Are you hearing crackling in your ear? A condition known as tinnitus can bring about many different noises in your ears including whooshing, buzzing, ringing, and crackling. Here is what you should know.
Where is that crackling, ringing, or buzzing sound coming from? In the case of somebody who has hearing aids, it might mean they need to be adjusted and fitted. For everyone else, tinnitus might be the answer.
There’s a lot 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.
What’s The Cause of The Snap, Crackle, And Pop in My Ear?
We can tell you this – it’s not Rice Krispies. 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 simply yawned. These noises are caused by a tiny part of your ear called the eustachian tube. The crackling is caused by mucus-lined passageways opening up, permitting air and fluid to circulate and neutralize the pressure in your ears.
Sometimes, such as when you have allergies, a cold, or an ear infection, an overabundance of mucus in your system can gum up the eustachian tubes and impede what is normally an automatic process (don’t forget, that there’s a connection between your ears, throat, and nose). 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. Technically, tinnitus is the medical term for when someone hears abnormal noises, like vibrations, in their ears that don’t come from any outside sources. It’s generally characterized as a ringing in the ears and can, in some cases, be mild, and in others, debilitating.
What Should I do About Noises in my Ear
Again, if you use hearing aids, you should first check those. You might hear these kinds of sounds for several reasons: your batteries need to be recharged, the hearing aids aren’t correctly seated in your ears, the volume is too high, or your hair is brushing up against it. But if you don’t have hearing aids and you’re hearing this type of noise, it may also be the result of accumulated earwax.
It makes sense that excessive wax could make it hard to hear and cause irritation or even inner ear infections, but how can earwax cause a sound? The buzzing or ringing can be caused by earwax pushing against your eardrum and impeding its function. Fortunately, managing earwax is frequently pretty simple.
If you’re hearing odd sounds, give us a call. If your hearing aids aren’t working properly we can help with that.