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My First & Last Rock Weekend: How A Writing Assignment Led To Ear Damage

And why ear plugs failed to protect me

By Susie KearleyPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
Top Story - March 2022
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(c) Susie Kearley

In 2014, I was covering a music weekend for a magazine article. The editor said I should get great photos - the whole commission depended on that. I thought foam ear plugs would be sufficient to protect my ears and I went down the front to get the best shots.

The event was an absolute blast. I loved it. But half way through, I became aware of a horrible pressure building up behind my ear drums. I went to buy new ear plugs, but they were worse than the ones I'd bought with me, so I fitted them as tightly as I could and carried on.

In hindsight, I wish I'd just left at that point, but I hoped the feeling would pass, like the ringing in your ears passes following a concert. It didn't.

Could it be glue ear?

When I returned home after the music weekend, I hoped the problem would pass but there was no improvement. So I went to see the local practice nurse, as no doctors were available. She said I had a blocked eustachian tube - fluid in the ear, putting pressure on the ear drum.

A bit of web researched revealed that this is called Glue Ear. I was told to steam my ears, so I did it obsessively, every day, and it helped a bit. Six months of steaming later, my symptoms were still troubling me, so I tried to request a referral to a specialist.

My doctor wouldn't refer me until I'd tried a load of drugs: antihistamines, decongestants, steroids, etc. All designed to eliminate glue ear, while at the same time, they now insisted that I didn't have glue ear.

Three years later…

To cut a long story short, it actually took three-and-a-half years to get an appointment with an ENT specialist, who was running two hours late, and only spent ten minutes with me.

He said I have inner ear damage. It's not hearing loss, although sounds are muffled, but the feeling of pressure behind the ear drum drives me crazy. And there's a humming sometimes, which can be annoying too.

Had I known that ear pressure was a sign of permanent damage, I'd have left the music weekend as soon the problem became apparent.

Most people know that noise can damage your hearing, but they probably reckon foam ear plugs offer sufficient protection. With hindsight, I can only suggest people exposed to loud noise invest in metal earplugs, try wax earplugs, or get professional musician's ear plugs. Better still, get industrial ear defenders. I wish I had.

Nothing they can do

What about the article covering that music weekend? Well I did get amazing photographs! But the editor who commissioned the article never published it. A cut of the original piece was sold to another publisher a few years later.

Was it worth it? Absolutely not.

So for people searching Google for Glue Ear - like I was for years - trying different treatments, but finding nothing works, perhaps that pressure is caused by inner ear damage.

I hate to say it, but it seems there is virtually nothing medics can do about that. My GP says, at some point in the future, it may be worth trying a low-dose of a drug to reduce the unpleasant sensation behind the ears, but these drugs have side effects. For now, I've learnt to live with it.

The take home message is don't rely on foam ear plugs at concerts, and if you feel pressure behind the ears, leave right away.

(c) Susie Kearley

humanity
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