On & Off Loud Humming

[Lian]

My problem with my left ear started back in January 2016, when I was 8 months pregnant and I got a wonderful cold.

It actually started when the cold went, and I was left with an occasional fullness in the left ear, feeling like it was blocked.

I could then hear my own voice echo back at me, really weird, no amount of ear popping would stop it, it seemed to last 10 minutes and then go. It seemed to happen once/twice a week for three weeks and then it just stopped.

Then when I was 37 weeks pregnant and it was my first week of maternity leave, I got another cold. The worst cold I've had in years. Being pregnant meant that I couldn't take the usual decongestants like Lemsip, so I just had to suffer. That cold went and for the last part of my pregnancy, every time I would go to bed one of my nostrils would be totally blocked! I'd be fine during day with my sinuses, but at night soon as I got into bed... Boom... Blocked nose... I had to use a little bit of Vicks Sinex so I could sleep. This is when the strange humming sound in my left ear started.

It only happens when it's quiet. It's like someone switches on and off a switch and this loud hum starts, sounds right on the ear drum, making it vibrate with the hum too, only way to stop it, is with sound. This isn't a masking thing either, sounds actually do stop it from humming & vibrating and when that sound stops, the loud hum switches back on.

Moving my head will stop it as well. Until I stop moving, then it switches the hum back on.
Shaking my head side to side makes hum come and go like if you was beating a drum.

Throughout the day I have a fullness and pressure feeling in my ear and I also get slight ear ache too..
sometimes certain noises can vibrate my ear drum. Like now, typing on this keyboard, the noise of the keys is making my eardrum hurt slightly and making a thudding sound on it. It's weird.

I've seen two doctors, both told me it's tinnitus, nothing can be done, one doctor looked in my ear and throat and said everything looks fine.

I sometimes get a painful throat too, although I've not had the throat pain for a few weeks now. Hopefully that has stopped.

It's making me miserable, I can go to bed in a quiet room as long as I don't lie awake for too long, then my ear will start off, usually waking at 5 am with the loud humming. I've had to keep my iPad beside my bed with calming sounds on like the sound of the ocean etc. as it actually stops the ear drum hum and vibrating so I can get back to sleep.

Recently my right ear is starting to do the same, although nowhere near as bad and seems to just feel full and hum most of the time. But I'm worried that it's now going to spread to my right ear and that will get worse!

Anyone else had this type of tinnitus? I think it's trapped fluid behind my ear drum.

I would like to add that I've always had a permanent ringing in my ears, since I can remember, but it's not that loud really and has never bothered me. But this feels different, like more physical than just the usual ringing in your ears thing.

 

[Karl K]

Hi Lian,

I have the same droning/humming condition as you where the sound stops as I hear a random noise. As you say it doesn't mask it, it actually stops the humming sound in its tracks only to return a second later after the sound stops. It really is awful and although it's not always there in my case I can generally hear it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I wake up numerous times in the night and it's there greeting me. It's really hard to ignore it and sometimes I can't believe its only me that can hear it in the house it's that loud. Sometimes when I lie on my side it stops or lessens the noise but not always and it's given me depression and anxiety problems and it's all I think about most of the time and I'm now into my six month of suffering. The ENT specialist I went to recently didn't even examine my ears and he gave me the seemingly standard advice of masking it or trying to ignore it.

I also suffer from high pitch Tinnitus as well which intermittently came and went for years up till about a year ago when it became a constant pitch in my left ear and it now seems to be moving to my right ear as well. The high pitch sound is something which I think I can handle long term but this low frequency droning, engine running/airplane sound is debilitating. Let's hope someone out there has an answer to this problem and can diagnose it correctly because sufferers such as you and me seem to be getting no where.

Best wishes.

Karl

 

[Lian]

Hi Karl

Yes it's so frustrating that some people in the medical profession do not want to take tinnitus seriously.

