The Decrepit Music Lover

[Decrepit Poster]

I thought folk might be interested in the results of my most recent hearing test, conducted yesterday 04 March 2015. This was a follow-up to a more thorough evaluation conducted a month prior.

A brief (???) background. I am not shy in admitting that my hearing has been crappy for many years. (I mailed a "mini-Heiligenstadt" to my parents in the mid 1970s when my loss was laughably minuscule compared to what it is now. And no, it did NOT contain hints at suicidal tendencies. Such things are alien to my nature.) Prior to these evaluations my most recent hearing test occurred over ten years ago. At that time the graph was fairly flat until 3k Hz then rapidly nosedived into oblivion. Back then my left ear was somewhat better than the right, as it had been since my loss and its associated tinnitus were first noticed in the mid 1960s.

Late last year some music, especially orchestra music with lots of strings, began to sound rather odd, and all music more muffled. Violins were all but unlistenable, sounding very "hollow", as was the human voice. I began experiencing ear pain on both sides and pressure inside my ears, which felt as if they were stuffed with cotton. I visited my Primary Care Physician, who referred me to a specialist.

The results of my initial evaluation showed not only worsened nerve damage but conductive loss, meaning some frequencies I should be able to hear are being blocked. Conductive loss is centered at 1k Hz and is greater on the left. Hearing then improves a bit until plummeting at 2k Hz. This dip at 1k Hz is why violins and voice sound "hollow".

I was prescribed a nasal spray to hopefully remove whatever is causing conductive loss, and have used it daily ever since. It helps. Orchestra recordings are now tolerable again, though don't sound as good as they did even six months ago. Not yet at any rate.

Here's a portion of the follow-up evaluation. The sad news for me is that even discounting conductive loss my "good" ear is now worse than the right...until after 4k Hz when it jumps up higher as the right ear continues to drop. The blue "X" is my left side conductive loss. The blue line above that, with the bracket, is that same ear with "only" nerve damage. (Red is right.) In theory conductive damage might eventually vanish entirely.

Closing on a positive note, voice recognition scores over 90% in both ears (though in real-life situations certain voices in certain acoustic environments are all but incomprehensible.) Life is what it is, and like the master I largely came to grips with my loss in early adulthood. Compared to his, my degradation has been neither as rapid nor as severe. Not yet at any rate.

[AeolianHarp]

It's brave of you to share this with us DP. I hope your hearing doesn't get as great as dear Beethoven's became. If you don't mind me asking- what do the doctors think is the cause of your nerve damage?
Francois Martin Mai has an interesting chapter on the possible causes of Beethoven's deafness- the most compelling are otosclerosis and complications rising from the Typhus he contracted in 1797.

[Decrepit Poster]

The conscious beginning of my hearing loss, most certainly my tinnitus, harkens back to the mid 1960s. I was in my second or third year of "junior high school", as it's called in the states. Our campus contained multiple buildings. I was walking from one building to another between classes. It was winter and had snowed. Kids being kids, someone hit me with a snowball directly in my right ear. It caused immediate pain. Possibly due to the having a frozen object stuffed tight in my ear that ear kept making explosive noises as if something were shattering. I rushed to an indoor fountain and let water warm the compacted snow until it washed out. Immediately afterward I noticed my ear(s?) ringing like crazy. Furthermore, from that point onward my right ear didn't hear quite as well as the left (up until sometime last year). The problem with this diagnosis is that it doesn't account for left ear loss or tinnitus, which were obvious if not overly bothersome only a few years later.

Early in my military career a hearing specialist asked if I had been subject to frequent severe nasal/sinus congestion while growing up, with a lot of pressure in my ears, explaining that this often contributes to loss such as I displayed. This is indeed the case. I tended to be a sickly lad, suffering from cold/flu like symptoms much of the winter and heavy allergies throughout spring and summer. In fact I didn't "outgrow" these conditions until my late thirties or very early forties.

Additionally, recall that I was a performing musician for a good many years, exposed to loud sounds for long periods on an almost daily basis.

Now, many people go through this sort of thing and come out relatively unscathed. Me, I've never been overly robust and seem to wear out faster than people of stronger constitutions exposed to the same situations.

All this is of course educated (?) guesswork, but I suspect there is much truth in it.

[AeolianHarp]

Sorry to hear all that DP. It does seem like your predisposition to colds may have been a factor.

[Decrepit Poster]

A bit more of my conductive loss has cleared, though I'm not back to where I was before this issue became noticeable last year. The chief benefit is that the sound of my Brautigam Beethoven sonata set, heard as five-channel SACDs through my living room audio system, is appreciably (but not significantly) better. My newly purchased HJ Lim Beethoven CDs sound darn good too, in their very different way. Oddly, I don't like the sound of my Pollini Beethoven CDs as well as I once did, but then I mostly listened to those back when I had both better quality front-channel speakers and hearing.

[AeolianHarp]

A bit more of my conductive loss has cleared

Well that's good DP. Honestly, I would not know I have any hearing loss when at the gym with that gangsta rap and dance music blaring through the speakers. I take my mp3 player and jog on to Ludwig and Schubert on the stepper but a lot of the time I can't hear them on the mp3 player as the gangsta rap is so loud. That "music" is so awful, very negative. I am getting those headphones that cover the whole ears soon.

I am finding actually more and more that loud sounds are very uncomfortable for me- traffic being one of them.

[Decrepit Poster]

Yet more ear issues for me. Beginning some time last week I began to notice that my ears had begun to feel 'stuffy' again so doubled down on my ENT prescribed nasal spray. Then Saturday I experienced what felt like liquid inside my ears, something I suffered from periodically a good many years ago no not recently. (I'd say my last significant battle with liquid buildup occurred around ten years ago.) Sunday it hit me with a vengeance. It felt as if a tide had risen against my right ear drum. That ear became quite painful, sort of like what one experiences after a wasp sting. The pain was accompanied by a general 'stuffiness' in both ears, increased tinnitus in the left ear, and lessened hearing in both ears.

While not constant, pressure from the liquid stayed with me off and on much of that day. Surprisingly, during Monday liquid pressure was largely absence though other symptoms remained. Alas, relief was short-lived. I woke circa 0120 Tuesday morning to another bout of liquid running amok with associated pain, and could not get back to sleep. Since then it's been an off and on thing, and can be triggered by the way I rest/hold my head. No day has been as bad as Sunday, though I have my moments. One possibly positive sign . . . tinnitus evened out yesterday morning.

First thing Monday morning I contacted my ENT specialist and scheduled an appointment for her fist available time slot, yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. There it was confirmed that I have an inner ear infection, with much liquid that has turned into puss. Was prescribed antibiotic (already on hand for a chronic lung ailment) and a six day treatment of MethylPREDNISolone. They will supposedly get me back to my substandard best. I had another bout of liquid pressure and sting after retiring to bed last night, my worse since Sunday, but so far today have been OK. OK, that is, discounting extremely clogged ears and lessened hearing.

AH . . . yes, as my hearing deteriorates I too find loud sounds becoming distorted and uncomfortable. Sadly, this has reached the point it interferes with music listening. Loud orchestral passages, played back at what I consider reasonably realistic, otherwise enjoyable levels, can distort, especially at higher frequencies where my hearing is pretty well shot.

[Megan]

Poor you, all of that sounds pretty painful, DP. I hope you find relief and regain better hearing.

[AeolianHarp]

Sorry to read about all that DP, sounds awful.I hope the meds work and the infection clears up soon. x