Does Anyone Else Have Chronic Popping Ears?

My right ear pops all the time and I was just curious if anyone else experienced this and if it ever goes away.

Been reading a lot online and of course everyone online is saying they’ve had it for 10+ years and they're miserable and blah blah.

This was on another forum. How about you guys and girls?

God bless!

 

Yes. I stil have to pop both of mine multiple times a minute every day all day. I think/hope it’s ETD caused by inflammation from TMD.

 

Same thing. They pop when swallowing, yawning, breathing in deeply, chewing, running, mostly. There's probably another few scenarios I'm missing here. They've been doing that for the last 3-4 years. Since getting tinnitus, the popping has been worse though.
I'm also hoping it is due to ETD/TMJ and that it can be treated somehow along with the tinnitus.

 

Mine pop all the time, yeah. It's only gotten worse with time, especially after a recent Ear Infection. It's especially horrible for me, because I believe I suffer from Patulous Tube, and can both my breath and voice in my ears when they open. It makes me miserable.

 

My ENT told me pressure equalization tubes will eliminate the constant popping. You guys hear this?

 

I wouldn't accept that answer. That is a band aid. Why aren't your ears equalizing naturally? Plus the tubes carry a risk. I'd get any inflammation and/or allergy issues figure out first. TMJ could be doing it, so could an allergy, or a systemic inflammation. Tubes should be last resort IMHO.

 

Trust me @kelpiemsp i agree one hundred percent but someone above has suffered for four years. It could help them.

As for me I’m still early in the game so waiting it out on PET is my first choice.

Actually after my ENT verbatim said “ sometimes Eustachian tubes just give up!” In response to me asking WHY I had negative pressure in my ear, I said I am not interested in surgery ATM, and guess what! Past three days my ear that gave up has been popping and opening up like crazy! Albeit it’s spiking my tinnitus but it’s a change in the body and I know I need to be patient. However once the ears pop for a longggg time chances are that’s it. Game over. Those ears will always pop.

 

@Michellejean Have you heard of the new eustachian balloon dilation? It may be worth looking into!

I agree that at a certain point it’s al we have.

 

I'm not sure a balloon dilation procedure would help for crackling/popping ears. It seems aimed at people with full-fledged ETD, when the tubes are permanently closed.
For the record, I actually have no problems whatsoever opening them and equalizing pressure. It just seems that there is a chronic imbalance of inner and outer pressure in my case, which makes me feel the need to pop them and get rid of the clogged/muffled feeling in my ears.
Have any of you guys ever experienced clicking in your ears when going for a run? Especially when breathing through the nose? It's as if the crackling/popping/what have you, is caused by mucus or something.
Man, it sucks so bad that the medical community is just as clueless on this front, as regarding tinnitus.

I would also see grommets as a last resort. I've had them twice in my life and they clearly haven't helped to sort out whatever is wrong in there, have they? They just increase the risk on ear infections.

 

Has it ever made your tinnitus worse permanently?

 

This only began for me after developing tinnitus. No previous issues. Now most days mine click on both sides when swallowing and patulous sensations periodically on the right side. Have to put my head between my legs to get it to stop. Before I could just cough really hard and it would fix it. This doesn’t seem to work anymore. I do have allergy issues, but like I said I didn’t have this issue before developing tinnitus.

 

I developed ETD 18 months ago from holding in a sneeze, which makes my ears pop constantly. Every morning, I wake up with my ears clogged, and I have to wait for them to crackle and drain. Ear tubes have been mentioned to me, but I'm so used to the annoyance that I'd rather just live with it. I developed T 2 months ago from an acoustic trauma, but the ETD doesn't seem to exacerbate it.

 

Since your tinnitus was cured has this issue improved at all?

 

No. The popping ears thing is a TMJ issue, for me.

 

With the popping do you ears feel constantly clogged?

 

Same, dry similar, but my clicking and cracking is on the right side, which took the brunt of my noise trauma. Really weird, I have theories about how I probably screwed up my stapes and moved them and weakened them do to the occlusion effect from working with heavy machinery, but yet to have this diagnosed. I have no access to specialists where I live, and when I return home to visit the states I am not insured and completely out of the loop. It feels like a mechanical failure and also tied into the brain misfiring to the middle ear system, reflexes. Truly a mystery that one day I’d like to figure out. The reason I threw in the brain, was on a few occasions when I had enough of the tinnitus and hyperacusis I gobbled up Valium and the cracking went. I am steering clear of all drugs now, unless there is an emergency, but it is interesting that the drugs had an effect on what would seem to be the origins of the cracking. Very complex, not life threatening, but annoying when your body changes to the worse.

 

Interesting the Valium affects yours. I was recently prescribed a prednisone taper for a contact dermatitis issue and it made my tinnitus completely quiet in my left ear for up to several days after I ended my taper, got rid of the “head” tinnitus I had been experiencing up to that point and it currently hasn’t come back, quieted the tinnitus in my right ear till the taper ended, and stopped my crackling till the taper ended. So I’m wondering if my popping is related to inflammation.

It sucks benzos and steroids are such dangerous drugs since they are the only two things I’ve found that help my tinnitus thus far.

 

Yah, you got some muscle stuff, nerve thing going on, clearly, as you can modulate with your neck and respond well to steroids. Anti inflammation diet for you son... fresh ginger root tea with garlic everyday, and if you could find a cheap but good massage therapist, that may help as well. Yah, the drugs are clearly unsustainable, natural food sources, supplements, and of course stretching. Yoga is free, hard as hell to do, but could and usually is very beneficial. Good luck bro, we can do this.

 

GoatSheep, I forgot to mention something and it came to me later today. Last year on YouTube, I discovered some stretches for tinnitus. I need to find you the link, but if you punched that in, I am sure it would come up. I discovered a stretch where you go from lying down on your back and then put your legs up and over your head. It’s hard to do and form is important, but I can actually feel my ears opening up and popping with relief. It was remarkable and as effective as drugs without the side effects. I encourage you to try, check out YouTube for stretches helping tinnitus. Be really careful and be gentle. Good luck and let me know if you get around to doing it. Cheers.