Feel for you, i really do. Ive had inner ear issues in one ear over the last 10 years or so, which i attribute to (tho have never been given conclusive confirmation) vaping, and/or a long term smoking habit going back 25 years (but really who knows, every ENT doctor i spoke with was pretty useless when it came to causes). My bad ear seems to be in a similar shape to yours by the sounds of it (no pun intended). Its a f**king misery but you learn to live with it, altho its positive youve been given an indication it could/will sort itself out over time. The takeaway from it for me is that i am ridiculously concientious when it comes to ear protection/health etc now- rarely use headphones except for short periods and at low levels, make sure i dont expose myself to noise, wear ear plugs to gigs, have quit vaping (and smoking, obviously), monitor the loudness levels when making/listening to music… Other fun things like alcohol can apparently be potentially hazardous to ear health too, which sucks, so ive learned to moderate that here and there too. I also have a long history of bruxism (teeth grinding) in my sleep, which again can be a potential stressor on the inner ear stuff, so i wear a weird mouth guard at night too when i remember to put it in… Basically ear stuff sucks, but youre not alone. Here’s hoping it works out ok for you in the end.
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