Are muffled hearing, ear fullness, and a cotton-like sensation in the ear symptoms of Reiter's-Ear-Kiss syndrome?

Hello doctor,

This is an inquiry about Reiter's-Ear-Kiss syndrome and muffled hearing. Two days ago, someone kissed my right ear, and there was a sharp ring between the sound of microphone feedback and something spinning very fast. After a few seconds of initial shock (natural knee-jerk reaction of pulling away and covering the ear), everything seemed normal. There was no pain the whole time apart from the discomfort of the initial sharp ringing. There is nothing noticeably abnormal in my day-to-day listening, but because I have been paying more attention to my right ear, and because of researching this syndrome, I identify with the symptoms of "ear fullness" or cotton-like feeling. When I test the same sound in two ears the sound on the right is noticeably muffled or softened, less sharp, and less detailed in high frequencies. Having said all that, there is a complication because my right ear was always the bad ear. I had ENT surgery to clear my right ear canal when I was five because it was blocked. Every time a plane lands, only my right ear hurts fairly seriously from air pressure. I have always noticed a subtle difference in both ears but have never been tested seriously until now. Therefore I do not know if the muffled hearing in my right ear is caused by the kiss or something else. I am worried and not sure if I should go for an ear check-up. I want to know if this sounds serious or nothing to worry about, based on the very first reaction - which is the sharp ring that only happened once. In the Reiter's-Ear-Kiss syndrome articles, in most cases, the patient immediately loses hearing and has consistent tinnitus, which I do not have. Does that imply that my ear will be alright? Kindly help.

Hello doctor,

Thank you for the reply.

The initial sharp ring reaction right after the kiss was very alarming as I had never experienced it before. It felt like a deep vibration and quick spinning inside my ear. It was a direct result of the suction and not the sound of the kiss. Even extreme loudness on headphones does not cause such ringing. Could this sharp ring mean that any permanent or irreversible damage? Are you suggesting that my weak right ear hearing is definitely only temporary and caused by daily pressure changes? If so, why does my right ear not relieve itself naturally and return to normal pressure? Please advise if there is any need for me to see an ear doctor immediately before conditions worsen or if you think my case is not to be worried about and is stable and that a regular check-up, whenever I am free, will do. Again there is no pain, but my worries are the initial ringing and the very noticeable difference in hearing when I test the ears individually. Kindly help.