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Hello,
I really hope you can help me with the following, because i've been having this problem for about 5 years, and so far no one has been able to help me with it. I'm annoyed by this every day. The main problem is that when i'm in a room with loud music (such as a bar), my right ear starts making really strange crackling noises. It sounds a bit like when you have a radio, with a speaker that is not big enough for the power of the amplifier, and you put too much power on it, so instead of hearing the music the way you would hear it with a bigger speaker, you basically hear a bunch of cracking, hearing only parts of the music or speech. It also sounds a bit like if you have a speaker and a battery (no radio), and you connect the battery to the speaker, but not properly - you just sort of touch the battery every now and then. It's hard to explain, but i don't know a better way to tell you what it sounds like. I'm 24 years old, by the way.
The problem also occurs when someone is screaming, or dogs are barking, or when i scream myself, or even sometimes when i'm on the phone and i'm laughing or the other person is. In fact it seems sometimes that it has something to do with my jaw moving, and also when i'm more excited it happens more easily. Like when i'm having a humorous conversation, it seems to bring down the threshold level where the crackling begins. I know this sounds weird but i think maybe it has something to do with either my jaw moving more, or higher blood pressure or something... Again i'm only guessing, and i'm sorry if i don't make any sense.
The noise seems to be coming from something resonating: it only (or mostly) seems to happen with certain frequencies, such as the ones from a female's voice singing loudly. To me, it sounds like it's a mechanical problem, not an electrical problem within the inner ear or nerves, but of course i don't know that for sure. Another reason why i think it's mechanical is that sometimes there seems to be a little more pressure in the right ear (the one with the problem) than in the left.
The first time i experienced this problem was in a bar a few years ago. It never hurt.
Another thing that once happened to that ear was that i could hardly hear anything from it for a day or two (this was years ago), but i fixed that with some nose spray, so i think it had something to do with the tube being blocked.
The problem isn't limited to loud sounds only: when i'm in my car for instance, listening to the radio at an average volume, it feels like there's a bit more pressure in the right ear, and i don't hear the same way from that ear. There's no crackling though (at least, not unless i turn it much louder), but still it feels almost like it's reaching this threshold volume level where it would make the noise.
A strange thing is that when i put on my headphones, i can't get this crackling problem, even when i turn up the sound very loudly! It does sometimes sound different from the right ear though, a bit like the sound is disappearing (or almost) for a split second, every now and then. Then, if i move the headphone a little bit away from my ear (an inch or two), i can hear the crackling again with certain (reasonably high) frequencies. But it's not as bad as when i'm in a bar for instance, because then i can hardly hear through that ear whenever it does the crackling (depending on the song, this happens every few seconds).
I already went to the ENT doctor a few months ago, but all he did was look into my ear, and he couldn't find any problem. He also made me do a hearing test, but the hearing was perfect (0% loss) for that ear (the other ear actually had a sound 'dip' (around 6000Hz as far as i remember) but as far as i know i've had that all my life, and it's not related to the right ear problem).
What i didn't tell the ENT doctor (because i've only recently experienced this) is that i think it might have something to do with the fact that my four wisdom teeth were taken out about 5 years ago (at least before the first time i had this problem) - and i've found out that somehow when i cleanse my mouth with mouth cleanse liquid, sometimes the liquid will go somewhere in the direction of my jaw joint: this only happens on the right side, and only when i really try (put a lot of pressure on the liquid when i press it in between my teeth). It's really not supposed to happen i think, because it only happens on that one side, and what happens is that the liquid goes to my ear, and i can hear little bubbles right by my ear. I can also press with my finger on my jaw joint right in front of my ear, and the liquid will go back. Also, when i press around that area, and then try to do the same, the liquid won't move there. Another interesting thing is that it seems easier to do this liquid trick in the morning than in the evening, maybe because the muscles are less tensed or something, or because i've been lying on it the whole night (??). I can also do the liquid trick with plain water, but it seems easier with special fluid, maybe because it contains alcohol. When i do the trick with the mouth clease stuff, i can feel the area where the fluid went tingling afterwards. It's a strange sensation, because it sort of feels like that liquid is going right by my jaw muscles, where you wouldn't expect any liquids to go. The liquid seems to end up somewhere right behind my ear drum: i can hear it very clearly. However, i don't feel like it actually gets there completely, because i can't put an endless amount of fluid in there.. at some point it won't go any further because the pressure is too high. So, it seems that perhaps the fluid ends up somewhere right by my ear drum, but separated by skin, so that the skin with the liquid behind it is pressing on the drum or some other part of the ear. Obviously i'm not a doctor so what i say probably doesn't make any sense whatsoever... This is just what it feels like.
