I woke up this morning and I heard a noise. I figured, oh they’re probably fixing something in an apartment around me.
Then I noticed it was like a ding, ding, ding, ding. It was like someone was hitting a piano key over and over and over. The same key. So I ignored it, had a cup of coffee and walked to the library.
Then I thought, what are they doing? Is there construction outside? Then I realized if I stick my finger in my right ear. The noise stopped.
So it can’t be a ringing outside, as I would’ve heard it with my left ear.
I am not asking for medical advice. I assume it’ll go away. Any idea what causes that? I know migraines can cause it, but I have no headache. In fact I feel fine. Maybe wax in the ears?
Anyone else have this? And the thing it is just one ear, the right one. And if I stick my finger in my, as one would do to block out sound. Or even if I just stick my finger on that flap of skin that covers the ear and press, the ringing goes away.
Ringing in one ear can be a sign of a sinus or ear infection. It can be the first sign of hearing loss. It can also be a sign of a brain tumor. Or any number of things in between.
I’ve had ringing in one ear for years. I don’t have a brain tumor or an infection. I’ve just cranked up Led Zeplin one too many times.
My tinnitus, now, after 40 years quite severe, started rather suddenly in the left ear. After about 20 years it was a bother in both ears. I first thought I heard cicada in the beginning but is now a more constant noise. Sometimes it temporary changes rather sharply to a high pitched note but returns quickly to noise. Medical professionals have been of no help.
I used to have mild Tinnitus in both ears, though it was worse in my left ear. Then 2 years ago I went completely deaf in my right ear. Subsequently, I regained about 5% hearing in my right ear. When I first went deaf in my right ear, I would “hear” ALL KINDS of weird noises in that ear. Now, I have constant loud Tinnitus in that ear (which I can usually ignore). Every once in a while, though, I still get a repetitive buzzing, muted ding or click in that ear, with about 2 - 3 seconds between the dings.
Now, for me, my right ear is shot and will never hear well again. I’m used to the strange noises I hear in that one and since I’ve already lost the hearing in that ear, I don’t worry about losing my hearing in that ear.
On the other hand, if I were to hear those strange noises in my good ear, I’d run, not walk, to my ENT doctor. IF those noises are a precursor to hearing loss, there may be something the ENT can do to forestall it. Trust me: being deaf in one ear is a lot of hassle in ways you don’t even consider right now.
My ENT told me that one of the precursors of sudden hearing loss is a “plugged ear” feeling (without pain) that goes away after a minute or two. You know, the feeling you get when you descend from altitude that you can usually clear by holding your nose closed and trying to blow through it. If you have this in addition to the Tinnitus, you may be at risk for hearing loss.
So I recommend you get yourself to an ENT pronto. It may be nothing, but they may be able to save your hearing in that ear.
J.
P.s., here are some of the things I’ve experienced after going deaf in one ear:
I can no longer tell where sounds are coming from. Consider walking on the street and hearing a car horn. Where is it coming from? Or you hear someone calling your name – you have to scan 360 degrees to try and find out who called.
Often, your balance system goes when you lose hearing in an ear. Trust me: you DON’T want this to happen. Nausea and vomiting the first day or two. Can’t even sit up, much less get out of bed for the first week. No balance at all for the first week or two. Then for months after, frequent dizziness that makes you feel sick for hours or days. It took me 1 year before I was able to return to work, and even now, 2 years later, I still get some dizziness.
Forget being in noisy environments. If your brain can even handle the stress, you won’t be able to comprehend a thing. Noisy restaurants, parties, any type of event are anathema to you.
Your enjoyment of movies will diminish. I LOVED movies! I’d go to 2 or 3 a week. But now, the fancy surround sound will diminish your comprehension. Since you can’t tell where the sound is coming from, it all merges into a muggy goop that blocks your hearing of the dialogue.
Be prepared to gain weight. Often, any movement would make me feel ill, so I would sit still a lot – watching TV. No exercise makes Jack a fat boy.
Tinnitus, yes, I has it in both ears and I am in my 50s. Deafness runs in my family.
Definitely get yourself to an ENT-type doctor, if you can. It may be as simple as an ear infection or wax build-up, which you can treat fairly easily before it becomes a chronic issue.
What seems strange is that you can stop the ringing by putting a finger in your ear. With Tinnitus the sensation of ringing comes from within, it’s an auditory nerve issue and there’s no actual sound you’re hearing, so I’m inclined to think your cause is something different. Especially since, like others have mentioned, yours comes and goes.
Have you had any vertigo, bouts of dizzyness at all?
Tinnitus and Meniere’s here, with much of the stuff jharvey963 and others describe. Weird feelings of shifting presence, that are not exactly sound and not exactly gravity and not exactly atmosphere but some new entity between them all, and that almost knock me out of my chair.
For some reason I had a long run of tinnitus that imitated my cell phone ringing, except that the pause between rings was way too short.
The most common form of tinnitus, yes. But there is also objective tinnitus.
I occasionally get these short bouts of tinnitus, and equalling out the pressure in my ears can often help. And I do this by poking that little flap on the outer ear inward with a lot of pressure. The sound will go away.
Well I’m glad to say I found out what was causing mine. It wasn’t Tinnitus it was a lot of wax. A nice hot shower and a q-tip solved my problem
Sorry to hear about the rest of you. I was going bonkers listening to that noise. But once I got the wax out, and I won’t gross you out but it was a LOT of was, it stopped.
Not been officially diagnosed, but I’ve had a constant ringing in my ears since last year. It just started up suddenly and, afaik for no particular reason. I’ve pretty much learned to live with it. I started a thread in GQ when it first started up and the consensus seemed to be that it was tinnitus, as mentioned by other posters here. It seems more common than I would have thought. My doc said that there is really nothing they can do, since the cause isn’t really understood all that well. C’est la vie…I hardly even notice it anymore unless it’s really quiet or if I think about it (as I’m doing now).
I’ve had ringing in my left ear for more years than I can remember; I think it started in my early 40s. It’s the first think I hear in the morning and the last think I hear at night. I’ve also got serious hearing loss in the same ear but I don’t know if the two are related.