It's enough to drive you mad really. But it's reassuring that we are not alone really.

I have been taking this week some iron tonic, it's made by a company called Vitabiotics and it's called Feroglobin. It has Iron, Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 with haemoglobin for red blood cells. I read that anemia can cause tinnitus.

I've been taking it twice a day this week and I have noticed the fullness in my ears doesn't feel as bad, I still have the low background hum, but last night I didn't have that loud vibrating hum at all!

Now I'm not going to celebrate just yet. It could have been a one off. But I'm going to keep taking this Iron tonic and see what happens.

 

[valeri]

Mine started with the cold, 5 years on and still counting...

Horrible

 

[Jkph75]

I have this one too sometimes. It is definitely the worst of all of my tones. My problems started with pregnancy too. Wish I could figure out what having a baby has to do with your ears. Drs seem to be beyond clueless about it.

 

[Excession]

I had this sound for a long time, it really is an attention whore. What I decided to do was mask it every time it cropped up, I never let it hang around for more than a few seconds before I stuck a radio on or the tv, I always masked at night to.

Eventually I noticed that it just wasn't there anymore, it came back a couple of times but I just kept doggedly distracting myself. I wish you guys luck with it.

 

[TC426]

Glad that I found this thread.

I am experiencing the same issue. I have had tinnitus for about 10 months now, and until last week, it had been in the high frequency range. Last Sunday, however, when I woke up, I noticed this low frequency hum (somewhere at 100...200 Hz, so very deep) in my right ear. Like an old airplane, far up in the sky. In my case, it is not very loud, and it is also not constant (sometime it is there, sometimes not), but it is very intrusive when it is. It behaves differently than what I know from tinnitus. It immediately increases if I focus on it and it usually (not always) fades if I do not. It interrupts (!) when surrounding sounds hit the same frequency. Really odd, and I hope this is a temporary appearance only. I believe in my case it is directly related to the AM-101 trial.

I feel that after many up and downs, I learnt to relax again lately... but with this s**t, we're back to zero.

 

[TeresaD]

Hello! Just wanted to put my story in here. I too suffer with this nasty hum and ear fullness along with sound sensitivity (toilets flushing, water running, paper rustling to name a few) AND very high-pitch tinnitus.

I had an episode last year that went away and then in March of this year it came back. Back to ENT with repeated hearing test (normal), test for hydrops (normal), MRI (negative). I told my doctor that I thought it may have something to do with my neck (spine).

I started physical therapy about 2 weeks ago and, I really feel an improvement! I really don't like to get too excited but it's been improving slowly over the last two weeks. Not to say it might just be improving on its own but I wanted to let you know what I'm specifically doing. My doc also gave me an antihistamine (Hydroxyzine) in case I had some fluid issue and it's wonderful for sleep and also helps with anxiety. It'll knock you out for a full nights sleep. The physical therapist concentrates on my upper spine, shoulders and jaw (he even manipulates tendons inside my mouth). I say this to kind of give you an idea of what kind of physical therapy it is. I really hope I goes away altogether but I'll take this over what I had just two weeks ago! My tinnitus is still loud but I can deal with that better than the hum/fullness/fluttering I've been having.

Hope you all find relief soon and I'll keep posting updates!

 

[Karl28]

It could be Patulous Eustachian Tube.

If the Eustachian Tube stays open (Patulous) as from physical abnormality, one will likely experience another type of objective tinnitus: described as an ocean roar or hollow effect, like a sea shell.

 

[Jon E]

Hi, I've had this exact same problem for around 10 years.

When it first started I went around the house looking for the noise as I was convinced it was an electrical hum as well, but 10 years later it's still here!

I notice it most at night and if I tap or make a slight noise it will stop for a while and then start again. I've learned to live with it to a certain extent but recently it's starting to really irritate again.

I've often thought it doesn't seem like typical tinnitus and thought perhaps it was to do with something touching a nerve in the ear but all the doctors I've spoken to don't seem to be interested or understand.

