Thumping/drumming in one ear

My regular Dr. also asked me to try Sudafed and Claritin for a week, even though they could not see any signs of congestion and I am still in the middle of the course. Did you have nasal or other congestion?

To answer your question I had no congestion. Prior to seeing my PCP I went to a walk in clinic to see if they could explain the thumping. He jumped right in to the congestion diagnosed my with eustacian tube disfunction. He told me to take MucinexD 2x a day and he believed the thumping would disapear in about a few days. I took it religiously for 2x weeks with no results. Then when I saw my PCP he thought the MucinexD was a waste of time. He referred me to an ENT and recommended using Flonase prior to seening the ENT. I used Flonase religiously for a 2x week period prior to seeing the Audiologist and ENT. By the time I saw the Audiologist I could still hear the thumping but it had quieted way down. The Audiologist asked me if I had tried using Flonase. So they were the second doctor who mentioned Flonase to me. A week later I saw the ENT and it seemed to have disapeared completely. I have no idea of the Flonase helped or not. I thought I would mention it because I had 2x different doctors mention it--good luck to all of you. I hope your thumping goes away the same as mine did!

Hi,

I see it’s been a awhile since you’ve written this so I hope you see my reply. I use white noise every night, admittedly on my phone and held right near my ear. I developed a sudden loud flutter in my ear recently, seemingly out of nowhere. It was constant for nearly two days and has slowly decreased to intermittent. I find noise significantly increases the flutter whereas the silence decreases the thumping. I saw an ENT who confirmed it’s one of the small muscles behind the eardrum having a spasm. I’ve stopped using the white noise, started taking magnesium and was prescribed a muscle relaxer to help ease the spasms. It’s been so distressing to have a constant drumming in the ear and worrying that it’ll never go away. Best of luck!

So glad to hear that your symptoms went away. Was your thumping continuous or sporadic? Was it worse during night? Anything you remember that triggered it? Thank you for sharing all this info.

My doctor had never heard of Middle Ear Myoclonus. Can you pls share your Dr.'s office info. I maybe able to make a telehealth appointment.

Btw, I came across this article and you may find it useful. The message board is not letting me post the link. its on tinnitusjournal.com and titled "middle-ear-myoclonus-a-new-technique-for-suppression-of-spontaneous-clicking-tinnitus.pdf"

Hi,

I see it’s been a awhile since you’ve written this so I hope you see my reply. I use white noise every night, admittedly on my phone and held right near my ear. I developed a sudden loud flutter in my ear recently, seemingly out of nowhere. It was constant for nearly two days and has slowly decreased to intermittent. I find noise significantly increases the flutter whereas the silence decreases the thumping. I saw an ENT who confirmed it’s one of the small muscles behind the eardrum having a spasm. I’ve stopped using the white noise, started taking magnesium and was prescribed a muscle relaxer to help ease the spasms. It’s been so distressing to have a constant drumming in the ear and worrying that it’ll never go away. Best of luck!

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.

Hello, sorry to hear about your ear. I am having similar issues. Mine is random thumping throughout the day. Some days are worse than others. Sometimes it’s a lot of thumping which makes me anxious. My ear doctor also said it was spasms of the ear muscles kind of like an eye twitch in the ear. He recommended magnesium. I started to take it and it did help for a couple of days and I didn’t take it last night and today the thumping is back. If it makes you feel better my doctor said it is usually just goes away on its own over time. I also had this 4 years ago and it would thump all night and I couldn’t sleep and it made me so anxious. One night I layed down and slept with my hand on my bad ear and applied a lot of pressure and the thumping stopped! Shortly after that they went away and didn’t return until now. I’m hoping it goes away on its own soon but the magnesium does seem to help a bit. Please let me know if you find anything else that works.

To answer your question I had no congestion. Prior to seeing my PCP I went to a walk in clinic to see if they could explain the thumping. He jumped right in to the congestion diagnosed my with eustacian tube disfunction. He told me to take MucinexD 2x a day and he believed the thumping would disapear in about a few days. I took it religiously for 2x weeks with no results. Then when I saw my PCP he thought the MucinexD was a waste of time. He referred me to an ENT and recommended using Flonase prior to seening the ENT. I used Flonase religiously for a 2x week period prior to seeing the Audiologist and ENT. By the time I saw the Audiologist I could still hear the thumping but it had quieted way down. The Audiologist asked me if I had tried using Flonase. So they were the second doctor who mentioned Flonase to me. A week later I saw the ENT and it seemed to have disapeared completely. I have no idea of the Flonase helped or not. I thought I would mention it because I had 2x different doctors mention it--good luck to all of you. I hope your thumping goes away the same as mine did!