Dear List Friends, and Jim Ellis, especially- Jim, it's exactly as you describe, and it helps to have a name for it, at least. I saw a doctor this afternoon, and am taking antibiotics, hoping it will clear up by Monday. Thanks very much. Ed Sutton ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Ellis" <claviers@nxs.net> To: <ed440@mindspring.com> Cc: <caut@ptg.org> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 4:57 PM Subject: Hearing Distortion > 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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