I'm gutted as I have made my left ear worse by stupidly agreeing to have microsuction, and this has now caused hissing (like crickets) in my ear 24/7.
I can hear it above everything else, and it is really bad when quiet like when sleeping. It also seems that the procedure has made my ear very sensitive to sound. A rattle of keys or cutlery can be unpleasant.
I have had a history of issues with my left ear. Tinnitus first started for me in early 2018. I think this was caused by anxiety medication that I took for a short time.
I then went to a very loud concert in summer that year and the really bad damaged started then. I remember also having hissing in my ear which settled after about 5 weeks, and then a high pitched whistle.
I was grateful when the high pitch whistle stopped after a year. Either I was used to it or it resolved.
Then all of a sudden about 5 weeks ago I partially lost the hearing in my left ear. I had this checked at a walk in center, and they thought I might have an infection as my ear drum was dull. It improved over 4 weeks, but they also noted that my right ear was compacted with wax so I arrange to privately have that removed
The wax was removed but I stupidly said it was ok to do my left ear, as they noted a few bits of fluff in there.
The microsuction could only be done for about 30 seconds. I said twice that it was painful, and it was not continued. Immediately I felt a dullness in my hearing, and a hissing which has not gone away
I am hopeful in time it will improve, and I am so annoyed with myself that I made this stupid decision in the first place when I knew my ear was already compromised, and it didn't really need suctioning. Clearly the noise from the procedure was just too much for it
Written by
Purity76
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I'm so sorry this has happened to you and know how you feel with the regrets and anxiety. I am sick with worry about the microsuction being used on my left ear three weeks ago. I called out to stop as it was so noisy, so it only lasted about 6 seconds.
I told my full story on here last week and numerous people came on to tell me that they regularly have microsuction and it doesn't increase their T, so I am trying to stay hopeful, but anxiety and I have a long relationship and my stomach is a constant knot of fear.
How long was the microsuction done in your right ear? Has that ear been fine since?
I'm sorry you have experienced a similar situation. I will read your story.
The right ear was a bit longer. Maybe a minute or so? I have actually now noticed that my right ear also has a high pitched ring, so that looks damaged as well but it is mild compared to my left ear and it took about a week for me to notice. The left ear has been hissing 24/7 for 10 days so far, with no let up and I also have a high pitched whistle in that ear. I pray that both ears recover given time, and I hope this becomes a lesson to me that I can not tolerate any loud noises in my ears anymore, rather than a massive regret. The hiss causes worry and anxiety because its a sound I am not used to. I am trying to get my head round the fact that this might be it, and I'm stuck with the hissing.
To give you some hope, I have recovered from ear damage before if you see my story so it is possible. I hope this is true this time around. I never thought microsuction would be so loud and damaging
Yes I have recovered from ear noise damage before, it was in 2012, so I hope we are both lucky again this time. I will go and find your other posts. Please keep in touch with me and we can cheer each other along.
I guess there is nothing we can do now apart from wait and see if this ever calms down. I do have an ENT appointment, but am not hopeful this will make any difference apart from tell me if I have any hearing loss. I'm not sure I'd be willing to do an MRI scan if that is suggested as that is incredibly loud and would compound issues for me.
One thing I'm struggling most with is the sound sensitivity that I now seem to have. This is not good even when hearing everday sounds. I am just trying to avoid any loud noises at the moment
I know, it's all we can do. Good luck with your ENT appointment and I would also be wary of an MRI, I had one in the past and thought it was horrendously noisy. I know I am also very sound sensitive and have been for a long time. We both improved last time so here's hoping we can do it again.
Hi , I saw your post was 11 months ago.... but I had Microsuction 10 days ago, ny left ear has not stopped ringing since 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️... did yours ever get any better ? 😊😊
Unfortunately not. I still have hissing in my left ear after 11 months, but I've got used to it. It doesn't bother me as much now. I had a CT scan done on my ear and nothing found, so they have just put it down to being tinnitus.
Aahh time will tell then.... after the Microsuction he said my ears looked healthy inside.... I am going to try curcumin and Ginko Biloba supplements , have heard they can lessen it... thankyou..😊
It is getting a tiny bit better, but very very slowly. Also, like Purity, I am getting used to it and coping much better than I was at first. I'm so sorry this has happened to you as well.
Hillman, I just want to add, both Purity and I had compromised ears already. We both first got Tinnitus years ago and had both recovered well before this happened to us.
10 days is very early and if this is the first time you've experienced T you have a good chance that this will fade so stay hopeful.
I hope so... I did have tinnitus before Microsuction , but it was more like a fan in my ear, I could put up with that more than this ringing.... he did work on this ear a long time, because it was so clogged with wax. It’s only just started to feel more normal now... apart from this damn ringing.... thankyou ... 😊
Clearly if you have a compromised ear already, microsuction is a very bad idea. Obviously none of us knew this at the time, otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation. I still have faith that it will get better, but as said, I kind of ignore it now. I also had hyper sensitivity to noise and that's calmed down. I had a hearing test and I have slight loss of sound in my left ear, but it's still within normal range for hearing.
