Aa
I can make a thunder-like noise in my ear
I don't know if anyone else can do this but i can make a thundering sort of a noise in my ear on command. I can only do it for about 5-10 seconds. I can't stop doing it and my ears are starting to hurt. i just can't stop doing it since yesterday,it's like cracking your knuckles. I don't know how to stop and i'm afraid my ears are being damaged . Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I can do this too! I did some light research, and came up with this. The action is called a voluntary contraction of the tensor tympani, and very few people can do it. It aids in equalizing ear pressure when flying or underwater, etc. Try preforming this action when diving deep underwater, you will feel the pressure equalize (uncomfortable at first, but you get used to it), and will be able to dive quite deep without the awful pressure on your ears. Just make sure to do it again on the way back up!
Source: Own experience, http://*****************/question/index?qid=20090628001312AAcrJFh
Source: Own experience, http://*****************/question/index?qid=20090628001312AAcrJFh
1 Comments
Very few people can do it? I didn't think it was that rare, I thought every one can do it, if he knows how :)
Hi, I'm 22 and can create the sound on command too.
I have had this pointless ability for about 10 years or so.
I have had some crazy looks too when i tell people :)
I can keep it going for 25 seconds, after which it becomes difficult.
It is never painful.
People can not hear it.
It never functions without me commanding it.
Maybe in the future i will?
My ears are clean.
Came on this thread to try and shed some light on this. We need answers! :)
There's a few of us out there...!
I have had this pointless ability for about 10 years or so.
I have had some crazy looks too when i tell people :)
I can keep it going for 25 seconds, after which it becomes difficult.
It is never painful.
People can not hear it.
It never functions without me commanding it.
Maybe in the future i will?
My ears are clean.
Came on this thread to try and shed some light on this. We need answers! :)
There's a few of us out there...!
1 Comments
I comepletely agree!
Yeah I've been able to make this same noise since I was very young I had no idea that anyone else could also. Does anyone know if this is something only a few people can do? I've asked a few people now and they all look at me like I'm crazy.
1 Comments
I know the feeling I've been able to do this as long as I can remeber, every time I asked someone if he can do it too, they looked at me weirdly, like I had voices in my head lol. But I was indeed always fascinated with it. It's something to do with either vibrating eardrum or pressure, I'm not sure, but I sure can hear thunder on command. Even more than 20 seconds, I did noc count I would if it werent for this awful feeling of lightheadedness I get after doing it for longer but then something inside the ears feels tired and the intesity slowly diminishes, but I can do it again right away on command. I've been using it for rhythm, like you're immagining a melody then you do this to add drums or base to your immaginary sound :) How cool.
Omgoodness!!! I'm so glad I searched for this. Like many of you, I thought everyone could do this... until the other day (I'm 35). I was watching a movie with my mom, and in it, this guy was restrained and being forced to watched a hypnosis video that used a particular sound to put him in a trance. I said to her, "Why doesn't he just close his ears from the inside of his head so he doesn't hear it?" She looked at me like I was nuts! Lol. After conversations with a few other people (who were all amazed at this ability), I realized it wasn't a "normal" ability. I've always used it to drown out things I didn't want to hear. Softer sounds can be cut off completely, while louder sounds come through, but muffled and low. I actually can't imagine going through life without being able to silence (or at least muffle) the outside world at will lol.
Ive been able to do this for years involuntary. But now its causing me more problems. When my sinus is acting up and I move my eyes all the way up to the top of my head I can hear the brain thunder sound. Even in my sleep. Its starting to get annoying.
I have been able to do this my whole life and there is no limit to how long I can do it for. I can get lightheaded sometimes, but what's weird is I've been able to make stuff go numb with it, same thunder sound.
So basicall it is "voluntary control of the Tensor tympani muscle", Ok I'm just gonna bump this one again https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani_muscle
I've been able to do this for as long as I can remeber, since very early chiildhood... every time I asked someone if he can do it too, they looked at me weirdly, like I had voices in my head lol. But I was indeed always fascinated with it. It's something to do with either vibrating eardrum or pressure, I'm not sure, but I sure can hear thunder on command. Even more than 20 seconds, I did noc count I would if it werent for this awful feeling of lightheadedness I get after doing it for longer but then something inside the ears feels tired and the intesity slowly diminishes, but I can do it again right away on command. I've been using it for rhythm, like you're immagining a melody then you do this to add drums or base to your immaginary sound :) How cool.
