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crackling in left ear

For awhile i have been noticing a crackling sensation in my left ear. sometimes it disappears and sometimes i can hear it alot. While talking, eating. yawning coughing. sometimes even turning my head. There are no other symptoms in my ear that i am aware of.   No pain or anything, just that crackling sticky sound like theres syrup in there.  I think the doctor looked down my ear briefly and said theres a hair in it?  Im not even sure.

My main question.  could something be going on in my ear to make me feel offbalance and dizzy?  Even to a mild degree?
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Avatar universal
I had severe vertigo, skin break outs (diagnosed as psoriasis), horribly sore joints, and "bleeding" (if you know what I mean).   All of this accellerated when I moved to a new place that had radium  in the water.  Since I didn't drink the water, I increased my intake of diet sodas greatly.  Finally, the vertigo got so bad that I couldn't look up at the ceiling without it spinning.   By chance, my significant other had a discussion with a holistic "medicine man" and his first question was whether or not I drank a lot of diet products.   To make a long story short, I quit the diet Pepsi cold turkey and ALL of the symptoms went away.   The vertigo was gone in about a week.   The soreness left incrementally over the course of about 3 months, the bleeding went away in about a month or less, and the skin condition gradually went away over the course of 1.5 years.   Every month, it got better and better.   It turns out that aspertame (in diet products) is DEADLY.   Go research it on line.   There is TONS of information out there about it.   I quit the crap, and I'm living proof.   I was ashamed of my hands from all the peeling skin, and now they look perfect.   The bottom line is, don't drink/eat aspartame if you don't want to DIE!   The FDA sleeps with these companies, and they are NOT out to protect us.   It took 15 tries to get aspartame pushed through, and the tests were a joke, but they finally managed to do it.   If you drink aspartame, you might as well have an anti-freeze chaser when you're done.....    Take this seriously people...it's for real !!
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I had same noise And discomfort for few months.  Got dizzy and going up hills in car I could not equalize.  ENT pulled hairs growing thru eardrum out and fine now.  Very hard to see hairs and they use a special microscope to see them. Hurts bad when removed.
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It's called VERTIGO, its caused by the ear drum being off balance, you can go and get your ear kindled with a candle or there are some physio places that will re-train your ear to listen properly so you dont feel dizzy. I've had benign positional vertigo(diagnosed by more than 1 doctor) for almost a year now, it comes and goes as it pleases! some people deal with it for months at a time, others just weeks. It all depends, it has NOTHING to do with ear wax. I get the crackling noises in my ear like sticky syrup too. Also mine gets so bad some days that I cannot get out of bed without feeling like my whole world is spinning, and as it is benign there really isnt much you can do with it. You just learn to deal with it and hope it goes away soon. Mine comes and goes as it pleases staying for up to half a year sometimes and dissappearing for up to a year or more. Look it up on google if you want some more information on it or ask your doctor, I am aware that this post is a few years old but I've noticed no one has suggested this yet, and seeing as how I've delt with it for half my life I know quite a bit!
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It's called VERTIGO, its caused by the ear drum being off balance, you can go and get your ear kindled with a candle or there are some physio places that will re-train your ear to listen properly so you dont feel dizzy. I've had benign positional vertigo(diagnosed by more than 1 doctor) for almost a year now, it comes and goes as it pleases! some people deal with it for months at a time, others just weeks. It all depends, it has NOTHING to do with ear wax. I get the crackling noises in my ear like sticky syrup too. Also mine gets so bad some days that I cannot get out of bed without feeling like my whole world is spinning, and as it is benign there really isnt much you can do with it. You just learn to deal with it and hope it goes away soon. Mine comes and goes as it pleases staying for up to half a year sometimes and dissappearing for up to a year or more. Look it up on google if you want some more information on it or ask your doctor, I am aware that this post is a few years old but I've noticed no one has suggested this yet, and seeing as how I've delt with it for half my life I know quite a bit!
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I have been diagnosed the same Benign Positional Vertico. The cracking sound of water running itchy ears, headache and dizziness is mostly my symptom. It's on me again and I am desperately needing some help.
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For the last week I have had this crackling noise in my right ear...it sounds like there are Pop Rocks candies going off in my ear. It's driving me CRAZY!!! Can't sleep at night and I am getting really irritable because I can't get it to stop. I do not have health insurance at this time, so I am unable to see a doctor about this. Any suggestions as to what I could try to make it stop?
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When I quit smoking a few years ago My sinus problems got worse and then I foulnd out from my doc that it's only temporary.  So don't start smoking again it will get better. For years I had the crackling sound in my left ear and it would not go away until I went to my PC doctor for something else and as he was leaving the room I mentioned it, and he kept walking as he said "yes, you have to keep something like that wet."  And I said "Wait! come back!, what do you mean?" And he said "It's caused by dehydration you're not drinking enough water."  I have never had it since because I always keep myself hydrated now. I also have a tendency to get sinus problems if I eat/drink too many dairy products. The herbal capsule called HAS for Hayfever,Asthma and Sinus is wonderful for anything like that. It contains among many other herbs, Echinacea and Goldenseal. It completely cures any allergy symptoms too.  I always keep it on hand.  You get the allergy relief without falling asleep. And NO side effects
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I have had a crackling sound in my right ear for the last month.   Since I hear this when I am very still, I didn't associate it with TMJ nor sinus problem, but rather a bug moving on his own.   But the nurse said she didn't see anything.   okay, it doesn't really bother me.   Should I see a doctor?
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Avatar universal
Whenver my ear starts crackling (sounds like when you have water in your ear from swimming) I go to my chiropractor and have my neck adjusted and that fixes it.  No more crackling. =)  

