tunnel hearing

[JohnRoman]

This is kind of weird but I wanted to know what you and others thought.

I'm 45, 235# and have been squatting and deadlifting just since Dec 2011.
Once I got above squatting 300# and pulling 400# I noticed something. At the start of a "heavy" pull (relative for me) or coming out of the hole, I sometimes get the sensation that my hearing is closing in. For lack of a better term, I call it "tunnel hearing" and it is very similar to the sensation many get with their eyes (tunnel vision) when being choked unconcious during a jujiutsu, judo, mma, etc. match.

It's not a tumor... (pitiful Ahnold reference) but I couldn't find anything when searching the site and the webz tells me it could be a perilymph fistula. Any other ideas? Is this uncommon?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I have had the same thing happen right after a heavy set of 20 squats. Does it go away after 5-10 minutes?

[JohnRoman]

I have had the same thing happen right after a heavy set of 20 squats. Does it go away after 5-10 minutes?

Most of the time it goes away almost immediately (within seconds). My concern initially was it was a indicator leading up to passing out. But I never get really dizzy with it. I'm a little more mindful of it if I'm doing a few high intensity heavy singles.

I may be fooling myself but I don't feel concerned about it as much as I'm curious as to what is going on.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Oh yeah, I've had it in both of the scenarios you describe if I'm interpreting what you told us correctly. Chokes made (make) me feel it. So do the biggest of the big lifts you describe under hard heavy effort and load. I've also felt it with head and neck strikes. The lightning strikes and bounces around inside the skull and leaves cotton in the ears in it's wake. In every scenario you describe and that I have experienced, it clears in about 10 seconds or so. The eyes rattling around in their sockets might last a little longer. Except for when it feels like one of them decided to migrate over into the other socket and share it with the rightful owner of that socket.

[The Emancipated Freak]

I've had this. It goes away after about 30 seconds of rest.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Stef says it is associated with adrenalin release. Perfectly normal.

[Justin Jordan]

Anytime I really grind anything, this happens. Has since at least high school, so sixteen odd years and it hasn't affected anything.

But, not any sort of doctor.

[Mac Ward]

Stef says it is associated with adrenalin release. Perfectly normal.

Interesting. Is this some sort of physiological response that cuts down information supplied to the brain allowing the body to better focus on the catalyst for the adrenal response?

[Alexis]

In movies and games they play with that effect a lot. You are being put in first person view and you can hear the heart beating loudly.

[JM3]

I got that a lot after I got married.