Unbearable Crackling Sound

[Saadc]

Hello everybody, this is my first thread here and I want to thank you all for your time and positive thinking. I'm a male and I am 30 years old.



To put my condition in a nutshell, one year ago, I caught a very bad cold (rhinitis) and painful otitis. The day after, I started to suffer from an intermittent autophony.

After 1 month : The autophony faded away

Month 2 : Hyperacusis (5/10) , tinnitus (2/10).

Month 3: Distorsion in ears (Blown speaker effect) and crackling in ears (mainly the left ear)

Month 4 to now : Very mild tinnitus (1/10), mild hyperacusis (1 to 2/10) and an unbearable crackling (near to painflul) sounding like a chimney fire at the end of my speech or other's speech especially if I raise my voice ( 90% my left ear), distorsion (like a blown speaker effect) in my right ear if the volume is raised, the crackling appears also If I touch or brush the zone near my ear).


The autophony comes back only If I do violent sport (like Tennis).

I feel also a weird compression in my face (ears, nose, temples)


Seriously I saw a lot of doctors (in Morocco and in France), took a lot of treatments, but the crackling still remains. I really don't know what my condition is (TTTS, inflammation, patulous Eustachian tube, Eustachian dysfunction, serous otitis?

 

[Mike K]

I too have had a crackling sound in my ears, but it has never been painful. My tinnitus was likely caused by a bad fungal infection, or some sort of infection that caused postnasal drip and plugged ears. Basically my entire sinuses are a bit swollen. For you, you might be having a problem with your eustachian tube. Usually that is the problem when you hear a crackling or popping. I'm no doctor and really don't know much, but that would be my guess.

I hope things get sorted out for you soon and you get some answers from somewhere.

 

[Reinier]

especially if I raise my voice ( 90% my left ear), distorsion (like a blown speaker effect) in my right ear if the volume is raised

My comment won't help you, but exactly the same effect I have after NIHL. It did very slowly get just a little bit better after 7 months. Perhaps it still is improving, but improvement is extremely slow. Therefore it is hard to tell if it will improve further.

 

[Saadc]

What I really don't understand is that the crackling reacts to a lot of things :

If i brush or touch near the left ear/ temple, it crackles.
If I talk, it crackles at the end of the sentance in my left ear
If i touch my right ear, it crackles at the left ear
If i hear a sudden noise or talk on the phone, whether it's on my left or right ear, it crackles at the left ear
If I swallow and I have a cold it crackles at the left ear

It really makes my life unbearable as talking become painful
Please help me

 

[Mike K]

What I really don't understand is that the crackling reacts to a lot of things :

If i brush or touch near the left ear/ temple, it crackles.
If I talk, it crackles at the end of the sentance in my left ear
If i touch my right ear, it crackles at the left ear
If i hear a sudden noise or talk on the phone, whether it's on my left or right ear, it crackles at the left ear
If I swallow and I have a cold it crackles at the left ear

It really makes my life unbearable as talking become painful
Please help me

Perhaps there is a problem with your jaw? It could be very irritated/enflamed and is pressing up against the Eustachian tube/inner ear and makes your ears pop. It sounds severe, I suggest you try to see an ENT as soon as you can. Best of luck.

 

[Saadc]

Thank you Mikec for your helpful comment.
Although I have already heard of TMJ as a possible explanation of my condition I have never gone into it.
I visited about 11 ENT and dentist with 0 result.
Your message is very helpful, I took an appointement with a chiropractor for tomorrow.

 

[JennyD82]

Hi Saadc, I'm sorry to here that you are going thru all that. My husband has been going thru similar problems for years.It sounds like you have fluid behind your eardrums. My husband has otitis media with effusion which means he has fluid in his ears. Most of it is thick and gooey- it is also called glue ear.He had ear tubes put in about 3 years ago and that relieved the pressure and helped to drain the fluid out.The doctor also vacuumed the excess fluid out of his ears at that time as well. I hope this helps a little. Keep us posted.

 

[Saadc]

Hello everybody,

I just came back for one of the best ENT in my country.

After a lot of examinations and tests, she told me that all my ear problems are related to a TMJ dysfunction.
She gave me some medication, an appointement with a dentist and told me to come back after 3 weeks.

 

[Saadc]

Hello everybody,

According to the TMJ radio, my jaw and joints are fine.

The problem seems to be the stapedial muscle , I just red that this muscle is also sensible to touch , not only to sound.

The other hypothesis is a patulous eustachian tube but it is unlikely as the hypeRacusis is not a symptom

This condition makes me really sick

 

[RaZaH]

TMJ radio,

What is that ?
What medication were you given btw ?
Hope you get better !

 

[Saadc]

Radio means X-rays

I have been given a lot of medication :

Anti inflamatorries
Non steroidian corticoides
Antalgics
A lot of vitamins and complements
Magnesium
Nasal sprays
Muscle relaxants

 

[Boy Helios]

try plugging your good ear and just using your bad ear.. I think this works.

 

[Saadc]

Thank you for the tip Boy Helios

I remember I have red this advice in a forum.
I have already tried but with no result.

The problem is that both ears are concerned (the left 90% and the right 10%)

 

[Boy Helios]

Did you suffer from sudden hearing loss? 90% distortion in left ear sounds like sudden hearing loss. the 10% in your right is probably noise induced hearing loss. Were you initially put on the steroid regimen?

I think the key is to keep doing things consistently. Intuitively it makes sense. you plug your good ear to force your bad ear to establish its old neuronal connections

 

[Boy Helios]

i have the crackling broken speaker sound, but it's gotten a lot better compared to how it was before.

right now it only occurs with certain high frequencies. before I was getting tons of distorted sound.

 

[Saadc]

I agree that consistency is the key.
Yes, I was put initally on prednisolone (steroids)

My main symptom is the crackling (sticky and sharp noise).
That symptom occurs more easily in quiet environments (home, office) when I am talking or others talk.
When I am in a noisy street, It occurs less often.

The distorsion or blown speaker effect occurs when the sound is really high ( 105 dB for instance music in disco, or loud concert). As I avoid this kind of events, I can manage this condition. But in rare conditions, it occurs even in a relatively quiet environement.

Maybe it is noise induced, I used to play guitar and sing a lot, but only at home with acoustic guitar.

 

[Boy Helios]

i am going to go to the hearing aid store tommorrow to get a fully sealed ear plug. I watched a video of the famous japanese study with constrained hearing and they fully plugged the ear with a glue. it seems they used more than just a standard ear plug but a seal for the ear. I think this may be more effective. with a regular 3M earplug that I'm using now, I can still hear sounds on the good ear.