What Causes A Painless Vibrating Noise In The Ear?

Posted on Tue, 10 Mar 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 Answered on

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : For the past 2 days, I have experienced an annoying but painless Vibrating/ thumping noise in right ear. It happens about 3 or 4 times an hour for about 10-15 seconds each time. It does not match my heartbeat.. It is an irregular rhythm similar to a muscle twitch. It is not a loud sound, more of a muffled audible gust of pressure repeating itself very quickly. Nothing I do can make it stop once it starts. It can be triggered by absolutely nothing, and it can also almost always be triggered by a strong yawn or burp. Changes to my life recently: I went underwater in a pool for the first time in a while a few hours before this began. I had a baby 3 weeks ago so am sleeping less and under more stress. Thanks.

Answered by Dr. Rajkishori Godhi (46 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
nothing to worry

Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome to healthcaremagic,

The symptoms you have described are due to Eustachian tube dysfunction. The Eustachian tube connects the ear to the nose and maintains atmospheric pressure in the ear. The dysfunction was precipitated by going underwater. Pressure is more underwater, your tube was not able to equalise it.

Do not worry, it will settle down in a few days. You can instill decongestant nose drops like otrivin to keep the tubes patent. Instill 3 drops in each nostril 3 times a day and follow it up with steam inhalation for 5 days.

You can also do valsalva exercises to keep the tubes open. The details of the exercise can be found on YouTube.

If you do not feel better in a few days then see an ENT specialist.

Regards,
Dr Rajkishori Godhi (MS ENT)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad