Why Do Our Ears Crackle When Swallowing?

I know this crackling is the result of inflammation of the middle ear/eustachian tube, but what I’m curious about is why it seems to stick around with some people indefinitely. The inflammation seems to be a response to ear infections or noise trauma but can linger long after. If we could fix our hearing, do you think it would change anything? You’d think science would know more about what’s going on in there...

Curious if I’ll ever get to return to “gulp” instead of “ crackle” haha.

 

It should go away but you have to give it time. The first few months were the worst for the fullness, crackling and general anxiety.

I'd guess the cracking started to subside after 2-3 months, the fullness lasted longer and my ears feel 'full' at times to this day. It's not the same fullness as the first months but it's there and I only really notice it when I look for it.

 

Um this ain’t normal? It happens to me an I never considered it odd. Your Eustachian tubes end in your mouth/throat... so when you swallow I figured it was a slight pressure change.

 

That’s really reassuring to hear! I guess our ears are forever changed, but only time will tell us how much.

 

@MrCrybaby

Yes, our ears are changed but it gets better...slowly. I thought my life was over almost two years ago and in hindsight, I wish I hadn't spiraled into that hole. Give it time and know it is going to get better whether it gets quieter or not. I hope you don't hear a ringing in the future.

 

There is a pressure change, but it is silent unless there is inflammation or damage to the ear. It happens all the time to people as a response to allergies/ear infections/noise trauma etc and can be permanent. It’s annoying but is not interfering with function.

 

Did you also have this when you had no tinnitus?

 

I don't think the crackling is due to inflammation. I think it's simply the change in pressure in the middle ear that results in a slight change in the drum's shape, thus creating this "thump" sound.

Remember, the ear is sensitive enough to detect when the ear drum moves by the width of an atom. Pretty unbelievable, but it is what it is!

I've always had this crackling when swallowing, even when my ears were healthy.

 

That’s true. I guess some of us just become more aware of the sounds in our ears after tinnitus starts.

 

Yes... before tinnitus had it, with tinnitus had it, then without tinnitus had it... now still have it with the new tinnitus.

I have floaters as well but it is not related to tinnitus at all.

 

@New Guy

When the cracking in your ears was starting to improve, how could you tell? I’m telling I’m improving with time (sometimes I swallow silently, as I used to) but it’s really draining me and I’m looking for a cause for optimism.

I’m at 2 months of crackling, so I’m getting more weary that this could just be my forever situation...

 

You should try the NeilMed Saline solution. It may help.

 

I don't know what caused this but I remember one day when I was about 10 years old, I swallowed and heard my ears crackle. I'm now 32 and it has not stopped. I hear it every single time I swallow and can even kind of make it happen if I wiggle my ears. I didn't get tinnitus until a year ago so it seems unrelated in my case although maybe a weird coincidence! I had quite a lot of ear infections as a child but that's the only thing I can think of. Never had even a hint of tinnitus until decades later. Only good thing for me at least is I've had it so long I barely notice it (unlike the tinnitus unfortunately).

 

@MrCrybaby
I just swallowed and listened and my right ear crackled so perhaps it hasn't gone away at all (That was an attempt at a joke). It's normal to hear your ears crackle because of eustachian tubes but the crackling right after t is a much different thing. It's more like a squeaky crackle.

I don't remember when the crackling went away or how. All I know is all the symptoms I had when t started have faded except the darned t. I also notice, almost 2 years later, sometimes my ears feel tense or tight. It doesn't concern me but it tells me perhaps there is more healing to come for me. Oh, and sometimes my eardrum flutters, especially in my right ear.

If you find my first post on the site it chronicles my time with t, I assure you I was just as much of a wreck as you two months in and I stayed a wreck for a long time after. I've still got some recovery to go both with my ears and my mind.

I want to stress that if you're patient, really patient because ears take a long time to heal and our minds take a long time to adjust things will improve. Whether the t gets quieter or not you will get more used to hearing it. If you have hyperacusis it calms for most, the crackling will fade, the tightness in your ears will fade. The key is time.

I'm almost 2 years into this thing and still noticing very, very slow progress except with the level of the t. Hang in there, don't do anything drastic and you're going to make it.

 

Thanks, this is really reassuring. You’re right, I need to stop analyzing every last symptom and just get comfortable to wait it out. Not much else we can do.

 

Mine occasionally crackled with colds and infections and the like, always went away. Right now they're happily crackling away when I swallow or yawn but that's really not an issue to me at all. I find the noise kind of funny and at least it has some sort of explanation If this sticks for the rest of my life for some reason, so be it, it's not bothersome and I'd happily take a life of this instead of the possibility of T for the rest of my life (new into this ride, let's see where it goes)

Edit: I do have a slight cold at the moment

 

I’ve had tinnitus and hyperacusis for 8 months. During that time, I started to notice how loud the sound of my swallow had become. It literally vibrates in my ear. The swallow sounds sharper and louder. I don’t know if this is the same as crackling. I used ear level sound generators for 6 months under TRT I am not sure if this caused the loudness. I just pray it goes away. What’s weird is that it’s not all the time.

