Hearing loss due to Covid-19

The Lounge General Discussion
#21

This is really sad news, though hopefully you can still get joy from creating in other genres, and I am sure your very obvious talent will help with that!

I know all too well the pain hearing loss causes. I have acute hearing loss in both ears and am totally reliant on hearing aids, and suffer from tinnitus. I discovered it at around 18 and it is slowly deteriorating-there is nothing they can do, although I have been lucky that the advances in hearing aid tech are currently keeping pace with the decline.

It does make it a unique challenge for a musician, though hopefully as you adapt to the change (if it doesn’t get better, which I hope it will) then you will learn to trust what you can hear and adapt accordingly. Your talent is obvious so you will overcome this.

I’ll never be able to make and mix music to a level of many people here (and my hearing is only partly to blame for that!!) but I still find ways to enjoy what I produce, and I sincerely hope others in the same boat can do the same.

For me music is an escape from having to deal with constant conversations-that is a real challenge with hearing loss as I just can’t keep up most of the time-at least my instruments talk to me in the way I want them to!!

I really hope you recover soon, all the best. Bloody covid.

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#22

Sorry to hear that man. I never knew covid could cause these problems. In the last year my tinnitus got a lot worse and i wasn’t really sure what caused it. I can’t mix and listen to louder music for longer times anymore. Before it was no problem. I wonder if it also could have something to do with getting covid. I hate this virus.
Good luck to all of you!

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#23

Thats really rough man, hope you’re doing ok.

#24

I‘m sorry that you have to deal with this and I hope things take a turn for the better.

#25

How do you know that Covid is the cause?

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#26

Sorry to learn about this @AdamJay and everyone else struggling.

I got very ill early on during Covid (April 2020), but because I didn’t have fever I never got tested for Covid at the time (official advice in UK at the time was unless you have a fever don’t get tested). So I’m not sure it was Covid, but many other symptoms were similar. It lasted for about 10 days.

Right after that, I could feel that my right ear was completely blocked, and it just wouldn’t clear. Also overnight I developed severe tinnitus (never suffered from it before), and sensitivity to sound, especially loud sounds and sudden change in amplitude. Things like ping-pong delay was extremely uncomfortable to listen to. But really, any music was uncomfortable and also made the tinnitus much worse.

Contacted the doctor, they suspected a blocked eustachian tube and gave me some drops to put in my ear - no change. Another round of those didn’t help, and was sent to see a audiologist and ear specialist. Had to wait 3 months for an appointment. All the specialist did was test my hearing (pretty good up to 6k where there was sudden 20dB drop) and did a pressure test to confirm there is no fluid buildup on the inside of my ear. Said there is nothing he can treat, and I “should just learn to live with it”.

About a year later (during which time nothing changed) I went back to my home country South Africa, and due to the weak currency there I could afford to go and see a private specialist. He put me on a strong dose of cortisone for two weeks as well as some other stuff I can’t remember now. I felt a big improvement in the tinnitus, and went for another hearing test. There was about a 10dB improvement at 6k.

Over time the tinnitus got worse again, usually triggered if I listen to music regularly. If I spend any amount of time working on music, I know it is going to be bad for the next few days. The discomfort while listening is definitely better now, although not nearly perfect. I haven’t done a hearing test again so not sure if it stayed around -10dB or regressed again.

@AdamJay the reason I’m rambling on, is that the specialist that eventually treated me, said it was a pity I did not see him earlier, as the sooner this type of thing is treated the better the results usually are. If there is any way you can see a specialist sooner, please try to do it. Good luck, I hope it improves. :v:

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#27

I had the same issue as you

I went to a specialist and found i had a severe
Infection to the Eustachian tube which had caused hear loss to the right ear and tinnitus all the time

Listening to music was a pain and I remember that hearing a sine tone was really killing me i was earing all sounds around me monophonic

I have been prescribed antibiotics and after the treatment I did an audiometric test to make sure the infection had not caused
a hear loss/thankfully it did not

But the hear loss can also be caused by listening to high volume in headphones or close to speakers and the worst enemy are the
hi hats those can really pose permanent damage to the ear

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#28

possibly as easy as just noticing that your hearing is different before and after being sick.

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#29

How did they diagnose that? The doctor that initially treated me made an ‘educated guess’ based on symptoms (he didn’t see me in person, due to the pandemic at the time). I got drops (two rounds of) that’s supposed to help clear the eustachian tube, and was also given antibiotics. It made no difference.

When I saw the first specialist, I asked if they can check the eustachian tube to confirm the problem is there, and he said they can’t physically check it. It was basically a process of elimination. Because there was no buildup of fluid behind my eardrum, or visible infection there, they presume it must be the eustachian tube. Was it the same for you?

#30

Damn, sorry to hear of this @AdamJay I hope that you are wrong about it being permanent and that your hearing will recover :pray:

#31

He took a sample from my ear sent to laboratory and they confirmed the bacteria that attacked the ear

This allowed the doctor to give me the right antibiotic to kill the bacteria

After 3 days of treatment suddenly the tube come back to working and i started slowly hearing back again - i could hear properly the tone of a phone what a beautiful sensation

I also had a break for electronic music for few months and only listening to classical music and ambient relaxing music

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#32

sorry to hear this Adam, hope it recovers for you :heart:

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#33

Oof. This is scary. I’m sorry this happened to you. Hope it gets better. :hugs:

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#34

It will get better with Time. Had a similar problem with my hearing after Covid hit me in November 2020. Was very sensitive to loud Noises and couldn’t mix Tracks for like 3-6 Months properly because I couldn’t concentrate.
Hope your hearing will get better soon.

#35

Sorry to hear about this.

This is swings and roundabouts to my musical taste though. My interest in dub techno is growing, and you always make interesting music… So I hop you enjoy making the dub stuff, and I’ll enjoy collecting it :slight_smile:

#36

That’s sad @AdamJay…
I hope it is not definitive, and that you will recover.

Maybe you’re not concerned by that, but the fact to focus too much on hearing problems can make things worse. I had a ear trauma (sleeping in a huge techno event, closed), then I was almost deaf with 1 ear. Tinitius with changing frequencies, not nicely tuned! I was focusing a lot, I was hearing the blood circulating in my ear. A friend of mine told me it could be psychological, so I chilled out and felt progressively better. I still have extra sensitivity with that ear, after 20 years, but it is ok if I’m carefull.

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