Would be good if someone had any luck in getting rid of this or at least found a way to get some relief.

 

[Samantha R]

My tinnitus journey started with this low hum - I thought it was the clothes dryer that had been left on, but soon realised it was in my head. It was on and off for a week, and has not as yet returned.

I did notice when I did a hearing test, that putting on the headphones to do the test, the noise stopped completely.

As I put them on, it returned. Very bizarre.

Unfortunately, I've now developed a head noise type tinnitus, and it's showing no signs of going anywhere and it's been around 3 months.

With the low hum, my ear felt blocked as well, it's hard to explain... it wasn't just the hum that was annoying as much as the feeling in my ear... Ugh.

 

[Frayact]

I am also a victim of this humming sound. Mine started in the Summer of 1996 when I was simply watching TV. I already had a high-pitched hissing in my ears that started a few months earlier. I habituated to that within a couple of months, but I've never habituated to the humming noise. I not only hear it; I can feel it as well. It's like a propeller plane flying around in my head. If it's in a quieter mode, simple things like talking on the telephone or listening to music will make it much louder. It's reactive. Shaking my head from side to side will interrupt it for a few seconds. But when my head is still, the hum starts up again.

When it first began, I spent lots of money over several years seeing doctors, ENT's, and getting three MRI's in the process. I also tried a variety of prescription meds. Nothing worked. No cause was found. My hearing was and still is perfectly normal. I was suicidal and could barely sleep. I lost all interest in life. The humming noise consumed me and WAS my life. I went to support groups, joined the American Tinnitus Association, and spent hundreds of hours at the public library doing research (this was before I owned a computer). I dreaded every day and night. Finally, after being stubborn about it, I got on an antidepressant. The first one I tried was Effexor XR, and after a about 4 weeks, the humming sound disappeared! And it stayed away for about a year. I had my life back and was enjoying my old activities again. But then one morning in Sept. 2000, I woke up and discovered the dreaded beast had returned. I increased the dosage of the Effexor, but it only made me a zombie. My doctor then gave me Paxil and Zoloft, but neither one worked.

I continued to try and find a treatment. Only one thing seemed to work. If I went to see a loud band, or if I DJ'd a party and wore ear plugs, the humming would stop for a couple of days. This is an effect known as residual inhibition. But it was only temporary.

Jump to 2005. I got on the antidepressant Lexapro. This seemed to help more than anything. I would go for periods of up to a year without hearing the hum. Whenever it came back, it usually only lasted a few days. I'm still on Lexapro. A few days ago, I had a horrible relapse. The humming came back after being silent for about 8 months. The past few days have been awful, and I feel like I've fallen into that Dark Hole again. I can only hope that this relapse ends soon. If not, I may ask my doctor about another antidepressant.

Before I got tinnitus in April 1996, I had suffered from anxiety attacks for 8 years. I've also had depression since I was a child. I have no doubt that these contributed to the onset of this terrible affliction.

 

[Eszett78]

Count me in, guys. I thought I'm the only one. I could write a lengthy report about me and my tinnitus, but let me mention the most relevant facts:

• my tinnitus is really on or off state, nothing inbetween. It is digital as digital can be.
• there's no change in frequency, never.
• objectively, there's no change in volume, except my very subjective perception of volume, depending on my surroundings.
• I went all around the globe to check if it's coming from an external source or resides in my head. It's really in my head.
• I would estimate the tinnitus's wave frequency as being around 100 Hz. Very rough guess though. So you can call it a hum or drone, yes.
• the most intriguing peculiarity of that tinnitus is, that it is really triggered by other sounds. Not random sounds. You could whistle and it has no effect on the tinnitus. All dull sounds trigger it. Even the most muted ones in the stream of noise that constantly exists in everyday's environment. My theory is: dull sounds, because they got the same wavelength in them?! If I tip with my fingers on my desktop, this sound is sufficient to trigger my hum.
• with "triggering my hum" I mean it's turning it on, if it's off. And turning it off, if it's on!

