{"id":3536,"date":"2023-11-22T17:08:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T22:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/?p=3536"},"modified":"2023-11-22T17:08:32","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T22:08:32","slug":"what-does-ear-crackling-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/what-does-ear-crackling-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Ear Crackling Mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The sound of crackling in the ear can have a variety of causes, usually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK262265\/\">resulting from congestion caused by Eustachian tube dysfunction<\/a>. It can also result from other medical conditions such as tinnitus, or the sensation of ringing, buzzing or other sounds in one or both ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s helpful to understand the causes of crackling sounds in the ear to treat the symptoms before they develop further and provide relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Common Causes of Ear Crackling<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Woman-holds-ear-1280x801.jpg\" alt=\"Woman holds ear in pain\" class=\"wp-image-3539\" width=\"577\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Woman-holds-ear-1280x801.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Woman-holds-ear-768x481.jpg 768w, https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Woman-holds-ear.jpg 1294w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>There are a few common causes of cracking in the ear, ranging from temporary illnesses to chronic conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common Causes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Ear congestion: Ear congestion is when the Eustachian tube, or the tube that runs from the middle ear, cannot drain of fluid. The fluid can become trapped in the middle ear, resulting in crackling sounds. Fluid buildup is commonly caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/ent\/ear-infection\/\">ear infections<\/a>, colds or other infections causing nasal buildup, environmental allergies, blowing your nose too hard or changes in air pressure (perhaps you just had a recent flight into Indianapolis International Airport).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tinnitus: Tinnitus is the presence of ringing, buzzing, crackling or other sounds that others cannot hear. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/statistics\/quick-statistics-hearing\">Nearly 10% of the U.S. population<\/a> has experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes in the past year. Crackling in the ear can be a tinnitus sound. Tinnitus can result from loud noises, hearing loss, medications or injuries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hyperacusis: Hyperacusis is a condition in which a person finds ordinary sounds to be painful or uncomfortable. Sounds can appear distorted or cause a popping sensation. Hyperacusis can develop from injuries, medication, aging or exposure to loud noise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earwax buildup: Sometimes, earwax builds up within the ear canal and can cause symptoms such as crackling. A doctor can assist you with removing earwax buildup.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ruptured eardrum: A ruptured eardrum is when the thin piece of tissue that separates the middle ear from the outer ear tears. This can result in noises such as crackling, an earache, hearing loss or dizziness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re experiencing cracking in your ear and are unsure why, it could be a good idea to see a doctor. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/hearing-center\/hearing-loss-testing\/\">chronic conditions<\/a> require overall treatment plans your doctor can help you navigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Treatment Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For other causes, it\u2019s often not serious and can be treated at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some common remedies for treating ear crackling include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Chewing gum<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Swallowing, yawning and other facial motions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flushing the nose with saline solution<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medications such as antihistamines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If ear crackling doesn\u2019t clear up within a few days, call your doctor. If you have questions about hearing loss or ear crackling, contact <span class=\"company-name \">Ear, Nose &amp; Throat Associates<\/span> to schedule an appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/how-to-beat-congestion-and-enjoy-a-delicious-thanksgiving\/\" class=\"related-post\">How to Beat Congestion and Enjoy a Delicious Thanksgiving<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/whats-causing-that-tightness-in-my-throat\/\" class=\"related-post\">What\u2019s Causing That Tightness in My Throat?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/exploring-allergies-how-they-affect-the-ears-nose-and-throat\/\" class=\"related-post\">Exploring Allergies: How They Affect the Ears, Nose and Throat<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sound of crackling in the ear can have a variety of causes, usually resulting from congestion caused by Eustachian tube dysfunction. It can also result from other medical conditions such as tinnitus, or the sensation of ringing, buzzing or other sounds in one or both ears. It\u2019s helpful to understand the causes of crackling&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":""},"categories":[17,16,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3536"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3536"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3541,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3536\/revisions\/3541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}