hearing irregularities and workarounds?

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thethingwiththestuff
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hearing irregularities and workarounds?

Post by thethingwiththestuff » Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:46 pm

i've recently become aware that my left ear is missing a lot of high end. i've been trying to break down a perceived blockage with a little peroxide rinse here and there, or trying to wash stuff out using the shower as a sort of water pick. sometimes it seems to help, but the low rumble in my ear when i yawn doesn't go away.

i've always had a problem wearing ear plugs in my left ear, and i can plainly feel that the entrance to that ear is narrower than my right one. THEN, i've got wisdom teeth that have gotta come out eventually, and the one on the left side of my mouth is up higher than the one on my right....this could be pushing my cavity closed from my jaw!

so i've either got a wax blockage, a physically smaller ear canal, or pressure from a wisdom tooth affecting my left ear, OR.... my monitors, headphones, and most other people's monitors and headphones have lost some high end on the left side....

am i fucked? let's say the medical gods allow the elimination of any blockages or dental symptoms...but maybe my left ear cavity just happens to be narrower, and always will be. how do you work through little irregularities in your hearing?

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Post by cgarges » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:20 pm

I know a guy who's mixed a few records that you may have in your collection and he has severe hearing loss in one ear. His mixes these days are pretty mono and they sound pretty good. I think the biggest issue with having one ear down is a loss of depth perception.

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Post by tomberdude » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:37 pm

The trumpet player in my band convinced me to try ear candles. He experiences what I understand to be "thrumming". He described some similar problems to yours.

He swears by them and uses them every month or so. I was pleased with what it did for me, but haven't done it in a while. I made a small ornament for my mixing desk out of the wax from one ear alone... :twisted:

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apropos of nothing
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Post by apropos of nothing » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:39 pm

Go to a doctor.

RefD
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Post by RefD » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:26 pm

apropos of nothing wrote:Go to a doctor.
?What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.? -- Seneca

???????
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Post by ??????? » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:55 pm

RefD wrote:
apropos of nothing wrote:Go to a doctor.

thethingwiththestuff
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Post by thethingwiththestuff » Thu Dec 06, 2007 10:14 pm

hey, awesome! that's so great you guys are all going to pay for me to go to the doctor!! TOMB rules!!

but yeah, i'm hoping to be able to get to one soon... just wondering if there's a large contingent of recording engineers who are living and working with varying hearing problems beyond just answers for my case.

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Post by drumsound » Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:11 am

I don't think my 2 ears have the same frequency response. I think it has to do with drumming and driving with the windows down. I listen in mono and I listen off axis a lot.

I need to see an ENT doc and get them cleaned right to see if that helps.

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Post by carlsaff » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:26 am

Hey Matt!

A doctor visit is more likely to help than any other method.

Of course, seek recommendations for someone who will be sympathetic. I had the opposite problem -- low frequency loss in my right ear -- for several weeks a few years back. Very distressing days. The loss affected how I heard harmonics, and made all music sound out of tune. I visited a place that specializes in hearing health with an emphasis on helping musicians protect and improve their hearing. They were really great people to work with. Thankfully, my problem simply went away. Probably viral.

If this is something that has developed slowly over time so that you're only now becoming aware of it and it's in only one ear, I'll bet you just need a water/peroxide syringe cleaning. I had that once (for both ears) and it made a radical difference in my ability to hear high end.
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thethingwiththestuff
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Post by thethingwiththestuff » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:12 am

tony...that's reassuring to hear, and kinda what i've been doing. my other fear is what you described: the hi-hat has ruined my 14k or something...

i even started pulling my left ear open a bit, and find the center image solidifies and makes more sense! so, i'm pretty sure its just "mechanical" as i can force the high freqs to return in this way. i'm pretty confident an ENT will sort this out.... ah, money.

in the meantime carl..... you can uh, turn one side down half a db or so, right? :)

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Post by MT » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:39 am

thethingwiththestuff wrote:i even started pulling my left ear open a bit, and find the center image solidifies and makes more sense! so, i'm pretty sure its just "mechanical" as i can force the high freqs to return in this way. i'm pretty confident an ENT will sort this out.... ah, money.
If you can pull your ear and change it up, it may very well be wax.

I used to aggressively Q-tip every day and managed to push an eraser-size block against my eardrum, which started aching. Doing what you're describing had the same effect. Visited the MD and he used hot water and a waterpic to jet the thing out (seriously). It was enormous and the hearing improvement was ridiculous.

Even if you don't have insurance, a visit shouldn't run you more than $50, especially if you have a doc-in-the-box handy in your city. They can at least peer in and see if you have some blockage, an irregular canal - whatever may be the issue.
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Post by Kyle » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:54 am

MT is right about the wax, especialiy if you can open it up by tugging on your lobe.

I too just went to the doctor for this issue. They used warm water and big syringe (without a needle) and that was it. They filled up the syringe with warm water and flushed my ear out. I imaginge you could try this at home. I too had the eraser sized ball of wax float out of my ear. the difference was so amazing that I started to laugh in the nurses office.

Q-tips kill.
Kyle

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carlsaff
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Post by carlsaff » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:56 am

Natch!
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cyantologist
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Post by cyantologist » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:27 am

i don't really have any helpful input, but i've got an appointment next week. i fear that i'm now screwed thanks to full stacks and being in shitty screamo bands when i was 16 :oops:

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Re: hearing irregularities and workarounds?

Post by @?,*???&? » Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:56 pm

thethingwiththestuff wrote:i've recently become aware that my left ear is missing a lot of high end. i've been trying to break down a perceived blockage with a little peroxide rinse here and there, or trying to wash stuff out using the shower as a sort of water pick. sometimes it seems to help, but the low rumble in my ear when i yawn doesn't go away.

i've always had a problem wearing ear plugs in my left ear, and i can plainly feel that the entrance to that ear is narrower than my right one. THEN, i've got wisdom teeth that have gotta come out eventually, and the one on the left side of my mouth is up higher than the one on my right....this could be pushing my cavity closed from my jaw!

so i've either got a wax blockage, a physically smaller ear canal, or pressure from a wisdom tooth affecting my left ear, OR.... my monitors, headphones, and most other people's monitors and headphones have lost some high end on the left side....

am i fucked? let's say the medical gods allow the elimination of any blockages or dental symptoms...but maybe my left ear cavity just happens to be narrower, and always will be. how do you work through little irregularities in your hearing?
Get the ear flush system by Murine. Works great. My right ear generates a potato about every 3 months- like clockwork.

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