Thumping/drumming in one ear

Hello,

For the past few years I've been having very rapid (approx 3-4 thumps per second) thumping in my left ear. This only happens when I'm standing over the sink washing dishes with the water running. The closer I put my head to the water, the stronger the thumps get. It feel like a vacuum effect being created by the water? I have asked 2 doctors about this and neither of them had any experience with anything like this.

Thanks for the help!

@beyondconfused, I would like to welcome you to Connect.

Many members have discussed pulsatile tinnitus and I have it from time to time where I can hear my heart beat in my ear. I think for me it happens more often when I have sinus congestion that seems to conduct the sound. I actually don't mind because I pay attention to how fast my heart is beating because of allergy and asthma breathing issues. If I have too much congestion in my lungs, my heart rate goes up which is sometimes a clue that there is too much trapped phlegm that can become an infection, and I can take action to clear it.

Your blood pressure will change and adjust as you change your body position, and perhaps that may be why you notice a change in the loudness of the thumping. Perhaps having your hands in hot water also affects blood pressure or heart rate. If you ask your doctors about how blood pressure or heart rate affects pulsatile tinnitus, you may get an answer.

This discussion may be of interest with other members discussing pulsatile tinnitus.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pulsatile-tinnitus-1/
Does this give you an idea of how you might ask more targeted questions of your doctors?

Hello,

For the past few years I've been having very rapid (approx 3-4 thumps per second) thumping in my left ear. This only happens when I'm standing over the sink washing dishes with the water running. The closer I put my head to the water, the stronger the thumps get. It feel like a vacuum effect being created by the water? I have asked 2 doctors about this and neither of them had any experience with anything like this.

Thanks for the help!

Hi folks, this is an update to my condition, which has been diagnosed as Middle Ear Myoclonus -- although that doesn't tell the full story. I have wended my way through four appointments, PCP and ENT specialists (audiology, ear and nose) and each provider has found everything perfectly normal. They have been sympathetic and apologetic about having no clue as to cause, much less a cure. Some were aware of the phenomenon, but it is uncommon and unstudied. For those for whom the torment is ruinous, there is a procedure to cut the tensor tympani or stapedius muscle(s) that can be causing the spasms (actually hitting the eardrum) -- but it is not without risks or lasting consequences.

I have done a lot of online research and following links, and can tell you what triggers my sleep-disruptive spasms. Perhaps the below will help you in your own search for understanding if not relief.

I eventually learned either on this site as well as the MEM Facebook group that 1) the tensor tympani or stapedius muscle(s) can be spasming and thus actually hitting the eardrum, thus the thumping is known as objective tinnitus (actually happening in the ear), not subjective tinnitus (a brain signal mimicking sensation & or sound). 2) yawns and burps can trigger the spasms. This was my first a-ha discovery, as I knew that sometime full-body yawns or small burps (not belches) during the day would trigger the spasms (although the spasms were brief, unlike when lying down on my back, which is how I sleep).

I began looking for more about the yawn connection, and discovered an autonomic response called sleep pandiculation -- those feet-to-head, full-body stretches we do when waking up from sleep -- and sometimes during the wee hours when transitioning out of deep sleep. Just like cats and dogs, when they stretch, reposition and go back to sleep.

Et voila! Those stretches turned out to be the trigger for my MEM attacks! There is is a vibration that rises up my body in sync with the foot-to-head stretch... and when the vibe gets to my head, the spasms are triggered. Fast, hard thumping that runs in continuous "phrases" of arrhythmic thumps with a few seconds in between each "phrase". For up to two hours. (OMG) Not pulsatile, not typewriter tinnitus. A muscle actually pounding on the eardrum over and over.

So...an interesting discovery, and confirms that this is a physical phenomenon. I shared this with my ear and nose doctors. They also found it interesting, but as to why is this happening? No ideas. A few doctors speculated anxiety or other "behavioral health" issues. Sigh.

A few encouraging notes as to controlling the spasms. 1) My PCP put me on Flonase 2x/day, which seems to have dampened the severity and length of the spasms. 2) I have had some success in waking myself when the pandiculation has begun and managing to stop it before it gets to my head, which thus prevents it from triggering the spasms. But that's hit or miss, as it's not easy to rouse myself from deep sleep to stop the pandiculation from fully traveling. 3) Recently I have discovered (I sleep on my back) that once the spasming starts and wakes me (argh), I can lift my head a little and tilt my chin down until almost touching my chest -- and this can often interrupt the spasming before it gets really wound up. That would suggest a nerve action is involved in the loop, but so far no doctor has been curious enough to investigate. And in all fairness, perhaps it is one of those unsolved idiopathic mysteries of my human body (lucky me).

If any of you can relate to the above, great! And let me know.

