Clicking and cracking noises in one or both ears may not be an immediate cause for alarm. For many people, these unexpected sounds will go away by themselves and are not an indication of a serious medical condition or a sign that you should expect to experience hearing loss.

However, understanding why you are hearing persistent unusual and unwanted cracking noises in your ear is essential. Factors such as impacted earwax or deviations in the pressure within your ears can potentially worsen if you do not resolve the underlying issue.

In this article, we summarise some of the possible reasons you are hearing a clicking or cracking sound, discuss the diagnosis process and hearing tests at Regain Hearing Clinic, and clarify the additional symptoms that could make it more likely that the cracking sounds require treatment.

Key Takeaways:

• Cracking or clicking sounds in your ear can be caused by several issues, such as impacted earwax causing a blockage, issues with the pressure within your ear, and potential conditions that require investigation.
• While most causes of cracking sounds are not serious and can be quickly resolved, it is important to seek professional advice from a qualified audiologist to ensure you understand the underlying causes and best treatments.
• Removing excess fluid, treating infections, managing hearing conditions, and using ear protection may all be effective ways to stop clicking noises and prevent them from returning—depending, of course, on the cause.

Potential Reasons for Clicking or Cracking Noises in the Ear

Occasional cracking or clicking in your ears is perfectly normal. This might happen, for example, when travelling on a plane due to changes in altitude or when driving up or down a steep hill. Some people also hear a ‘click’ in their ears when they pop, possibly after yawning or chewing gum.

What our audiologists say

Cracking sounds in the ear, commonly referred to as ‘ear popping,’ are often related to changes in air pressure or Eustachian tube dysfunction. This can occur during activities such as swallowing, yawning, or altitude changes. While typically harmless, persistent or painful cracking sounds should be evaluated by an audiologist to rule out underlying issues such as ear infections or structural abnormalities.” — Lee Fletcher (RHAD), (BSHAA), Ba(Hons)

There are other possible reasons for a clicking or cracking noise that occurs regularly or persistently, some of which we’ve outlined below.

Please note that although these could be contributing factors, it is always important to book a hearing test and ear health check-up with an audiologist since self-diagnosing, treating or ignoring an ongoing sound in your inner ear may be ineffective or lead to the sounds increasing or worsening.

1. Earwax Blockages

Impacted earwax is responsible for a substantial proportion of hearing problems. Our ear canals naturally produce wax, which protects the ear and canal from germs and prevents contaminants or particles from reaching the inner ear.

Some movements, such as chewing gum, can help with self-cleaning. In this process, earwax and skin cells move to the outer edge of the eardrum, dry, and fall away or are easily cleaned.

However, if earwax is produced in excess quantities or becomes stuck or lodged in the ear, potentially by pushing wax further back with a cotton bud or wearing hearing aids or earplugs, it can impact – that means the wax has created a blockage.

The cracking noise is caused by the earwax covering the eardrum. It can be accompanied by itching, coughing, soreness, muffled hearing, and other symptoms.

Fortunately, microsuction treatments can quickly remove earwax, while a hearing assessment and check of your inner ear will identify any causes, such as an infection, which can be treated to prevent the problem from recurring.

2. Pressure and Fluid Issues

Some cases of cracking in the ears may be related to issues in the narrow eustachian tube – this connects your middle ear and throat, which is there to stop fluid from accumulating and prevent air pressure from collating in your ear.

Excess pressure or fluid build-up can cause inflammation and soreness, creating blockages in the eustachian tube or stopping the passageway from opening or closing correctly. We might suspect a pressure or fluid problem if you also have itchiness, muffled hearing, or pain around your ear.

Note that this type of clicking sound and disrupted hearing are also linked to seasonal allergies like hay fever, sinus infections, and colds—it isn’t normally anything serious that can’t easily be relieved.

3. Meniere’s Disease

While less common, Meniere’s disease is a condition that causes dizziness and can impact one or both ears, with other symptoms including hearing loss, tinnitus and a sense that your ears are full.

Meniere’s can be connected to infections, such as viruses and ear infections, migraines, stress, allergies and head injuries, or it can be something that you are more likely to experience due to genetics.

How an Audiologist Diagnoses the Cause of Cracking Noises in the Ear

During a hearing assessment and ear examination, we’ll perform a series of hearing tests and checks to look for causes or contributing factors that cause the cracking or clicking noises you can hear.

That will usually mean:

• Discussing the symptoms and changes to your hearing.
• Looking inside your ears using advanced equipment with a tiny camera that can show you the health of your inner ear on a screen.
• Pressure tests, called tympanometry, which look at the movement of your eardrum and see whether there are any issues within your middle ear.

If we discover an obvious cause, such as an earwax blockage, we may be able to resolve this straight away or advise on our findings to recommend treatments, therapies, hearing protection or adjustments to your hearing aids that will reduce or alleviate the clicking noises.

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When to Book a Hearing Test and Ear Health Check-up to Diagnose Cracking Sounds in the Ear

As we’ve seen, there are many reasons you might experience occasional or infrequent clicking or cracking sounds in one or both ears. Most can be resolved by removing excess earwax or fluid build-ups within your ears.

If noises in your ears are causing distress, impacting your hearing, or accompanied by other symptoms such as pain, fever, or hearing loss, it is essential that you contact a skilled audiologist to determine the causes and identify the best treatments.

Even if the cracking in your ears isn’t painful or happens intermittently, many ear conditions can progress or contribute to increasing hearing loss over time. Persistent and problematic inner ear sounds can usually be treated effectively to reduce or remove them altogether.

If you’re looking to find out why you’re experiencing clicking noises, book a consultation at one of our hearing clinics today! We may advise that you visit one of our Kent or London clinics for ear wax removal. We offer ear wax removal in Sevenoaks, Croydon, South East London all the way to Maidstone and Thanet.