Confusing Symptoms, Tensor Tympani? (I Had Bad Tinnitus Last Year)

[DangEars]

Hey everyone, please bear with me the post is sorta long. I'm not a stranger to tinnitus, I'm pretty sure I've had it all my life but I've adapted more or less. I had a spike last year around the same time along with hyperacusis that eventually resolved (had a lot of acupuncture). Well, I have no idea what's happening now.

Let me first describe the sound. It varies between a very light "teh" to a deeper sound verging on a pop. The sound in my nasal cavity sounds like something is clearing, if that makes sense.

So this started about 2 weeks ago. It's normal for me to have my right ear click rapidly for maybe a few seconds to minute then go away, maybe not returning for months on end. Sadly this time it happened it decided to stick around. I've been having attacks for the last 2 weeks. Worse yet, it seems the clicking has migrated to the other ear, and I'm even getting the sound in my nasal cavity.

Here's what's weird. I'm not really having pain associated with this, whereas the first time with hyperacusis I had pain upon hearing almost everything (not so much clicking though). I don't think I have palatal myoclonus, the back of my throat isn't flapping like that at all. Still, I'm freaking out it might be that, it sounds like a progressive disease (making my health anxiety a billion times worse). A lot of sites say it could be tensor tympani syndrome, but everyone is saying it's painful, and I can't find anything about the nose being involved.

I don't know if it's my heartbeat, it doesn't seem to correspond with it. It gets worse at night but that's because I'm paying attention to it. I can't sleep even with a white noise machine or fans, it just wakes me up regardless.

I have a few questions:

Does anyone else have clicking without pain?
What was it diagnosed as?
And what kind of doctor do I see for this?
I keep seeing that ENTs are useless, but if this is my tensor tympani, should I see a surgeon of some sort? What medicines work for it if it is the tensor tympani?

 

[DangEars]

Anyone? You don't have to answer the questions, even a comparison of symptoms would be helpful. I can't sleep because of this.

 

[Contrast]

There is so much that could be going on with the tiny tendons/tiny bones in the middle ear, tensor typani and facial muscles that supposedly can work with the ear. We don't know what is what. There is hardly any medical research on this.

But I bet your tinnitus is noise induced. That's rarely a mystery what causes tinnitus, it's literally a meme when new comers don't realize loud music caused their tinnitus.

 

[DangEars]

Thanks for the reply. Weird, I don't recall listening to any loud music or anything like that. It's just that the clicks normally regulated to one ear for my whole life seem to have jumped over. Do you think that stress could play a part in this?

 

[Nick M]

I had this clicking sound before and during my inner ear infection. It almost sounds like the beating of your heart but it's more of a tick tick sound than a thump. I believe these are due to spasms of the muscles around or in your ear. Mine went away after the infection but I developed tinnitus shortly after. For you, this could be the start of an infection or an active infection perhaps a viral infection like I had.

Do you have fullness?

 

[Sarah101]

I had this clicking sound before and during my inner ear infection. It almost sounds like the beating of your heart but it's more of a tick tick sound than a thump. I believe these are due to spasms of the muscles around or in your ear. Mine went away after the infection but I developed tinnitus shortly after. For you, this could be the start of an infection or an active infection perhaps a viral infection like I had.

Do you have fullness?

Same, mine happened during an ear infection. It went away after about 3 months, unfortunately the infection seems to have left me with bad pain in my feet. Life seriously sucks.

 

[tomo16100]

Hello

Yes I think you have tensor tympani, I have intermittent tensor tympani it starts in one ear then some times in both, the longest spell it has lasted on and off was 6 months, I have been free of it for 6 months now, it will probably start again ?

I went to see an ear nose throat specialist who said there is an operation but does not always work apparently is a nerve in the ear what vibrates on the ear drum, I found if you put ear plugs in our that push against the ear drum it lessens the drumming 60%

michael

 

[DangEars]

I had this clicking sound before and during my inner ear infection. It almost sounds like the beating of your heart but it's more of a tick tick sound than a thump. I believe these are due to spasms of the muscles around or in your ear. Mine went away after the infection but I developed tinnitus shortly after. For you, this could be the start of an infection or an active infection perhaps a viral infection like I had.

Do you have fullness?

I had a weird feeling in my throat a few days before it happened, like an irritated bump at the back, where you would get post nasal drip (I wasn't). I still have a very itchy throat at the soft pallet. Idk if it's related. It very well could be allergies but I've never had them before.

I don't think I have fullness, which is odd. I'm really beginning to think it's a myoclonic issue.

tomo16100, earplugs don't even seem to work. It's odd it's worse when I lay on my sides.

 

[Nick M]

I had a weird feeling in my throat a few days before it happened, like an irritated bump at the back, where you would get post nasal drip (I wasn't). I still have a very itchy throat at the soft pallet. Idk if it's related. It very well could be allergies but I've never had them before.

I don't think I have fullness, which is odd. I'm really beginning to think it's a myoclonic issue.

tomo16100, earplugs don't even seem to work. It's odd it's worse when I lay on my sides.

I also had a strange feeling and slight pain in my throat when i swallowed. This throat issue lasted 6+ months and it was accompanied by the ear clicking and eventually fullness which lead to the tinnitus. I'm still convinced it's viral and I'm thinking it may be the herpes/chickenpox virus as it lays dormant between your nerve tissue and could flare up from time to time.