It is a common experience to hear various noises in your ear when you move your head, jaw, or even the ear itself. These sounds, which can range from clicks and pops to crackles, are often temporary and benign. Understanding the structures involved in your ear and jaw can help explain why these sounds occur, and when they might indicate something that needs medical attention.
How Ear Structures Produce Sound
The ear is a complex system, and several structures contribute to the sounds you might hear with movement. The Eustachian tubes connect the middle ear to the back of the nasal cavity and throat. Their primary role is to equalize air pressure in the middle ear and drain fluid, and their opening and closing can produce popping or clicking sensations.
Another source of sound can be the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which connects your lower jaw to your skull. This joint is active during chewing, talking, and yawning, and its movements can lead to audible sounds. Tiny muscles within the middle ear, such as the tensor tympani and stapedius muscles, also play a role in sound dampening and can sometimes contract, creating subtle noises. The tensor tympani muscle, for example, connects to the malleus bone and helps to reduce the intensity of sounds, particularly those produced by chewing or swallowing.
Common and Harmless Causes
Many of the noises heard in the ear with movement are normal physiological occurrences. The Eustachian tubes frequently open and close to maintain equal pressure between the middle ear and the outside environment. This pressure equalization is often felt as a pop or click, especially during activities like swallowing, yawning, or changes in altitude, such as on an airplane. Allergies, a common cold, or nasal congestion can temporarily affect Eustachian tube function, leading to more frequent popping or crackling sounds due to mucus buildup.
Sounds originating from the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) are also common. As you chew or move your jaw, the joint’s mechanics, including the movement of a cartilage disc, can create clicking or popping noises. This is often a normal part of jaw movement and does not necessarily indicate a problem.
When to Be Concerned
While many ear noises are harmless, certain symptoms accompanying them can signal an underlying medical issue. Excessive earwax, or cerumen, can accumulate in the ear canal and obstruct the eardrum, leading to muffled hearing, a feeling of fullness, and crackling or popping sounds, especially when moving the jaw. This can happen naturally or be exacerbated by using cotton swabs.
Fluid accumulation in the middle ear, often from a cold, allergies, or an infection like otitis media, can cause persistent popping, crackling, or a sensation of fullness. This fluid buildup can become infected, leading to ear pain, pressure, headaches, and sometimes fluid draining from the ear. While normal TMJ sounds are common, a temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) involves additional symptoms such as pain around the jaw, ear, or temple, difficulty opening the mouth fully, or the jaw locking. Persistent loud clicking or grinding sounds, especially when accompanied by pain, may suggest a TMD.
Rarely, persistent muscle spasms within the middle ear, known as middle ear myoclonus (MEM), can cause rhythmic clicking or thumping sounds. These involuntary contractions of the tensor tympani or stapedius muscles can be continuous or occur in bursts. Other concerning signs include new onset or persistent noises accompanied by pain, hearing loss, dizziness, vertigo, ear discharge, or facial weakness. For instance, a smelly discharge from the ear, along with hearing loss and dizziness, could indicate a cholesteatoma, an abnormal growth in the middle ear.
Consulting a Healthcare Professional
If you experience ear noises that are persistent, worsening, or accompanied by other concerning symptoms, seeking medical advice is recommended. A healthcare professional, such as a general practitioner or an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, can accurately diagnose the underlying cause.
A medical assessment helps determine if the sounds are benign or indicative of a condition requiring treatment. While many ear noises resolve on their own, especially if related to temporary issues like a cold or allergies, persistent or severe symptoms warrant evaluation. A healthcare professional can recommend appropriate management, which might include decongestants for Eustachian tube issues, earwax removal, or other targeted treatments for specific conditions.