Geiger Counter Intermittently in My Left Ear — Is This Tinnitus?

For the past week or so, I have had a Geiger Counter like clicking/crackling in my last ear. The clicks are triggered by loud sounds or certain frequencies such as running water. They mask other sounds meaning it can be difficult to maintain a conversation if there are loud noises around. Also if i subject myself to a triggering sound for more than 10 seconds (i.e. in a shower) then the clicks die down. Since I have no clicks in silence or when I block my ear with my finger, for the past couple of days, I have worn an ear plug in my left ear and just relied on hearing from my right ear but with no clicks.

I have no other symptoms such as pain or high temperature so no sign of an ear infection or sinusitis.

I am worried as I am trainee pilot and so a loss of medical would be devastating. I haven't seen a doctor due to the COVID-19 pandemic applying pressure to our health service and also as a pilot, I try to avoid contact with doctors at all cost to kept my medical record clean.

Since my clicking is only induced by sound and is not persistent, does this mean I do not have tinnitus?

Thanks in advance,

Jacks

 

Sounds like TTTS (Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome). The tensor tympani is a small muscle in your ear which contracts when you hear a loud sound to protect your hearing (acoustic reflex). In certain people these muscles can become overly sensitive and react to less loud noises. I think this is what you have. This is not "classical", inner-ear-damage tinnitus, but a different condition.

 

Update

Last year out of the blue, I noticed a clicking sound exactly like a Geiger counter in my left ear. The clicking is triggered by loud noises and particularly the sound of running water and someone rummaging through Lego!

The volume of the clicks varies as does the threshold for triggering them. At its peak, my own voice triggered the clicks as did loud TV programmes. I saw an ENT who told me I had Middle Ear Myclonus and not to worry, it would probably go away on its own. My Eustachian Tube function was tested and shown to be normal as was my hearing.

This all started after a run in the snow. Initially it started to get better over a couple of weeks and then I went for run in the frost and it suddenly got worse. All in all, my first episode lasted about a month but eventually disappeared.

Yesterday, exactly a year after this first started and 10 months since any clicks they returned and are still present this morning. At the moment, the threshold is high and the volume is low and I only notice it when running a tap, showering or flushing the toilet.

I have tried to identify the cause. The day before the return, I spent the day out in the cold. Also my son shouted quite loudly in my left ear while playing. Another possible cause is that I suffer from TMD/TMJ. Although this mainly effects my right side, while eating dinner the night before, I had a loud and painful click in the left side of my jaw. It was bad enough to stop me eating for a few seconds and holding my jaw. I cannot remember the last time I had such a click in my left TMJ.

So I think one of these things or a combination has caused the return of my MEM. I am hoping that with rest and the avoidance of the cold, it will go away, hopefully to never return. One can hope.

I work in aviation and so medication such as anti-depressants or muscle-relaxants are not an option for me. Neither is surgery as cutting of the Tensor Tympani muscle may affect Eustachian Tube function, causing me discomfort when flying.

Therefore, I am looking for recommendations for alternative treatments or OTC supplements to stop the clicks and hopefully prevent them from returning.

Any advice welcome.

Jacks

 

This type of tinnitus usually isn't caused by hair cell damage from noise, ototoxic medication and so on which is good news since that type of tinnitus usually sticks around. So far I agree with your doctor, although MEM is one of several possible causes (ENTs usually want give a definitive diagnosis, which in reality is almost impossible when it comes to tinnitus).

It can be caused by: middle ear pathology, a vascular loop (a blood vessel pressing against the auditory nerve, the resulting tinnitus is usually described as a "typewriter" sound and is intermittent/comes and goes suddenly). If you're sure you don't have noise induced tinnitus, an MRI could show if you have a blood vessel pressing against the auditory nerve. The fact that your tinnitus is intermittent could possibly speak to this theory, maybe blood pressure is a modulating factor if there is a connection to running...? I'm repeating what an ENT specialized in tinnitus told me. Take it with a grain of salt.

Almost everyone with tinnitus thinks they have TMD/TMJ if they hear about the connection. I would put this theory on the shelf for now and investigate possible middle ear pathology/vascular loop first.

Some hope: among all the types of tinnitus sounds I hear the worst was an INSANELY loud buzzing sound that suddenly started and then slowly faded. Attacks came and went. It eventually disappeared completely after over a year of hell. If it returns this summer when my allergies come, it will pretty much confirm that it's a middle ear issue.

 

Could be, but I have TTTS and it doesn't sound like a Geiger counter/typewriter. It's a much lower frequency sound and I can feel the muscles contract (same sound as when you yawn deeply, which contracts the tensor tympani).

It's possible TTTS can produce other sounds or not be felt as a contraction. However, I think TTTS is unlikely in this case.