6 ms·
Interesting. I can “play my eardrums”, which I describe as the ability to consciously control something in my ears that causes a loud fluttering, ringing sound
by nsxwolf 3y ago
Interesting. I can “play my eardrums”, which I describe as the ability to consciously control something in my ears that causes a loud fluttering, ringing sound that is something like wind entering my ear canals combined with a bell.
After some research I’ve found some people can control something called the “tensor tympani” and generate sounds described as a “roar” but being a subjective experience I am not certain this is exactly what I am doing.
- anonymousiam 3y agoI've always been able to do this, and I've always assumed that it's not unusual. It does not seem to be at all related to my tinnitus.
- huytersd 3y agoThat is interesting. I assumed everyone could hear that. I can hear the sound (roar, ocean, wind) when I move my jaw forward but I can also just directly control it without moving anything else. It’s a muscle I can feel myself controlling and contracting in my inner ear.
- hackernewds 3y agoI think that is the experience of _everyone_
- xigoi 3y agoIt’s not. I have no idea what you all are talking about.
- smegger001 3y agoyeah i think i do the same thing as you with my ears. a flutter is probably the best description of it i had thought of it as clapping or clicking my ears but that is to sharp a sound to really describe it
- idonotknowwhy 3y agoI can do this too. It also does the same thing as yawning when your ears get blocked on a plane or driving up a steep hill. It unblocks them.
- nsxwolf 3y agoI’m wondering if this is something different, or if it’s a more intense level of the other thing. I’m able to pop my ears without any apparent tensioning of my jaw or a yawn reflex. But I can do it while also making the rushing sound or not.
- idonotknowwhy 3y agoYeah okay, that must be something different (that I can't do) then.
- matsemann 3y agoYeah, it's two different muscles for the rumbling vs clicking. Tensor veli palatini opens the eustachian tube and makes a click. The rumbling is from the tympani.
- ce4 3y agoStapedius reflex? Some can control this muscle volintarily (me as well), it dampens incoming noise by a few dB to protect the ears. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_reflex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_reflex
- sedatk 3y agoI can do that too.
- luplex 3y agoI'm pretty sure that's the tensor tympani. I also think your description sounds closer to what I do. For me it sounds like wind, but only lower frequencies.
- cjsme 3y agoDitto! Very useful for relieving ear pressure at altitude.
- bartvk 3y agoYeah, I also use it for that. I've asked people the question, "can you click your ears"? Of course, they don't understand me, because it's such a vague question. I started asking, "can you relieve your ear pressure without moving anything else", and most people answer no. One person who dived, answered "yes, of course!" like it's something all people can.
- jaeckel 3y agoIf someone doesn't know how to do it, they could still learn it https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver
- metafunctor 3y agoThat’s not the same thing, I believe.
- jaeckel 3y agoIt's not the same thing, but it would allow them to > "[...] relieve your ear pressure without moving anything else"
- tudorw 3y agoOh Internet, so maybe I can do that, thought we all could! Sounds like roaring wind...
- carrozo 3y agoThere’s a whole subreddit dedicated to this, which they call “ear rumbling”: https://www.reddit.com/r/earrumblersassemble/ https://www.reddit.com/r/earrumblersassemble/
- lotsofpulp 3y agoEar rumbling is not the same as tinnitus. I can make my ear rumble, and I also have tinnitus (constant ringing or high pitched frequency sound). At least I assume, I have never bothered getting it diagnosed by a doctor because I can easily ignore it and have for many years, I only notice it when not focusing on anything else and I happen to pay attention to it. I assumed tinnitus was mostly caused by damaging the little hairs that sense sound becoming damaged from loud sounds and not working anymore, which I would have done with headphone use in my teens/early 20s.
- hackernewds 3y agowow there's a word for my useless ability!
- downrightmike 3y agoI can do that and have tinnitus and they aren't remotely the same. I usually use the ear rumble as a real world mute option. Someone talking tome and IDK? ear rumble. The tinnitus is always there.
- mofeien 3y agoTo add another personal experience to that: I can do that as well, and for me it will make my tinnitus louder. It is very low pitched but more or less stable around 340Hz, and thus actually musically relevant to me as it gives me some kind of active, makeshift absolute pitch.
- CapsAdmin 3y agoI'm not sure if it's the same, but if I listen to pure noise (to sleep or something) I can somewhat adjust my hearing to focus on certain frequency bands in the uniform noise making me to hear a ringing sound in the noise. I can adjust the pitch and it will stay at the pitch until I change it. So with this I can play a melody with the ringing noise. Sometimes I do this until I fall asleep. :-)
- LtWorf 3y agoNot the same thing at all. Try squeezing your eyelids really tight, you might hear a noise. That's what he's talking about.
- riccardomc 3y agoI am genuinely shocked I can do it...
- jakderrida 3y agoI went from, "What's this guy even talking about?" straight to inducing roaring after vaguely recall doing it as a child over 30 years ago.
- razodactyl 3y agoRight. I can do it too - I can make them click/crunch and roar - which I'm sure is due to the sound muscles make when tensed. Squeeze your fist and hold it up to your ear. It's audible.
- almostnormal 3y agoClick is from pressure gradient when opening/tightening the eustachian tube. If I switch to open I can hear myself breathing. Partially covering the outer ear makes the flow of blood audible. That's not tinnitus-related.
- w4ffl35 3y agoI've been able to do it my whole life, chatgpt tells me it's this: Hearing a crackling sound when you flex your ears is quite common. This noise typically results from the movement of small muscles around your ear, particularly the tensor tympani muscle in your middle ear. These muscles contract to dampen certain sounds, like chewing, but can also be voluntarily or involuntarily activated when you move your ears. This action can cause a vibration or movement of the eardrum, leading to the crackling sound. It's usually harmless, but if you experience pain, discomfort, or any other symptoms, it's advisable to consult a healthcare professional.
- meindnoch 3y agoAnother example why you shouldn't take ChatGPT at face value. The clicking sound is the opening of the Eustachian tube. Flexing the tensor tympani sounds like a deep rumbling.
- im3w1l 3y agoA long time ago I would sometimes amuse myself by opening the tubes and humming some melody - would sound really loud.
- rcstank 3y agoThis actually relieves my tinnitus for a short period of time. Humming as loud as I can with my Eustachian tubes open would cause my tinnitus to either disappear or be imperceptible for about 3-5 seconds. It's such a relief that when my tinnitus gets really bad, I'll find I need to do it several times.
- itsboring 3y agoI always just assumed this was a normal thing that everyone had and never bothered to look it up. Sounds exactly like the roar of a high wind to me.
- ddingus 3y agoI can do that. It is like a roar at the loudest point I can manage. A light effort sounds a lot like the ship thruster sound in Asteroids. I find I can clench the muscle, but can only and occasionally relax the thing. When I do clench, my ear response curve in the midrange, say 800Hz to a few KHz, is improved. Have a fan handy? Try it and listen. You may hear a lot more from that fan.
- LegitShady 3y agoI have had the same thing my whole life that I can remember but no tinnitus. If I clench my jaw enough I get that roaring rumble. I assumed it was normal.
- cortesoft 3y agoWait, not everyone can do that?