Suggest Treatment For Tinnitus

Posted on Fri, 24 Mar 2017

Question: Hello, about three weeks ago I had a shotgun go off indoors without hearing protection. That night my right ear was ringing and felt stuffy. My right ear was facing the closest wall and seemed to absorb much more of"" the blast. The following day, the ringing was about 95% gone. Now, I have no ringing. It's been three weeks, and my right ear just barely feels like it has a slight bit of pressure. When I compare ears (plugging one and listening through the other), my left ear seems to hear a slightly more "normal" pitch, everything feels normal. My right ear however, seems to just barely have a slightly "dimmed" pitch. What's weird is, I've taken over 20 hearing tests and I either score perfect or with good hearing. This is what I don't understand. If my cochlea were damaged wouldn't it mean I couldn't hear certain frequencies? There are times where my right ear feels more normal than others, and where it feels more dim than others. For instance, when I breathe, it seems like my left ear is just a tad stronger than my right. Or when I brush my teeth, the noise from brushing in my head seems stronger on my left side. I have no pictures for this, as it is an ear problem. I'm just extremely worried. It's kept me up at night and I've started to get depressed regularly. I have hope that maybe the damaged part of my ear isn't my cochlea. Any truthful explanations would be of great aid. - Thank you

Answered by Dr. Priyanka Aggarwal (39 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Acoustic trauma

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to HealthcareMagic and thanks for putting up the query
A sudden loud noise exposure like in your case can cause noise induced hearing loss and injury. The amount of hearing loss depends on the sound exposure. It can cause the drum to rupture or congestion in the drum or inner ear injury I.e. cochlear injury. The impact of sound trauma can be estimated on examination and aud iometry. As you are saying your all hearing tests are normal but you still feel some difference, it can be due to congestion in the ear drum. My advice is if you have got aud iometry done than send me the reports and if not yet done, get a pure tone audiometry done and send me the reports. This will help me to suggest you better.
Secondly take an oral decongestant and nasal decongestant drops. Also take an anti inflammatory tablet for few days.
Avoid excessive XXXXXXX phone or ear phones usage.
Don't put any ear drops.
Follow up with the reports.
Take care
Thanks and regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana

Follow up: Dr. Priyanka Aggarwal (14 minutes later)

Sadly, I haven't had an audiometry test done. I'm aware of what NIHL means, is it possible that my cochlea didn't suffer any damage? I know how cochlea cells work, but are they only for frequencies? Or loudness as well? I recently had a cold this weekend and am hoping that perhaps it has influenced my hearing a bit, possibly by temporary ETD. One other question I have is: Can ETD affect just one ear?

Answered by Dr. Priyanka Aggarwal (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
NIHL

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for the follow up query
Pure tone audiometry will assess the amount of hearing loss and will tell the frequencies affected. The cochlea has nerve bodies that carry sound impulses in the form of electrical signals.The frequency and loudness determination is the function of cochlea. NIHL usually involves basilar membrane in cochlea in the region of 4Khz.
Whether cochlea is affected by noise injury or not can be investigated by pure tone audiometry.
Eustachian tube blockage can be unilateral also. Keeping the same possibilitpossibility in mind I have advised you to take oral and nasal decongestant.
Any further questions are always welcome.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Thanks and regards

Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana