Deaf in One Ear

[Time Waster]

I've classified this track as EDM, but I'm not really sure if that's what it is. Not that it matters. Inspired by the work of @maxdembo, this track was built on a jam using a virtual subharmonicon, which was patched together in VCV Rack.

Instruments:
VCV Rack
Sitala
Spitfire Audio Labs Drums
Surge
Vital
Big Cat Sonatina Orchestra Choir

First version - https://soundcloud.com/thewastersoft.../s-2QZR8ouqrYb

Latest version after comments below, as per post #25 - https://soundcloud.com/thewastersoftime/deaf-in-one-ear

The song title comes from a medical condition (which I currently have (looking for sympathy)) called sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), in which you suddenly loose some percentage of your hearing, usually in one ear. It's very annoying when trying to mix music, particularly as the hearing loss is not liner over the frequency spectrum. I've been complaining bitterly to anyone who will listen. Fortunately there is a good chance of full recovery

[prom]

Yes it's a nice edm thing here, I expect it will get the remix with + or - elements (maybe voice after all?) I see the image you chose showing the Omri Cohen Subharmonicon clone. I just watched that and it's great he's patched it for folks to follow his module selections and method. You could have easily built one as he did but I guess you didn't see any reason to.
Although I can appreciate it for what it is I think track is still a WiP if your putting it on album.

Just initial opinion

Cheers Mal



the hearing thing is a bummer , have had spells of ear problems...worrying and very, very frustrating!

[Time Waster]

@prom, I agree that it's not a very polished track, and I am considering adding vocals. I'm a bit disinclined to do anything much at the moment until my hearing issue settles down. The weird thing is that although the hearing in my left ear isn't down that much ~ -20 db, I'm getting what I can only describe as Doppler shift effects, weird harmonies in my left ear vs my right. If I listen to a popular song through my left ear, it sounds vaguely familiar, but wrong. Interesting, but not useful.

Re the subharmonicon patch, the image is a screenshot of my patch, which is identical to the Omri Cohen version. I'm sure I could have figured it out, but yes, much easier to follow the video. The had part was finding and subscribing to all of the module vendors! I haven't done much with VCV Rack yet, only scraping the surface, so I have a bit to learn.

[prom]

Rack v1.1.6 here...I think it's pre addition of label customisation and cable type coloring, two very useful options for module assembly, must get it up to date and dive back in...same goes for ReaRack2.
Try remembering those weird harmonies for when hearing is back.

[maxdembo]

Honestly, its just nice to inspire something other than revulsion for a change

[Time Waster]

Revulsion is a sign that you are pushing boundaries

[maxdembo]

My face is a boundary pusher!? YES!

[JamesPeters]

June 2019 began my hearing issue. It was somewhat of a reduction in hearing in my right ear, but also I heard pitch shifted down half a step. (Yes, it was utterly maddening.) After about 6 months that aspect went away, but I was left with resonant peaks in some frequencies being fairly loud (and other frequencies being quiet). Then after having 2 days of loud ringing in the ear, I could hear about 90% normally. That lasted a few days, then back to somewhat reduced hearing. Since then it's been mostly that, but some good days. Then I started noticing as my head changed positions, sometimes a feeling of "fullness" would increase or decrease, and my hearing might change too. At least the half-step-down pitch aspect hasn't returned.

I've been to see 4 doctors so far including a middle ear specialist and an inner ear specialist. I haven't gotten any answers yet, and my progress has been slowed due to Covid-19 restrictions. It's been really frustrating and sometimes downright depressing, especially when I've been about as insistent as I can be about getting more tests or some kind of diagnosis other than "Well, it's nothing serious" and "maybe it's neurological".

But in my last phone call to the inner ear specialist I heard his associate saying something about "maybe an Ear Popper would help?" (Even though the specialist didn't recommend it to me.) So I looked it up, and bought one. I've been using it for almost 2 weeks, and it's helping to some degree at least. (It may take a couple months to notice a more significant change, depending, but that's a good sign.) The ear was very difficult to "pop" on my own (without the device) by forcing air into my sinuses from my mouth, and clicking my jaw seldom made any change (or even any noticeable sensation in the ear). This device definitely helps me "pop" the ear consistently (although I still have some difficulty), and after a few days I could click my jaw and notice the feeling in the ear when I do. The Ear Popper might be key to helping, if the condition is eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) or fluid buildup in the middle ear ("glue ear"). Its job is to open the eustachian tube. It's safe to use as long as I don't have severe infection or a perforated eardrum (and it's been confirmed I don't have either of those problems). So I'll continue with this treatment until my next specialist appointment in a few months. After 4 days in a row of relatively good hearing (not the best it's been since the condition began, but pretty good and the longest consecutive period of time of good hearing), I'm hopeful.

