avoided a lot of grief. Good luck with that, Jim, and I hope that you get a proper diagnosis. If it is a symptom of something else, you'll need to get treatment. You are always talking about how old 48 is, but it really isn't. You could live twice as long as that. -------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris." Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: April 19 2012, 14:10 Hello my old buddies. I looked up this thread from years ago to narrow down the date my left ear exploded in my sleep. I told my new doctor today that it had been 4 years, I can't remember. Turns out I was right on the money. It pays to document your medical history on toob-net cuz......it will always be there! The one constant in an ever changing universe is tubular dot net. Anyway, going back 4 years it only got worse till today. A constant ringing not only of high freeks, say 12000HZ, but other lower "hums" like 500HZ. Constant, 4 GD years. Music was something I "phased out" except only at lower/moderate levels and the treble adjusted down. I found that my left ear was really hypersensitive to HF loud sounds and I kept my world quiet, if possible. Put the guitars up and the keyboards for good. Only listening to albums carefully equalized with treble curved down and also at much weaker volume for a rock 'n roll type of guy. I learned that enjoying music was a lot like drinking too much. If I listened to an album I knew I'd pay for it the next day with a pain like an ice pick shoved through my left ear. I could not take the pain and swore off music(sad) because it was not worth it. I got a big amount of relief today and now hear 30+ percent better in my left ear. But the ringing/harmonics are still there. But now I hear in "3D" again, renewed perception of left/right/front/back........I can identify the location of a sound now, so cool. After seeing two doctors 4 years ago who looked my ears over well, I never got offered a cleaning. Today I did. Some drops of ear wax dissolving liquid to soak for 10 minutes followed by TONS of warm water washed in my ear from a syringe. A fascinating feeling actually, like a warm waterfall in my ear, sometimes placid, sometimes turbulent. Well, a lot was achieved and I hear better, a lot better. But I'm thinking about investing in getting that ear back permanently with whatever surgery there is. For now it is incredible to hear 3D again. If I could help younger people the best way, it would be to say: treat sound like alcohol. If decades of alcohol can destroy your liver, so can excessive sound(in my case ridiculously excessive for decades). Do sound in moderation and be protective of your hearing. If you're 27, you will thank me at 50. My 2 cents worth, Jimbo(gonna try some MO now, I'll let ya know how it turned out) -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Cavalier (Lost Version) Group: Members Posts: 598 Joined: Nov. 2010 Posted: April 21 2012, 06:43 Happy to learn of the improvement, Jim [I typed "hear" first, of course...], sobering that you had the distress to begin with.  Perhaps those concerned decided against syringing in case of further damage, but I'm inclined to think they just assumed you would get a clean from someone lower down the medical food chain.  I've been syringed twice - in both cases, I had the blessing to realise it was almost certainly just due to earwax shifting, but this world of ours always makes you wonder.  Some studying the human body actually know what they're about and it was back in 1997, when my left ear stayed blocked after a bath, that I had a bit more proof about the controls affected by the stronger side of your brain.  I'm right-handed and legged; I've known I was left-eyed since childhood and this was the first time I realised I was left-eared.  I was working in a call centre at the time and if I'd instinctively chosen the better ear to use, I was still surprised at the difference when only one was available.  Tonnes of earwax were dislodged from both, then and last year when it reoccurred.  MO is a good incentive to recover what you can.  Her'es hoping fo continued good news for you. -------------- "Who was that?" "That was Venger - the force of Evil!  I am Dungeon Master - your guide in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons!" Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: April 22 2012, 00:50 The ringing and mild pain(as opposed to near excruciating a week ago) is still there. In better times I'll invest in an MRI, but I'm scared to know the results. I did listen to some of HR. Friggin' awesome in 3D once again(as opposed to pseudo-stereo somewhere off to the GD right). Not the remix, the digitalized/slightly cleaned up Porky Peckham UK Virgin release album, so so sweet. Only the original........only the original...... -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Blue Dolphin Group: Members Posts: 1232 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: May 01 2012, 09:45 Damn Jim, this is terrible for you! This is the same fear I have for my hearing, as it is my most important instrument for my job (well, I guess hearing is one of your most precious possessions in the world). Hopefully it will keep the same this way (I'm not the type of visiting loud concerts). My mother has tinitus since 2006, which you have too I presume (as you describe the ringing in your ear). One day during her sleep, it suddenly developed and never went away. We still think that because she lost a lot of the high frequencies, her mind is compensating it with the tinitus. Strange thing is that is never listened to (very) loud music all her life, so I still think it is stress or something that caused it. -------------- -The mark of a good musician is to play one note and mean it- Mike Oldfield - 1980 Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: May 05 2012, 13:54 All I can tell you is be carefull with your hearing. Same as with booze or driving safely/crazy. Safety is good. Recklessness sucks. There are ways to play live in a band for decades and safeguard your hearing. Research it/do it. Keep the wall of sound at the audience, not you. I've been having a LOT of ice pick in the ear pain in the last cupla weeks, but I am no stranger to pain. Still....hearing in 3D. I can whistle along with songs again. Screw the pain. Just be carefull kiddos......study old farts like Pete Townshend and learn how to avoid hearing loss(and pilots of jet planes). My 2 cents worth. Jim -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

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