 

Three years after the onset my ears still crackle when I swallow.

 

Mine hasn't gone either, only started with T also...

 

Hello all, I have finally finished freaking out. Thanks to those of you who shared supportive comments, I appreciate you! The clicking is still with me, but I have learned a lot from combing through TT and talking to irl friends with tinnitus.

Here’s the low down:

Clicking in the ears seems to be a pretty common feature of acoustic trauma. For many it starts after being in a loud environment, but not necessarily at the onset of tinnitus (mine started just over a month after my acoustic trauma, after being in a loud restaurant).In some cases it spontaneously recovers, but in others it persists indefinitely.

Some science suggests that it may be a feature of hyperacusis, so a hyperacusis cure could fix it down the line. I hope this ends up being the case.

In the mean time, learn to live with it, like your tinnitus tone. It may get better or it may not, but you’ll make it through Either way!

 

My ears have clicked on and off for years when swallowing, yawning etc. I thought it was normal even when I had near perfect hearing and mild T. Always thought it was the sound of my eustachian tubes clicking. Since my acoustic trauma it has become more prevelant. If it's actually the sound of the bones/eardrum my guess is it's apart of the TTTS/middle ear subgroup of hyperacusis/tinnitus effects.

 

The clicking is tied to the irregular contractions of the inner ear muscles that open you etube/pull your ossicles from the eardrum. It is similar to ETD and TMJ clicking, which is why many get misdiagnosed. There are other symptoms that don’t get talked about often here as well, such as facial pain in the trigeminal nerve. I find this website has a clear rundown of hyperacusis symptoms, really helped me make sense of what I’m experiencing: https://hyperacusisfocus.org/research/symptoms/

 

Ya I've experienced many of those symptoms since my trauma. Been a little over 2 months and the eardrum crackling has stuck. Fullness still comes and goes. The only thing that seems to have diminished is the perception of sounds being louder than they are (clanking bottles etc), but it's still not totally back to normal either. I have a fuzzy lack of clarity in my right ear that I'm unsure wether to classify as a distortion. Both ears are neck and neck on my audiogram so I'm trying to discern if the right has more cochlear damage (synaptopothy) or if its a middle ear problem. It drives me nuts because the two ears percieve my voice at different clarity/intensity levels even though volume is the about the same.

 

That sounds rough! The first 6-12 months are the time where the most recovery takes place, so be patient and rest your ears. The one point to keep in mind is that the damage (as I understand) is largely, if not entirely burdened by the cochlea. It can both be damaged at the nerve (synaptopathy) or hair cells themselves can be damaged or destroyed. As a result of this damage, the middle ear’s behaviour changes. For example, fullness can result from the ear holding itself in a protective position to protect the inner ear (tensor tympani, etc) but it can start over reacting to benign noise and creating all sorts of wild symptoms, such as facial pain.

If you read other pages on that site it can be really enlightening. If I’m going to be stuck with these symptoms I might as well know how they are being generated by my body. Good luck!

 

You're thinking of the middle ear, not the inner ear.

 

@Bill Bauer

Bill, if I swallow I hear the crackle too but I don't think it's as bad as when I first got tinnitus. That was some crazy stuff going on those first months. I'd like to attribute the crackle I hear now to what 'normal' swallowing sounds like but truth be told I didn't pay attention before tinnitus.

As mentioned I still have a tightness in my ears at the end of the day most days and my right ear has spasms sometimes. There's also significantly more frequent fleeting t than before tinnitus.

I'm doing better with tinnitus than the first year. It's not the focus of my life but still on my mind especially when around loud unexpected noises.

 

Same here. For all I know, this is how it sounded 10 years ago, long before I got tinnitus.

 

I want a cure just so I can know once and for all if we've been crackling all along...

 

@MrCrybaby

I wonder what would have happened if I asked that girl out in high school? I wonder what would have happened if I applied for that promotion? I wonder if my ears crackled when I swallowed before t?

Some of life's mysteries that may never be solved.

When I first got t there was a squeakiness to the crackliness when I swallowed and it felt like my ears had fluid in them. The squeakiness and fluid feeling is gone but the crackliness remains.

 

This is exactly what I have now! The squeakiness drives me crazy and at times my ears pop so hard it almost hurts

I can create the popping sensation without swallowing at times and I also feel a ton of post nasal drip constantly despite never having issues with allergies

My T did come a few weeks after a really terrible cold so I wonder if the two are related or it’s just a coincidence