Before I discuss the strange problem, here is some relevant info:
I've had a cold for the past week or so. I think there was mucous
buildup involving the ears because the "clicking noise" that I usually
hear in my ears when swallowing went away temperarily. I also noticed
some "pulsed" ringing in my ear that seemed to coincide with my
hearbeat pulse. (as if there was extra pressure in that ear). That
isn't currenly happening now, and I can now hear the clicking noise
when I swallow, although I think there is some residual congestion in
my ears because when I sneeze it sounds like mucous is rattling around
internally especially in the right ear.
The reason for this post is that there is a very strange problem with
my hearing that I suddenly noticed last night, and never noticed
anything like this before. This is not a joke. At first I thought
something was wrong with my computer because some music I was
listening to, especially a guitar solo, sounded sour, as if the guitar
was doubled but the doubled pitch was off.
Bottom line is that when I hear a pitch through my right ear, I am
perceiving the pitch higher by 25 (or more) cents higher than when the
same pitch is heard through my left ear. To confirm this, I connected
a pair of headphones to the computer. I then play a pitch on the
keyboard while holding one cup of the headphones to the left ear. I
then sing a note (to attempt to match the note I am hearing) into a
software-based guitar tuner that tells me the exact pitch I am singing
and whether it is sharp or flat. Then, I switch ears, (hold the same
cup of the headphones to the right ear). When I hear the same pitch
it now is percieved as sharper, and when I sing (to match the note)
into the tuner it confirms that I am singing 25 cents or greater
higher.
My right ear, even before the code, perceived less high frequencies
than my left, but I've had trouble with excessive ear wax developing
in that ear. As an experiment I tried plugging up the left ear, so
that the left ear perceives even less highs than the right, and yet I
am still perceiving the note heard from the right ear as higher in
pitch than the one heard from the left ear.
I've tried comparing different pitches in different octave ranges and
the results seem the same. The left ear seems to be the more accurate
one.
I am wondering what could be causing this to happen? Could an
infection cause the pitch perception in one ear to change in an upward
direction? If so, then exactly how would an infection cause a note
heard through the right ear to be perceived as higher in pitch than
the same pitch heard through the left ear.
Could fatigue, from having a cold, and also from getting less sleep
than usual cause something like this to happen?
Could this be something neurological happening that needs to be
checked out?
Has anyone ever read about or encountered any condition like I just
described, or is this a wild anomaly?
Thanks,
Jay
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