Why is My Hearing Muffled?

Muffled Hearing

• Can be sudden or gradual

• In one ear or both ears

• Can affect anyone at any age

• Causes difficulty hearing or understanding conversations, especially in background noise.

Cause of Muffled Hearing

• Wax, water or debris clogging the ear

• Asymmetric hearing loss

• Ear Infection

• Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

• Noise-induced hearing loss

• High-frequency hearing loss

Wax, Water, DebrisWax may build up in the ear over time.

Water from swimming and showering can become trapped in the ear canal.

Other debris (such as a cotton swab) can get stuck in the ear.

See an ENT or Audiologist to have the wax, water, or debris cleaned from the ear.

Asymmetric Hearing Loss

Hearing is worse in one ear over the other.

When there is a sudden difference in hearing between the ears, the brain gets confused by incoming sounds.

You may notice a “full” or “plugged” feeling in the poorer ear.

The poorer ear will sound muffled compared to the good ear.

Ear Infection

A middle ear or outer ear infection will muffle your hearing in the affected ear.

The bacterial or fungal infection will clog the ear, making hearing more difficult.

This is usually temporary until the infection clears.

Ear infections should be treated by a physician.

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (ETD)

There is a small tube (the Eustachian tube) that connects the ear to the nose and throat. It is responsible for equalizing the air pressure in the ear.

If the Eustachian tube gets blocked, your hearing will sound muffled in the affected ear. This is called Eustachian Tube Dysfunction and is usually temporary.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss

After a loud concert or event, you can experience a temporary threshold shift, or a temporary decline in hearing.

This will make your hearing sound muffled.

It may be difficult to understand conversations clearly for several days after the loud event.

Repeated exposure to loud sounds can cause permanent muffled hearing.

High-frequency Hearing Loss

Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds.

The consonant sounds of speech, such as K, T, F, S, SH, are high-pitched sounds.

With a high-frequency hearing loss, you are unable to hear these speech sounds clearly.

Your hearing will sound muffled and it may sound like people are mumbling.

Hearing aids can help alleviate this muffled hearing.

For more information visit:

http://www.everydayhearing.com/hearing-loss/why-is-my-hearing-muffled/