You may have some kind of mechanical issue with your left ear. Try humming different tones to get an idea. I don't know exactly how to describe this, but don't just hum casually. When you hum try directing the energy toward your ears so you hear it and feel it there. Something like you would do on an airplane with pressure changes. If you hear a resonance I don't know how you can solve it, though you will know the reason.
a resonance in my left ear
(This is a general question but I'm posting here because DACs affect the problem. That might be some clue. I also posted in "Tech Talk" but not sure if I'll get any response.)
I have a "resonance" in my left ear. At certain frequencies the sound will get a lot louder, very similar to a high-Q resonance. It's especially obvious on piano notes.
I can demonstrate to myself it's my left ear and not my equipment in two ways.
- Put on headphones, listen to the same signal in each ear. Right ear sounds great, left ear has a screeching resonance on certain music.
- Listen to speakers, plug one ear at a time with earplugs.
One clue is that I have tinnitus in my left ear. It varies in intensity and the resonance is definitely worse when the tinnitus is worse. However I can't tell if the resonance is at the same frequency as the tinnitus, which is very high pitched, while piano notes around 500 Hz typically stimulate the resonance the worst. I've even put a parametric filter on the music to demonstrate a notch at roughly 500 Hz silences the resonance.
I've been evaluated by an ear doctor. My hearing is within the normal range. He didn't really even seem to understand my description of the resonance and said there was no test that could be performed. I asked for a brain MRI and they did that, but it was normal.
The resonance is pretty much intolerable as a listening experience for the music and equipment that triggers it strongly. I can tolerate it if the equipment and music doesn't stimulate it too much.
Here's the weird thing. Different DACs will stimulate the resonance to different degrees. For instance the Terminator 1 barely stimulates the resonance, while it goes completely nuts on the Gustard A26 and even more so on the Gustard X20 Pro. The iFi iDSD doesn't stimulate it at all and the Gustard R26 only slightly.
Also the digital front end affects the resonance. When I used a NUC computer as a PC-based system, the resonance was bad on the x20Pro but tolerable. When I switched to an Aurender N100 the overall sound quality improved hugely on the kind of music that doesn't hit the resonance, but the resonance got twice as bad on certain music like piano.
Wondering if anyone might have any theories.
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If it is a resonance in your ear, and not something else, you could experiment with DSP or digital EQ (you already have it if you have Roon, for example). Just create a notch filter centered around your resonant frequency, and adjust the Q value wider or narrower until it takes care of your problem. |
I have tinnitus in my left ear and a bit similar problems. I’d say they are mainly caused by speakers rather than source and speaker stands/feet can aggravate it. The room reflections play a big role, not only in listening room, but concert halls also. I always pick a seat closer to right side of the auditorium. |
@sfgak I don't have access to an equalizer for my main audio system. I'm using an Aurender N100 as the digital source. In any case it only affects my left ear and I wouldn't want to devastate the signal going into my right ear. Perhaps if I could equalize one channel only for headphones, it might work. My headphones are my best listening setup. |
@willcycle Unfortunately I can't hum high enough. The lower resonance is somewhere between 500 and 600 Hz. My voice is around baritone range. |
As @willcycle conjectured, you may have a mechanical issue with your left ear or bone structure around it. Now, why certain DACs with their presentations cause differences, I have no idea. All I know is that I had a similar resonance in my left ear and stopped playing violin because of it. At certain notes I'd hear a terrible resonance. It took the enjoyment of playing away. Violins are particularly bad about this because you have them in direct contact with your jaw bones. Playing the piano doesn't cause a similar resonance for me. In any event you might consult an otologist and see what they say. |
@terry9 @moonwatcher I've had tinnitus my whole life and this resonance for at least 9 years. The tinnitus did improve when I stopped gluten recently, and the resonance reduced a bit. I guess what I'm getting from these posts is that my ENT was very dismissive of my situation. He acted like he'd never heard of this and didn't really understand. He doesn't have the knowledge of an audio engineer and didn't seem to know what I meant by "high Q" resonance. I should find another ENT. Might have to pay out of pocket. I don't really understand what a mechanical issue is or how to investigate it. Hopefully I find an ENT who does. |
