Whenever I'm exposed to loud noises I get a distorted buzzing sound in my left ear. I've gone to a few doctors, but no one can diagnose it. My hearing is fine, but the distortion is incredibly uncomfortable. Any thoughts? Thanks!

hi there.
I have the exact same thing with my right ear.
When im exposed to normal high sounds, for instance in the cinema, i get a distortion and pain in my right ear. I have never gotten this before, and it started about 6 months ago.
Furthermore when i hear normal sounds the right ear gives a weird sound, this includes a normal conversation as well as when im talking myself. I cant live with this anoying and painfull thing, but the ear specialist that have examined me, cant see anything wrong. My life is chaos with this thing, i cant talk with my girlfriend or watch TV with her, because of my ear.

I'm pretty sure you both have hyperacusis, I have it too. the good news is there is something that can be done about it. you need to see a 'speech and hearing therapist' (tell your ent you want to see one) and they will give you some white noise machines, they're also sometimes called 'maskers', they look just like little hearing aids (which they're not obviously) and they make a constant (very faint) sound in both your ears which trains your brain to filter out sound a little more effectly..your filters are too open. You only need to wear them for about 6 months, it really helped me, I couldn't even get a plate out of the cupboard without bracing myself before I used them. There's loads of info on the net about hypercusis. try not to worry about it, there is something that can be done to really help it if not get rid of it. also don't get paranoid about noise or avoid it too much because that makes it worse, the hearing therapist will explain all that to you though. Good luck guys. aja

Thanks, aja. I'm going to read up on hyperacusis. It's good to hear there's a possible solution. What a relief!

Hello!

I kind of have the same thing in both of my ears (it varies from time to time). Do you have any idea what it sounds like when someone turns a television on? That high-pitched buzz? I have that constantly in my ear, but I try to concentrate on other sounds (even if it's just the lights) to get my mind off of it. Sometimes it goes to a crescendo (I think I butchered the spelling of that word) and stays there and I have to stick my finger in my ear to make it go away. Not the smartest thing in the world, but it helps.

Right now it's in my left ear....

Ahh, the word for it was somewhere in my health textbook last semester! I can't believe I didn't write it down!!!!