I have a middle-ear infection. I get them a lot, my eustachian tubes are often affected during colds.
My question is: why the *high* pitched buzz? My hearing is dulled, I understand that. It’s because of the pressure differences between inside- and outside of the eardrum. But where is this always high-pitched buzz coming from? Why is it never low-pitched?
In: 11
Not an otolaryngologist (ear nose and throat doctor) but I think you are describing tinnitus which can have many causes. Yours is probably related to pressure and irritation to the nerve fibers or the organ of corti.
Inside the ear, there is a part that looks like small snail shell, called the cochlea. The ear senses sounds by using tiny hairs in the cochlea. Within the shell, there are hair fibers which are like little light switches in a fluid called endolymph. As sounds move through the shell, the mechanical waves move the switches and pull open pathways that let your brain know.
The high pitch sounds are closer to the middle ear so it is probably being irritated by the fluid changes.
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