I could draw a graph which shows the on and off states in relation to a timeline. Usually, the tinnnitus tends to stay in on state, and turn off only for 1-2 seconds and then turns on again, because of the noise in my environment. And there is almost always noise. But rarely the opposite is true, and it's hard to keep the tinnitus in on state. Very rare moments, usually during the middle of the night.

What I still don't understand: the tinnitus has all qualities, that make him non-biological. There are no cubic planets. There are no trees, which grow in perfect rows or cols. And there should be no biologically-generated sound that turns on and off like a hotel minibar, no? So guys, how can that be!?

What I always wanted to do, and still plan to do, is to visit some kind of cave or mine or pit, anything that is deep below ground level and has near to zero environment noise. And then check how my tinnitus is doing there. Perhaps some of you have tried that already? Tell me, please. Best regards, from Germany.

One more thought. Let's assume our tinnitus is due to a neurological damage in our brains. How about treating it with Nootropics? As, for example Ginkgo, Vinpocetine, or whatnot. Has someone experiences with such a treatment and can tell about it?

 

[cflkb]

I too have the same thing with the hum/vibration noise in my ears, along with the loud high pitch EEE noise. At first I thought it was the house, then I thought it was something outside, but it was just me. It's worse than the high pitch EEE cause it's harder to mask. It started out on one ear and now it's in both ears. I have a white noise on but it doesn't help.
Good luck to us all.

 

[Fuzzy]

Hi guys,

I've been experiencing this humming sound for the 3 months now, I've also started getting headaches also and from the very start I couldn't sleep. I would wake up at 3 am ish week days and weekends it was sometimes different or not as bad. I've started wondering what could be the cause of it because it's constant.

The only thing I've noticed helps it shaking my head left to right really fast which makes the hum go away but as soon as I stop the hum comes back. Obviously this is not a solution at all.

I've been looking into EMF sensitivity. Perhaps that might help hearing more about it?

Magda Havas speaks about it and also some strong evidence from a Martin Pall.
Let me know how you get on? It's completely wrecked my life.

Cheers!
- Curt

 

[Ben Winders]

Many posts in this thread describe exactly what I have: low buzzing hum that shows up after driving in car. Mine also shows up after I have slept on the buzzing ear for about 3 nights in a row > shielding it off for any external noise.

I can't believe after all these years we still don't know what this is caused by.

 

[Benjaminbb]

I am also a victim of this humming sound. Mine started in the Summer of 1996 when I was simply watching TV. I already had a high-pitched hissing in my ears that started a few months earlier. I habituated to that within a couple of months, but I've never habituated to the humming noise. I not only hear it; I can feel it as well. It's like a propeller plane flying around in my head. If it's in a quieter mode, simple things like talking on the telephone or listening to music will make it much louder. It's reactive. Shaking my head from side to side will interrupt it for a few seconds. But when my head is still, the hum starts up again.

When it first began, I spent lots of money over several years seeing doctors, ENT's, and getting three MRI's in the process. I also tried a variety of prescription meds. Nothing worked. No cause was found. My hearing was and still is perfectly normal. I was suicidal and could barely sleep. I lost all interest in life. The humming noise consumed me and WAS my life. I went to support groups, joined the American Tinnitus Association, and spent hundreds of hours at the public library doing research (this was before I owned a computer). I dreaded every day and night. Finally, after being stubborn about it, I got on an antidepressant. The first one I tried was Effexor XR, and after a about 4 weeks, the humming sound disappeared! And it stayed away for about a year. I had my life back and was enjoying my old activities again. But then one morning in Sept. 2000, I woke up and discovered the dreaded beast had returned. I increased the dosage of the Effexor, but it only made me a zombie. My doctor then gave me Paxil and Zoloft, but neither one worked.

