Here’s your story, corrected and phrased more naturally for a native English speaker. I’ve focused on clarity, flow, and more natural phrasing while retaining your original meaning and emotional tone.
Hello everyone, it’s time to introduce myself. I’m a 44-year-old male from Eastern Europe. Before I go any further, I want to thank all the wonderful people I’ve met here. Our shared struggles bring us together, and this community continues to give me hope in humanity.
I’d like to share my full story in case others have experienced similar problems and can offer some advice.
It all started a year ago.
I’ll never forget that spring. I experienced a sudden drop in hearing in my left ear. I assumed it was earwax and went to see a doctor. She told me it wasn’t wax but likely otitis. I looked at her strangely because, even though I’m not a doctor, it was my dream to become one, so reading about medicine is one of my hobbies. I was quite familiar with the symptoms of otitis in all its forms, but I went along with it. I took the prescribed treatment, which, of course, had no effect. Still, I thought, “Well, she’s a doctor, and I’m not, so maybe she knows better.” My ear felt completely dry, with no other issues.
Since money is a huge problem in this part of the world, I decided to look for other explanations. I concluded it might be Eustachian tube dysfunction, which I do have, as I could feel the air moving with difficulty when I performed the Valsalva maneuver. However, the hearing loss persisted, so I went to another doctor—the best in town. When I told her my story, she said, “Yes, you’re right, it’s Eustachian tube dysfunction.” However, she also suggested an . I noticed then that I had lost some of my bass hearing, but not the middle or high registers.
I did an audiogram, and indeed, I had lost some bass. Okay. Nothing to worry about; life goes on. I never fully understood what happened. Part of my hearing came back, or perhaps I just got used to it. I accepted that my left ear was now worse than my perfectly good right one.
Exactly one year later, on March 7, 2025 (a date I’ll never forget), out of nowhere, my right ear went deaf. My first thought: wax! It had to be wax, as there were no other problems—no pain, nothing. I went back to the same “best in town” specialist. She looked inside my ear and said, “Nope, everything looks fine. Most likely, it’s deafness.” Of course, my whole world came crashing down. Why? Because music was my hobby, and I made some money (not much) with this gift, like mastering tracks for obscure musicians. Before seeing her, I had the foresight to buy some Medrol (methylprednisolone) and took the usual protocol for sudden deafness, remembering that the sudden hearing loss in my left ear felt similar, and it hadn’t been wax then either! By now, I was pretty sure the loss had nothing to do with my Eustachian tube, as it never fully recovered. She prescribed me some pathetic doses of Medrol, and I told her, “Ma’am, I’m already ahead of you.” She replied, “Amazing mind, you did the right thing. Do the treatment, and let’s hope for the best.” Keep in mind, this was all paid for out of my own pocket, with no insurance. I do have insurance from my crappy job, but in my country, that insurance is practically useless, or you have to wait three months just to see a specialist. I know for a fact that for neurology, you need to wait even longer! Meanwhile, a lot of other symptoms developed.
I noticed my hearing loss fluctuating. Maybe the steroids were working. When I was in bed on the weekend, everything felt fine, but after a day at work, the back of my head felt like it was exploding. I experience immense pressure inside my skull; I can barely move my neck, and the front of my neck (near the jugular veins) feels like it’s bursting from internal pressure.
My hearing improved a little, but I noticed diplacusis disharmonica. This is when you hear the same sound pitch differently in each ear. The same thing happened with my left ear when it went down a year prior. I finally made another appointment, this time using my insurance. After a month, I saw the same “best in town” doctor. I explained that I couldn’t afford to pay for it anymore and might also need an . An MRI is quite expensive, and I can’t afford it privately, so I need to get it done through my insurance. She was completely understanding, saying, “Of course, it’s not a problem, here are the papers.” I’m on a waiting list now, for about three months. What bothers me is that she doesn’t connect my current hearing loss with the one from a year ago, even though I’ve told her it’s the same pattern, both losses in low frequencies. In fact, if you look at my audiogram, you’ll see it has the same shape, only the right one is about 10dB lower, but the pattern is identical! She just said, “Nah, that was a different diagnosis, right?” She honestly doesn’t seem to care.
Now I was feeling a bit better, except for the evenings when my head felt like it was exploding and my neck was building pressure, until I noticed a significant tinnitus in my right ear. Again, my hearing dropped considerably. I’m scheduled for an audiogram in a few days, but the outcome looks grim.
When my hearing drops, it’s not just that; there’s also immense pressure inside my eardrums. It feels like they’re imploding or something. I’ve tried Valsalva and other maneuvers; the pressure seems okay, but it’s like something deep inside my ear (perhaps a sensation from the cochlea) is about to burst. It feels like something is swollen in there and pressing on my hearing nerve. Maybe this is normal for hearing loss, I don’t know, but these symptoms go hand in hand: hearing loss, slightly blurry vision (not much), tinnitus in my head and separately in my right ear (yes, I have two distinct tinnitus sounds), the pressure building in the back of my head, and the pressure in my eardrum. Yet, nobody seems to care. I wouldn’t be surprised if that MRI comes back 100% normal. We can’t even fully trust the doctors we have here. I was once misdiagnosed with an MRI done at the same company, though not the same town. So, what can I do? Whom can I trust? Money is limited, my health is deteriorating, and with the small amount of money I have, I’m trying to do everything right. I think I’m about to lose my regular job because I’ve missed a lot of work, but believe me, I’m in such a deep depression. I can’t take it anymore. My life is a living hell. Has anyone else experienced this type of hearing loss and these problems? I’ve read it might be consistent with Meniere’s, but I have no other symptoms, and Meniere’s is pretty rare in the first place. In fact, the audiologist told me, “In all my years in this business, I’ve never met a Meniere’s patient.” Of course, I know it might be a form of Meniere’s without dizziness and vertigo. I’ve heard it’s possible, but again, 1 in 5 million people? I doubt it’s that.
If someone else has had similar problems (head pressure alongside hearing loss, worsening under stress, improving after lying down, tinnitus, hearing loss, etc.), I would love to hear what the problem was and how it turned out. Thank you for listening.
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Melbourne
Pacific Northwest, USA
