I was just listening to my headphones, on a perfectly low volume, and my right ear popped, and then started hurting…it also continued doing really small pop feelings (like I could feel it kinda twitching in the same way it does when it pops, like on an airplane), along with the base in the song
My ear still hurts
Anyone know what this means?
Needless to say, I’ve taken off the headphones
What you should do is consider seeing a doctor. Taking off your headphones is obviously paramount, but don’t just “assume it’ll go away” - there may be other damage that needs to be looked at.
being someone who has been affected by ear related problems for the last few years, i would say,
hie yourself hence to thine doctor!
let us know what they say, and keep us updated on the progress.
I hope it wasn’t a digital virus from the bad music…
Were you in a car going up a hill, or in a jet?
DO YOU HAVE A COLD OR ANY CONGESTION?
ooh, sounds nasty. Go see a doctor definitely. Let us know the gory details!
well, it died down soon after I left school, and I told my mom, and we agreed to just wait it out, and if anything else happened (any pain at all, or anything), we’d go to the doctor…
So far, nothing’s happened
I have had this weird cold/allergy thing for the past week or so, so that could be it…it probably is, but I’m not taking any chances if it happens again
You’ve probably taken the right course of action.
Nice to know your brain hasn’t been leaking out anyway… or has it?!
ne ne ne ner ne ne ne ner ne ne ne ner*…
*that’s the twilight zone music, obviously
common things being common, it might be ear wax.
Cathy
I used to be a diver. We need to know about these things.
The ear drum is a very thin membrane that stretches across the ear. It vibrates with sound, and that activates the nerves which translate the vibrations into what you hear.
Air pressure around you changes all the time. It changes with the weather (that’s why the barometer rises or falls) and changes with altitude (higher up, there is less air above you, so less pressure).
Air can’t go through the membrane. If the air pressure increases on one side of the membrane, it will push the membrane, making it dome shaped. Too much of this and it will burst.
Therefore, nature has provided a simple way of equalising the pressure. It is the eustachian tube. (I haven’t checked the spelling.) The eustachian tube has soft fleshy walls, so usually it is closed. Think of a flat paper drinking straw.
If you pinch your nose, close your mouth and gently try to breathe out through your nose, you will feel a popping sensation in each ear. that is the eustachian tube opening, and the air that would have come out of your nose (if you hadn’t been pinching it) going through the tube into the space behind the eardrum.
When divers go under water, they deliberately do this manoeuvre to equalise the pressure, otherwise their ears would burst.
If you have a slight cold, the eustachian tube can block up with mucus, which means one of three things:
- Air can't get "in" thorough the eustachian tube, so you can't adjust for an increase in pressure.
- Air can't get "back out" so you can't adjust for a decrease in pressure.
- In the long term, the inner ear can become infected.
The first two of these are the most common. They are no more than a minor inconvenience. They will sort themselves out naturally.
The third is comparatively rare, although much more serious.
Keep wiggling your jaw and trying gently to open the tubes with the nose pinching and breathing out thing I described. Don’t overdo it.
If you get any dizziness, severe pain or discharge then see a doctor immediately.
Wow…thanks Mike
I got an ear infection when I was a little kid and again a few years ago. In both instances my eardrum burst (I think that’s what the doctor said, I couldn’t hear very well… :P)
Ever since my ears have been very sensative to pressure. I never go more than five feet underwater because it hurts quite a bit. It also hurts for no odd reason on occasion, but only for a moment or two every couple of weeks/months. The pain goes away after a couple of minutes and everything is back to normal, so I try not to worry too much about it.
Just thought I’d share.
I thought if your eardrum burst, you were deaf?
It’s most likely the Eustachian tube blocked up with mucus due to your cold/allergy thing. Take some decongestants to thin and clear the mucus. The decongestants will allow the Eustachian tube to get unblocked and breath freely again.
It could also be a clump of earwax that is thumping on your ear drum. Here’s a method for cleaning your ears: Earwax removal and ear cleaning. The site explains the process. But that syringe thingy is expensive. I use a condiment bottle (see attached picture). It works great as long as you’re careful not to shove the nozzle in too far or squirt with too much water velocity.
But DO NOT try the earwax removal thing if you suspect that your ear drum might have burst or been damaged.
Headphone listening can cause a buildup of earwax, especially when using the in the ear style headphones. Flushing out the earwax with water fixes that and does a better and safer job than Q-Tips.
I am
I give you six weeks to live.
I actually got the same thing when sitting at the bottom of a deep swimming pool. It goes away after a while and my hearing is fine now
You may just have a cockroach in your ear.
Damn those pesky Cockroachs 
haha
My wife sometimes gets a bug in her butt, but as far as I know none as ever travelled as far as her ear.
Isn’t there another possible menacing synonym for that?