Sudden Hearing Loss and Impact on Music Enjoyment

@arafiq, like most of the members here I think, I too have unilateral hearing loss in my left ear. I was diagnosed with Ménière's disease, one of the common symptoms of which is low frequency hearing loss and tinnitus, both of which I have.  It is not complete loss of hearing but is low frequencies are down significantly. The tinnitus is not bad, but it is there.

It is ironic to me, given that listening to music on a high quality system has been my source of enjoyment and relaxation for over 50 years, and now, with my system in great shape, my hearing is down in one ear.  I think like most of us, I also have typical age-related high frequency hearing loss, probably exacerbated from too many concerts in the 70's.  I think that for the most part, most of us here are at least 55+, and so aging and hearing loss go together.  I still obsess about my gear, not my ear, but still, I wonder about whether using the Widex has the potential to restore some of the beauty of my system or degrade it.  I will probably experiment with it and see.  Good luck on your condition!

I suffer from Ménière’s disease and take diazepam when dizzy and Betahistine dihydrochloride daily.  I also have a hearing aid on my left side (Phonax), which is an amazing device.  All ENT’s are not the same.  Find a specialist - an otologist, and find a good one.  I had one ENT who wanted to drill in behind my ear and remove my inner ear which would have made me 100% deaf on that side. I told him no thanks and never went back. I found an otologist who prescribed the drugs listed above.  When I got sick (flu) many years ago my hearing on the affected side dropped by one third to a half.  Had I immediately seen the otologist rather than waiting I may have not suffered such a devastating and permanent hearing loss.  Lesson learned: do not wait, not even for a few days, see a specialist immediately, preferably one who performs inner ear surgery as a primary function of his/her practice.  

larsman

@mihorn - I get your points, they are very interesting, but ALL audio systems (artificial sound) sound very harsh and bright? What are the objective definitions of ’harsh’ and ’bright’?

There isn’t any study about the effect of Artificial Electronic Sound (AES) yet. And it’s difficult for me to describe this new field. Below is my video that shows the natural sound system (my system). Showing AES systems is meaningless since all others are AES. Test your system to hear AES effect. My natural audio system.

If there are none, you might want to suffix that with ’to me’, as I’ve no doubt that there are many millions of systems around the world you’ve not heard that do not sound the slightest bit ’harsh’ or ’bright’ to the people who have them. I’m one of these people. 

I wrote all systems sound "harsh/bright". I think "harsh/bright" in this case is not accurate words. There isn’t words for it since no one knew (or talked) about this new subject (AES). The more correct words can be confused, vague, broken sounds. May be you want to name it after you are able to hear AES.

I exhibited my system in The entertainment audio show >10 years. I’ve heard all so called "World’s best sound systems" in many audio shows I attended. None of them are sounded natural like my system. You may not hear your system sounds harsh, but your ears might be in numb mode due to protection mechanism of your body. Your system must sound more stimulus to over come your numb ears. You can be sure by recording your system sound. Mics (machine) don’t lie.

If you have symptoms of hearing loss, there could be many reasons, but I think it’s more likely the fact that most people’s hearing degrades as they age than that their ears are numb to specific types of sounds. You can take objective measurements with hearing that don’t involve ’bright’ or ’harsh’.

Human ears adopt to the sound it’s hearing at that moment. After hearing my natural sound system for a while, I hear normal natural sounds (dog barking, people’s voices, etc.) normal. I feel good and comfortable. After hearing AES audio systems for a while, I hear the regular natural sound as weird and distant (opposite feeling of immersive state). And I feel dizzy, dilated eyes (bright), brain fog (feeling dirty, not fresh), some aches on stomach and some muscles pains, aggressive ears ringing, etc. Yes. every things degrade with age. I’m >65 yo and my ear problems are cured with the natural sound. I recommend you try to listen natural sounds only to help your ear condition (if you have ear issues). You won’t lose any thing listening the natural sound only. Alex/Wavetouch audio

@clarossa Thank you for sharing your experience. I tried to listen to some music last night but it was an extremely sad and disappointing experience to be honest. No soundstage on the left side, basically left speaker doesn't exist. No imaging or depth perception. My speakers are extraordinary at throwing a deep, layered soundstage. It was depressing to suddenly not hear any of that. I like your idea of trying an equalizer or something similar. If it can help bring back some soundstage on the left and maybe improve depth perception, even if it's a 30% improvement, will be a win. I will reach out to you via DM to discuss the options with you. Thank you again.

@macg19 Thank you for the kind words. I did see another ENT and audiologist a few days ago. Although, he doesn't think anything can be done at this point -- the cells are dead and most likely scar tissue is being formed as I type this, I still convinced him to give intratympanic injections (via eardrums) and another round of steroids. I figured even if there's a 5% chance I don't want to live with the regret that I didn't try all I could. But at the same time I have to be realistic and prepare for a new way of life.