Lately i'm really starting to get annoyed by this problem, because i feel limited in what i can do: for instance, i can't go out anymore to places with loud music, because i'll start hearing the crackling. I'm thinking about this problem every day, and so i would do anything to fix it.
I hope this message wasn't too long: i tried to write down all the details i could think of. I'm wondering now if it might have something to do with the liquid thing. So far i never went to a doctor with the liquid trick problem.
By the way: i don't have any problems hearing soft noises, or hearing speech or anything. That's why i had 0% loss in the hearing test. Also: i don't go out a lot (maybe a few times a year), so i'm not someone who spends every weekend in a club with loud music. I'm from the Netherlands, by the way, so that's why my English probably isn't always the best.
Thanks a LOT in advance for any clues you might have regarding this problem!
-- Niek (please also reply to my email address: niekvs@yahoo.com)
In Reply to: Right ear crackling when exposed to loud sounds posted by Niek on November 28, 2002 at 07:51:44:
I forgot to mention that the right ear also sounds more sensitive in general to certain sounds, such as when i turn on the water, and you hear the water touching the sink. This is especially noticable in the morning. The same thing with for instance, the noise you get when you move a keychain with a bunch of metal keys around. It's not a huge difference, left and right, but it's definitely noticable, and feels like there's just a tiny bit more pressure on the right ear. But swallowing doesn't make a difference, even though swallowing *does* make a difference if i first put a lot of pressure on the ears by closing my nose and blowing. I mean, that takes away the pressure from both ears, but not that extra 'pressure' from the right ear.
In Reply to: Re: Right ear crackling when exposed to loud sounds posted by Niek on November 28, 2002 at 08:15:38:
I've had many of the same symptoms at different times of my life. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with your sinuses but I don't really know. If I had to guess, I'd say bracing is a contributing factor. Am improved immune system couldn't hurt.I think of it as BPS Blown Speaker Syndrome. It sucks.
In Reply to: Re: Right ear crackling when exposed to loud sounds posted by Niek on November 28, 2002 at 08:15:38:
Hi, Niek.
This sounds exactly like you have TMJ and the pressure on the thin bone that guards the eustacian tube is intermittantly closing off the tube. You will eventually have the problem in BOTH ears.
See the archives about TMJ, about bracing and about the ear (for similar cases) and you should begin to understand what is going on. See the glossary for any unfamiliar terms.
Let us know what you learn.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Right ear crackling when exposed to loud sounds (Archive in TMJ.) posted by Walt Stoll on November 29, 2002 at 13:34:15:
Hi Walt,
Thanks for your response! However, as far as i can tell from your site, most TMJ patients have problems with their jaw, such as pain or problems opening their jaw. I don't have any problems opening my jaw or any pain. The only problem is the fact that i hear crackling noises or very short periods of lower volume of sound when i'm in a room with loud sounds (only in the right ear). But this happens regardless of whether i'm moving the jaw. I might hear some cracking when i open my mouth very wide, but that's not at all a problem or irritating, and it's not the same kind of noise that i hear with the 'sound' problem.
I also told you about the fact the fluids were going somewhere in the back of my mouth near my jaw joint (on the right side), and i think today i found out that it's not going through a hole made by the wisdom tooth removal, but through the gland right by my upper teeth that is normally used to keep my mouth wet. I was even able to press air into it (by putting a bunch of air in my mouth and putting pressure on the air), and when i pressed against my jaw/cheeck with a finger, little air bubbles seemed to come out of it. Still, this is only possible on the right side, even though there's of course one of these glands on either side. Is it normal to be able to press water into this gland? And could it have something to do with the ear problem? The strange thing is that when i press air/water into it, i can hear it in my ear very well.
Thanks,
-- Niek
In Reply to: Re: Right ear crackling when exposed to loud sounds posted by Ican Relate on November 28, 2002 at 13:52:02:
Interesting to see i'm not the only one with this problem. BPS seems a good name for it! Do you have this problem with both ears, or just one? In your case, do you also hear crackling noises when you're in a place with loud music? How long have you had it for? Does it have anything to do with your jaw moving? When you use headphones, do you get the same problem? Do you think it could have something to do with your eustacian tubes being partly blocked? But then, why only with loud sounds, not soft ones. Does it feel like your ear is more sensitive than the one without the problem (in case you only have it with one ear), and is there a difference in the morning and later in the day?
Thanks!
In Reply to: Re: Right ear crackling when exposed to loud sounds (Archive in TMJ.) posted by Niek on November 29, 2002 at 21:12:33:
Neik,
You are describing TMJ symptoms that are FAR advanced when any professional can diagnose it. Subtle symptoms like you are having happen long before those terminal findings.
Walt
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