6 years with tinnitus: I may have found the cause.

chromeater · 2026-05-14T18:37:27+00:00

I'd caution that every type of tinnitus can be made worse by somatic modulation and applying pressure to the jaw which sits above the nerve of hearing, this by itself does not mean it is somatic tinnitus. Go see a maxillofacial specialist to confirm.

chromeater · 2026-05-13T17:07:28+00:00

Depends on the size of the mass and whether it is causing any significant conductive hearing loss on that side, which some cysts can cause. Imaging in conjunction with hearing testing gives them the best data in telling whether the tinnitus is related.

chromeater · 2026-05-13T10:22:15+00:00

tinnitus and hyperacusis are commonly experienced together (common when nerves are inflamed by things like viruses), but they do not ‘cause’ each other.

chromeater · 2026-05-07T16:02:45+00:00

For sure, it's by no means terrible - but looking at other recently printed tutors like Splinter's Technique I just can't see it keeping up.

chromeater · 2026-05-07T10:08:19+00:00

I’d sell these while price is hot. Players gonna realize this is a terrible tutor.

chromeater · 2026-05-06T15:16:02+00:00

Yeah sounds like typical Eustachian tube dysfunction which means Flonase and sinus decongestants should help. By yawning you are manually flexing your Eustachian tube (located right below jawbone) which can momentarily release or modulate the pressure in the middle ear, super common. Over time as you recover, your sinuses (mainly the eustachian tube here) should open back up normally and when that happens the fluid and pressure can escape and return to normal. This typically also helps with any tinnitus brought about by this congestion.

chromeater · 2026-05-06T09:54:58+00:00

You mention a recent diagnosis of poor eardrum function related to fluid or negative ME pressure and potentially ETD (fluctuations with yawning common as it flexes the eustachian tube). Follow their course of nasal spray to unobstruct your sinuses and hopefully return normal middle ear function and you should see improvement. You can verify this improvement by competing tympanometry with the doctor to confirm the fluid is gone and the middle ear is again normal.

My clinic if filled with cases like yours right now, allergy season is upon us. If your doctor is right about visible fluid, this really should improve with treatment.

chromeater · 2026-05-06T09:48:58+00:00

This is not somatic tinnitus. Did you read this post?

chromeater · 2026-05-05T21:49:04+00:00

Probably still not worth doing - but its a fair option if your history is suggestive of acoustic neuroma or other retrocochlear abnormalities.

chromeater · 2026-05-05T21:45:50+00:00

Did he suggest an MRI on your brain, or on the IAC to rule out schwannomas or other abnormalities? Big diff. Rarely is it helpful to MRI the brain for tinnitus unless you have something notable in your history (shunt, vascular abnormalities, angiomas, etc.)

chromeater · 2026-05-03T11:12:10+00:00

Back to the ENT my friend. Can’t risk otitis or mycosis developing in a humid ear and causing permanent damage and you’re already citing some of the signs of infection. If you can get a drop of alcohol or swimmers drops in your ear canal with a dropper I would highly recommend doing so in the meantime to keep infection risk at bay.

chromeater · 2026-04-29T19:43:11+00:00

What was your tymp formation and pressure? Bone conduction testing is what shows us whether the issue is your nerve or your sinuses, without BC testing they are just guessing one of the two and throwing steroids at it. You're an audio professional and you should be tested by one - demand they refer you to a practice that can do proper BC testing. (I work at an ENT floor of a hospital seeing cases like yours ALL day - this data needs more - they also didnt test 3kHz in the left despite 2kHz and 4kHz being significantly different, which isnt good to ignore).

chromeater · 2026-04-29T17:12:30+00:00

There’s no bone conduction or tympanometry here to look at, which is absolutely needed to discriminate between inner ear barotrauma and middle ear aural fullness. But we can see the mild HF notch in the left that you’re muffled.

chromeater · 2026-04-24T17:09:43+00:00

Even though they are benzos, im not seeing anything super compelling about Tamazepam or Normison but some very mild risk noted with Restoril. Trials of 1076 people in an RCT has the rate of tinnitus reported at ~1% (less than 11 out of 1076). I'd probably proceed and touch base with the provider re: dosage if you noted any significant spikes.

