Thumping in right ear, only triggered by sound

Crazy. I have the same thing except I’m only noticing it with one person—my wife. Lol. Sounds like a comedy, but it is true. When she talks for long tangents I begin to hear the thumping and it makes me just slightly nauseous. I hate asking her to stop because I’m genuinely interested, but the thumping is so annoying. I keep saying “it’s not you! I promise it is just something wrong with my ear!” Haha.

Have you had any luck with this?

Thanks
- Bobby

This. 100% this. This is completely me but with my wife. I am steady Eddie, even-keeled and cool as a cucumber...by nature. But my wife is what brings emotion out of me — both good and “bad”(bad being anxiousness/stresss). We’re complete soulmates I promise.

So crazy story— when she talks lovingly to me, nothing. When she is telling me a story about drama in her family, thumping the whole time. LOL.

@bobbypaulk Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support.

May I ask if the symptom of "thumping" in your ear that makes you "nauseous," the reason you have come to Connect?

May I also ask if you have mentioned this to your provider?

Hello,
I have dealt with this exact issue for the past 8 or so years - a painful “thump” in my right ear when sound is presented to left ear while right ear is covered. Like you stated, when both ears remain uncovered it is rare to experience this thump, but it will occasionally occur with certain frequencies. The “thump” is unique, not a “flutter”, and differs from any sort of tinnitus I’ve experienced. The onset was random; one night I just noticed it happen as I was watching TV. As the years have progressed, this thump has become more painful and easily triggered to the point where I have had to change certain behaviors (for example, positions I sleep in as even the smallest sounds from other areas of the house now trigger this “thump”).

I am currently seeing an ENT for this. My hearing test and audiogram are within normal ranges. We have ruled out MEM (abnormal middle ear muscle movement of tensor tympani and/or stapedius) as no middle ear muscle movement was detected when recreating the “thump” with an audiologist. My brain MRI was normal and showed no evidence of any sort of mass lesion or other abnormality. Our next step is a brain CT to look at the temporal bone to rule out SSCD. My ENT has consulted with numerous other ENTs and surgeons and no one can come to a general consensus on what the issue might be. If a clear diagnosis is able to be made upon further testing I’ll reply with an update. I hope this helps.

This also happens to me and I would love to know if you have found a solution!!! My right ear drum thumps like a bass drum when exposed to particular frequencies... typically a lower one, but not all. I was just listening to a pod cast, and it was making my ear thump... then switched to another podcast and it stopped. Sometimes it happens when people talk, but only at a particular register. Drives me nuts.

I found this post because I have the same exact issue and I’m going nuts. Ever find out what it is?

Hi @catidyd and @prr1117, welcome. I'm hoping members like @nrd1 @kwinckel @mdrake2020 return to share their experiences.

Have either of you discussed this with an ENT specialist?

I have not looked into it yet. I unfortunately cannot afford to.

The problem has not went away. Overall, I try to just keep both of my ears open and I don't have an issue. With some frequencies (like telephone sounding sounds), it happens slightly when both ears are uncovered, but it's rare.

I plan to get it looked at one day if my financial situation gets resolved. Luckily it hasn't gotten worse as far as I can tell though. It's just very annoying when it does happen.

I have is as well and it occurs in my left ear. Typically I notice it the most in the evening, when I’m sitting in my chair and watching television. My chair is situated in a way that positions my right ear closest to the television and my left ear away and this is when I experience it, when my left ear is away from the sound being emitted.

But as with everyone else experiencing this it occurs on the beat of the sounds. It’s not associated with my pulse as the thump occurs when the sound occurs.

Since half a year ago I have had a strange thing happen where a random thump will happen at random times in my ear. It is usually only one, but sometimes more happen. It usually happens after a shower, but it can also happen randomly throughout the day, and some days it doesn’t happen at all. I think it might be tinnitus because I also have a ringing in both ears sometimes, but I’m not sure.