Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

All Sounds Resonate. Voices sound like Donald Duck

This topic is closed.

26 replies4.4k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

All sounds seem to resonate in both ears with or without hearing aids. The best analogy is that voices sound like Donald Duck or the South Park animated cartoon. Several doctors and audiologists cannot seem to agree or pinpoint what my problem is. Anyone with similar symptoms or possible answers?

13 people in this conversation8 min readJump to latest

I had something along those lines in my bad ear for a short period. It was really frustrating. Thankfully it went away. I never got a diagnosis though so no help - sorry…m

Is this new for you? Do your ears feel clogged too? This has been a bass allergy season for me and I’ve had a couple of times when this has happened.

I do not have the resonating, but everyone sounds like Donald Duck – I say a cartoon character – all the time, with and without hearing aids. Less, with the hearing aids in. I think this has to do with losing the high frequency range.

I have that quacking only with the aids. It makes my wife sound very unpleasant and hard to understand–not good for the relationship. That doesn’t encourage me to wear them, either. When the TV is on in another room, all I hear is the quacking, not the speech. It was worse with the Costco Philips HearLink aids. It’s still there with the KS10 aids. I’m in the process to reduce the quacking. I’m no fan of (Real Ear Measurement). Of course what you and I call “quacking” may be totally different.
Please post your .

I haven’t had a “quacking” sensation with speech, but I’ve experienced speech that sounds somehow clipped. This event would typically occur when the barometric pressure changes. It’s nowhere’s near as noticeable with my aids in, but before I got the aids (at age 30-odd), it was really unbearable, making it difficult to comprehend speech.

So my advice is twofold: 1.) see if there is a “trigger” event causing this sensation (weather change, flying at altitude, food allergy, medication being taken, etc.,) and 2.) get in to see your audiologist to see what frequency ranges can be adjusted to mitigate that affect.

While I have a fairly FLATLINED , I tend to want the lower frequencies of speech boosted with a bit of high frequency turned down so the ambient sounds aren’t “shattering” in their sharpness. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the response. The resonating is constant and no 'trigger" event. My has a decline at the higher frequencies level in both ears. I have tried the latest technology in several hearing aid models with not much improvement over my current 6 year old hearing aids. Audiologists have tried various settings with no success. Is there a name for my condition that I can do further research? I also have low level tinnitus (sort of low roaring sound) but it does not really bother me. However, it may have some effect on the resonating.

it’s allergy season. Your eustachian tubes may be blocked, and there’s build up of fluid behind your ear drums. An can tell if this is the case with an exam. As I recall you wrote that the distortion occurs with and without the aids…? this suggests something’[s off with your ears.

No one checked a thing. The just told me I have nerve damage when I told him about the distortion.
I told him I still could hear the distortion with the aid.
It didn’t help me.
In retrospect I now realize I’ve had the distortion for years. I used to use a Bluetooth mic on my left ear all day. Thought the distortion was the mic.
It just became more noticable with the hearing aid. Especially my own voice.
I just live with it.
Would love to say that it doesn’t bother me but that would be a lie.
Sometimes it makes me nuts.
Especially when the occulusion kicks in.

I woke up with Donald Duck hearing a year or two ago. Don’t know what caused it, i suspect allergies, but the put me on prednisone and it gradually cleared up.

When I get fluid build up in my middle ear due to blocked eustachian tubes (again, in allergy season) I’ll get that ‘broken speaker’ effect. This condition can take a good amount of time to resolve–month or more. But that’s me. I’ve read people on line who write the same thing, however. Chlo9rtrimoton help0s to open the eustachian tubes; or sudafed.

The distortion has been for years.
I take Claritin everyday.
Spray Flonase everyday.
Ears checked no fluid.
Sometimes left ear sounds like something ratiling around in it.
Might look for another .
No one had really been interested.

@freezerman404 said:

Sometimes left ear sounds like something ratiling around in it.

That sure does sound like the “broken speaker” analogy. If you consider the diaphragm on some speakers, if it’s inflexible, cracked, etc., sound is very distorted.

I would DEAF-initely (pardon my pun!) find a new . I mean, COME ON! There should be some kind of scan or test that would figure out that rattling sound. Rattling is not ringing, so I’m guessing it’s not some form of tinnitus. But you deserve a clear answer from someone willing to go the extra mile and give you a proper diagnosis.

Be sure to keep us informed! Like I say, my own odd, distorted speech sounds are pretty much triggered by barometric pressure changes, and there’s no rattling at all. Fingers crossed you get to the bottom of this.

The rattling is occasional.
It just happens out of the blue.
I don’t know if I really care anymore.
As they say it is what it is.
My cynical nature tells me ’s aren’t really interested if they can’t sell you hearing aids.
I have Audible aids because my insurance company at the time said they are who we will pay the most to.
My wife said go to Audible.
My aids are fine.
My perceived experience with ENT’s has been they want to sell you new hearing aids to help you. That’s not going to happen. So I think unless it gets regular I’m just going to roll with the punches.

Active discussions

What the forum has been talking about this week.