You may want to read about the Ear Popper to see if it's something that might help you. It depends on what kind of diagnosis you got, how certain the doctors are of what caused your condition or what part of your ear is affected. I decided to try it because I was sick of basically doing nothing about it other than "try to remain positive" and avoid going crazy, as well trying to prevent myself from acting superstitious. (When you have a condition with no known cause, everyone besides your doctor apparently has an answer, and as nuts as some of them are you start to believe them after a while if you're not careful.)

Good luck with your condition!

[Time Waster]

Thanks for you post James. I was interested to hear about your pitch shift. Mine seems to up about a semitone though, not down (maybe because it's my left ear ). I'm going for an MRI next week and I'm currently on a short course of steroids, which appears to be the standard treatment. Reports say this only affects about 1 in 5000 people, but it may be under-reported. I have got the fullness in the ear feeling. I'll read up on the ear popper, but I'll wait for a more definitive diagnosis.

[JamesPeters]

I'm glad that you're getting the MRI. Hopefully I can get a meaningful scan of some kind. The doctors have been hesitant to send me for one, wanting me to schedule another audiogram first (and then another appointment with the specialist, hopefully leading to a meaningful test after that). Ugh. Speaking of time wasters. Perhaps by then it will be resolved.

[tspring]

Originally Posted by Time Waster

Thanks for you post James. I was interested to hear about your pitch shift. Mine seems to up about a semitone though, not down (maybe because it's my left ear ). I'm going for an MRI next week and I'm currently on a short course of steroids, which appears to be the standard treatment. Reports say this only affects about 1 in 5000 people, but it may be under-reported. I have got the fullness in the ear feeling. I'll read up on the ear popper, but I'll wait for a more definitive diagnosis.

My wife is an audiologist. Just read her some excerpts from what you have written, and she says that you could indeed have eustachian tube dysfunction. But she says it could also be a couple of other things, so you're right to just go ahead with getting tested.

T

[Time Waster]

Originally Posted by tspring

My wife is an audiologist. Just read her some excerpts from what you have written, and she says that you could indeed have eustachian tube dysfunction. But she says it could also be a couple of other things, so you're right to just go ahead with getting tested.

T

It's complicated by the fact that I was taking some medications that could have caused the problem. I was also getting headaches prior to the ear issue and those have stopped since I ceased the medication. Or it might be completely unrelated.

But what about he track? What should I add? What should I take out?

[tspring]

Good choice of instrument sounds, and the basic thematic elements are engaging. There is a melodic line that floats in and out of the music that I like. But in the earlier parts of the track, the melodic line sometimes seems to get lost, which could probably be corrected by adjusting the velocity of the relevant midi notes.

What you have done so far is good, but in my mostly useless opinion, the composition would benefit from some additional elemennts. If you are not wedded to an EDM style unvarying kick drum, you might consider adding a bridge-like segment where the kick drum rhythm changes for a few measures.just as a few houseplants can really improve the feeling of a room, I think that adding a few accent sounds or musical elements (sparsely, making sure not to obscure what you alredy have). It needs a little more, but not too much. your baseline arrangement is definitely worth some additional effort.

T

[Time Waster]

Thanks @tspring, your suggestions are helpful. The way this was constructed, the underlying melodic section (the subharmonicon part) was dumped out of VCV Rack as a stereo track with reverb and delay already added. It was 'composed' on the fly by fiddling with the various controls. It's not easily possible to change that part except by redoing it (in which case I might get an entirely different result), or by cutting up the original track and using the bits that work in a more structured approach. The thing I'm struggling with is that I kind of like the looser feel of it, which is a bit different to my usual highly structured approach. Alternatively I may be able to do something with EQ automation to firm up the subharmonicon part.

[JamesPeters]

Originally Posted by tspring

My wife is an audiologist. Just read her some excerpts from what you have written, and she says that you could indeed have eustachian tube dysfunction. But she says it could also be a couple of other things, so you're right to just go ahead with getting tested.

T

I'm glad TW is getting an MRI. I've been trying to convince the doctors to let me get one, but I got a runaround which took about 6 months. Then I had been scheduled for a second audiogram to prove to the inner ear specialist that I should go for an MRI. That audiogram would've been worthless at that particular time though, since it coincidentally would've been during a time I had some temporary relief from the symptoms (and I thought maybe I was cured). So I had to miss that appointment and wait for the symptoms to return before starting the process again.

