Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents

Professional audio recording and studio engineering, post #46,261
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 Mr. Terrier
 2008-07-13 09:57:00
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
Pardon the top post. I suffer a similar (though worse) problem to yours.

This:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia:_Tales_of_Music_and_the_Brain

is a great read and details others' similar problems and other, more bizarre
ones. Highly recommended.

In short, you're not alone.

Steve = : ^ )


JayN:

> Before I discuss the strange problem, here is some relevant info:
> I've had a cold for the past week or so. I think there was mucous
> buildup involving the ears because the "clicking noise" that I usually
> hear in my ears when swallowing went away temperarily. I also noticed
> some "pulsed" ringing in my ear that seemed to coincide with my
> hearbeat pulse. (as if there was extra pressure in that ear). That
> isn't currenly happening now, and I can now hear the clicking noise
> when I swallow, although I think there is some residual congestion in
> my ears because when I sneeze it sounds like mucous is rattling around
> internally especially in the right ear.
>
> The reason for this post is that there is a very strange problem with
> my hearing that I suddenly noticed last night, and never noticed
> anything like this before. This is not a joke. At first I thought
> something was wrong with my computer because some music I was
> listening to, especially a guitar solo, sounded sour, as if the guitar
> was doubled but the doubled pitch was off.
>
> Bottom line is that when I hear a pitch through my right ear, I am
> perceiving the pitch higher by 25 (or more) cents higher than when the
> same pitch is heard through my left ear. To confirm this, I connected
> a pair of headphones to the computer. I then play a pitch on the
> keyboard while holding one cup of the headphones to the left ear. I
> then sing a note (to attempt to match the note I am hearing) into a
> software-based guitar tuner that tells me the exact pitch I am singing
> and whether it is sharp or flat. Then, I switch ears, (hold the same
> cup of the headphones to the right ear). When I hear the same pitch
> it now is percieved as sharper, and when I sing (to match the note)
> into the tuner it confirms that I am singing 25 cents or greater
> higher.
>
> My right ear, even before the code, perceived less high frequencies
> than my left, but I've had trouble with excessive ear wax developing
> in that ear. As an experiment I tried plugging up the left ear, so
> that the left ear perceives even less highs than the right, and yet I
> am still perceiving the note heard from the right ear as higher in
> pitch than the one heard from the left ear.
>
> I've tried comparing different pitches in different octave ranges and
> the results seem the same. The left ear seems to be the more accurate
> one.
>
> I am wondering what could be causing this to happen? Could an
> infection cause the pitch perception in one ear to change in an upward
> direction? If so, then exactly how would an infection cause a note
> heard through the right ear to be perceived as higher in pitch than
> the same pitch heard through the left ear.
>
> Could fatigue, from having a cold, and also from getting less sleep
> than usual cause something like this to happen?
>
> Could this be something neurological happening that needs to be
> checked out?
>
> Has anyone ever read about or encountered any condition like I just
> described, or is this a wild anomaly?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jay

--
Steve = : ^ )
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 Tobiah
 2008-07-14 12:31:26
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
>
> Bottom line is that when I hear a pitch through my right ear, I am
> perceiving the pitch higher by 25 (or more) cents higher than when the
> same pitch is heard through my left ear.

Isn't that annoying as hell? I've had this happen to me exactly
as you describe several times over the years, always in conjunction
with an ear infection. I'm not exactly sure what the reason is, but
you might take comfort in the fact that it never affected me longer
than a few days.


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 JayN
 2008-07-14 18:58:15
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
> Isn't that annoying as hell?  I've had this happen to me exactly
> as you describe several times over the years, always in conjunction
> with an ear infection.  I'm not exactly sure what the reason is, but
> you might take comfort in the fact that it never affected me longer
> than a few days.
>

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is very annoying. Takes getting used
to. Some instruments sound worse than others. Piano and lead guitar
tend to sound really bad when heard through both ears. Hope it
doesn't affect me too much longer.
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 WillStG
 2008-07-19 02:45:22
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
On Jul 14, 9:58 pm, JayN <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Isn't that annoying as hell?  I've had this happen to me exactly
> > as you describe several times over the years, always in conjunction
> > with an ear infection.  I'm not exactly sure what the reason is, but
> > you might take comfort in the fact that it never affected me longer
> > than a few days.
>
> Thanks for the reply.  Yes, it is very annoying.  Takes getting used
> to.  Some instruments sound worse than others.  Piano and lead guitar
> tend to sound really bad when heard through both ears.   Hope it
> doesn't affect me too much longer.

