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.
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.
- ...
- 30 posts total
@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. |
- 30 posts total