Knock Test (Droning in Inner Ear)

[NiNyu]

Do you have a droning sound in the middle ear when you: hiccup, burp, have an earplug in your ear and tap against the jaw, shake your head, open the Eustachian tubes (and hold it)?

Knock Test:
Put your index finger inside your injured ear and gently tap against the back of the hand (or the knuckles or the finger itself or the jaw) does it DRONE strangely inside your ear?

 

[linearb]

No, I don't think so?

 

[SleeplessSoul]

Mine drones all the time and putting a finger in it stops the drone. Touching around the outer ear makes it buzz worse then stops it for a second touching the eye about the affected ear also makes a vibration.

 

[NiNyu]

putting a finger in it stops the drone.

The drone is your T ? So if you put a finger in your ear the T stops? If so, your T could be nerve related, which is a good thing! Those kind of Ts usually recover.

 

[Chelles]

I have a click in my ear and whenever I get it if I put my finger in my ear it stops the spasm and the noise of course when I take my finger out it comes back but at least I can stop it for a few seconds.

 

[NiNyu]

Chelles, you are a lucky one. I wish I had objective T.

 

[Chelles]

I have objective and subjective as well

 

[NiNyu]

Oh, both? Shit.

 

[Chelles]

Yes I've had subjective for about 3 years but I barely notice it now the objective bothers me more

 

[SleeplessSoul]

NiNyu-drone sounds nerve related? I did speak to an audiology place on the phone that said sometimes it's a wacky nerve.
What is objective t. I have the slight ringing t in the other ear but never notice it.
You think it's nerve impingement?

 

[Chelles]

Objective t is when others can hear the noise too so is not just in your head it's something that's causing the noise like a muscle spasm.

 

[SleeplessSoul]

Oh ok. No one else can hear it so it's subjective.

 

[Chelles]

@SleeplessSoul have you had your doctor try to listen to see if he can hear it?

 

[SleeplessSoul]

No Chelles have you? He did listen to my eyeball and carotid artery I think.
Do you mean in the ear?

 

[Chelles]

He didn't because when I went to the appointment my ear wasn't twitching but I'm sure if it was he could have been able to pick something up.

 

[NiNyu]

Who's the second yes voter?

Do you have a droning sound in the middle ear when you: hiccup, burp, have an earplug in your ear and tap against the jaw, shake your head, open the Eustachian tubes (and hold it)?

 

[svintegrity]

@NiNyu What do you mean by droning?

 

[valeri]

Mine drones all the time and putting a finger in it stops the drone. Touching around the outer ear makes it buzz worse then stops it for a second touching the eye about the affected ear also makes a vibration.

What does your t sound like?
Do you also feel vibration?

 

[NiNyu]

@NiNyu What do you mean by droning?

What I mean is do you have any strange mechanical sound in the middle ear when you do the Knock Test.
I have a strange droning sound in my injured ear when I do the Knock Test! Whereas my healthy ear (right) makes no sound. Thus I assume a physical damage. Best test both your ears! Now I wonder if anybody else has a similar cause of SSHL.

 

[Chelles]

I voted yes because when I yawn, burp or hiccup my ears spasms and make a click/thump noise.

 

[svintegrity]

No droning. My good ear is silent. My bad ear has a high-pitched pulse.

 

[SleeplessSoul]

It sounds like very low pitched bass tones that have more than one tone and it's like a low sounding drone or hum and when I touch around the eye. Ear, face it feels like it's vibrating.
It also feels like when you go outside and its a Little windy slow but steady wind, that it's blowing on that ear.
Only on one side. Other side is quiet except I do have some high frequency hearing loss and I get the high pitched ring on the "good" ear but it's not too loud most of the time.
Does that help?

 

[sakrt]

@SleeplessSoul have you had your doctor try to listen to see if he can hear it?

Curious - how did your doctor test to recognize your "subjective tinnitus"? I did have a brief otoscope check, for infection. I never had any other tests, except an Air Caloric (VNG) test that made me sick for two days (had to be carried). Did anyone have this extreme reaction?

My tinnitus has never been high-pitched. Before when I had hearing, I can relate to experience, the sound is exact to standing next to Niagara Falls (if anyone knows of it), consistent non-fluctuating 24 hrs a day with vibration from back of head. It slightly vibrates my eyes, part of my nose and upper jaw. Occasional, *glump* wet sounds add to it, like a kinked hose that just released water then goes away. I did not have this prior the cochlear implant (CI) performed for the *wind-whoosh w/ heartbeat* tinnitus & migraines. The CI, now has destroyed all my hearing and gave me this worsened debilitating, excruciating tinnitus with additional neurological symptoms. My health & life has never been so bad as this.
One of the worse things is, I can't play my instruments anymore, hear anything drop or something accidentally left on (consistently trying to remember), relying on vision alone & require a cane for balance.
As we all know, most (those with no T), truly do not understand this invisible pain we endure.

 

[SleeplessSoul]

Curious - how did your doctor test to recognize your "subjective tinnitus"? I did have a brief otoscope check, for infection. I never had any other tests, except an Air Caloric (VNG) test that made me sick for two days (had to be carried). Did anyone have this extreme reaction?