I continued to try and find a treatment. Only one thing seemed to work. If I went to see a loud band, or if I DJ'd a party and wore ear plugs, the humming would stop for a couple of days. This is an effect known as residual inhibition. But it was only temporary.

Jump to 2005. I got on the antidepressant Lexapro. This seemed to help more than anything. I would go for periods of up to a year without hearing the hum. Whenever it came back, it usually only lasted a few days. I'm still on Lexapro. A few days ago, I had a horrible relapse. The humming came back after being silent for about 8 months. The past few days have been awful, and I feel like I've fallen into that Dark Hole again. I can only hope that this relapse ends soon. If not, I may ask my doctor about another antidepressant.

Before I got tinnitus in April 1996, I had suffered from anxiety attacks for 8 years. I've also had depression since I was a child. I have no doubt that these contributed to the onset of this terrible affliction.

As someone who has anxiety and saw my anxiety spike with tinnitus, I can tell you most of the suffering so the anxiety and fear of the sound. Not the sound itself. As annoying as it is you may be able to get to a place where it's not making you feel that way.

Know that it has come and gone many times and may continue to do that.

I personally think the hum, which reacts differently to all other tinnitus is muscular in nature. See my other post below this.

 

[Benjaminbb]

Hey all,

I want to make an important note about the hum. A lot of people with the hum have the same unique experiences with it and it reacts differently to normal tinnitus.

For example it stops when moving your head to tapping your head.

I have intermittent hum too and it has all those same symptoms and reactions. Same with many many people who were part of a study on the hum.

In my experience I feel it is muscular or mechanical in nature as opposed to noise induced. I'll explain below.

I noticed that when mine is turning on and off by itself like a switch (occasionally) that if I hold my neck in a different position it stops turning on but if I move back to that position, say holding myself up in bed on my side, then it continues.

It literally sounds like a fast flutter and vibration unlike normal tinnitus. You can almost feel a tiny muscle is moving maybe very close to the ear drum.

I find a lot of solace I know that it's likely mechanical in nature and that it will come and go.

It usually doesn't give me any form of anxiety, so know that you can get there too unless it's extremely loud.

If yours turns on and off, or is intermittent, try holding your neck differently when it's starting to come on. I don't mean simply tilting it while standing or sitting. I mean actually use the muscles in your neck while laying sideways, hold positions and see if it changes it.

If it is mechanical in nature it's more likely to be solvable or something that comes and goes.

This to me seems like one of the easier forms of tinnitus to solve. I wish someone could dig in on possible causes.

 

[Kriszti]

Hey all,

I want to make an important note about the hum. A lot of people with the hum have the same unique experiences with it and it reacts differently to normal tinnitus.

For example it stops when moving your head to tapping your head.

I have intermittent hum too and it has all those same symptoms and reactions. Same with many many people who were part of a study on the hum.

In my experience I feel it is muscular or mechanical in nature as opposed to noise induced. I'll explain below.

I noticed that when mine is turning on and off by itself like a switch (occasionally) that if I hold my neck in a different position it stops turning on but if I move back to that position, say holding myself up in bed on my side, then it continues.

It literally sounds like a fast flutter and vibration unlike normal tinnitus. You can almost feel a tiny muscle is moving maybe very close to the ear drum.

I find a lot of solace I know that it's likely mechanical in nature and that it will come and go.

It usually doesn't give me any form of anxiety, so know that you can get there too unless it's extremely loud.

If yours turns on and off, or is intermittent, try holding your neck differently when it's starting to come on. I don't mean simply tilting it while standing or sitting. I mean actually use the muscles in your neck while laying sideways, hold positions and see if it changes it.

If it is mechanical in nature it's more likely to be solvable or something that comes and goes.

This to me seems like one of the easier forms of tinnitus to solve. I wish someone could dig in on possible causes.