If the suction was going on for a while then it might take your ear time to recover. The microsuction on my left ear was literally about 20 seconds. Certainly less that 30 seconds
Mine was a good bit longer, but perhaps I have to be patient, 10 days isn’t long, just seems like forever, that ear is sensitive too , can,t stand the hoover or the kettle boiling (our kettle is quite loud)....😊
I’m in exactly the same position as you. I had a constant ring in the left ear and was told it was wax buildup and so decided to have it microsuction. It’s now 4 weeks on from the procedure and I have not only a hiss but the left ear reacts to all vibrations. Sound, walking. It’s like a little sparkle sound each time a vibration happens. Even if I tap the ear lobe or the side of the head it makes this sound. How long did your sensitivity take to subside? Did it go away completely? Thanks
My hiss seems to be worse when I walk as well, so sounds very similar. I would class my hiss as like a sparkle in my ear. I'd say it took a while for the noise sensitivity to calm down. Weeks, if not months. I still have the hiss/sparkle in my left ear after 11 months but I have got used to it. I have had hearing tests, and a CT scan (didn't want to risk an MRI) and they can't find any fault with my ear. Did you previously have any kind of damage to your ear?
No hearing damage at all. The ENT said everything looked perfect. This new sensitivity seems to have been made worse by microsuction I’m sure. I’m just hoping it calms down. My ENT has said its all to do with a fluid buildup in the inner ear and said it can take 2 months to subside. I had an MRI yesterday too which may be useful but not hoping too much from that. I’m also suffering from tinnitus spikes from naps which is hard. If you touch your ear or side of the head do you get the sparkle sound?
Unfortunately I have had a relapse after 1 year. I unfortunately walked past someone using an angle grinder outside at the wrong time, and this has either spiked my tinnitus or made it worse, as it was incredibly loud. So I'm back to square one. Oscillating hissing/sparkle noise has increased and is more intrusive, and I have also been getting the high ptiched whistle sound again that had previously disappeared. This sucks Thing is, this is likely to happen. I cannot shield myself from accidental loud noises
Sadly I still have the problem after 15 months but I've learnt to live with it. I had a spike as I said above but that calmed down within about 1 week.
I'm so sorry that happened to you and hopefully you will find it calms down quicker this time. I have read many cases where people who have habituated to their T, then something provokes a spike, find they habituate again and much more quickly.
I didn't say that. You must be getting me confused with someone else. I had a once off less than 10 second microsuction mistake! I'd thought I was getting a silent manual clean when he stuck that thing in my ear. Never ever again!
I'm at 15 months now and coping better, some days it is very quiet, others it is more annoying, but I am losing the distress about it.
I'm not confused as I said I have never had a problem you clearly did I have never had any after affects with microsuction in fact I can be in agony before microsuction and immediately afterwards my T had settled down .
OK, I read "Like you I get my ears microsuctioned and get no problems" which seemed to me to be the exact opposite of my experience. Sorry if I misunderstood you.
I'm so sorry this has happened to you too. Hopefully, like mine, yours will gradually fade, but it does take some time. I am much much better than I was at 3 months, so take heart from that.
Try not to beat yourself up with regrets, I know it's hard, I was the same at first. If you can find a new interest to really absorb yourself in, that will help the most, and this horrible thing will start to fade into the background. Take care xx
I think it's possible that they want to portray microsuction as being safe and not damaging at all. However if you have an already compromised ear then it seems that it is not safe.
Hi there. I have exactly your symptoms - constant hissing/sparkling after microsuction in one ear. I have had it now for about four months. I had no ear problems prior but then got an infection and had this procedure recommended to me by the doctor so I had it after a month. It was clearly a massive mistake because I have never had any form of tinnitus before (I'm 28 and have normal hearing). I also had the sensitivity to noise and the sparkling. I just wondered if there has been any change for you at all? It's scary to contemplate a whole life ahead with this but I'm trying to stay positive.
No change for me, but I have got used to it and it rarely bothers me now. I've just got to be careful to avoid any loud noises because it can trigger an increase in the hissing/sparkling
Thank you. It's reassuring to hear that you've largely acclimatised to it. I had it done one month after an ear infection in that ear and have lost my high-frequency hearing in that ear. It's scary to think of maybe having this for life but I'm grateful that besides its persistence, it seems to be mild compared to other experiences of tinnitus.
I think it's possible that I had a similar problem, because I was having issues with my ear (pain) a few weeks before I had the microsuction, although I never had any confirmed infection.
Hi ElleMC, I'm so sorry this has happened to you too. I'm coping much better these days, it is generally a lot quieter. I can enjoy my life as much as before this happened. It only becomes noticeable and irritating if I'm under a lot of stress, or if my ears become waxed up again.
I won't let anyone else near my ears now and when the wax builds up, as it does frequently, I flush them out with a safety nozzle syringe and boiled water cooled to body temperature.
Hello, something similar has happened to me four weeks ago, I had microsuction in my left ear and it blocked up during the procedure. I have been left with muffled hearing in that ear and feeling a bit off balance because of it, also some hissing like you had. I see your post is three years old now and wonder if your hearing improved?
I'm sorry that you have experienced the same thing. Did you get any pain in the ear during the procedure? It seems like you have gotten dullness in the ear after the microsuction like me. Has your ear previously been compromised in some way - e.g. by loud noise? Unfortunately 3 years on and the hissing is still there, but on the positive side I have learnt to live with it, and most days I don't notice it much. It does get noticably sometimes if I hear loud noises, so it is sensitive to sound. Hopefully yours will repair itself. Time is a healer
Hi again, so sorry just seen your message. It is now three months since I had microsuction and can't remember if it was painful, it was noisy. I think that ear was somewhat sensitive before but didn't realise. I have some hearing loss, hissing and hyperacausis now. Totally lost my appetite and lost two stone in weight and not sleeping. Haven't been out in over three weeks now as feel so disorientated and off balance. Can't see how this will improve 😞
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Thing is, this is likely to happen. I cannot shield myself from accidental loud noises
Musical Ear Syndrome 
manual ear wax removal? 