I spend a lot of time on the computer and that throws my neck out of alignment, which causes the crackling noise.  If I wait too long to have it adjusted, I start to get a head ache. As soon as I get an adjustment, I feel great!
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1 Comments
I have had the same crackle in my ear for over a year. Also some hearing loss. I went to the war nose and throats specialist. And he looked in my ear and said nothing. Then I mentioned that I had just stared snoring. (My husband was kind enough to record how loud I was! Lol) so the doctor took a camera and put it in my nose. I was shocked to hear that my nose was broken deep down inside. I have been put on the short list for surgery. The doctor thinks this will solve my ear crackle problem as well as the awful snoring!!! Just thought u may want to rule that out. And I don't have a clue how my nose became broken.
Avatar universal
This is just a slight chance the crackling sounds you are hearing is because you have something, such as hair, stuck near your ear drum.  I had the same exact thing... anytime I touched my ear near the opening or used a qtip or yawned I could hear a crackling noise.  I went to an Ear Specialist and she found a couple pieces of hair stuck in my ear canal near the drum.  Check into it just in case it's that... she was able to pull them out easily without any pain.  
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I had a hair deep in my ear canal once. The ENT doctor took it out with a tiny little grabber tool and I never felt a thing. After that, no more noise.
Avatar universal
I first experienced ear crackling when I was about twelve. It was about a month after my first flight and I was laying down and inhaled and heard a cracking sound in my right ear. Every time I inhaled and was laying down my right ear crackled. Sometimes one crack sometimes it sounded like a machine gun.
I am currently 19 years old and still suffer from the ear crackling. Only now its progressed to crackling even when im sitting up and sometimes goes off in my left ear.
I've noticed that when I poke a spot just below my ear the crackling stops for a few seconds to a minute but I really hurt myself doing that over and over once and don't like doing it anymore.

They doc looked in my ear and saw nothing wrong but it still doesn't explain why this crackling never goes away and is still at its strongest when im horizontal. Ideas?
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Well I'm seeming to get to the bottom of this. This week was terrible. Anyhow, on Saturday I saw my ENT who prescribed the Antibiotics. The pain became so severe while at work on Wednesday that I left early to go back to the doctor. I had severe head congestion, crackling ears, an inablity to move my eye to the left, twitching in my face along with numbness in my thumb (not sure if the thumb was related). My doctor opennedd up my nose with a nasal spray and cotton and took a camera to observe it. He said nothing was blocking my eustacian tubes. So I head back home to get some rest. That's another thing I hadn't slept in 3 days from all this crackling. While at home I was awaken again by some severe facal twitching. I went over to emergency at that point. They ran some blood tests, urine tests, and gave me an CT scan. I was again diagnosed with Severe Sinusitis of the Ethmoid sinuses. The doctor said my Mucoceles were inflammed pressing on my eye and nerves causing the twitching. The ER doctor as well as my ENT is recommending sinus surgery. I'm on all this medication and have also been perscribed Ambien which is quiet possibly the strongest sleep aid I've ever used. I finally got some rest tonight but it's 4:00 am and I'm up from a slight fever. I have done extensive research on this problem. I hope this blog helps any one out there.
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Another thing I forgot to add. I just stopped smoking back in Feb 2006. I almost reached one year. I'm 35 years old and had smoked off and on since the age of 16. Plus my father was a heavy smoker. I never smoked more than 10 cigerettes in one day. Anyhow, to make a long story short. I noticed that all of my ear problems begain to develope only when I slowed down and completely stopped smoking and the reoccuring ear crackling started at this time too. Could this be a result of my smoking burning off the tiny hairs that are there to assist in moving mucous out of my sinuses quite possibily but not sure.
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Avatar universal
Wow, talk about progress. I've been on this Omnicef 300MG and Guaifenex PSE60 along with a sinus rinse for the past 3 days and boy to I ever feel better. the I can breath through my nose for the first time in several months. I hope I'm finally on my way to recovery.
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Avatar universal
Go to an ENT, get your tonsils checked. If you don't have anything wrong with your tonsils, insist that you have a CT scan or MRI. If they don't find anything wrong. Get tested for allergies. If you don't have allergies. Try using Echinacea/Goldenseal. This is a herbal decongestant. If this doesn't work ask the doctor to prescribe you an decongestant and nasal spray like Nasonex, you may need an antibiotic too if there is any pain associated with the crackling ear. Try not to use the Nasal spray too much because it can create problems. Also, try using a nasal rinse like www.neilmed.com you can pick it up and any local drugstore for about $15 to $18 dollars.

