Are you hearing crackling in your ear? A disorder known as tinnitus can produce numerous different noises in your ears including whooshing, buzzing, ringing, and crackling. Here is what you need to know.
Do you ever hear crackling, buzzing, or thumping sounds that seem to come from nowhere? If you have hearing aids, it can mean that they require adjustment or aren’t fitted correctly. For everybody else, tinnitus might be the answer.
There’s much more to the ear than what you see on the outside. Here’s what it may mean when some of these more prevalent noises are playing in your ears.
What’s Causing The Snap, Crackle, And Pop in My Ear?
We can tell you one thing – it’s not Rice Krispies. When the pressure in your ears changes – whether from an altitude change, going underwater, or simply yawning – you may hear crackling or popping noises. These noises are caused by a tiny part of your ear known as the eustachian tube. The crackling is caused by mucus-lined passageways opening up, permitting air and fluid to disperse and equalize the pressure in your ears.
Sometimes, such as when you have allergies, a cold, or an ear infection, an excess of mucus in your system can gum up the eustachian tubes and interfere with what is normally an automatic process (don’t forget, that there’s a connection between your ears, throat, and nose). In extreme cases where decongestant sprays, chicken soup, or antibiotics don’t provide relief, a blockage could require medical intervention like surgery.
I’m Hearing Vibration in my Ears – What Does That Mean?
Vibrations in the ear are often a telling indication of tinnitus. Tinnitus is the medical term for a condition that causes people to hear noises that have no outside cause, like vibrations, inside of the ear. Most people will refer to it as a ringing in the ears and it manifests across the spectrum, from hardly there to debilitating.
Is There Anything I Can do?
If you use hearing aids, once again, checking those is the first task. There might be several reasons that you would hear these sounds: your batteries need to be recharged, the hearing aids aren’t properly seated in your ears, the volume is too loud, or your hair is rubbing up against it. If you don’t use hearing aids, excessive earwax may be the problem.
Dull hearing, irritated ears, and ear infections can frequently be caused by excessive earwax but how could it be responsible for tinnitus sounds? The buzzing or ringing can be caused by earwax pushing against your eardrum and hindering its function. Luckily, dealing with earwax is frequently pretty straightforward.
Reach out to us if you have strange noises in your ears. We can examine your hearing aid to make certain it’s working correctly.