My doctor did several hearing tests, tympananograms, two nasal endoscopies, looked at ears several times with otoscopes, brain mri, brain MRA , listened with stethoscopes over eyes and arteries, and then I had the caloric Vng testing with warm and cold water and several other very unpleasant vestibular tests.
And I was only very dizzy during the testing. When I was done, I walked out to my car by myself and was fine.
Was your vng normal? Oops sorry. I was trying to answer your question and put my answer on the quote. I hope it made sense. Read my answer after the first paragraph.

 

[sakrt]

SleeplessSoul: I've had 3 caloric tests in my lifetime. The prior two (20 yrs ago) were warm/cold water like yours: documented abnormal, bilateral results with 8th nerve deficiency. They were not sure why back then and had not been evaluated since. I did not have tinnitus til 4 yrs ago.

I, now reside in a different State and after a head-injury 4 yrs ago, the audiologist (University hosp) had a student run the -Air- caloric test and were in a hurry to complete because of my intolerance. Thinking back, one would think this to be invalid, to retest again/double-check or do further workups, but they never did. They also did NOT document my severe reaction and said the results were normal. Knowing now (after the fact) - it seems questionable, if all prior ones were abnormal with additional symptoms (not known at the time). They just never bothered reviewing my prior medical history. Calorics reaction was so severe - wheelchair, carried and bedridden with a migraine for 2 days. This too was not documented. I do not know if this is a typical reaction for many people or a "red-flag" requiring further tests.

I never had my ears/arteries checked with a stethoscope, even though I wrote in their forms that I "heard my heartbeat loudly along with an increasing *wind whooshing* tinnitus", like wind going through a window crack. Not even a MRI of my inner-ear bones in my lifetime! I am just so angry at myself for not being more assertive, but I didn't know. I trusted the Otoneuro. after TWO brief appts. who said I had NO other option, but a CI for tinnitus/migraines. (My hearing had been stable for over 30 yrs). Daily, I cry, wishing to go back in time to hearing & even put up with the softer fluctuating tinnitus, compared to what I'm enduring now.

 

[SleeplessSoul]

I am so sorry Kasart. That is a lot to go through and it's very upsetting to hear of your distress.
Try not to beat yourself up over not being more assertive in pushing for what you want. Sometimes we are vulnerable and don't know what we should be doing as we are at the mercy of the medical provider we are seeing.
I had to really ask a ton of questions and see a slew of doctors but I still don't have any real answers!
During your caloric test, did they make you do any Epley maneuvers that could have hurt your neck? I refused any balance testing that involved turning my neck becasue I knew it would give me a migraine.
I don't know what a cochlear implant is or why it is used so I can't comment on that.
Most mri's and mra's fail to find anything sinister. It's usually to cover the doctor's a#*.
I have odd sounds too. Some low low bass tones and some wind blowing and some low thumping. I was told it was a jaw problem. Who knows.
I cry a lot too when it gets louder and more painful. It is very hard.
I can only offer my sincere support of what you are going through. I have endured years of severe and debilitating migraines with other chronic pain so I do have extensive experience in physical and emotional suffering and I wouldn't wish any of this on my worst enemy.

 

[sakrt]

Cochlear Implants are for patients who do not benefit at all from devices for hearing-loss (e.g. hearing-aids). In my case - I did NOT attend for this at ALL, but tinnitus & migraines. The Institute wrote to insurance for "hearing-loss" as they ONLY cover for that reason (100k). I did NOT know, till after the fact. I NEVER went for hearing-loss issues, but for debilitating tinnitus symptoms after a head-blow, which I was told a CI was my only option that helps tinnitus. The surgeon drills the mastoid bone area out, & part of round window to put electrodes through the cochlea. Later a "Processor" (alike a hearing-aid) but instead of ear-mold in ear, it's attached to a magnet on the skull. Sound supposedly creates through the electrodes to the ear nerve. As a consequence, I lost all my hearing and my tinnitus is now 20x worse, w/ 24 hrs loud, grinding electric noise BECAUSE I've learned now I had/have other inner-ear issues, that were NOT even looked at pre-op. I cannot use the 100k CI. I did NOT know of tests I could have had pre-op and now learning about my current issues.

In all - I only had 3 appts. 3rd/last Post-op. appt. with this outcome? Was told "to see a psychiatrist to discuss it", instead of being further tested (that I did not have pre-op). Basically, stated I've created all these symptoms up. I am not able to talk or hear now, so how does one communicate with a psychiatrist not familiar with this? Interpreter (3rd person-3 way) is not very comfortable/helpful in this very personal situation.
Why would I make up B.S, if I was fully active in life prior this and trying to get back to it?

 

[SleeplessSoul]

I can't stand when doctors do that to a person. That angers me.

They turn you way when you are suffering and tell you it's all in your head. Or to find a psychiatrist.

How would they like it if it was their family member suffering? I ask the dr, "where would you send your wife or child if they had this condition" and sometimes they come up with something besides a shrink.

I hope you can eventually find someone somewhere to help you through. And keep with the forum for ongoing moral support.

No one would ever want to go through that bs in life no matter what. Hang in there and keep the faith.

 

[Street Spirit]

Mine is a ring...it's on top of my regular T and in bad ear (same side as neuralgia) mine comes and goes. .gets worse with H..maybe I'm in wrong thread.