There are a large number of reasons for muffled hearing. For most people, it’s a short-term situation. But muffled hearing can also be an indication that a more severe hearing issue is happening. Partly, that’s because, aside from sudden hearing loss, hearing loss is usually not a condition that develops suddenly. Symptoms show up slowly over a long period of time.
Typically, one of the first noticeable symptoms is a sense that sounds feel muffled, distorted, or quieter. Muffled hearing, however, isn’t always a sign that you are developing permanent hearing loss. Indeed, millions of people experience muffled hearing each year.
Perhaps you’re wondering if you should be worried about your muffled hearing. The answer depends on various factors. Finding the correct treatment for your muffled hearing depends on understanding the underlying cause. Additional damage can be prevented and your hearing can get back to normal with some prompt solutions. Contacting us for a consultation can help you start this process, typically leading to successful treatments, so you can continue enjoying the sounds of your everyday life.
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 results in a noticeable drop in sound quality. Hearing won’t be completely gone with muffled hearing but things will sound garbled and quieter. Discerning speech and language can be particularly challenging.
In many cases, and depending on the root cause, muffled hearing can be combined with a sense of fullness or stuffiness in your ears. Sometimes, when you’re on a plane or have 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 a wide variety of issues. Figuring out the root cause of your muffled hearing can be essential in developing a successful treatment plan. Some of the most common causes of muffled hearing include the following:
- Travel: Altitude changes, such as when you’re on a plane, can cause a feeling of muffled ears. Your hearing will go back to normal relatively quickly once your physical conditions return to normal.
- Meniere’s Disease: When you have Menier’s Disease, you suffer from chronic hearing and balance issues. Dizziness, balance issues, tinnitus, and muffled ears will manifest over time due to this disease. There’s no cure for Meniere’s Disease, but symptoms can be treated.
- Infection: In some cases, problems like infections (such as sinus infections or ear infections) can result in inflammation in the ear canal (this is particularly true with ear infections). This will diminish your hearing ability by causing the ear canal to swell shut. Once the root infection goes away, any inflammation it caused should also clear.
- Age-related hearing loss: Most individuals will experience diminishing hearing as they get older. After all, there are few senses as acute when you are 80 as when you are 18. Over time, muffled hearing can be the result of this natural diminishing of your ability to hear.
- Earwax buildup: Normally, earwax is a positive thing. The health of your ear canal relies on the production of earwax. But muffled hearing (and in some cases even hearing loss) can be the result of excess earwax. Try a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide in your ear to loosen things up. Never attempt to free stuck earwax with a cotton swab which will only push the wax further up into the ear canal. We can help if the issue persists.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: Hearing loss which results from noise-related damage can sometimes bring about muffled hearing. This type of hearing loss is, regrettably, normally irreversible. One of the very first recognizable symptoms is muffled hearing; but damage to your stereocilia has likely already occurred by the time you notice the distorted sounds. If you don’t seek out treatment quickly, your hearing will rapidly get worse.
The exact symptoms of muffled hearing will differ depending on the base cause.
Is there a cure for muffled hearing?
Not all kinds of muffled hearing have a cure. The root cause of your muffled hearing will determine the treatment strategy. We might use some specialized tools to help clean out your ear canal if, for instance, earwax buildup is at the root of your muffled hearing. Antibiotics are typically prescribed if your muffled hearing is being caused by an infection.
In terms of sensorineural hearing loss, the emphasis changes to symptom management instead of a complete cure. That’s because there’s no cure for sensorineural hearing loss. But it is possible to control symptoms. This may take a number of forms, but the most common is using a pair of hearing aids in order to bring clarity to what you hear.
With hearing aids, you can keep enjoying your daily activities without hearing loss effecting your quality of life.
Avoiding muffled hearing
No matter what you do, some forms of muffled hearing can’t be prevented. For example, ear infections and sinus infections are hard to easily avoid.
Getting your hearing tested, however, can help detect any causes of muffled hearing and can help avoid any long-term hearing loss that may be developing. These examinations can help you stay on top of your hearing health and get treatment promptly.
