Vibrating eardrum, pulsating sensation, on and off.

[Jon82]

Hi there,
about 5 or 6 weeks ago I started getting a vibrating feeling in my right ear. I thought it would pass but it soon got to the point of real annoyance, flaring up at night and lasting til the morning where I would get up and it would go away.
I got sick of it so I went to the doctor who checked my ears and said that it did look sore in there and perhaps I had an infection so they prescribed a low dose of amoxicillin.

I took about 1/3 of the dose and stopped because the symptoms went away. I didnt like the side effects (bad stomach) so I stopped taking it since the vibrating had stopped.

The vibrating came back though after a few days, and it became a constant sense of vibrating. I was back to the doctor and he prescribed a greater dose of amoxicillin and advised me to finish it, which I did this time. Great, no symptoms for the last week.

A couple of days ago however, the symptoms started again, and yet again, only at night. I went to bed with the annoying banging and awoke to it, only for it to go away during the day.

The doctor did tell me that it would take maybe 6 weeks to clear up, and since that time period has not yet passed, should I still be experiencing those vibrations? I think it has been about 4 weeks since I last went to the doctor. Things were going ok until it flared up again; is this to be expected?
Could this issue be an anxiety issue, since everytime I think 'hey, my eardrum hasnt bothered me at all recently',
it starts flaring up again?

[Igmuwa]

I haven't noticed the vibration so much lately.
It has started to disappear almost completely, most days.

Like I suspected, it was probably a muscle in the neck somewhere.
It got way better after visiting a chiropractician.

[ElephantEar]

I also have had the monkey drumming in my right ear for almost 15 years.Once in awhile the left one decides to play too (not at the same time).   I never know when it's going to start and stop - strangest thing! I did 5 years ago get an MRI from and ENT as I was starting to wonder if maybe there was something like a tumor.  MRI came out clear thank goodness but it still annoys me.  I have had years of neck issues/pain/tightness.  My physical therapist believes it's absolutely related to my neck as once in awhile when she works on me she can get it going.  I don't know but the muscle spasm comment above makes a lot of sense to me.  Tonight the drumming moved a bit to be not exactly in my earn but behind my eyes a bit and my eye did twitch a bit which is something new but my neck is really out of whack today.   I think I will go back to doc and explore it again because it's been awhile and while I would not take meds for it as it's not horrible (doesn't keep me awake like others - although happens often in bed but I fall asleep), nevertheless it's annoying and can be worrisome.  

[tammyleoral]

3/30/14 Update - the noise is still there, but tolerable and manageable. The noise is dissipating a little at a time. The reason is a very conscious reminder each time I hear the noise, to relax my face and jaw muscles. It's better. Also, dropped caffeine in half, from 6 cups a day to 2. Stress is still high, but being mindful that I cannot always control the situation or the outcome the stress is unfounded. Not  mine to own. I heard somewhere, if you think the worst scenario your body is already living it. Sounds perfectly logical.
Trying to control my itchy ear with medicine is promising - no longer dig at my ears with q-tips. I know, not supposed to do that anyway. But when I wake in the middle of the night with my finger in my ear it's better to use the q-tip. Best of luck. Continue to read all your updates - prayers are with each of you. Bless you!

[Igmuwa]

I share the vibration issue, in my right ear.
It is only a small part of a number of symptoms I have gotten lately.

During same week;
- Greatly reduced blood circulation
- Left shoulder pain
- Fingers and toes hurting, having burning sensations and hands having loss of strength
- Neck pain, moving itself around the Trapezius muscle area
- Muscle spasms in random muscle at the second I'm fallng asleep

I am absolutely clueless to how that can happen all at once.

I got a doctors appointment tomorrow.
My own guess after googling through thousands of posts already, is a mix between trapped nerves, tensed muscles in trapezius and anxiety making everything worse.

The vibration I have, definitely ''sounds'' like a muscle tensing somewhere, because of the way it often stops and begins abruptly.
Always when trying to sleep and when waking up, but also if just being in a quiet place without other sounds.

[JaybirdT]

I have the same problem, all the time and I did find something that helps a ton. Believe it or not, the sound of my tower-fan being on makes it stop. No other sound does, and it only happens to me when I'm sitting on the floor, or in total silence trying to sleep.

The tower fan is the ONLY thing that helps me sleep, and it's instant relief. Not another 'thump' from the moment I turn it on.

I'm beginning to think mine is caused by high blood pressure, or anxiety attacks or something because most times it happens(so I've taken note of) is when my pulse goes warp-speed on me. But the 'thumping' doesn't follow my pulse even a little. It's like there's a drum solo going on in there and I can feel it in my ear and part of my neck.

I recommend trying a tower fan. Mine is made by Lasco.

[KB119]

I have the twitch which sounds like or feels like a drum beating (when I have stress or drink too much caffeine).

But even more annoying is the most recent constant vibration inside my ear (like a moth is fluttering in my inner ear). It causes me to have to yawn constantly and my eyes have not stopped watering because of it. It has been going on for 5 days non stop while I am awake.

It is not caused by stress or caffeine, as I have not been drinking caffeinated beverages or eating chocolate or any other stimulants to aggravate it.  

I've tried everything over the last 5 days (including searching forums for other people's experiences and advice) And I finally found something that worked!!! Aleve-D (not sure about other decongestants, but Aleve is the only one that works for me when I have sinus pressure so that is what I had in my medicine cabinet).

The fluttering must be caused by a combination of allergies and sinus congestion which affects my inner ear.

The moment it starts coming back, I take another half of the Aleve-D decongestant and it's gone again for 6-8 hours.

I hope this helps all of you as well! If you have tried cutting out the caffeine and have taken antibiotics and flushed your ears and the fluttering is still there, try taking a strong decongestant. It could simply be allergies and sinus pressure you aren't aware of.

NOTE: Aleve-D is really strong, so I only take a half a pill at a time and it has been working for me without fail!