Good luck to you. I share my remedies with you because I've had this very same problem for the past year and a half.

I'm sick and tired of it and have another appointment with the ENT tomorrow. I did all of the above and feel much better. Especially, knowing I don't have cancer since I had the CT scan. We always think of the worst when we have problem. Anyhow, good luck!
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Avatar universal
A history on my problem.


I've been having this constant crackling left ear for the past year. I've been to an ENT doctor several times and he tested me for hearing loss, I had a CT scan that showed chronic swelling in my ethmoid and maxillary sinuses, which from my research is a sign of sinus infection. Anyhow, I've taken everything, Nasonex, antibiotics, I tried my own homopathic remedies even by mixing purified water, sea salt, vingar, baking soda and Hydrogen Peroxide. This burned a little but it did give some relief. I was also tested for allergies that came back negative. I even had my dentist refill a loose filling that I thought could have been causing mercury poisoning...(I know I worry too much....my friends all think I'm a hypocondriac) The doctors I've noticed are useless. I go from one to another asking them for help and they can never provide an answer. While having a bout with this last summer, which I'm sure included a sinus infection, I was perscribed an antibiotic and took clarinex, and Nasonex. It got so bad at that time that I couldn't even sleep because the crackling was so loud. I found myself getting anxiety attacks so I walked over to the ER. The infection I had must have been really bad because I had sharp shooting pains behind my left eye and my headachs would radiate from my neck like a ban of tension around my head. That's when I had the CT scan. Well here I am 12/29/2006 and again I started having this crackling a few weeks ago. This time I took Echinacea/Goldenseal which worked very well. But the symptoms always seemed to reappear when the meds wore off. Anyhow, today I purchased a Sinus Rinse www.neilmed.com which made it feel alot better until of course the ear popping started again. Well I went back on line and started doing more research and to my surprise I found something on lymphatic hypertrophy or swollen tonsils. Anyhow, to make a very long story short I took Nasonex and sprayed it on my left tonsil and guess what?? My ear crackling disappeared. I will still keep my appointment with my ENT tomorrow morning but, boy do I have a story to tell him. If this is the problem then Eureka!!! I have also noticed that I do often get those tonsiliths in my right tonsil but never in my left. These tonsiliths are really gross hardend pus that accumulate in the tonsil after infection. They can be extracted if you push on the tonsil. They smell very bad, if you can help it, avoid swolling them. Honestly, I think they are the root of all halitosis. Anyhow, I noticed I don't have them coming out of my left tonsil where I have the crackling ear problem and because of that it makes me wonder that there may be an infection in there that's not clearing up and may be pushing on my eustachian tube causing the crackling sounds. Anyhow, I'd like a doctor to post a comment to this, because; like I said they haven't helped in the past. I don't know, maybe they can help now that I've given them a complete history and hypothsis on what I think my problem might be.
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Avatar universal
Hello, LizLogan here again. Well I went to the doctor and told him the whole story and he said that he thinks I have chronic sinisitis. He prescribed me Omnicef and told me to contact an ear specialist to get a second opinion. He took another look at my CT scan and said that I just have chronic swelling in my maxillary and ethmoid sinuses. Duh!!! I already knew that. Anyhow, today I took the following: Omnicef (it's only to be taken once a day), Echinacea/Goldenseal, Guaifenex PSE 60 (decongestant - which I'm sort of afraid of because it made me feel like I had air in my head the last time I took it), Anyhow that's all for now. I thought about doing another sinus rinse after the decongestant took effect to see what would happen. I may not do this because I don't want to screw anything else up. At this point though my ears just had a 5 minute session of very load crackling and now have quieted and appear to be open. I will keep you posted on my progress.
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Avatar universal
well the doctor didnt see wax i dont think.   Could this be something in my inner ear which causes dizziness.. even slight dizziness?
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Avatar universal
Sounds like that could be excessive earwax.  I get that sometimes (at least what sounds like what you describe.)  Thick and sticky crackling...that's exactly what I get too.
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