Why Does My Hearing Get Better for a Few Seconds After Popping My Ears?

[jlish]

Follow me here... Feel free to chime in and let me know what's like for you.

I will notice my ears need popped, so I will pop them (Frenzel, Valsalva, just a regular pop, whatever).

Then, my hearing gets better for a few seconds until I swallow again.

Once I swallow, there's a click, and it's back to what you could say is "less bright hearing" "muffled hearing" or just "normal hearing."

For those few seconds, after I pop my ears, I wonder if my hearing is actually better or if it's just pressure relocated, so it sounds a little different.

I am genuinely curious... Does that clear sensation go away for you after you swallow (after popping)?

Thanks.

 

[DRobi]

Since the onset of my tinnitus 7 months ago, the hearing in my right ear has felt vaguely muffled and sometimes kind of distorted with louder noise sounding like a broken speaker.

Both of these sensations seem to get slightly better with I "clear" my right ear with a Valsalva maneuver (force air pressure into the eustachian tube).

As you note, this effect only lasts until I swallow and the middle ear pressure equilibrates. I have no idea why this works. Two ENT's and three audiologists and looked at my ears and say my middle ear function is fine.