BTW, I reco you check out Eustachian tube dysfunction and ear-pressure equalization techniques (like divers do) to see if that helps your tinnitus. That was ruled out for me, but can cause the thumping for some people.

Hi folks, this is an update to my condition, which has been diagnosed as Middle Ear Myoclonus -- although that doesn't tell the full story. I have wended my way through four appointments, PCP and ENT specialists (audiology, ear and nose) and each provider has found everything perfectly normal. They have been sympathetic and apologetic about having no clue as to cause, much less a cure. Some were aware of the phenomenon, but it is uncommon and unstudied. For those for whom the torment is ruinous, there is a procedure to cut the tensor tympani or stapedius muscle(s) that can be causing the spasms (actually hitting the eardrum) -- but it is not without risks or lasting consequences.

I have done a lot of online research and following links, and can tell you what triggers my sleep-disruptive spasms. Perhaps the below will help you in your own search for understanding if not relief.

I eventually learned either on this site as well as the MEM Facebook group that 1) the tensor tympani or stapedius muscle(s) can be spasming and thus actually hitting the eardrum, thus the thumping is known as objective tinnitus (actually happening in the ear), not subjective tinnitus (a brain signal mimicking sensation & or sound). 2) yawns and burps can trigger the spasms. This was my first a-ha discovery, as I knew that sometime full-body yawns or small burps (not belches) during the day would trigger the spasms (although the spasms were brief, unlike when lying down on my back, which is how I sleep).

I began looking for more about the yawn connection, and discovered an autonomic response called sleep pandiculation -- those feet-to-head, full-body stretches we do when waking up from sleep -- and sometimes during the wee hours when transitioning out of deep sleep. Just like cats and dogs, when they stretch, reposition and go back to sleep.

Et voila! Those stretches turned out to be the trigger for my MEM attacks! There is is a vibration that rises up my body in sync with the foot-to-head stretch... and when the vibe gets to my head, the spasms are triggered. Fast, hard thumping that runs in continuous "phrases" of arrhythmic thumps with a few seconds in between each "phrase". For up to two hours. (OMG) Not pulsatile, not typewriter tinnitus. A muscle actually pounding on the eardrum over and over.

So...an interesting discovery, and confirms that this is a physical phenomenon. I shared this with my ear and nose doctors. They also found it interesting, but as to why is this happening? No ideas. A few doctors speculated anxiety or other "behavioral health" issues. Sigh.

A few encouraging notes as to controlling the spasms. 1) My PCP put me on Flonase 2x/day, which seems to have dampened the severity and length of the spasms. 2) I have had some success in waking myself when the pandiculation has begun and managing to stop it before it gets to my head, which thus prevents it from triggering the spasms. But that's hit or miss, as it's not easy to rouse myself from deep sleep to stop the pandiculation from fully traveling. 3) Recently I have discovered (I sleep on my back) that once the spasming starts and wakes me (argh), I can lift my head a little and tilt my chin down until almost touching my chest -- and this can often interrupt the spasming before it gets really wound up. That would suggest a nerve action is involved in the loop, but so far no doctor has been curious enough to investigate. And in all fairness, perhaps it is one of those unsolved idiopathic mysteries of my human body (lucky me).

If any of you can relate to the above, great! And let me know.

BTW, I reco you check out Eustachian tube dysfunction and ear-pressure equalization techniques (like divers do) to see if that helps your tinnitus. That was ruled out for me, but can cause the thumping for some people.

OMG, I have been going through these spell for months now and just now got the diagnosis from my ENT doc. I have been so frustrated until today. You really confirmed it for me, and I will be doing more research. Mine started after I had severe bouts of airplane ear (which I have worse than most people anyway) on a trip from Texas to Georgia with multiple descents. I have read that it is a rare condition, so I'm not surprised my PCP's remedies didn't work. My ENT doc wanted to check out my carotid artery and had me scared to death. I hate how they say, "It could be a life threatening condition", and then leave you scared to death while you wait for the test and follow-up. He told me today what was going on and because I am always skeptical and want more information (he gave me almost nothing really), I decided to research "ear spasms" rather than "tinnitus" and "thumping in the ear" like I did before and came up empty handed. I think they should at least have some literature they can give you. When I saw your post and read it, I was so thankful. You gave me good info and ideas and, most importantly, you gave me hope that I can learn to control it.

Hello @born2write and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. What a relief to have been given a diagnosis as to what you've been experiencing, albeit, it sounds as though the process for getting the diagnosis was stressful.

It is so great that you've joined the discussion after reading the post from @variegata.

Can you share what you are currently doing to help your symptoms?

My ears Thump like a heartbeat when I stand and walk and stops after I sit down! What is causing this?