Muffled hearing can happen for a large number of reasons. For the majority of people, it’s a short-term situation. But muffled hearing can also be an indication that a more severe hearing problem is occurring. In part, that’s because, aside from sudden hearing loss, hearing loss is usually not a condition that progresses suddenly. Symptoms develop slowly and over time.
In many cases, one of the first recognizable symptoms is a sense that sounds feel muffled, distorted, or quieter. However, it’s important to mention that muffled hearing in and of itself isn’t always a sign of long-term hearing loss. Every year millions of people experience muffled hearing.
Maybe you’re wondering if you should be worried about your muffled hearing. Generally, the answer tends to vary. Recognizing the root cause of your muffled hearing is crucial to finding the correct treatment approach. Prompt solutions can sometimes help get your hearing back to normal, or, at least minimize possible damage. Contacting us for a consultation can help you start this process, often resulting in successful treatments, so you can continue enjoying the sounds of your everyday life.
What is muffled hearing?
When sound can’t move through your outer, middle, and inner ear in a normal way, your hearing can sound muffled. This leads to a noticeable decrease in sound quality. In the majority of instances, people with muffled hearing can still hear some or even most things, but things sound quieter or jumbled. This may especially affect your ability to hear and understand voices and spoken language.
In many instances, and depending on the root cause, muffled hearing can be accompanied by a sense of fullness or stuffiness in your ears. Sometimes, when you’re taking a flight or suffering from a cold you might experience this feeling. Muffled hearing isn’t always accompanied by this feeling, however.
What causes muffled hearing?
Muffled hearing can be caused by a wide variety of issues. In order to establish the correct course of treatment, it’s essential to determine the root cause. Some of the most prevalent causes of muffled hearing include the following:
- Sensorineural hearing loss: Hearing loss caused by noise-related damage can sometimes result in muffled hearing. This kind of hearing loss is, regrettably, normally irreversible. Muffled hearing is frequently one of the very first noticeable symptoms; but by the time you detect the distorted sounds, damage to your stereocilia has most likely already taken place. You should find treatment rapidly to avoid your hearing growing substantially worse quickly.
- Infection: Sometimes, issues such as infections (such as sinus infections or ear infections) can result in swelling in the ear canal (this is especially true with ear infections). This will decrease your hearing ability by causing the ear canal to swell shut. Once the base infection goes away, any inflammation it caused should also clear.
- Meniere’s Disease: When you have Menier’s Disease, you suffer from chronic hearing and balance problems. Over time, this disease can cause tinnitus, hearing loss (frequently beginning with muffled hearing), and dizziness or loss of balance. The symptoms of Menier’s disease can be managed but not cured.
- Travel: Altitude changes, such as when you’re on a plane, can lead to a feeling of muffled ears. In most cases, this feeling will pass rapidly and your normal hearing will be restored.
- Earwax buildup: Earwax is usually a helpful 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 consequence of excess earwax. Try a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in your ear to loosen the wax up. Do not utilize a cotton swab to try to free the earwax, as cotton swabs can compact your earwax and make the problem worse. We can help if the problem continues.
- Age-related hearing loss: As you get older, your hearing can diminish due to natural causes. After all, there are few senses as acute when you are 80 as they were when you are 18. Over time, muffled hearing can be the consequence of this natural diminishing of your ability to hear.
Depending on the underlying cause, the precise symptoms of muffled hearing will differ.
Is there a cure for muffled hearing?
Not all forms of muffled hearing can be cured. The treatment for your muffled hearing will change depending on the root cause. We might use some specialized tools to help clear out your ear canal if, for instance, earwax accumulation is at the root of your muffled hearing. Muffled hearing caused by an ear infection will likely clear up once the infection has been treated, so antibiotics are usually prescribed.
Symptom management is generally the approach when you have sensorineural hearing loss as opposed to a cure. That’s because there’s no cure for sensorineural hearing loss. But it is possible to manage symptoms. This might take several forms, but the most common is the use of a set of hearing aids in order to bring clarity to what you hear.
Hearing aids can help you remain connected to loved ones and tackle your daily activities without a substantially noticeable impact, particularly when this process is initiated quickly.
Avoiding muffled hearing
No matter what you do, some kinds of muffled hearing can’t be avoided. For instance, ear infections and sinus infections are hard to reliably avoid.
Getting your hearing tested, however, can help detect any causes of muffled hearing and can help avoid any long-term hearing loss that might be developing. Contact us for an appointment right away.
