Snap, Crackle and Pop in my Head

[PCknowitall]

I'm a 26 year old male and it seems when I am hungry, I get a noise in my head that sounds like a crackling or sand falling in an hourglass. It only occurs when I know I need to eat. It happens for 3 to 4 seconds at a time, once every 10 seconds or so. I have no pain, but I do feel an uneasiness until I eat something.

My wife says she gets it too and she can hear when my head does it. Any ideas would be welcome. I have been reading the forums and can't find anything exactly like I have, but some similarities.

Thanks

[Cindee56]

You are young, but I get that kind of noise from my neck because I have arthritis and some herniated disks.  I don't get the connection to hunger though.  Maybe you are just getting a headache from lack of food?

[morningmist]

I have been searching this forum as I have the same symptoms. I'm so glad that I'm not the only one!! The rice krispies sound started a little over a year ago, and I also have it when my stomach growls, usually when I am laying in bed. The past couple of weeks I have been experiencing a similar sound when I walk, and it has me really worried now.
Does anyone else know what this might be?!

[poolgal]

I have had the exact symptoms for over a year, along with some neck popping, and constant audible head throbbing.  I have had a CT and an MRI, and nothing was found, to explain these bothersome symptoms.  If you find out a diagnosis for yours,  please post! Thanks a lot!  

[conundrum]

yep I have the exact same thing I have had it most of my life I am 24 now and I don't have any real health issues. I have never really thought it was bad, it only happens when I have nothing on my stomach. It sounds like a 4th of july sparkler going up and down my neck to my head some times it will do it 2 or 3 times in a row if I'm really hungry. It never hurts, it's just so unusual, I would love some answers but I have yet to find any...any ideas any body?

[pr3629]

i get in too, crackling ,like frying a egg ,at night stomach can growl and it shoots up to the neck. had 24 hr ph negative for acid problem scope done nothing, can this be a nerve problem, 2 yrs now driving me nuts walking can hear it sometimes

[fancytxmom]

I have the same problem.  I have searched the internet trying to find the answers but nothing.  I have had it for 8 years and it began after I had my first child.  I get it when I am hungry its almos as though my stomach and my head go are in unison because my stomach will sometimes growl when my head is making the noises.  I havent been to the doctor but wonder if its the adrenal gland.  Just a thought.

[bananasoup]

I'm so glad to have found you all! I've always wondered what that noise is but I don't mention it to doctors because they think I'm crazy. I'm 33 now and it started in my teens. I mentioned it once to a neurologist and he ordered an mri of my neck - which I knew would be fine. They don't seem to understand. It sounds just like rice krispies crackling and you can kind of feel it - it seems like it's coming from the back of your neck. It doesn't hurt, it's just odd. Almost electric-like. It's almost always when you're hungry. I've been wondering lately if it's related to the vagus nerve.

Just fyi - we'll see if any of us have the same other medical problems - I have fibromyalgia, pvc's, pcos, and possibly ms (they can't decide).
Thanks!

[pdox]

I have the same exact thing! As far as I can remember, it has happened by whole life, at least since I was in middle school when I first noticed it. It is most pronounced when I first wake up in the morning and am laying in bed, before breakfast. Each wave of hunger is accompanied by the feeling and sound of crackling in my neck/head.

[inyourmind777]

Okay, I may have a diagnosis for you all.  I started getting the sand falling/sparkler sound in the back of my head about 7-8 months ago.  During that same time I was also diagnosed with Lyme Disease.  While the sound doesn't bother me, it is annoying-usually happens when I'm lying down.  Unfortunately, lyme is very hard to diagnose once it has got to its chronic stage.  I started getting sick in December 2007, had a rash (not bullseye) on my feet, gained 30 pounds, developed arthritis throughout my whole body, and saw 6 doctors until finally figuring out what was wrong with me through a lyme specialist.  If you have any of the symptoms of lyme (there are many more), I would recommend finding a specialist who does the Western Blot blood test as the test they do in the regular doctor's offices usually will come back negative if you don't get tested within the first few weeks of contracting the disease.  