[ninjedi]

Originally Posted by Time Waster

It's complicated by the fact that I was taking some medications that could have caused the problem. I was also getting headaches prior to the ear issue and those have stopped since I ceased the medication. Or it might be completely unrelated.

But what about he track? What should I add? What should I take out?

Hello - re: the track: for #me the hats could come down quite a few db,raise the snare some,take a tiny shave off some attacks in the 'solo' part in middle?
Quite nice in it's own way as it is.

Re: hearing loss.. when i move around a room with music playing,find tone changes a LOT,pitch especially if going higher or lower to signal source - kind of a doppler effect,naturally occurring for those that may move in such ways.Dancing for etc.

Have you ever considered introspective hypnosis /QHHT? (apparently a single session can work miracles as your accessing the subconscious parts of the mind.,some people do not even need surgery in lots of cases as the related root causes are from the 'past' history of this life, or lives lived)
Trauma,energy attachments and such things can wreak havok in a body if 'untreated'.
Once the root cause is identified- the body can naturally heal itself,or with some suitable enhancing suggestions adopted.
Please be well.

[Time Waster]

@JamesPeters, I'm surprised they would mess around like that, because from my research it's important to act quickly to avoid permanent damage.

[JamesPeters]

I guess after it was clear to the doctors it wasn't an outer ear infection, and not an ongoing middle ear infection, they decided it wasn't anything that could threaten my health in general. (Plus also not caused by diabetes, cancer, the usual serious stuff. I got that out of the way first with a physical.)

But yeah, I've been very insistent with the doctors. Both specialists were basically shrugging their shoulders and assuming it was neurological and suggested I should just deal with it, meanwhile I was saying "stick huge needles in me, do whatever you need to, I want actual answers!" If I didn't have that hiccup where I thought it was cured (which screwed up the process), maybe by now I'd have had an MRI scan. Oh well. The Ear Popper seems to be helping still.

And as for ninjedi's suggestions: that's the kind of thing I was talking about being careful to not believe. Sorry ninjedi, that's pseudoscience at best. Next you'll recommend reiki.

[Time Waster]

Originally Posted by ninjedi

Hello - re: the track: for #me the hats could come down quite a few db,raise the snare some,take a tiny shave off some attacks in the 'solo' part in middle?
Quite nice in it's own way as it is.

Thanks ninjedi, I did actually raise the high hats at some point. I probably over-did it. Simply due to age I find it hard to asses high frequencies, and that was before my current hearing issue

Regarding QHHT, it sounds a bit like re-birthing. I got talked into trying that once. It was, ah, yeah. These things don't work very well on me, I'm far too sceptical.

[ninjedi]

Originally Posted by Time Waster

These things don't work very well on me, I'm far too sceptical.

Hello- well that's ok..some may say otherwise- i guess any belief is a huge factor to life's purposes and responses?
You have made some excellent stuff with REAPER- thanks for doing so,sharing your plugs,techniques and other stuff is very welcomed.

[JamesPeters]

Originally Posted by ninjedi

Hello- well that's ok..some may say otherwise- i guess any belief is a huge factor to life's purposes and responses?

Another factor is if the "treatment" is utter nonsense and a scam. You can say "but it works for some people" all you want, but it's more likely that these "treatments" are doing nothing, and the patient's condition is improving in its own due course. With no science to back it up, and some science that outright discredits it, a "treatment" such as you mention is at best placebo.

Beware of people selling woo. It's not harmless that they exist. People like that prevent patients from seeking proper medical attention for their conditions. They also generally cause confusion about science and medicine, leaving the gates open for fraudsters and politicians to bend people to their will.

It's good to be open minded, but not so open-minded that your brain falls out.

[ninjedi]

Originally Posted by JamesPeters

Another factor is if the "treatment" is utter nonsense and a scam.


It's good to be open minded, but not so open-minded that your brain falls out.

Hello- i can see your maybe searching for a reaction or something? have you ever tried it?
Have you tried to disprove what others claim to be beneficial to them?
It is all about using the imagination- the same way people create music..it does not come from them really,but the universal mind will take whatever it can to evolve and improve as a collective humanoid species.

Most modern science and doctors cannot fully figure out the mechanics of it yet- so they question the math that may support their "theories" as they are mostly bean counters or programmed lifeforms that serve an economic social structure.
If doctors mastered this- basically they would master themselves out of a job?

Imagination is where all the action is..it is where dreams crossover to a tangible reality..much the same as music.
Just imo.
Sorry Time Waster- i do not seek to waste time,or mindspace in this thread.

