Crackling in your ear? A disorder known as tinnitus can produce many different sounds in your ears including whooshing, buzzing, ringing, and crackling. Here is some relevant information.
Do you ever hear crackling, buzzing, or thumping sounds that seem to come from nowhere? When it comes to somebody who has hearing aids, it might mean they fitting and adjustments. But if you don’t use hearing aids it may be tinnitus.
Although we usually think of our ears in terms of what we see on the outside, there’s more than meets the eye – or in this instance, the ear. Here’s what it could mean when some of these more prevalent noises are playing in your ears.
What’s Causing The Snap, Crackle, And Pop in My Ear?
It’s not Rice Krispies that’s for certain. When the pressure in your ears changes – whether from an altitude change, going underwater, or just yawning – you may hear crackling or popping noises. A small part of your ear known as the eustachian tube is the source of these noises. When these mucus lined passages open up to neutralize the air pressure, fluid, and air move causing these noises to manifest.
Occasionally, like when you’re dealing with allergies, a cold, or an ear infection, an overabundance of mucus in your system can clog up the eustachian tubes and interfere with what is normally an automatic process (keep in mind, your ears, nose, and throat or all connected). Medical assistance, like surgery, is occasionally called for in extreme cases where nothing else has helped clear the blockage.
What Does it Mean When I Hear Vibrations in My Ear?
Sometimes tinnitus manifests as a vibration in the ears. Tinnitus is the medical term for a condition that causes people to hear sounds that have no outside cause, such as vibrations, inside of the ear. Most individuals will refer to it as a ringing in the ears and it manifests across the spectrum, from hardly there to debilitating.
What Should I do About Noises in my Ear
Once again, if you use hearing aids, you should check those first. You might hear these types of sounds for numerous reasons: your batteries are running low, the hearing aids aren’t properly seated in your ears, the volume is too high, or your hair is rubbing up against it. If you don’t use hearing aids, accumulated earwax may be the issue.
It seems logical that too much wax could make it hard to hear and cause irritation or even inner ear infections, but how can earwax make a noise? The buzzing or ringing can be caused by earwax pushing against your eardrum and hindering its function. Luckily, dealing with earwax is usually pretty simple.
Reach out to us if you have strange sounds in your ears. We can check your hearing aid to make certain it’s working properly.