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Ears Popping And Crackling
By
Patricia | July 3, 2009
Ear popping and crackling is very common. In fact, it is estimated that 4 out of every 5 children below 6 years of age would have had some form of ear infection or the other that causes a popping noise. Invariably, this is not a serious problem, with most infections going away by themselves. In this article, we discuss what are some of the general problems are and what needs to be done.
Causes of ear infections
Most infections are caused by bacterial or viral infections, although even fungal infections are not uncommon. The infection can be in the outer ear (part of the ear outside the ear drum) or in the middle ear (portion of the ear between the eardrum and the inner ear). Infections of the inner ear are not very common and will need immediate medical intervention. Most of the time infections of the outer or middle ear are due to:
- Swimming in polluted water
- Not drying the ears properly after swimming
- Unhygienic practices of cleaning ears or overzealous cleaning that causes injury
- Respiratory tract infections
- Barotrauma
- Age (younger children seem to be more prone to infections than older people)
Barotrauma is the stuffiness and temporary deafness caused by a sudden change in air pressure. The internal ear pressure is generally equalized when yawning or swallowing, but sometimes this does not happen, leading to discomfort in one or both ears. This is generally caused when driving in the hills or when flying; it is usually not a serious problem, and it goes away within a few hours.
Sometimes, when you have nasal congestion, the stuffiness may persist for some time, but even here the problem usually goes away in a day or so.
Symptoms of ear infections
The general symptoms of ear infections are as listed below:
- Pain in the ears
- Dizziness
- Fever
- Discharge from the ear
- Deafness to different degrees
The fever is not necessarily a symptom as sometimes there may not be any fever at all. In fact, only in the case of a bacterial infection will there be a fever, and in case the infection is viral or fungal in origin, there may not be any fever. The deafness is usually caused by pus that builds up in the inner ear and causes a mechanical blocking to the passage of sound waves. It is not usually a serious or permanent problem.
Home remedies for ear infections
Usually, there is nothing that needs to be done for ear infections. Even in the case of discharge from the ear, a course of antibiotics to bring the infection under control is all that is needed. In most cases of ear infections, even home remedies are discouraged because in many cases they tend to exacerbate the problem than make it better.
- Pouring warm oil or other such treatments may have traditional value, but usually, this is not needed at all. Even in the case of a severe infection when the ear drum ruptures and there is discharge, the pus stops flowing and the eardrum heals by itself in a matter of days.
- Other methods of ear wax removal include the use of pressurized water, a sterilized wire loop and hydrogen peroxide. Use the cap of the bottle that the chemical is stored in to pour some amount of the liquid into your ear canal and you will start to hear a number of popping sounds in the ears -this is the hydrogen peroxide melting the wax. Wait for a couple of minutes in order to allow the melting to die down and then turn your ear into a piece of cotton which will collect all of the melted wax that pours out of the ear.
- Chewing on mints and yawning in order to open up the Eustachian tube is known to help considerably in the event that the problem is the result of a difference in air pressure.
- You can take two drops of pure grain alcohol and put them in your ears. Do this once in the morning and once at night. This allows for the moisture to dry up in the ear.
- Use steam to help release pressure. Boil a pot of water carefully, so as not to burn yourself, drape a towel over your head and the pot of steaming water. Stay this way for about 10- 15 minutes.
- Sometimes a little warm olive oil or baby oil can help soothe the ear canal.
- Eating and yawning are two great activities that can relieve the pressure on the ear canal. Both things can cause you to move your jaw muscles to the point of releasing the pressure on the ear. This allows the fluid buildup to be released.
- A check with a medical practitioner should be done to determine if it is an ordinary infection.
Although most cases of ear infections are not serious, if it becomes chronic, it is better to discuss the problem with a specialist as chronic infections can lead to other more serious problems including meningitis.
What not to do:
- The common human tendency of pushing a finger into the ear to remove the wax actually causes more destruction than it helps as it tends to push the ear wax deeper into the ear canal. The deeper the wax is pushed into the ear canal – the more likely it is likely to be the root cause of the ear pain and dizziness that you experience. In the event that the ear wax has been pushed really deep into the auditory canal, a specialized microscope may be required in order to get the ear wax out.
- Make sure not to attempt some of the more dangerous self-care remedies such as ear candling. Ear candling is a self-care procedure that makes use of ‘ear candles’ that are primarily hollow cones made of paraffin and beeswax with cloth tapered at the end. It is this tapered end that is placed into the ear and another individual will then light the other end of the candle. The procedure relies on the theory that, a vacuum is created while the flame burns – thereby drawing the ear wax out of the ear. However, a number of clinical tests have shown that no vacuum is created and no wax was actually removed. Furthermore, in the event that the individual does not practice this treatment carefully, there is always the chance that it could result in some very serious injury.