Music and hearing trouble

[jonia]

Hello!

I have a question.
Has anyone on this forum ever experienced contractions in the ears that increases with the sound pressure?
Recently I have experienced this, but no one can tell me what the problem might be. I know that most of you are probably not doctors or ear specialists, but I am just curious to know if anyone else has experienced this phenomenon. Since this is a rather large forum with many visitors, I think that the chance could be that I am not alone.

To explain a little more in detail, it is just in the left ear that these contractions occur. It doesn't even have to be loud. I did a measurement once to see, and I didn't play more than 60 dB's on the meter when it occurred! If I increase the sound pressure, the worse the contractions get. It is really annoying and it takes the focus away from the music. Somethimes the contractions get so heavy that I can actually "hear" that the muscles (or what you can call it) in the ear are working.

I took a hearing test not long ago, but it did not reveal any hearing loss. That is off course good, but still something must be wrong. An ear-specialist has also checked the ear, but he could not find anything wrong. I have no problem with tinnitus or any ringing in the ear either. It is just these contractions, and that I sometimes feel like there is a "dot" in my ear...

Anyone of you know what this could be or have experienced the same?

Best regards;

jonia

[NMyTree]

Do you have any sinus problems? Sinus pressure/congestion can cause some weird changes in the ear cannal. Occasionally I have some weird pressure in my ears due to sinus congestion, but it usually clears up after a little while.

[jonia]

No. These contractions happen as a result of sound at a certain pressure. Seems that the limit differs from time to time. Sometimes it seems I can hear music louder without contractions than other times. And I have also experienced that low frequency seems to give me contractions easier than higher frequencies. I always thougth that the ear is more sensitive to higher frequencies, so that is strange?

[Kevin P]

I just did a google search, and came across this:

Reflex contractions of the middle ear muscles.

The tensor tympani and stapedius tensor muscles in the middle ear contract reflexly in response to loud sounds. Both muscles increase the stiffness of the ossicular chain when they contract and thus reduce sound transmission by up to 15 dB, depending on frequency. In humans the stapedius tensor is much more effective than the tensor tympani. The reflexes are generally thought to be primarily a protective mechanism to shield the inner ear from damage due to intense sound but, because the latency of contraction is at least 10 milliseconds, they cannot protect against impulsive sounds such as a pistol shot. Since the reflexes primarily reduce the transmission of low frequencies, they also act to improve the discrimination of speech sounds in the presence of loud, low frequency background noise.

Perhaps your left ear's tensor muscles are more sensitive than they should be?

[dyazdani]

Jonia,

Eliav on the forum is an ear, nose, and throat specialist. You might see if he can point you in the right direction for diagnosis or treatment.

[jonia]

This seems to be exactly what I experience! But, why has this begun now? I am 29 years old and this is the first time I have ever experienced this! P.S: I have had these contractions for about a year now... so it doesn't seem to go away by itself... maybe I have just played my music too loud in the past?

J.

[jonia]

Jonia,

Eliav on the forum is an ear, nose, and throat specialist. You might see if he can point you in the right direction for diagnosis or treatment.

Thank you for your tip!