Inner Ear 'Twitch/Spasm' Please Help

Fredric

I am 23 year old male. Three months ago I noticed that the inner part of my left ear began to twitch caused by outside noise. It's hard to explain what is sounds like but I can describe it as someone in my ear stepping in snow slowly, hearing the snow crunch in layers beneath their feet as they walk. If you don't know snow, it sounds like quickly pulsating waves that peaks at almost a crack sound at the same speed as an eye twitch. Along with it I can actually feel the vibrating very deep inside my inner ear like a blown out speaker in a car when too much sound is being produced.

Ever since i saw the first signs of it, it has gotten much worse and occurs all day long 24/7. Running water, the TV, peoples voices, birds chirping and even typing on this keyboard along with almost every other sound above a certain volume causes my inner left ear to freak out, like a mini ear earth quake that destroys anything I try to listen to. Very very low volume sounds(as in decibels) don't cause the problem. An example is I need to keep the TV at a 8 level out of a 100 on the volume. 9 or 10 would be too much and the sounds would cause this twitch. Weirdly enough my own voice does not cause the twitch no matter how loud I talk or yell.

Going to class was horrible, my professors voices pierce my ears creating this terrible sensation for hours and i actually felt sick afterward. I resulted in going to class with earplugs, lowering the sound so it doesn't happen but I always got weird looks from people and I missed a lot of what the teacher said so I'd have to get the notes from other students. My grades got hit hard from missing class and information. I can't have a conversation with people without pain. I've always loved music and I can't listen to it anymore.

My life is being ruined by this. On top of all this both my ears ring all the time now and I think this twitch has caused it. I have to wear earplugs all day, since I'm around sound all day. The earplugs make the ringing in my ear all the more noticeable. Recently I have found out that the twitch is also triggered when i cover one or both of my eyes with just one finger. My finger or hand can't be more then 6 inches from my eye, as I look passed it into the distance. This makes me think it's neurological.

I went to a ears nose and throat doctor. My hearing was perfect as in the ability to hear very quiet sounds of the hearing test. They said they might have to cut the muscle attaching to a bone in my ear but its unlikely that I have the disorder he was referring to, since he only saw one case of it in his career and it was an older man.

I got a MRI on my head they did not find anything. I went to my doctor who removed my 2 lower wisdom teeth about 2 months before any of these signs started showing up, thinking my jaw might be the problem. They said my jaw and teeth were fine. They did prescribe me a steroid(Methylprednisolone) to see if its an undetectable infection and a muscle relaxer to take at night to see if it would calm the muscle in my ear. Next they said i should try an antibiotic to see if that might help. So far after two days of the meds it has not gotten better.

I have an appointment with a neurology surgeon at the end of this month. I don't want to jump to surgery without fully understanding what is going on here. I need to fix this though because I'm 23 and too young to be effected by this, I need to get my life started before I lose my mind which is what I feel is happening. If you took out the time to read this I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you have any information on this or similar problems please post. I'll gladly take any help I can get. Thank you again.

-Fredric