You saw an ENT and had a cerebral scan?? How about an audiology exam? Did they do that? You don’t mention that, but that’s where this should have started. Once that’s evaluated then you’ve got a feel for what to do with the equalizer that would likely help you. Especially one with left and right channels. It doesn’t sound like you’re dealing with an intrinsically fixable physical problem, but it wouldn’t hurt to find a university ENT department you could visit. Get your MRI sent there. Humming and adjusting your speaker’s stands are not getting anywhere with this but it doesn’t seem to me your condition has been properly evaluated. I am not an ENT but I’m willing to bet your condition is not that unusual.7 |
I am an ent for 40 plus years.you should seek a neurotologist.they specialize in ears. You could find a audiologist who can find the frequency of your ear problems and possibly program a hearing aid to do a notch filter cut that frequency out..if you have arthritis it could cause problems with your ossicles the little bones in your ear have the audiologist do a tympanogram.i have treated alot of problems my other doctors failed at. Don't give up.there are things that can be done.enjoy the music, |
I’ve had a lot of ear problems. Several times I’ve experienced situations similar to what you described, and the problem was wax in my ear. Have an ENT, or qualified doctor look into your ear with an otoscope. This may seem silly or too obvious, but my problem was solved by cleaning my ears. A tiny bit of wax in the wrong place can cause real problems. The wax can vibrate, and narrow the ear canal. Cleaning should be done by a good specialist. I don't recommend doing it yourself. |
@magon I can tell you this: I used to have massive, chronic sinus allergies that made my life miserable. After I stopped eating gluten (for unrelated reasons), my allergies began to ease. Within 6 to 8 months they were entirely gone. I haven't had a single Claritin in years. Not sure how closely this relates to your particular issue, but unhealthy sinuses can definitely mess up your hearing. Good luck!
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@howardlee They measured my hearing. That's why I wrote that the ENT mentioned my hearing was normal. Is that an audiology exam? @devinplombier Yes! My asthma disappeared shortly after stopping gluten. Some GI problems stopped. We'll see how the next year goes. Maybe other things will improve. @unclewilbur I should ask about cleaning, yes. @barts I don't have any analog equipment at the moment. That would be an interesting test. I don't often listen to other people's systems, so I don't know if it was triggered. It depends on the music, so maybe I never listened to music that triggers it on some other system. |
Do what @mark200mph said!!!! That was a free consult! Your best bet for finding a neurologist ear specialist is probably a university doc but you could look online. I think I remember you’re in central Wisconsin so you’ve probably got some good options. |
I just had an audiology exam, as I've been experiencing what I can only describe as amplification on certain frequencies. s this what you mean my resonance? As a former orchestra conductor, to have any distortion or hearing loss is devastating. The audiologist told me it's called "recruitment" and she tested for it. She told me as hearing loss begins, your range shortens and certain frequencies get amplified. What used to be just loud, becomes intolerable. For me the subway trains coming in and out are deafening, along with sirens. The orchestra at full steam gets distorted at certain frequencies, like distortion from an amp that can't handle the power. Does this "resonate"? Sorry, I couldn't help it ;) |
Chiming in with mark200mph, howardlee, and symphonicsoul.... Get thee to the best audiologist rated in your area for the cleaning and through test. Other than the 2 outboard eqs' I run on my various pairs, I've in my main 'puter (Win10Pro...for the time being...) I'm running the APO equalizer with the plug-in that makes it a bit more 'friendly' and/or obvious in intent.... https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/?source=typ_redirect Either way, you can carve a notch 30db deep in your perceived resonances' center and parametric it as desired.... There's a cute lynx app called sndpeek https://soundlab.cs.princeton.edu/software/sndpeek/ ....that allows for r/t waveforms, the big 3, inline or with your calibrat mic.... You can actually see what your DRC is doing or has done to that location of the mic. I hope you can get to the ear issue, something 'transient' in it's nature would drive me more nutz.... Good Fortune, J |