Sudden loss of hearing wtf?

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Lean L

Lean L

Diamond Member
Apr 30, 2009
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I all of a sudden lost my hearing in my left ear. right now it feels like I'm hearing at 50% kind of like when you have a severe cold. What could be the cause of this? I didn't sustain any trauma just now. How long should I wait it out before seeing a doctor for something like this?

Thanks ATOT.
 
brainhulk

brainhulk

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2007
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cockroach-in-the-ear1.jpg
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,069
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Lean L said:
I clean my ears meticulously since I hate the sensation of dirty ears. I'll check asap but I don't there's much in there.
Click to expand...

You can get stuff deep in your ear, and amateur cleaning(Qtip) can pack it up against the ear drum. Asians are genetically disposed to chunky ear wax, so that could also contribute if you're Asian.

Edit:
I've gotten my ears cleaned a couple times when they were infected, and the doctor used an enormous syringe with warm water to flush my ears. they jetted the water in hard, and caught it with a cup held below my ear. It was somewhat painful, but felt good at the same time. It felt awesome when they were done.

I'm still pissed at myself for not asking to keep the syringe. The ones you usually see at drug stores are meant for children, and don't have the volume the one at the doctor's had.
 
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Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
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Was the hearing loss accompanied with a ringing type/high pitched sensation/sound in the ear?
 
Murloc

Murloc

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2008
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Lean L said:
I clean my ears meticulously since I hate the sensation of dirty ears. I'll check asap but I don't there's much in there.
Click to expand...
if you overdo this with Q-tips you can plug your ears and further Q-tips will not fix this, they will just make the plug more compact.
Also if you go inside very much maybe you ruined your drum.

Try washing it out in the shower with warm water a bit. Wait a few days to see if maybe you're getting ill but the mucus hasn't reached your nose yet.

If nothing happens go to the doctor and get the ears cleaned out properly.

If you're hearing or heard in the past whistling/high pitched sound (like when all is silent) and/or you go to loud concerts or clubs, you're maybe really losing the hearing, but I guess the doctor will redirect you to a specialist if clearing the ears does nothing about it and it stays like this indefinitely.
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,592
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www.anyf.ca
See a doctor or even a naturopath, pretty much any medical/health type person should do. They will have special spoons (basically one of those coffee stir spoons but with a LED light) that they can use to take wax out. It's not really a complicated job, it's just that it's kinda hard to do it yourself given you're going in blind, and they also know how far they can safely go in. (that's what she said!)

I get mine done every now and then since my ears get wax like crazy and sometimes it will block. Q Tips work ok to get surface wax out but trying to get wax inside usually just pushes it further.

Bic pen caps also work to some extent. :p
 
Murloc

Murloc

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2008
5,382
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Red Squirrel said:
See a doctor or even a naturopath, pretty much any medical/health type person should do. They will have special spoons (basically one of those coffee stir spoons but with a LED light) that they can use to take wax out. It's not really a complicated job, it's just that it's kinda hard to do it yourself given you're going in blind, and they also know how far they can safely go in. (that's what she said!)

I get mine done every now and then since my ears get wax like crazy and sometimes it will block. Q Tips work ok to get surface wax out but trying to get wax inside usually just pushes it further.

Bic pen caps also work to some extent. :p
Click to expand...
you mean this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvn2RRW3Nqs
¡¡¡DO NOT WATCH IF EATING!!!
 
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Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
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Wax blockages generally do not cause a sudden loss of hearing, which is what the OP is complaining about (wax blockages tend to gradually muffle sound until there's nowhere left for the sound to travel to the tympanic membrane---it's very gradual)....unless the hearing loss occurred while the OP was gold mining with a Q-tip. If the hearing loss is accompanied with a sort of high pitched buzzing/ringing sound, that generally indicates a burst capillary in the tympanic membrane. That will generally take care of itself over a little time. Happens.

If, on the other hand, it happened while digging in the ear with a Q-tip, it could either mean he completely blocked the ear canal with wax, more likely, or ruptured the TM, less likely in this case because that's usually associated with pain and bleeding, and the OP never mentioned either.
 
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lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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Meghan54 said:
Wax blockages generally do not cause a sudden loss of hearing, which is what the OP is complaining about (wax blockages tend to gradually muffle sound until there's nowhere left for the sound to travel to the tympanic membrane---it's very gradual)....unless the hearing loss occurred while the OP was gold mining with a Q-tip. If the hearing loss is accompanied with a sort of high pitched buzzing/ringing sound, that generally indicates a burst capillary in the tympanic membrane. That will generally take care of itself over a little time. Happens.
Click to expand...

Dunno about the latter, but I've had sudden hearing reduction due to shifting wax. I get ear cheese more in the winter, probably from having cold air blown in my ears, and I try to keep them cleaned better by directing a shower stream in my ear when I'm in the shower.
 
Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,228
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Red Squirrel said:
See a doctor or even a naturopath, pretty much any medical/health type person should do. They will have special spoons (basically one of those coffee stir spoons but with a LED light) that they can use to take wax out.
Click to expand...


That's the "crude" but typically seen and effective way that most MD's use. The "neat" way is using suction. Got to play with such a device in an ENT's office when I was rotating through the ENT clinic during my training. Takes a bit more skill, and is more expensive for the setup, but is way cooler to use. ;)
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
28,772
13,955
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I had something similar a few months ago. Doc said it was fluid-build up behind my ear drum. My case cleared up within 24 hours, but he said it could take up to 2 weeks for the fluid to fully absorbed back into the body, since it wouldn't really drain from that location.

It was weird. I woke up and it seemed like everything was muffled on one side, but there was no pain in my ear, and they seemed clean.
 
S

Schfifty Five

Lifer
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
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Meghan54 said:
Was the hearing loss accompanied with a ringing type/high pitched sensation/sound in the ear?
Click to expand...

This will randomly happen to me. I will be sitting at my desk, all is normal, then suddenly in my left ear, I lose hearing except for a high pitched tone. It starts loudly and then over the next, 10-15 seconds it gradually subsides and my hearing is back to normal.

No idea what it is.
 
mikeymikec

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
21,017
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Schfifty Five said:
This will randomly happen to me. I will be sitting at my desk, all is normal, then suddenly in my left ear, I lose hearing except for a high pitched tone. It starts loudly and then over the next, 10-15 seconds it gradually subsides and my hearing is back to normal.

No idea what it is.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, that's normal. I consider it to be the sound engineers inside my ear declaring that standard testing and calibration has begun.
 
Engineer

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
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I've had this happen and it took about a week of the ear wax cleaning kits (drops and a squeeze bulb full of warm water) before it finally dislodged a large, solid chunk of earwax.
 
Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,228
136
Schfifty Five said:
This will randomly happen to me. I will be sitting at my desk, all is normal, then suddenly in my left ear, I lose hearing except for a high pitched tone. It starts loudly and then over the next, 10-15 seconds it gradually subsides and my hearing is back to normal.

No idea what it is.
Click to expand...

Capillary burst in tympanic membrane. Happens.
 
Rakehellion

Rakehellion

Lifer
Jan 15, 2013
12,181
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lxskllr said:
I've gotten my ears cleaned a couple times when they were infected, and the doctor used an enormous syringe with warm water to flush my ears. they jetted the water in hard, and caught it with a cup held below my ear.
Click to expand...

Just did that in the shower with the massaging head. Thanks for the tip. :thumbsup:
 
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