Do you hear a crackling sound? A condition called tinnitus can cause you to hear buzzing, crackling, whooshing, or other sounds in your ears. Here’s what you should know.
Do you hear phantom sounds like thumping, buzzing, or ringing in your ears? If this is happening with hearing aids, it could mean you need to come in and get an adjustment. But if you don’t use hearing aids, those noises may just be coming from inside of your ear.
Don’t fret there’s no need to panic. Your ears have a lot more going on inside than what they appear to be on the outside. You might hear some of these common tinnitus noises and here are some indications of what they may be telling you about your hearing. Most of these noises are short-term and harmless but if you have tinnitus sounds that are painful or are persistent you should schedule a consultation with us.
There’s a snap, crackle, and pop in my ears but what’s the cause?
It’s not Rice Krispies, that’s for sure. You could hear popping or crackling when you have a pressure change, whether from a change in altitude, going under water, or just yawning. These sounds are caused by a tiny part of your ear called the eustachian tube. When the pressure in these mucus lined passageways equalizes, the passages open up allowing air and mucus to circulate.
It’s an automatic system, but sometimes, like if you have inflammation from allergies, a cold, or an ear infection, your eustachian tubes can literally get clogged from the overabundance of mucus in your system (remember, your ears, nose, and throat are all connected). In serious cases where chicken noodle soup, decongestants, or antibiotics don’t provide relief, a blockage could call for surgical intervention. If you’re suffering from persistent ear pain or pressure and haven’t been able to find any relief, you should schedule an appointment with us to get diagnosed.
What does it mean when I hear vibrations in my ear?
Sometimes, vibrations in the ear are an obvious indication of tinnitus. Technically, tinnitus is the medical term for when someone hears unusual noises, like vibrations, in their ears that don’t originate from any outside sources. The intensity level of the sound can range from extremely quiet to deafening and most people will refer to it as ringing in the ears.
Is the buzzing and ringing in my ear tinnitus?
There are also numerous reasons why you might hear these sounds if you use hearing aids: the hearing aids aren’t sitting correctly within your ears, the volume is too loud, or your batteries are getting low. But these noises can also be caused by too much earwax.
Excess earwax is well known to cause itchiness and to make it more difficult to hear, as well as the potential of an ear infection, but how can it generate sounds. Your eardrum can be restricted if wax is pressing against it and that can create these sounds.
Ongoing buzzing or ringing is a sign that you are coping with tinnitus. And the noises produced by earwax are actually a type of tinnitus. Tinnitus itself is typically a symptom of something else going on with your health and isn’t itself a disease or disorder. While it could be as basic as earwax accumulation, tinnitus is also associated with conditions like depression and anxiety. Diagnosing and treating the underlying health issue can help alleviate tinnitus, so you should contact us to learn more about ways to decrease your symptoms.
What’s causing my ears to rumble?
This specific symptom is self-created. Occasionally, if you have a really big yawn, you will hear a low rumble in your ears. That rumble is the sound of tiny muscles inside of your ears contracting in order to soften sounds you make. They reduce the volume on yawning, chewing, and even your own voice.
Those sounds occur so near to your ears and so frequently that the level of noise would be harmful without these muscles. One of these muscles, called the tensor tympani can, in extremely unusual cases, be purposely controlled to generate this rumbling. In other cases, a condition known as tonic tensor tympani syndrome (TTTS) will cause people to suffer from tensor tympani muscle spasms. Individuals suffering from tinnitus or hyperacusis, which is a sensitivity to specific wavelengths of sound, commonly experience TTTS.
What about a fluttering sound?
After you exercise, have you ever felt a flutter in your legs and arms. Those flutters are typically the result of a muscle spasm, and it’s the same as the fluttering you hear in your ears. MEM tinnitus, or middle ear myoclonus, impacts the stapedius muscle and the tympani tensor muscles of the middle ear. Since this is a muscle disorder, muscle relaxers and anticonvulsants are generally used as an initial treatment to bring the fluttering under control. If medications aren’t helpful, inner ear surgery can have varying degrees of success.
I hear a thumping or pulsing in my ears
You’re likely not off base if you think you hear your own pulse or heartbeat in your ears. Your ears are very close to some major veins and arteries and if you just did a hard workout, have high blood pressure, or are very anxious you will probably hear your own pulse.
This is called pulsatile tinnitus, and in contrast to other types of tinnitus, it’s one that other people can hear. Pulsatile tinnitus is not difficult for us to diagnose since we can listen in on your ears and hear the pumping and pulsing too. While it’s completely normal to experience pulsatile tinnitus when your heart’s pounding, it should not be something you have to live with every day.
If you do experience this thumping or pulsing every day, it’s probably a good idea to come in and see us. If it persists, pulsatile tinnitus may be an indication of high blood pressure or other health conditions. In some cases, pulsatile tinnitus is the result of a heart condition, so it’s important to relate any heart health history to us. But after a good scare or hard workout, your hearing should go back to normal when your heart rate goes back to normal.
What’s this clicking sound?
As stated above, the Eustachian tube helps keep equal pressure in your ears. If you have a muscle spasm in the muscles that are close to the Eustachian tube, like for instance in the roof of your mouth, it can cause a repeated clicking sound. Clicking can also occur when you swallow for the same reasons. This is a result of the opening and closing of the eustachian tubes. A clicking can sometimes be heard when mucus drains from the head. In some rare cases, chronic clicking could be a sign of a fracture in one of the tiny bones in your ear.
Is ear popping a symptom of infection?
Ear infections sometimes cause swelling which can make your ears pop. Popping in your ear can be a symptom of a severe infection. If you have any other symptoms, such as ear pain, sudden hearing loss, or fever, you need to schedule a consultation immediately. Sometimes, your ears will pop after an infection or cold as your head drains of mucus.
Can I stop this crackling in my ears?
Do you suspect that the crackling noise in your ears is tinnitus? Make an appointment for a consultation with us to find out about treatments available to you.
References
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/uf9680
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24289817/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23571302/