[JamesPeters]

If you use the word "theory" as such, you clearly don't understand what it means. For you it means a guess. For science it's something completely different.

Science doesn't claim to know everything. However, it's the only reliable method we have for acquiring useful knowledge. And our knowledge, as incomplete as it is, becomes more refined. Science cannot be compared to woo as though it "doesn't know everything either" therefore "random assertions may be just as good".

You'd be served well by educating yourself more about science, and cognitive biases. Assertions made by woo and pseudoscience are not equally valid as claims made by actual science, for good reason.

"Have you ever tried it?" LOL. So if someone did reiki on me in March of this year, when my hearing temporarily improved at that time (on its own), should I have attributed that to reiki being a valid treatment? This is how woo gets any credibility: coincidence. You remember the "hits" and ignore the "misses" (confirmation bias). That plus the placebo effect.

[Time Waster]

Originally Posted by ninjedi

Sorry Time Waster- i do not seek to waste time,or mindspace in this thread.

No Problem, it's an interesting discussion, although I have to say I'm siding with JamesPeters on this

Anyone interested in in the interaction of the mind and reality itself would do well to read up on the free energy principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_energy_principle and the work of Karl Friston. Fascinating stuff.

[Time Waster]

Here's a slightly modified version of the track (edit, updated again). https://soundcloud.com/thewastersoftime/deaf-in-one-ear

I made a small EQ change to the underlying sub harmonicon track in one spot to enhance a mood change and picked out some of the melodic elements in a few spots with some additional synth. I also added a few bits to the middle section and changed the drum pattern in that section. And reduced the volume of the hi hats. Also some other small drum pattern changes throughout.

However, I have now written some lyrics to go with this, so at some point I will attempt to put that together.

[Time Waster]

I had my MRI today. No results yet, but I wish I could have recorded the sounds the MRI machine made

[JamesPeters]

I'm still following, by the way.

Update for me: the EarPopper seemed to help for a while, but then suddenly had no benefit for my condition that I could notice, and my condition worsened again. So perhaps my problem involves a bit of middle ear and a bit of inner ear (or other) difficulties. I know for a while I couldn't pop my ear reliably without it (or click my jaw to get a "pop"), so it definitely did help for some aspect of this.

I'm scheduled for another audiogram on the 28th. It's apparently a step required before getting any further tests such as MRI (in Canada with our medical system). I had gotten an audiogram done before but my inner ear specialist told me that its results were inadequate. Apparently the clinic that did the test isn't very good. Sigh. Oh well, onward!

[Time Waster]

I had an audiogram last week after finishing the course of steroids. The low frequencies are back up again after being 20 db down in the first audiogram. Still some deficit at higher frequencies but I'm told that may also resolve over time, or, I'll get used to it. I don't have the frequency shift thing any more, which was the main issue. Still no feedback on the MRI as my ENT specialist is still on leave, but I'm expecting that it won't show anything significant as I was well into the course of treatment when I had the MRI.

[noouch]

Hey I'm deaf in one ear too, for the same reason it seems! In my case everything above 2khz is dead on one side, but I've adapted pretty well and still consider myself to have a well-trained ear.

It's good that you're starting steroids, they helped for me since I have had multiple episodes (doctors seem to blame viral infections, checks out for me since I sometimes get them after a cold).

I know it's nerve-wracking and you never know where you'll end up, just know that with time you'll adapt no matter what. Sending loads of support your way.

[JamesPeters]

Glad to "hear" you have some progress, Time Waster. I'm still waiting for my audiogram appointment (a week from today). "Thankfully" at this point my hearing is pretty bad in my right ear, which means the audiogram should show something significantly wrong (and therefore some course of action will be prescribed). Last time I was scheduled for an audiogram, my hearing improved to the point it would've been worthless to have the test done (and if I'd submitted the results to the specialist, it might've ended my potential course of treatment).

Welcome noouch! Maybe we should start a club.

And you'll notice ninjedi is gone. He was a sock puppet account of "Bri1" who was banned a few times. One of his "things" was talking about woo. Almost every time a conversation went into some technical area, he'd want to back out and make some "deep philosophical" observation about it which basically said "yeah man it's all about whatever you believe" etc. Um...no, it is not.

[Leo777]

I've been suffering from tinnitus for the last several years. I visit an audiologist twice a year, also I care about personal ear protection, so I wear earplugs, especially when listening to loud music or going to crowded places. My doctor told me that my case might lead to hearing loss. I do hope I won't wear a hearing aid, at least in the nearest future.