Does yours stop when covering your ear tightly or putting your finger in it? Or when you talk? Cutting off and on in the pauses between words?

 

[Benjaminbb]

Does yours stop when covering your ear tightly or putting your finger in it? Or when you talk? Cutting off and on in the pauses between words?

Yes I think so. Can't check at the moment because it's gone.

So in a sense it's reverse reactive to sound and movement. So it definitely connects to the ear somehow, but I really wonder why the neck position changes it sometimes.

There's periods where it's just turning on and off by itself each second or two. It feels far more similar to a spasm than any other form of tinnitus I have.

I would think this would be one of the easiest to diagnose for that reason as it would likely have an obvious connection. Such as middle ear muscle connected to a bone or whatever causes the ear drum to move. It most likely has a different etiology to cochlear tinnitus.

 

[Ben Winders]

So mine also stops in between spoken words, and also stops when I shake my head in a "no" pattern.

I can turn it "on" by sleeping on my humming ear for about 3 nights in a row, or drive in the car for a couple of minutes.

After driving it is only "on" for a short time though, it then starts to hum with intervals (stutter) before slowly fading away on its own.

 

[OnceUponaTime]

Does yours stop when covering your ear tightly or putting your finger in it? Or when you talk? Cutting off and on in the pauses between words?

That's how mine is. Ughhh then again when I cover my ears all I hear is the darn hiss and eeeeeee.

 

[OnceUponaTime]

After driving it is only "on" for a short time though, it then starts to hum with intervals (stutter) before slowly fading away on its own.

This is different than mine. Mine never fades away.

 

[Ben Winders]

Mine was pretty constant in the beginning too.

I think this is a muscle or a nerve with a long memory vibrating.

Reason why I think this: after I take a ride in the car, doesn't matter how short or long it is (can even be 2 minutes), and I then go to the most quiet room in our house I hear it buzzing - and then after a minute or so it starts losing strength.

It goes from brrrrrrrrrr to brrr brrr br... br... b... nothing.

@OnceUponaTime, what initiated your buzzing tinnitus?

 

[OnceUponaTime]

@OnceUponaTime, what initiated your buzzing tinnitus?

Started in 2014 and I don't know why! But I tell you, my drone/hum is loud and sometimes I get a feeling of my head vibrating. I do not need to go to a quiet room to hear it (although this is how it started.) It overtakes my whole head and I even hear it outside.

The things that help are the soft hums of a refrigerator, an air purifier, air humidifier, air conditioner, the filter of a medium size fish tank or a small fan, cars going by, people talking. It cancels it right away, weird.

I dont drive too far. ughhhh

Glad yours is not all the time.
Do you have any other sounds with it?

 

[Matchbox]

I HATE humming and low thumps more than any other sound.
I'll take the ee or a hiss anyday. I literally remember when I was better hearing static in both ears in silence thinking... you know... this is just static... it's peaceful actually.

The low bass crap is bs.

 

[Ben Winders]

Glad yours is not all the time.
Do you have any other sounds with it?

I have a static hiss too (high pitched tinnitus) but it's not dramatically loud.

Have you tried sleeping on your non-drone ear and filling up your drone ear all night long with one of the sounds you mentioned that cancels it out?

 

[OnceUponaTime]

Have you tried sleeping on your non-drone ear and filling up your drone ear all night long with one of the sounds you mentioned that cancels it out?

The drone is in both ears.
I sleep with an air purifier on all night in my room and it helps.

Do you know what started yours?

 

[Ben Winders]

Do you know what started yours?

Acoustic trauma. Headphones...

No significant hearing damage detected on even extended audiograms though, just a minor 20 dB dip at 4000 Hz, but that's not even considered as 'damage'.

 

[OnceUponaTime]

Acoustic trauma. Headphones...

Ahhh those darn headphones from hell, uh!
Stay away from them and take extra care of your ears.

Stay well,
Once