If you’ve ever experienced fluttering in the ear, it may have felt and sounded like a butterfly flapping its wings in your ear. The sensation has a few primary causes, most of which aren’t serious. However, fluttering in the ear can impact your hearing and overall quality of life.
Common Causes
Fluttering in the ear can be difficult to diagnose as there is not an established set of guidelines. The most common causes of fluttering in the ear include:
- Tinnitus: Tinnitus is the presence or ringing, buzzing or other sounds in one or both ears that cannot be heard by others. Nearly 10% of the U.S. population has experienced tinnitus lasting five or more minutes in the past year. Sounds can present themselves in the form of fluttering, tapping, buzzing, blowing, whooshing and other noises at different intervals. Tinnitus can impact the overall quality of life, therefore, a doctor may recommend hearing aids, medications or behavioral therapy as symptom management options.
- Eustachian tube dysfunction: The Eustachian tube runs from the middle ear to the back of the nose. The tube can become inflamed and unable to open and close properly, resulting in muffled or reduced hearing and ringing and fluttering in the ears. Patulous Eustachian tube dysfunction is a form of Eustachian tube dysfunction where the Eustachian tube doesn’t close properly. This is often not serious and should resolve itself in a few days. If symptoms are persistent, you should seek medical attention.
- Blood pressure: Elevated blood pressure may predispose a person to hearing loss and tinnitus, resulting in the fluttering in ear sensation.
- Earwax: Earwax can build up in the ear and cause hearing impairment, along with sounds in the ear, such as fluttering.
Other causes of fluttering in the ear can include hypothyroidism, myoclonus (dysfunctional contractions of the muscles in the middle ear), Ménière disease and side effects of pregnancy. Fluttering in the ear can have a negative impact on your overall health. You’ll need to work with a hearing specialist to find the exact root cause and formulate a treatment.
If you have questions about fluttering in the ear, tinnitus or hearing loss, contact ENT of Georgia North to schedule an appointment.