Not sure if the sand falling has anything to do with the lyme, but I didn't have it happen until I got lyme disease.  I hope this helps.

PS:  lyme is often misdiagnosed as lupis, MS, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia!

[paulwilsonmusician]

I have the same :D it sounds like those sweeties you used to get called "moondust" at the bottom of my throat, it's weird, not sore but just very weird.  What is it lols?

[dani5621990]

omg. finally! people like me! it sounds like pop rocks got stuck in my throat and wont go away! Im not the only one! Well I know my hubby gets them too and we thought we were weird. and it only happens when i am hungry and somehow sneezing is always connected to it... like I always have "throat crackle" when i feel the emptiness.. it lasts about 4-5seconds then goes away and i sneeze then itll come back a few more times. lol. and I feel uneasy also until i get something to eat. Ive had this for as long as I can remember. i remember asking my mom if she had it too when i was about 6 or 7. I wonder what it is. should we maybe ask a doctor?!!?!?

[xpa12]

Finally other ppl with this, I went to the doctor a couple of times about this, one said it could be a condition (forgot the name - it was years ago) where the patient usually appears vacant during the time this happens, however the diagnosed symptoms last for usually a minimum of half an hour. The other doctor laughed at me and said it was impossible that an audible noise could come from within my head. This was after i told him that my girlfriend looked at me wierdly when it was happening and asked if i was making that noise (i didnt let her know it was happening at that point untill then).
Mine only last for a minute or so and during this i feel very sick and quite dizzy and sometimes feel like im about to collapse.
Its happened for as long as i can remember. I'm just worrying that its having long term damage on my brain, nerves or similar.
I know no one else who has this so i am really glad to find others like myself! Hope this gets a medical diagnosis sometime soon.

[Handelsme]

I've been searching for sometime to the answer of what is causing a snapping, or cracking sound coming from appears to be the inside of my head. And no I don't have tinitis. I searched and seached finding others with this complaint who were voicing their agruements that they could not find an answer to this strange thing. A lot of them went to get MRIs and to see specialists who told them there was nothing there. Well after long searching I believe I might have found an answer. I heard that the snapping sound can be caused by adhesions in the brain. Basically when your body repairs tissues it sends karatine to that area and it isn't so elastic. Over time (For some reasons when I meditate it really acts up) the karatine breaks down and the tissues become flexible again. I took a lot of drugs when I was younger and have repaired the damage so this explanation makes more sense to me given my life experiences if you know what I mean. I hope this helps someone out there.

[ktmarie123]

yea but what does adhesions in the brain have to do with being hungry? i get this noise too.. to me it sounds like water draining out the bathtub after it makes that water spout funnel lookin thing lol that slurpy sound. and i mainly get this noise when i'm hungry and i have NO idea what it is.. it really scares me and i really want to know what is causing this.. i've never met ANYBODY else who experiences this.. people tell me i'm insane.

[steppenwolff]

I've been dealing with this for about over 10 yrs. I'm 33 now. I've put a lot of thought and effort into figuring it out. I think it is a sinus issue... I dont know how that can explain all the symptoms and sensations, but it makes sense. I have alopecia universalis. I have an enlarged thyroid. Otherwise I am very healthy. I am active physically and mentally- I excercise frequently, read frequently, play chess, train in martial arts... I have a desk job that is mental and analytical in nature. To me, the popping seems to me to be associated with the building up and releasing of pressure - like a string drawn tight but is caught on something - the pressure builds up and then finally "pop" and releases. I can hear and feel the pop inside my head, often a large number of them in succession, and I can feel the associated release of the pressure. The area is spread out over my whole head, and when the pressure in one area in my head is released, other places also build up pressure and release. For me, there is some correlation with food and diet - so I think there may be a dietary deficiency involved. I find that when I eat seafood - especially shrimp, lobster, scallops, etc, and also oatmeal(the best), there is a very noticeable effect in a very short amount of time - the pressure builds up quickly, often along with a headache, until it builds up enough to pop and release itself.  Sometimes unless I eat the right kind of food, I feel hungry no matter how much I eat. Also, reading or meditating can bring the pressure on faster, especially in combination with the above foods - usually will bring on a pretty good day and night of snap crackle pop. again, I think it has to do with the opening of sinuses because I notice that I breathe a bit easier after the popping, and I snore less and sleep better, feel more rested in the morning. I also seem to have more energy and strength after the pressure is released.  Also, I notice that sex has the opposite effect. after sex, the "string" is looser, and over time the pressure will eventually build up again.

