Gareth Davies

I'm almost certain it is because this has always been something I've experienced. If I'm not mistaken, this is just normal behavior of your eustachian tube. It's very likely something that you just never noticed before now because you had no need to concern yourself over your ears.

Then again, I might be misunderstanding what you mean by "crackle". It's hard to really relay what exactly entails a sound with words.

It’s like someone briefly rolling up bubble wrap or squashing Rice-Krispies. I’ve done some more reading, and it does seem to be a normal thing.

Perspective is always a useful commodity. Thank you Steph. That is terrible news regarding your delay; I’m sorry :(

Thanks Gareth. I just hate the way covid has slowed everything down. I'm hoping it's done this year.

sorry to hear that. I was just coming on here to ask u how it is going!

Hi Charbee; not yet.
However, it is close now - less than a week in fact.
I'm pretty nervous, but looking forward to the day with a hopeful mind.
(I'll be posting the result once I've recovered from the operation.)

Ugh - another night of head vibrations - it’s like there is endless mini-quake going on in my ear.

I get these symptoms as well. Although I have experience patulous ET before and never wanna deal with that so I’d be worried about balloon inflation

Yeah, I think patulous ET is a bit my rarer than normal ET? Patulous ET causes whooshing or rumbling from what I’ve read, because the tube is in a open locked position? The procedure is pretty safe from what I’ve been told. Again, no cutting, stitching or burning. It’s over in 15-20 minutes.

Same. Leave it alone. If you're like me, the clogged feeling is from hearing damage. Messing with it just aggravates the nerves. Let it be and it will improve with time. I'm a year and a half in.

Yeah, I'm not going to try again. The only reason I did it last night was that I felt a new burning sensation in my ear, pain and tissue sliding around / squeezing and contracting - thought I'd try my luck.
Didn't pan out :/

Learn from your mistakes, listen to the signals given to you by your own body and act accordingly.

Genetic engineering won't become widely available in the future.

Within 20 years we might no longer be able to enjoy indoor plumbing.

We’ll just have to see ;)

And if I wiggle my mouth around I feel a “glob” of something inside, in that area. Can only assume it’s squished up tissue. Hurts as usual, etc.

Oh yay! Absolutely best of luck Gareth! I hope it helps.

@Gareth Davies thank you. yeah loudness isn't an issue anymore. I don't hear it driving or in the house with low ambient noise around. I don't hear it outside. I'm experiencing almost complete silence. In the last few days, most tones have actually vanished. I have one annoying morsecode sound left. But even that is fading. I haven't done anything specific - just protected my ears. How's yours these days?

Jealous ;) But that’s good news then! The same as it was in September really. I can’t hear it that’s much outside or if I move quickly. But staying still indoors? I put an electrical masking noise on (which luckily masks 100%). I don’t seem to get spikes - though I don’t feel tempted to test that theory anytime soon haha.

I don’t think it’s going to progress or improve any further until the ETD is resolved (it’s like a cereal commercial in there).
Luckily I’ve got a double ENT appointment this week - public and private.
If they re-confirm evidence of inflammation and the dilation surgery is green-lit, there might be changes in the future.
Again, just got to stay hopeful...

Maybe. You could go on top of the pops?

At long last, all of my dreams are coming true!

Mine changes both pitch and sound on certain jaw movements,but for now that's only temporarily.

Mine used to.

our TMJ is too close to the ear. Or nerve endings in the joint cartilage somehow get irritated from the joint itself, due to position or due to muscle tension. ETD is being caused by the same damn thing... if you have been clenching, mewing or chewing hard, don’t.

It could be sudden sensorineural hearing loss which is likely to be reversible if you start treatment immediately

I was carrying out some ETD exercises last night, maybe that irritated the inflammation? Managed to pop my ear after a few hours; ringing has died down a bit :S Tapping the front of my ear is a bit like tapping a balloon - so I’m hoping it’s just unbalanced air pressure rather than SSHL.

I think my hearing has gone back to normal - I can hear the rustling of pages at arm’s length, for example. I’ll speak with my audiologist first thing.

Oh that sounds like good news! :) I've had just fizzing before. So much more tolerable.

It is much easier to listen to! :) Okay, it’s still a noise, but much less annoying :D

Awesome - congratulations! It ought to continue to improve. Often the more it improves, the slower it seems to improve, but improve it does and before you know it you will be feeling a lot better.

Sorry to hear that was the case! (I hope your AI is minor.) Yeah, people on this board advise acceptance or total emotional apathy when it comes to T. All the best either way!

Haha - it said it looked like spam?
No problem at all :)
In that case, can I assume you have habituated or healed perhaps?

I have seen improvement; day zero it was originally a horrible CACOPHONY of metal drills / scraping metal with multiple tones and random, loud “biting” spikes that lasted microseconds apiece; I’d get dozens of them per day.
No fun.

Now it’s a single tone in my right ear. A thin line of sound; like the noise the filament of a light bulb makes, made audible.
Unfortunately, the volume is not whisper quiet, but it’s better than it was. The inflammation in my ear is improved (though present), and my eardrum can still crackle at will.

I will just have to patiently wait for more change; as tough as that is some days :) Sometimes it’s happier though - there’s a degree of volatility.
Outside it’s pretty good, so hiking and general walks have been quasi-breaks from it. Kind of miss swimming though (can’t risk more infections!)

Actually chuckled at that. Good on you, being able to apply humour to it. Stay strong, brother.

Like, if I put my good ear on a pillow when trying to sleep, but it’s not always there. Weird.

Nevermind, I found something which masks and can go on a loop :)

This isn't Exactly what you asked about, but perhaps it will help - cat's purring: https://purrli.com/

Try it! It's pretty harmless, some experience vivid dreams. Hasn't helped me, but lots of people with sleep issues get good results from melatonin. Weird thing is that I think you have to experiment with dosage. I was better off on 3 mg, than on 9mg.

If that doesn’t work, I’d try Benadryl. It works really well for me.

TTTS?

From an ear infection?

tensor tympani spasming. probably from hyperacusis but idk about the role your infection plays. avoid noises that cause it for a few weeks at least. the middle ear needs rest in my experience.

@BillBauer you are exactly right with that one! When I put my earplugs in before I start driving, the volume always seems a lot lower than after the journey, when I turn my car off. But it's not actually louder - it's the perception of it being louder as there's no longer noise covering it.

Back when my T would spike as a result of a shower, at one point I had been wearing earplugs to the shower.

@Bill Bauer I also used earplugs in the shower. However, I've stopped now. I didn't feel they made a difference personally.

I think it must have to do something with the frequency as well. I do hear it in the car (normally I wear earpro, but have tried without it too) whereas in much, much quieter situations I don't.

Are you wearing earplugs in those quieter situations?

No. I mean I can hear it in the car without earplugs, and don't hear at home with background music or the TV on without earplugs as well. I don't understand how it works. If I put earplugs in/earmuffs on, volume goes up of course.

I thought I'd have vs only because I have tinnitus. I really think it is unlikely, I've asked my doctor and optometrist about this.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. No I don’t have VS. But I was just wondering on how likely it could happen (or does there lie madness?), and whether there are any steps to prevent it or at least reduce the chance - beyond healthy living.

Over the past 3.5 years, I've read the posts of about 3-4 people who had reported that they got VS. I don't think it is common.

Awesome!! This is a major development. It ought to continue to fade. The next stage is a hiss.

Thank you Bill! I hope so too.