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Drastically Better hearing upon waking in the morning

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When I wake up during the night, and first thing in the morning, for about 10 minutes after I get out of bed, I can hear drastically better. The sink faucet, the toilet, my wife’s voice, pouring coffee into a cup, all of those things sound almost approaching normal. Within 5 to 10 minutes all of that becomes muffled and stays that way all day, unless I wear my hearing aids. I have some suspected eustachian tube stuff going on too, and wonder if there’s a connection to lying down and Eustachian tube normalization. what else could cause this return of hearing or hearing perception in the am? thanks

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Hmmmm…I have eustachian tube issues too. And I’ve noticed the same, but maybe not as drastic a difference as you. My ears will plug up after being up for about 10 minutes. I’ve wondered if it’s allergens in my apartment, or mold in the walls. I use a cpap all night and pressure from that may open the tubes; also, it uses a filter so allergens are screened out. It’s hard to pin down!

Do you have a big difference between your bone conduction and air conduction scores thresholds? I would expect that to be the case if there was something like a eustachian tube issue impacting your hearing.

Personally I have noticed there does seem to be a big fatigue component to my hearing. Always seemed a little bit better when I wake up, and at the tail end of a 24 hour shift I’m always having a lot more trouble understanding people.

In reply to @user172

I seem to find that yes, pressure from cpap opens my blocked eustachian tubes, and they close again soon after getting up. I think that’s a good theory as to what happens with me. I have what’s called ‘eustachian tube dysfunction’. Spring is the worst due to pollen and allergies. the blocked tubes muffle my hearing, or in the worst case, cause fluid to build behind my eardrums. Horrible!

In reply to @terra

@terra said:

Do you have a big difference between your bone conduction and air conduction scores thresholds?

I’m not sure how to read that but it doesn’t seem like there’s much - if I’m reading correctly? I attached it.

Thanks for your insights.

Screen Shot 2023-05-18 at 4.52.53 PM

In reply to @jeffrey

@jeffrey said:

I seem to find that yes, pressure from cpap opens my blocked eustachian tubes, and they close again soon after getting up.

wow - we just need to wear our cpaps all the time and hear better, then!!! did you find anything that helped with your and therefore your hearing in that department??

Edited
@user172 said:

did you find anything that helped with your ETD and therefore your hearing in that department??

Not really, other than having an Osia bone conduction aid–which is essentially unaffected by EDT and my conductive loss. It works really well! I think my EDT was the reason Kaiser finally caved and approved me for that device. However it sounds pretty crappy for playing my guitar, so I still use trad aids for that. Also: antihistimines like sudafed work to open the eustachian tubes supposedly, but I can’t take those for other medical reasons. You might try using that for a week or so and see if it helps. I would if I could.

p.s.—I also wonder if cpap is exacerbating the whole issue rather than the opposite. Again, it’s hard to pin down.

Sometimes the differences in hearing from changes in pressure in the middle ear are perceived to be bigger than they actually are.

I have been experiencing similar. I also find that if I pop my ears (plug nose/blow - like on a plane) it clears them for a few seconds and better hearing. Of course once I talk, chew, yawn it muffles again.

No idea. I need to try to make an appt with my . She books out quite aways so likely it will clear up by the appt. I have tried flonase, sudafed, mucinex etc. Nothing helps.

Edited

same, although saline solution makes it easier to actually pop my ears. We sound like the same thing is going on. even with hearing aids in (or out), i get a feeling of fullness, and when I pop, more high end. I wish I could figure out how to maintain that state. Please , if you can, let me know how your appointment goes and good luck.

Sadly, in my experience, it’s not possible to maintain the open state of hearing. The eustachian tubes pop and then inevitably, soon, close again. It IS possible to maintain a ‘better’ state, using saline rinse and flonase, etc, in allergy season. Environment plays a big role for me: dust and other allergens in my room clog me up pretty good. I got rid of my rugs and use a Hepa filter. I mop for dust once a week. I have allergen screens on my windows. As a musician, clogged ears are ruinous. These tactics have greatly reduced my issues.

thanks for these ideas. prior to my sudden R ear hearing loss, I had no awareness of my eustachian tubes, or any allergies at all. I’ve mixed and produced music for 30+ years. i doubt that all changed just because of sudden hearing loss, but it certainly ushered in a new era of noticing detailed hearing and its connection to the ETs. Can someone suddenly develop allergies? I have been trying the D version (decongestant and antihistamine combined) this past week, and “maybe” noticed a difference. And the saline solutions are helpful for sure.

In reply to @terra

@terra said:

Do you have a big difference between your bone conduction and air conduction scores thresholds? I would expect that to be the case if there was something like a eustachian tube issue impacting your hearing.

OK that is interesting! I had been told as a child that I had very narrow eustachian tubes. I never got that issue resolved, but have found that as an adult, I often have trouble clearing them (like plug the nose and exhale). I have a hearing test from 6/22 so perhaps I’ll look at those two scores if they are written on it.

Does anyone here know if eustachian tubes can be improved as a 67-yr-old? Am I too old? What would that entail? Um, maybe I should start a new thread …

@1Bluejay said:

Does anyone here know if eustachian tubes can be improved as a 67-yr-old? Am I too old? What would that entail? Um, maybe I should start a new thread …

I don’t know about “improved” but if i use a saline spray into the nostrils and massage around the sinuses, then blow my nose, it does allow me to hold my nose and swallow and clear at least for a few minutes. It’s helpful in that sense. Was it you 1Bluejay that mention that product initially?

I’ve asked several over the years if my eustachian tubes can be fixed or improved. The short answer is ‘no’. There is a procedure that inflates a balloon inside of them that has shown middling results at best. Other than that, there is no fix. I had choloesteotoma wretch my hammer anvil and stirrup in both ears as a child. Apparently eustachian tube dysfunction is tied directly to that. so it is a thing.

In reply to @user172

@user172 said:

if i use a saline spray into the nostrils and massage around the sinuses, then blow my nose, it does allow me to hold my nose and swallow and clear at least for a few minutes. It’s helpful in that sense.

YES it was indeed me who recommended PressurEze25 up at Amazon. That gives me a couple of eustachian tube clearings for a few minutes. Same thing when I use NeilMed12 saline rinse.

Better than nothing! :slight_smile:

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