I Can Control My Tensor Tympani Muscle on Command

Hi everyone,

Some people have a seemingly rare ability to control their tensor tympani muscle on command. Essentially, they are able to contract the muscle, and it makes a rumbling/whooshing sound, like the wind, when the muscle vibrates. Some of you may get this feeling when you yawn. Doctors can also apparently see it happening when looking at your ear drum if they have the proper equipment or by using an audiogram.

I’m almost certain I also have this ability and have been able to do it my entire life, although I haven’t been checked by a doctor to confirm it. Additionally, I developed pain hyperacusis, which feels like an ache or a sunburn inside my right ear only. It also happens that I can control the muscle in my right ear far more effectively than my left. I think this is quite interesting, and I was wondering if any of you have this condition and whether there is perhaps some interrelation between the two.

I was also wondering if the fact that I am able to contract and release my tensor tympani muscle without any pain or inflammation means that my hyperacusis is likely due entirely to issues with the inner ear (specifically the Type II nerves) and not related to the inner ear muscles? I know many people think the tensor tympani muscle could be in constant states of contradiction due to acoustic shock, which causes their pain hyperacusis. I even talked to someone who said pain hyperacusis is only ever a middle ear issue and has nothing to do with the middle ear. But if I can contract it on command without an issue, it seems like the middle ear muscles are likely not the culprit behind the pain in my case, unless I’m misunderstanding this theory.

 

I can do it too. I actually got pain hyperacusis before I damaged my middle ear. I could always contract my tensor tympani but everything got much worse when I yelled and I felt a snap and that’s when my tensor tympani felt loose and broken, and just doesn’t feel right. When it flutters and I contract it, it can get stuck. The tensor tympani, as you know, protects our ears from sound so if that or the stapes is damaged or loose, it can cause hyperacusis. Silverstein even proved it. My middle ear pain is burning, and aching. My inner ear pain is stabbing. I can feel the difference in location of the pain and how they both came on. It could have something to do with it but I’m sure, middle ear or not, my cochlear pain would still be bad because that’s what I got first and it hurts way more. So I think you can definitely have noxacusis in both areas. I hate ears man, they’re terrible, so many things can go wrong.

 

So does the rumbling sound I hear when yawning come from the Tensor Tympani muscle or from the Tympani itself?

I wonder if the crackling sound when I swallow my saliva comes from the Tensor Tympani muscle? I can make this area crackle voluntarily as if contracting a muscle and it crackles.

Do you have these symptoms too?

 

I’ve been able to do it my whole life as well but I don’t think I realized what was happening until I developed tinnitus and TTTS and began the frantic Google spiral.

I’m not sure what the connection is to hyperacusis, but when my TTTS is bad, I feel a horrible burning inside of my ear, which I assume is from the overactive muscle. I believe I have read that Tensor Tympani issues and hyperacusis often go hand in hand.

 

I have been able to do this for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I do it out of habit (should stop that really). I hear thundering and rumbling noise in both ears when I do it.

 

Thanks for the replies. I just thought this was an interesting topic given that everything I read says being able to control the muscle is an extremely rare ability, so it makes me wonder if there's some correlation between having the ability and developing TTTS / hyperacusis since these conditions are also very rare.

The rumbling sound you hear when you yawn is probably the Tensor Tympani muscle contracting and vibrating. I read that it contracts to some degree when people yawn and cough. I don't know if the crackling sound would be it though. A rumbling or roaring noise is the most common sound heard but other sounds can be heard as well for some people, although I don't know if the vibration of the muscle would cause a crackle or not.

 

@Brody11, how can you control your Tensor Tympani muscle? Do you need to move your jaw to generate the crackling in your ears? Or maybe just pushing on your jaw? Does the noise sound like something is broken in your ears?

 

That's a really interesting thought. I can control mine as well and I have hyperacusis/tinnitus. I can control one at a time or both at the same time. I could do it for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a kid, I've had a pretty good control of my ears, including wiggling my ears one at a time or both at the same time.

 

I started being able to control my tensor tympani muscle after I got tinnitus. I could not before.

 

Hyperacusis caused by TTTS vs. the nerves; does one have a better chance of recovery than the other?