Ed, I'm sending this directly to you, and copying it to the list. What you are experiencing is called "diplacusis", if I spelled it right. Yes, I have had that problem too, off and on at times in the past. Now, it is permanent, as of about three years ago. In your case, it seems associated with the cold. Do see an ENT soon. If the earache persists, see a doctor NOW. The diplacusis suggests that an infection has gotten into the inner ear. If it's a virus, your body will fight it off. If it's bacterial, you need an antibiotic NOW. Don't mess around with this. In my previous cases, the problem was associated with a cold, and soon went away. This last time, the one that's permanent, I just woke up one morning, and there it was. It is associated with a low-frequency humming tinnitis, about 120 Hz, more or less, and the humming is at the center of the subjective offset in pitch, left-to-right. The pitch offset goes all the way from about 80 Hz to 500 Hz, and A440 right ear sounds like G# left ear - very annoying. I have been to some of the best ENT doctors in Tennessee, including Vanderbilt in Nashville, and had MRI scans looking for tumors, and all that. Results = Negative. It's neurological - inner ear - not middle or outer ear. I'm just stuck with it for the rest of my life, and I have learned to put up with it. Our ears are much more than just biological microphones. They are also built-in spectrum analyzers. When an infection or some injury gets to the inner ear - the nerves, it throws the pitch perception off. You may notice that the offset is not the same over the whole range, but concentrated around one particular pitch. By all means see an ENT doctor ASAP. If you still have the earache, see a doctor NOW, even if it means going to the E.R. on Thanksgiving day. Don't mess around with this. Nothing you can apply from the outside is going to help very much. Your ears are valuable to you. Let me know how you do. Sincerely, Jim Ellis
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