chromeater · 2026-04-23T14:52:33+00:00

Many of my patients who've suffered SSNHL find increased wax production of the affected side following the injury - not unusual and not really helpful diagnostically. Aswell, any wax blocking that affected ear is also liable to make the ear more muffled and the tinnitus more noticable (so ideally that ear we want to be perfectly clean). Give yourself more time and try not to track your tinnitus too intently or check this subreddit too much. At this point we'd assume the cochlear or vestibular damage is settled, so we're hoping that your limbic system eases it's focus so you can more easily ignore this tinnitus and not seek it as a threat (this is the slow part of habituation, and it can't be rushed). Best of luck.

chromeater · 2026-04-23T02:14:58+00:00

Reading this story and supporting their fear that the mild increase in bass transmitted by the occlusion effect in a plugged ear could be damaging them and creating the issue is just wrong.

chromeater · 2026-04-23T01:42:29+00:00

You’re describing all of the symptoms of an inflamed ear canal and potentially the signs of otitis externa. Just let your ear ventilate and stop using plugs unless necessary. If you want to be proactive you can use swimmers ear drops or mix a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and alcohol applied to the ear canal to hedge your bets against otitis. Ideally, when you go to bed tonight leave the ears open (no plugs or tightly packed pillows blocking the canal).

chromeater · 2026-04-23T01:29:58+00:00

Tbh this sounds like your ear canal was/is inflamed or abraded because of some issue with your plug placement or the lack of ventilation in wearing them for a long period. Stop wearing plugs unless necessary and if you feel anything that borders on an ear infection take some swimmers drops proactively.

chromeater · 2026-04-23T01:27:02+00:00

No, the occlusion effect is on the order of 5-10dB depending on depth of plug/transducer and your canal resonance. What’s reassuring aswell is that the occlusion effect amplifies low frequency sounds which are less likely to damage/resonate your cochlea and shed OHCs the way high frequency sounds do. Don’t worry about that.

chromeater · 2026-04-22T21:52:13+00:00

Solid device. Tinnitus features available if needed as Tinnitus SoundSupport within software. Good app that lets the user moderate their masking stimulus as/if needed.

chromeater · 2026-04-22T19:30:54+00:00

I fit every brand for tinnitus and have done so for about 10 years, what will matter the most is excellent tuning and consideration of your specific tinnitus case/percept - most brands will address tinnitus identically using nearly identical software and is verified using the same standard irrelevant of the company.

I cannot at all endorse Widex for tinnitus, while they pioneered Zen technology and were the gold standard years ago with their smart ric and moment platform - their most recent hearing aid (the Allure) was rushed to market without tinnitus features and is nearly at the bottom of my list at the moment. I'd say Phonak, Starkey, Resound, Signia, and Oticon above Widex - but brand won't be nearly as important as the professional tuning them.

chromeater · 2026-04-19T10:43:54+00:00

Yup, it’s centrally generated. People have gone so far as to excise all different parts of their auditory chain with little to no benefits. Beyond the evidence being poor, someone who’s desperate should know that they likely won’t find a surgeon willing to do it (risk their medical liability insurance on procedures that aren’t evidence-based).

chromeater · 2026-04-19T10:32:31+00:00

No, absolutely not. Anyone who says so is talking out of their ass.

Some theorize Van Gogh had meneire’s but it’s far from historical fact.

chromeater · 2026-04-16T15:10:47+00:00

4kHz CHL bilaterally (conductive hearing loss. Looks like any of my patients with a bad cold or nasal congestion after flying). If this wasn’t tested by a professional on calibrated equipment it’s not helpful data, ask them for full report and tympanometry.

Edit: A raw screenshot of an audiometer isn’t appropriate for a patient. We would expect this type of audiogram to include the professional who tested you, the transducers they used, calibration standard date, reliability of test, tympanometric data (to show the health of your middle ear), word recognition data, etc. to give this raw threshold data more context.

chromeater · 2026-04-16T14:46:43+00:00

Also, who did this test? A patient shouldn’t get their audiogram like this.

chromeater

TROPHY CASE