Maybe try listening in a different environment? Your post
reminded me of a situation where a very accomplished engineer kept
panning a sound between the left and right studio monitors, and 5
other experienced engineers called in from all over the building also
all heard a clear difference in pitch for that sound, right vs. left.
Weird thing, for that particular sample in that particular room.

Will Miho
NY TV/Audio Post/Music/Live Sound Guy
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 Dr. Michael W. Ridenhour
 2008-07-19 10:36:20
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
I have had this condition (dyplacusis) for 36 years, at least. As an
audiologist, I have to make biological calibrations of the test
equipment every time I turn it on. This involves putting on the headset
and listening to the various tones at a normal level. I noticed early on
in my career that the 1KHz and also the 2KHz tone sounded different in
pitch between the right and the left ears. I switched the headset
around, but there was no change. I checked it out with ENT and
Neurology, but was never given a satisfactory explanation. I also see
different hues of beige in the left and the right eyes. Whatever it is,
isn't fatal, apparently, as I am still alive and healthy after noting
the condition many years ago. Sudden onset of dyplacusis is a different
matter, however, and could indicate some sort of progressive condition.
Get it checked out!

Michael

WillStG wrote:
> On Jul 14, 9:58 pm, JayN <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Isn't that annoying as hell? I've had this happen to me exactly
>>> as you describe several times over the years, always in conjunction
>>> with an ear infection. I'm not exactly sure what the reason is, but
>>> you might take comfort in the fact that it never affected me longer
>>> than a few days.
>> Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is very annoying. Takes getting used
>> to. Some instruments sound worse than others. Piano and lead guitar
>> tend to sound really bad when heard through both ears. Hope it
>> doesn't affect me too much longer.
>
> Maybe try listening in a different environment? Your post
> reminded me of a situation where a very accomplished engineer kept
> panning a sound between the left and right studio monitors, and 5
> other experienced engineers called in from all over the building also
> all heard a clear difference in pitch for that sound, right vs. left.
> Weird thing, for that particular sample in that particular room.
>
> Will Miho
> NY TV/Audio Post/Music/Live Sound Guy
> "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 mookie
 2008-07-16 21:50:53
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
Jay,

I wouldn't jump to the neurological conclusion. I agree with others
in that it sounds like there might have been some Eustachian Tube
issues directly related to you cold and congestion. This will throw
off the pressure in your middle ear space and can mess with your
hearing quite a bit, especially if fluid builds behind the eardrum.

Good place to start would be with an ENT, or rather an Otologist if
you can find one. You should probably have a hearing test as well,
considering the symptoms you describe as well as your history of noise
exposure (with all the music stuff). If nothing else you can get a
baseline now for your hearing, and also find out if there is anything
medically wrong with your ears.

Hope this helps--
Author:
Date:
Subject:
 unclehulot
 2008-07-19 10:53:20
 Re: Strange hearing issue: Pitch perception in right ear shifted upward by 25 cents
On Jul 16, 11:50 pm, mookie <[email protected]> wrote:
> Jay,
>
> I wouldn't jump to the neurological conclusion. I agree with others
> in that it sounds like there might have been some Eustachian Tube
> issues directly related to you cold and congestion. This will throw
> off the pressure in your middle ear space and can mess with your
> hearing quite a bit, especially if fluid builds behind the eardrum.
>
> Good place to start would be with an ENT, or rather an Otologist if
> you can find one. You should probably have a hearing test as well,
> considering the symptoms you describe as well as your history of noise
> exposure (with all the music stuff). If nothing else you can get a
> baseline now for your hearing, and also find out if there is anything
> medically wrong with your ears.
>
> Hope this helps--

I have had this same thing happen twice in the past 15 years or so,
and both times related to a bad cold/probable ear infection. Being a
musician, it was pretty difficult to deal with, to say the least! In
my case it took several weeks for all of the effects to disappear
completely (they did diminish very gradually), but they did with no
long term effects, except perhaps a bit more ringing in the ears in
general. Medically I have no idea what causes this, but the ENT I was
seeing said that it doesn't take much in the way of inflammation of
these small parts of the ear to change things in such a way. Just
have patience!