Are you hearing crackling in your ear? A disorder known as tinnitus can bring about numerous different sounds in your ears including buzzing, ringing, whooshing, and crackling. Here is some essential facts.
Ever hear crackling, thumping, and buzzing sounds that seem to come out of nowhere? If you use hearing aids, it can mean that they require adjustment or aren’t fitted correctly. For everyone else, tinnitus might be the answer.
There’s much more to the ear than what you see on the outside. Here’s what it could mean when some of these more common sounds are playing in your ears.
I’m Hearing a Snap, Crackle, And Pop in my Ears But What’s The Cause?
It’s not Rice Krispies that’s for sure. It isn’t uncommon to hear a crackling or popping sound when there’s a change in pressure in your ear. This can be because you had an altitude change, went underwater, or just yawned. These sounds are caused by a small part of your ear called the eustachian tube. When these mucus lined passages open up to neutralize the air pressure, fluid, and air move causing these sounds to occur.
It’s an automatic process, but sometimes, like if you have congestion from allergies, a cold, or an ear infection, your eustachian tubes can actually get clogged up from the overabundance of mucus in your system (don’t forget, your ears, nose, and throat or all connected). In serious cases where decongestant sprays, chicken soup, or antibiotics don’t provide relief, a blockage might require medical intervention like surgery.
I’m Hearing Vibration in my Ears – What Does That Mean?
Vibrations in the ear are often a telling sign of tinnitus. Technically speaking, tinnitus is the medical term for when someone hears abnormal noises, such as vibrations, in their ears that don’t come from any external sources. Most people will refer to it as a ringing in the ears and it manifests across the spectrum, from barely there to debilitating.
Is There Anything That Can be Done?
If you have hearing aids, again, checking those is the first task. You might hear these kinds of sounds for a number of reasons: your batteries are running low, the hearing aids aren’t properly positioned in your ears, the volume is too loud, or your hair is brushing up against it. If you don’t use hearing aids, accumulated earwax may be the problem.
Dull hearing, irritated ears, and ear infections can often be caused by excessive earwax but how could it be responsible for tinnitus sounds? If it’s touching your eardrum, it can actually inhibit the eardrum’s ability to function, which is what causes the ringing or buzzing. Luckily, managing earwax is frequently pretty straightforward.
If you’re hearing odd sounds, contact us. We can check your hearing aid to make sure it’s functioning correctly.