Hearing changes post stroke

@Deigh I play clarinet and treble recorder. I tried to reach myself guitar many years ago but it wasn’t my forte. :joy:. Always found music to be great for stress but I could never join a group due to work commitments. Worked away a lot.

I’m self taught but main problems these days is finding others to play with at home. To overcome this I use my computer and a music program that enables me to record the rhythms and I se this as a backing track.
In the old days I would busk in shopping centres using this setup but cannot consider the shifting of gear in and out of sites these days so am limited to just annoying the neighbours!
Deigh

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I like many others it seems have hearing issues since my stroke 6 months ago, I am definitely sensitive to some sounds I can happily have the radio on but as soon as something irritates my ears the mute is pressed, I’ve also found if I hear more than one noise then something has to be silenced. I also have what I’ve been describing as hearing my heart pumping although this started 4 months after my stroke. I was very surprised to learn from audiology tests that it’s my right ear that has some hearing loss since it’s my left side that’s affected, even she seem surprised and repeated the test. I’m waiting to see ENT now.

SOUND SENSITIVITY.
Hi , similar to me . Any body tried LOOP / QUIET, ear plugs. (Amazon) . Meant to muffle sounds down . Might add these to my sunglasses, to reduce sensory overload. Good thing don’t worry, how I look. :grin: . Good speaking David.

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@Sharon_B before my stroke I could hear my pulse in my ears accompanied by a whooshing sound. It was awful. It disappeared as soon as I had my stroke & I now know it was a symptom of my carotid artery dissection…if only I’d known beforehand. I now just have constant ringing in my ears. Hope your ENT referral goes well & you don’t have too long a wait for the appointment.

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@David3 I’ve not tried them but if you try them can you let us know how good they are as I’m looking for something that will help reduce the noise level too. Regards

Will do . Night time, sound machine, ocean waves, helps. David.

That is a problem I face regularly I have had to abandon going to club talks because the ability to concentrate on the speaker is broken by even a cough in the audience. I can handle one on one conversations as long as the other person does not drop in volume. The wearing of masks today is an added problem because lip reading is valuable part of my skill at holding a conversation.
Deigh

Hi @Deigh thats a shame you’ve had to stop going to your club talks hopefully you can get back to them soon.

Thanks I’ve got my ENT appointment through for a few weeks time it’s a phone appointment but they’ve done a lot of tests at Audiology and while I was in hospital they did a whole bunch of cardiac tests that came back clear. Will be good to speak with ENT hopefully get some answers about the pulsing although not sure if I’m just getting used to it or if it’s not as bad as it was. Hope you ringing noise isn’t a permanent thing.

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I spoke to my GP today and she has agreed to refer me to audiology. I’m sure there will be a long wait but at least I have cleared the first hurdle. I have started to hear my pulse in my ear agin as well as the ringing. :hear_no_evil::hear_no_evil:

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@Mrs5K, the tinnitus I have is a constant white noise. It’s not only highly uncomfortable but at times has prevented me from getting rest when I need it. Tinnitus is a weird symptom, apparently it’s the brain thinking it can’t hear certain frequencies, and so compensates by making up its own sounds. Strange. I find singing aloud to myself as I go about my business helps tune it out. I don’t think there is a cure, I am to believe it may decline of its own accord but the NHS does provide free hearing aids that can trick the brain and reduce or stop the noise. I have no idea why we get auditory overload, But I suspect that it has something to do with compensation again. The visually impaired often acquire increased hearing ability, and so it makes sense that if there are senses that have been affected, the brain will attempt to offset this with increased sensitivity of other senses. That’s my gut instinct.

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my GP has also referred me to audiology and Im looking forward to seeing which symptoms can be confirmed as physical. I was deaf before the stroke and I don’t think it will have improved matters! I do now have mild tinnitus and can definitely hear it when I am chewing food which is unpleasant but I was relieved to find out that the sensation that I have water in my ear is because I have water in my ear!

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@Rups i think there may be something in that. My physio did say that maybe because my vision was affected my hearing has become more sensitive to make up for it. It’s horrid when the tinnitus stops you resting isn’t it.

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@FionaB1 good to hear your GP a has done a referral for you. That’s often a difficult hurdle to overcome. I had a lot of water in my ears last year do understand the feeling you had. Hope they can find you some answers.

Got the appointment too - very quick

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@FionaB1 that was very quick. Hope it goes well x

Well I got my appointment for my hearing…20th Dec. At least I have an appointment. Hope it doesn’t send me mad (or madder some would say) before then :rofl::rofl:

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Oooo @Loshy what a good idea. Never thought of that. Thank you :grin::grin:

Hi, just came across this post. I had a stroke 25 years ago, had issues with hearing and certain sounds cause pain. After all this time I’ve been told it was stroke that caused it (genius) and had several tests. Now after seeing audiology chap have an oticon hearing device. He said it’s not a proven therapy but may help desensitize to noise over time . It plays low level white noise. I have a hyperacusis crisis about once a year and hopefully this will stop it. Who knows, here’s hoping. The ENT consultant did say NOT to wear ear plugs, noise defenders etc in everyday life as it makes it worse , which is easier said than done. I get a weird like ricochet sound in the opposite ear too with certain noises that are painful. It’s nice to finally know it’s not just me being weird but is an actual thing and there is hope .

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