a resonance in my left ear

@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.

@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.

@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.

@symphonicsoul Yeah I had a good seat for the Bruckner - slightly back and elevated a little bit (the so-called Terrace at Walt Disney Concert Hall) - actually I bought a fairly cheap ticket and ended up near the side and back of the terrace where the sound is not so good - then a couple came up and said they wanted to trade seats with us because they wanted to sit by the door - so my girlfriend and I got this good seat in the center-front Terrance. LA Phil brass is glorious. And LOUD. I love how Bruckner uses brass. Dvorak, a wonderful composer, but he buries the brass under the strings a lot of the time. By the way I played trombone in college. 

Thanks for tip on small ear canals. Judging by the fit of IEMs that work with me, I do have small ear canals. I'm going to go back to this ENT or maybe find another one and consult on all this stuff. I have an HMO so I'm not sure I can see a different ENT. He was so dismissive of my concerns and really didn't even seem to understand them. Now all these people tell me there are possible explanations. 

@symphonicsoul "An amplification at certain frequencies" is very similar if not identical to what I mean. I don't have any hearing loss according to the audiologist's report, or at least my hearing is currently within the normal range. My condolences for hearing difficulties like not being able to enjoy orchestra at full tilt. I listened to the LA Phil perform Bruckner's 9th last year and powerful brass music is thrilling, but would be disappointing if it were distorted. I don't notice any problem with live music at this time. 

@asvjerry I don't use PC Audio any more once I discovered the Aurender N100. I'm a bit of a purist, too, avoiding EQ. I think it sounds way, way better that way. I think I'll first try some of these other suggestions first. It would be good to have an audiologist dial in the frequency of my tinnitus and also do a thorough ear cleaning.

@symphonicsoul Did I say the Aurender N100 DIDN'T aggravate the issue? It is worse with the resonance compared with what I had before, a NUC PC-based system. A very modest PC-based system. So the N100 was amazing in terms of dynamics and resolution... a clear step up... (I'm not sure about soundstaging, I use mainly headphones and have an acoustically compromised modest speaker system) but also made the ear resonance worse. I want to keep it, though for its strengths. 

I think the issue is more the DAC, because even with the N100, DACs vary in the amount of the resonance they have and some have none. I tried a Terminator this year and it had no resonance. (I thought it was too aggressive on leading edges, though, and returned it). The Gustard X20 Pro, the DAC I had at the time I got the Aurender, seems to be the worst of any I tried. I've since sold it and now I'm testing out the Gustard A26. It's okay, a tolerable amount of resonance, and a great DAC. Better than the x20 Pro. I also am holding out hope that I can solve the resonance. So I'm willing to take a little risk with a little resonance. 

I wasn't a talented musician at the time. Since then I've gotten interested in composing and piano improvisation. I'm still working on those things (fairly beginning at improvisation in classical styles) but these new interests have reconnected me with music at a much deeper level.

@kennyc 

I haven't tried it with a real piano. I do know that the resonance depends on the audio equipment, such as the PC source (or my current Aurender) and the choice of DAC. There are some DACs that have far less resonance.

The headphones and speakers use different amps. I have three pretty decent headphones and the resonance varies with them as well. Have only tried one headphone amp recently (my other one died). 

I don't notice it much with live orchestra, but then again I don't notice it much with recorded orchestra either. It's primarily flute and piano that trigger the resonance.