1 Comments
Another thing I rembered it that when listening to a specific friend talking, about 1 meter from my ear, makes my tensor tympani vibrate involuntarely, like I would do on command, just less intense, but very annoying and distracting, makes it hard to follow the debate. I guess It has something to do with the vibration of his vocal tone, and I guess it just triggers that muscle by itesl as I sad. Another thing I noticed, sometimes when I'm in a very cold evironment and I contract all the muscles to warm up, this also happens automatically or involuntarely.
IM SO GLAD I DECIDED TO LOOK THIS UP. I've been able to do this my whole life (I'm currently 14) although about 4 years ago I found out I have Eustachian tube dysfunction, I am deaf in primarily one ear but slightly in the other and I wear a hearing aid, I've had tubes put in but that procedure failed as the only tubes that would fit in my ears, were to small. This has not effected my ability to make this sort of humming sound in my ears for about 5-10 seconds but thought I'd share! so glad I've finally looked it up :)
I can do something similar but its like a deep humming sound almost exactly like wind is passing your ear and I can do this for 40 seconds
Not sure if this is at all linked, but i noticed that when i stopped consuming aspertame, the urge to compulsively flex this muscle stopped. maybe it's completely unrelated, but it's been a few months now and the urge still hasn't resurfaced. I'll post an update after a few months.
Not the same as "popping" open your eustachian tube. Instead you are just creating the sensation of a rolling thunder sound, not a thunder clap, which might have lead you to think this was ear popping. Ear popping is usually produced by swallowing or chewing. The noise being talked about here is produced by tensing the muscles around your ears, such as pulling your ears back with these muscles. I've been able to do it for as long as I can remember. Never met anyone else who could.
+1 for jacjack's answer. I was about to comment that opening of the eustachian tubes is completely different than making the 'thunder' sound. When you open the eustachian tubes while humming, the hum becomes very loud internally. You can feel your ears "open" up and while holding them open and breathing, you can hear and feel the air coming through the eustachian tubes. When you make the 'thunder' you can make it anywhere from soft to loud (the silent beat-boxing to onesself when sitting alone) doesn't 'pop' your ears at all...or at least not mine ;) i can do both ears simultaneously...to be able to do only one at a time i have to press my jaw to one side or the other (esentially blocking the eustachian tube on the side that i move my jaw to). i never really thought this to be a weird thing; i just assumed everybody could do it. i was searching for skipped heartbeats when yawning tonight and happened to ask myself, "what other weird thing can i look up tonight?" lol. this thread was enlightening to say the least, so thank you all :)
Some useful references so far:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani_muscle
The 'rumbling' noise arises from the straining of the tensor tympani muscle in the ear. If you stick a finger in your ear and grip the other fingers tightly, you can hear the same 'rumbling' noise from the exertion of hand muscles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_clearing
The ear clicking is the voluntary opening of the eustachian tube in the ear, a useful trick for scuba divers. You can record your 'clicking' with the phone against your ear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophony
"When the Eustachian Tubes are deliberately held open, one's voice sounds louder in one's head than when they are closed." That's 'Autophony'. Useful for checking and pacing my breathing when jogging. And now that I'm into meditation, handy for focusing on my breathing during meditation, like putting on earphone without the music but less than using ear plugs.
I always know it's an uncommon ability because I have not came across any reference to it in my 48 years of existence but then the human body has many quirks and peculiarities, so wasn't unduly concerned. Arrived at this site because I was trying to find out if anybody is using it for breathing meditation but prior to that, need to solve the life long mystery of what it really is first. Glad I checked !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani_muscle
The 'rumbling' noise arises from the straining of the tensor tympani muscle in the ear. If you stick a finger in your ear and grip the other fingers tightly, you can hear the same 'rumbling' noise from the exertion of hand muscles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_clearing
The ear clicking is the voluntary opening of the eustachian tube in the ear, a useful trick for scuba divers. You can record your 'clicking' with the phone against your ear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophony
"When the Eustachian Tubes are deliberately held open, one's voice sounds louder in one's head than when they are closed." That's 'Autophony'. Useful for checking and pacing my breathing when jogging. And now that I'm into meditation, handy for focusing on my breathing during meditation, like putting on earphone without the music but less than using ear plugs.
