Muffled hearing can present for lots of reasons. For most people, it’s a short-term situation. In other instances, muffled hearing can be a precursor of more serious hearing-related problems. That’s because, for the most part, hearing loss is a slowly progressing condition. Symptoms appear slowly over a long period of time.
Often, one of the first detectable symptoms is a sense that sounds feel muffled, distorted, or quieter. Muffled hearing, however, isn’t necessarily an indication that you’re developing permanent hearing loss. Every year millions of people experience muffled hearing.
Perhaps you’re wondering if you should be concerned about your muffled hearing. The answer depends on several factors. Finding the correct treatment for your muffled hearing depends on recognizing the root cause. Added damage can be avoided and your hearing can get back to normal with some prompt solutions. You will be able to go back to enjoying the sounds of your life after you get us to assist you with some successful treatments.
Muffled Hearing – what exactly is it?
When sound can’t travel through your outer, middle, and inner ear in a normal way, your hearing can sound muffled. This leads to a noticeable drop in sound quality. In the majority of cases, people with muffled hearing can still hear some or even most things, but everything sounds quieter or distorted. This may particularly impact your ability to hear and understand voices and spoken language.
Your ears will often also feel plugged up when your hearing is muffled. Sometimes, when you’re on a plane or suffering from a cold you might experience this feeling. This plugged feeling, however, doesn’t always come with muffled hearing.
Causes of muffled hearing
Muffled hearing can be caused by all kinds of problems. In order to develop the correct course of treatment, it’s essential to figure out the root cause. Here are a few of the most common causes:
- Earwax buildup: Earwax is usually a helpful thing. It helps keep your ear canal healthy. But muffled hearing (and in some instances even hearing loss) can be the consequence of excess earwax. This earwax can usually be loosened up by utilizing a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. Never attempt to free stuck earwax with a cotton swab which will only pack the wax further up into the ear canal. We can help if the problem continues.
- Meniere’s Disease: Meniere’s Disease is a chronic balance and hearing issue. Dizziness, balance issues, tinnitus, and muffled ears will manifest over time as a result of this disease. There is no cure for Meniere’s Disease, but symptoms can be treated.
- Hearing loss related to age: Most individuals will experience decreasing hearing as they get older. Obviously, when you’re 80 all of your senses will be less acute than when you were 18. This normal decline in your hearing ability can cause muffled hearing over time.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: Hearing loss caused by noise-related damage can sometimes result in muffled hearing. Regrettably, this type of hearing loss is usually permanent. One of the earliest recognizable symptoms is muffled hearing; but by the time you detect the distorted sounds, damage to your stereocilia has probably already occurred. If you don’t seek out treatment quickly, your hearing will rapidly get worse.
- Travel: The changing air pressure associated with air travel can frequently cause a feeling of fullness in the ear, accompanied by muffled hearing. In most instances, this feeling will pass quickly and your normal hearing will be restored.
- Infection: In some cases, problems like infections (including sinus infections or ear infections) can result in inflammation in the ear canal (this is particularly true with ear infections). This inflammation can cause your ear canal to swell shut, effectively diminishing your ability to hear. Muffled hearing symptoms caused by infections will normally clear up once the root illness has been treated.
The precise symptoms of muffled hearing will vary depending on the base cause.
Can muffled hearing be cured?
Not all forms of muffled hearing have a cure. The base cause of your muffled hearing will determine the treatment method. For instance, if excessive earwax buildup is the primary cause, we may use specific tools to help you clear out your ear canal. Muffled hearing caused by an ear infection will typically clear up once the infection has been managed, so antibiotics are often prescribed.
In terms of sensorineural hearing loss, the emphasis changes to symptom management instead of a complete cure. That’s because sensorineural hearing loss can not be cured. However, symptoms can be managed. There may be several approaches to this treatment including a set of hearing aids.
Hearing aids can help you remain connected to loved ones and tackle your daily activities without a significantly noticeable effect, especially when this process is started promptly.
How to steer clear of muffled hearing in the first place
Some types of muffled hearing are difficult to avoid, no matter what. For example, ear infections and sinus infections are hard to easily avoid.
However, in most cases, routine hearing tests can help you avoid many of the causes of muffled hearing and identify any permanent hearing loss early. These checkups can help you stay on top of your hearing health and get treatment promptly.