Hum and vibration inside the ear at will

[Madderp]

This is not easy to explain, and every time I do I get looked at like I'm either an alien or talking bollocks

I have the ability to move something inside my ears that causes a hum and a vibration. The sound reminds me of the way wind sometimes sounds through the phone, and it tickles a little bit. It happens exclusively when I want it to, and I get tired after about a minute. The intensity is affected by my breathing, but it can be done while holding my breath with either full or empty lungs. After a minute or two I get tired. I learned to do this when I was trying to learn to move my ears like some people are able to

I would appreciate any clues as to the underlying mechanism of this. I always forget to ask the ear doctor to take a look when I'm at the office, since most of the time I forget I can do this

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Madderp
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[Phi for All]

2 hours ago, Madderp said:

and I get tired after about a minute.

All of you? Part of you? Which part?

2 hours ago, Madderp said:

I learned to do this when I was trying to learn to move my ears like some people are able to

Is it similar to the sound you get if you cup your hand close to your ear, which changes pitch if you open some of your fingers?

 

[Madderp]

34 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

All of you? Part of you? Which part?

The part that I've been "moving". It's harder to do until I have a short break

Is it similar to the sound you get if you cup your hand close to your ear, which changes pitch if you open some of your fingers?

More ragged, irregular. A bit like many pieces of short fabric flapping in the wind but muffled. It's a difficult sound to describe. If the noise from cupping your ear is like running your hand through satin, this noise is more like corduroy.

[Phi for All]

Vellus hair on and in the ear might be partly responsible. That close to the ear, sound can be distorted. Tweezing those hairs, for instance, can sound like fabric tearing instead of pulling peach fuzz.

[Madderp]

1 minute ago, Phi for All said:

Vellus hair on and in the ear might be partly responsible. That close to the ear, sound can be distorted. Tweezing those hairs, for instance, can sound like fabric tearing instead of pulling peach fuzz.

Is there anything in the ear that could rub against it or cause it to move around when exerted? It also kinda sounds like a membrane being vibrated

[StringJunky]

Could it be anything to do with the  eustachian tube that runs from the mouth to inner ear to equalise pressure. You altering your breathing and holding your breathe will alter the internal pressure. Also, hardened ear wax.

Edited January 20, 2021 by StringJunky

[Madderp]

20 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

Could it be anything to do with the  eustachian tube that runs from the mouth to inner ear to equalise pressure. You altering your breathing and holding your breathe will alter the internal pressure. Also, hardened ear wax.

The breathing affects how easy it is to ramp up to high intensity and keep up, but I can trigger it at will regardless of what I am doing or not doing with my breath. It does feel like flexing a muscle or relaxing a sphincter very intently

 

As for the ear wax I've had it dissolved with drops after and infection and it had no effect

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, Madderp said:

It does feel like flexing a muscle or relaxing a sphincter very intently

The muscles involved in moving your ears the way you'd seen other people do, right. Pretty sure that's what's doing the work to produce the sound you're hearing. Not everyone can move their ears independently at will.

So something involved in moving this muscle causes a change that produces a muffled roaring like wind. The tensor muscles in the ear can affect the quality of the sounds we hear, especially if they're too loud, so I suppose it's possible you've learned to move them in a way that causes this sound for you. Perhaps you're hearing the function of that part of your head, and the rush of blood sounds like wind across a microphone.

 

[Bufofrog]

10 hours ago, Madderp said:

This is not easy to explain, and every time I do I get looked at like I'm either an alien or talking bollocks

I have the ability to move something inside my ears that causes a hum and a vibration. The sound reminds me of the way wind sometimes sounds through the phone, and it tickles a little bit. It happens exclusively when I want it to, and I get tired after about a minute. The intensity is affected by my breathing, but it can be done while holding my breath with either full or empty lungs. After a minute or two I get tired. I learned to do this when I was trying to learn to move my ears like some people are able to

I would appreciate any clues as to the underlying mechanism of this. I always forget to ask the ear doctor to take a look when I'm at the office, since most of the time I forget I can do this

 

I can do the same thing, I guess.  It is like you are tensing a muscle in your inner ear.  The noise is loud enough to drowned out conversation.  I don't think I could do that for a minute though, maybe 15 seconds.  It's like rolling your tongue or wiggling your ears some can do it and others can't.  It's not a very useful talent...

[Phi for All]

10 hours ago, Bufofrog said:

I can do the same thing, I guess.  It is like you are tensing a muscle in your inner ear.  The noise is loud enough to drowned out conversation.  I don't think I could do that for a minute though, maybe 15 seconds.  It's like rolling your tongue or wiggling your ears some can do it and others can't.  It's not a very useful talent...

I don't need a noise to drown out unwanted conversations. My trivia filters are too robust as it is. Start talking about how "it isn't the heat it's the humidity", and I start hearing a windy roaring sound. I always thought of it like the whistling from a pressure differential due to the 0 PSI coming from an empty head.

OTOH, it seems reasonable that any muscle that can be isolated and worked beyond what is normal has the potential to offer returns on that investment. One of the functions of the tensor tympani muscle is to protect the ears from sounds that could compromise the function of the ear. Perhaps exercising these muscles now might prevent some hearing loss in later life? I recall reading an article a long time ago that claimed we wouldn't need to artificially correct our vision if we all did the author's special eye exercises as part of a daily calisthenics routine.

[Madderp]

56 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

I recall reading an article a long time ago that claimed we wouldn't need to artificially correct our vision if we all did the author's special eye exercises as part of a daily calisthenics routine.

The problem with that is that we are supposed to look at the world through relaxed eyes. I can force focus on something without my glasses, but a whole day of that would give me headaches and eye twitching

At least thanks to my OCD I don't need to look through the window to relax my eyes, since I can unfocus them at will. Regular loss of vision focus during rumination will do that to you

 

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, Madderp said:

I can force focus on something without my glasses, but a whole day of that would give me headaches and eye twitching

... which is similar to what an athlete trying to condition their sports muscle groups might experience early on. Hopefully the cramping and the puking and the stress taper off as the muscles grow stronger. At least this was the message in the article I read, that the eye muscles (possibly ears as well) need exercise just like any other.

[Bufofrog]

4 hours ago, Phi for All said:

I don't need a noise to drown out unwanted conversations. My trivia filters are too robust as it is. Start talking about how "it isn't the heat it's the humidity", and I start hearing a windy roaring sound.

That cracked me up!😃