I always know it's an uncommon ability because I have not came across any reference to it in my 48 years of existence but then the human body has many quirks and peculiarities, so wasn't unduly concerned. Arrived at this site because I was trying to find out if anybody is using it for breathing meditation but prior to that, need to solve the life long mystery of what it really is first. Glad I checked !
1 Comments
+1 for jacjack's answer. I was about to comment that opening of the eustachian tubes is completely different than making the 'thunder' sound. When you open the eustachian tubes while humming, the hum becomes very loud internally. You can feel your ears "open" up and while holding them open and breathing, you can hear and feel the air coming through the eustachian tubes. When you make the 'thunder' you can make it anywhere from soft to loud (the silent beat-boxing to onesself when sitting alone) doesn't 'pop' your ears at all...or at least not mine ;) i can do both ears simultaneously...to be able to do only one at a time i have to press my jaw to one side or the other (esentially blocking the eustachian tube on the side that i move my jaw to). i never really thought this to be a weird thing; i just assumed everybody could do it. i was searching for skipped heartbeats when yawning tonight and happened to ask myself, "what other weird thing can i look up tonight?" lol. this thread was enlightening to say the least, so thank you all :)
I too have been contracting this muscle voluntarily, but compulsively, particularly when I'm stressed or talking to someone and I'm nervous. Even when I'm not nervous, I'll still go through stretches where I compulsively flex this between 5 and 10 times a minute for about 400ms or so. If I concentrate on not flexing it, I'm fine, but I usually revert to this unusual behavior subconsciously.
Wow, I've been able to to this since I was a kid (I'm 50 now)! I never knew it had a name or that only a small percentage of people can do it. I found this forum because I have a small popping noise in my left ear when I do this for the past few days. I'm going to make a Dr appointment because the pop sound isn't going away.
Like many of you I can make my ears pop at will, but I hope someone is familiar with another manifestation. I can't remember when this began. When getting my eyes examined and they shine a bright light in my eyes I hear that thunder noise. It has also happened on occasion when going out in bright sunlight without sun glasses. It surprised eye doctors when I mentioned it. They speculated it might be caused by a head injury many years ago. I always though it was something everyone experienced.
im currently 29, I've been able do this ability my entire life, I can do it for as long as I like, it seems to raise my temperature. I've done it for hours on end just to see what it would do, after a few hours it turns into a crackly sound, I can make it as quiet or as loud as I require ,I can talk, read and listen and still do this, when my ears need popping I do it, I usually do it when I want to turn out, it all helps my imagination.... like going to la-la land, good to know there are other out there that can do it.
Was just laying in bed, unable to sleep. Thundering away as I do when I have nothing else to do.
Finally decided to try an figure out "how" and came upon this thread! This was great read.
I've always been able to do it, an some clarity was nice... Although i like others were hoping for telekinesis ;)
Finally decided to try an figure out "how" and came upon this thread! This was great read.
I've always been able to do it, an some clarity was nice... Although i like others were hoping for telekinesis ;)
Hi, I'm fifteen, and I'm really exicted to have found this thread!! I've never had tubes in my ears, but I've been able to do this since I was little. Everyone I've asked looked at me like I was crazy, but I finally decided to look it up today. I primarily use it to block out noise or loud noises, but I've found that I can block out background noise and intensify certain noises instead. Some frequencies, such as high frequencies, can't be blocked. I can hold the sound for ~20 seconds, but if I practice, I can hold it for about 30-60 seconds. When I was younger, I thought I was telepathic and could send out messages to fairies! :) I thought I was the only one, but it feels great to know there are others like me! I'm so glad I know more about this. It's so cool that we're part of a small percentage of people!!
PPS:
when i close my ears and do the thunder sound it is also muzzled, so it is a actual sound, but very faint and close to my ears, thats why no one else ehars it and i look like a retard when [roaring] :P
when i close my ears and do the thunder sound it is also muzzled, so it is a actual sound, but very faint and close to my ears, thats why no one else ehars it and i look like a retard when [roaring] :P
ps: when i breathe out with my mouth while doing the clicking-like noise i can make a (I like to think dragon like) roar and when i do it with my nose its more like air leaving my ear than roar.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Ear, Nose & Throat Community
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
Discover the common causes of and treatments for a sore throat.
Learn about what actually causes your temperature to spike.
Find out which foods you should watch out for.
Family medicine doctor Enoch Choi, MD helps differentiate between the common cold and more threatening (bacterial) infections
Dr. Steven Park reveals 5 reasons why breathing through your nose could change your life