[cast626]

I can't a lot of people get this. It happens to me when I'm hungry and usually laying down (chair or bed). I have bad memory and it scares me that this maybe the cause of it. I also tend to move a lot and people tell me I have ADD or anxeity.

[madwand]

I have this weird issue too. My Theory is a sinus issue. When your stomach growls it is a movement of food or air down to the intestines. This causes a negative pressure in your stomach and esophagus. Since your esophagus is connected to your sinus it is creating a sucking pressure in your sinus and eustachian tubes moving the mucus around and creating the crackle, pop, fizz whatever sound. I developed this after sinus surgery to repair a deviated septum and relieve sinus pressure. It sounds harmless but I always wonder if there is some clog in my sinus that has not been completely relieved.  I should get another MRI.

[HeadCrks]

Both your posts are are onto something.  I agree too that popping and cracking sounds may be related to sinus issues.  I have no headaches or have not noticed anything when eating.  I don't have the sand grit sound either.  I do have an extreme crack of the head sound that anyone can hear and they even are amazed of how noisy it is.  I can crack my  head... and notice I don't say neck... because I feel the crack by the anterolateral fontanelle or by the or the coronal or sagital suture of the cranium... by looking at an infants skull... or I can describe it like if the ridges of the parietal or frontal bones in the skull where colliding or the temporal or sphenoid bones... any of these mostly on the sphenoid were it meats the frontal or parietal (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bones-in-the-human-body.html).

One thing is for sure when in pops and cracks like fireworks I feel relief and my sinus near the right nostril feels pressure release and relaxation and I can breath better.  I can speculate this is weather and stress related as it happens more during stressful times of my life and in the sinus cavity I feel my superior nasal concha (turbinate) retreat or move leading to better breathing.... but then it returns and the cycle repeats.  It might be a pinched nerved that causes tension or sinus inflammation... as advised by a chiropractor.  Hope this helps anyone.

[HeadCrks]

I almost forgot... found this on the web... article written by therapist: http://sportscenteraustin.blogs.com/the_view/2003/06/is_the_pop_in_y.html

[Nicki1977NJ]

I think that's post-nasal drip. That crackling in your throat.  My ENT says I have some inflamation due to allergies and the post nasal drip that comes with it.  So, she put me on a sprat.  I get the whole "pop rocks" feeling in my throat, and when I squirt my prescription nose spray (allergies) it happens less.

[mmcgeagh]

neurotransmitters running up your spinal column into your cerebellum.

[mmcgeagh]

From what I've gathered with mine is my nausea is worst when i feel/hear the crackling. It can most likely just be a natural response of your body to make yourself feel somewhat sick to push you to eat. Though it is fairly useless in today's society, it may have come into use when food was not as plentiful for people and having a sick feeling would push them to get food. As to why the neurotransmitters are making so much noise i do not know, but my assumption is just a large amount trying to get into the cerebellum to make you feel hungry.

[istandrel]

I have the same type of thing when I walk and when I stretch my muscles.  Anyone have any clue what this might be?

[Caesarillion]

I'm getting the pop rocks big time tonight with a headache. Maybe it's diet change from the new year or something. I took some aspirin. It feels like sticky brain and cracking knuckles in all my skull joints. Makes me want to shake my head a lot to normalize stresses or something. Whew. Hope it goes away soon. Hard to sleep when I feel like this. Thanks and good to know I'm not alone. Paul V in Southern California age 62 and counting.