the sound of cutlery

[Esben Beck]

Hi! 
I’m a 25 year old male, and ever since I was a little child I’ve had ear
infections (otitis?) one or two times a year. Two times, I’ve had these
small tubes through my eardrums, on both sides.  Finally, my eardrums
have punctured several times, either due to otitis (blowing outward), or
free diving. As you can see, not the happiest  ears in town, but they
are still going strong.

But in the past few months, I have become more sensitive to sharp
noises, especially the sound that occurs when you grab the cutlery in
the kitchen drawer. The noise itself is almost painful, and it is
followed by a scraping noise inside my ear. The same thing happen when I
listen to music that contains sudden periods of quietness. When it gets
quiet, my ears add the scraping noise.

When I increase the pressure inside my inner ear, the problem gets
smaller, and my hearing is better than the most people I know. But it
only lasts for an hour or so, decreasing gradually.   

My questions are:

Why have I become so sensitive to sharp noises?

Is there anything to do?

Does my good hearing (when I increase the inner ear pressure) indicate
that my ears are quite all right, except from the eardrums?  

Can the pressure increasing damage my ears?


I will be most grateful for your help. 
Check out my hobby, and I am sure you will understand why my hearing is
so essensial to me:

http://home.sn.no/~rpd/speaker/amateur/sewer.html


Best regards,
Esben from Norway.

-- 

"Always complete what you have sta                     



                            _\|||
                             ( O   )
=======================oOOo=====U    =oOO
===================        Esben Be    
===================    ----ebeck at sn.no-
================================ 


THIS ASCII SIGNATURE FILE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION