So, 'ear it is, one of my very bunged up ears as I assume it looks inside. The bit coloured yellow should be empty of all but air, thus allowing those little bones to vibrate against the ear drum passing all that lovely sound into my nerve endings. As it is, those little bones are all glued up, my ear drum feels near to bursting and very little vibration is being passed to anywhere. The nearest way I can describe it is to liken it to having ones head under the bath water. Imagine what it is like when someone speaks to you when both your ears are under .... it's a bit like that only mostly what I can hear is a continuous hum from the pressure and the sound of my heart beating. At least I know I'm alive.
I am obediently taking antibiotics, decongestants and breathing Olbas Oil steam, but they just get worse. Now I can't hear the TV or radio, even when they are turned up loud unless my ear is right next to them, my left ear that is. I can just about still hear people talking on the phone provided they speak up, trouble is, I don't hear it ringing.
Interestingly my friend Ali with whom I spent the New Year has the identical symptoms to me, but started a week before me. Started off with a vague sort of cold which dragged on but didn't ever really come to anything, followed by sudden earache and sore throat about a month later and then gradually filling ears. We both went though a stage of hearing distorted sound where some voices sounded like Daleks and music sounded as though it was being performed on a honkey-tonk piano. Could it be that we are both suffering from a slow acting virus?
At the moment I am off school as I can no longer hear well enough to have any clue what the children are saying to me. Makes teaching impossible, particularly with 4 year olds. I shall go back to the doctor and see if he has any other useful suggestions though the last time I went all he was able to offer was to comment that my ears were bunged up .... I already knew!
try the hopi ear candle treatment mum....it might help you. someone at work said it helped them when they had a similar hearing problem. x
Posted by: ruth | March 07, 2011 at 13:45
Did the hopi ear candle work?, are you better?
Posted by: Miguel A | July 08, 2011 at 12:20
I didn't try a hopi candle as the ear was blocked inside and hopi candles only work for wax in the outer ear canal. I am better now though, thanks.
Posted by: Liz Marshall | July 08, 2011 at 16:25
I have this right now and have had it following a cold in November - how did you get rid of it. I havent heard my own voice properly since then - I too sound like a dalek!
Posted by: JB | February 13, 2013 at 09:32
Hi JB, to be honest nothing seemed to make any difference. It took about 2 weeks for a little hearing to come back, enough for me to return to work and then a further couple of months to feel I was hearing more or less normally. So basically, it just seemed to be time. You could try the breathing steam .... that may get through if you are at the dalek stage where some sound is getting through. Hope you get better soon.
Posted by: Liz Marshall | February 13, 2013 at 12:23