by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
© May, 2014
A man wrote,
I am having to have a MRI scan done this week and when I went to look for ear plugs to wear under the muffs provided by the Imaging Clinic there was a pair that were a reusable gel type that had a protection rating of 27 that I liked.
I went earlier to this clinic for a previous MRI and the ear muffs I was given did me no good unless I held them tightly with my hands pressed to my ears which was emotionally traumatizing and caused my arms to cramp since the scan took over 20 minutes. Making matters worse I also have hyperacusis along with Meniere’s disease and severe hearing loss and only have a 40% word recognition level.
Since MRI’s can have noise levels in excess of 100 dB I hate to go, but need to.
The package on the 27 protection factor gel plugs had a really odd warning label on the back that concerns me and I am hoping you can address it. It said that if the plugs are pulled out too quickly that could cause permanent hearing loss.
This seems pretty hard to believe. I called the company’s 800 number, and the person I was transferred to didn’t have a clue as to why his company put that on the package.
I have no problem with slow removal—its just that if any thing were to suddenly go wrong—like a fire from the MRI machine—I might be prone to take out the plugs quickly to ask what’s going on, or simply forget after 25 minutes that it is critical to remove them slowly. The idea of using something that touchy gives me an uneasy feeling in dealing with it. I’m already thinking—OK, just how slow do I need to go!
Would the same degree of slow removal that applies to gel plugs also equally apply to foam plugs? There was a set that had a 32 protection factor rating. It’s just that in the past foam plugs have always seemed to gradually expand and work their way out. But in the MRI, it will be hard to get my hands up to adjust ear plugs back in.
Back to my question, what is this warning all about and just how slow is slow?
I’ve never seen such a warning on ear protectors, but then, I’ve only used foam ones. Here’s what I believe the warning you read is all about.
The gel plugs seal your ear canals very tightly. That’s how they prevent the sound from getting down your ear canals.
Now, if you suddenly jerk them out, what you’d be doing is momentarily expanding the volume in your ear canals just before the gel ear protectors “let go” of the sides of your ear canals and let outside air in. This creates a partial vacuum in the space between the end of the ear plug and your ear drum as you pull them out.
What happens next is that your ear drum is rapidly sucked out to some degree. Then, when the plugs “let go”, the outside air rushes in and your eardrums snap back the other way, much like releasing a stretched elastic band.
When your ear drums move (either way) they pull or push on the 3 tiny bones in your middle ears that ultimately rap on the oval windows transferring the sound to your inner ears.
Your ear drums jerking out and then snapping back violently moves these tiny bones. This excessive violent movement is similar to the movement of these bones when a rifle is shot close to your ears. This is what could result in permanent hearing loss (and tinnitus, and maybe hyperacusis)—all from this single event.
That is why you want to slowly release ear protectors so you keep your ear drum movement within normal limits.
Now to answer your question, “How slow is slow?” Good question.
Remember, “slow” is relative. Just pull them slowly enough to break the suction gradually. It shouldn’t take more than a second. Yanking them out might only take 1/100 second. That’s the difference. Slowly does not mean stretching it out over a minute, just taking a second or so.
The easy way to tell is if you begin to feel suction when you start to pull your ear plugs out, slow down. You want the suction to release slowly. If there is no suction, then any speed is fine. For example, I’ve never felt any suction with foam ear protectors so unless yours cause suction, I wouldn’t worry.
Note 1: The same applies to unvented ear molds and domes on hearing aids. Don’t suddenly yank them out, take a second to let the air pressure release slowly. On my new receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) hearing aids, if I pull them out too fast, the domes actually invert. That’s pulling too fast.
Note 2: The same also applies if you squirt water from the shower head into your ears to clean out the wax. If you have a reduced flow shower head the water comes out with little force and does not push hard on your ear drums. However, if you have a full force shower head and you let the spray hit your ear drum, it can hit it so hard that it slams it in (and again simulates a very loud sound). The result can be instant hearing loss and tinnitus.
Note 3: Even your child kissing you on your ear can cause serious ear problems from the rapid suction and releasing the suction from the kiss. You can read more about this in my article “Kiss of Deaf“.
Therefore, when it comes to your ears, don’t do anything that rapidly sucks your eardrums out or violently pushes them in. Your ears will love you for it—and you won’t risk tinnitus, hearing loss and hyperacusis from that one thoughtless moment.
I’ve suffered significant hearing loss most likely due to headphone use. People, when they warn about headphone use, believe it. Also believe that it is NO FUN having to say What? three times when you’re talking to someone in a crowded place. Makes you look and feel old.
I have a question regarding foam ear plugs not completely inserted into ear canal. I have read that it greatly reduces the protection. But I have also read that it it gives no protection. Please tell me your opinion. I find it hard to believe that foam ear plugs, even partially inserted give zero protection.
Hi Walt:
Foam ear protectors, properly inserted into your ear canals give the protection listed on the package. The maximum is around 30 dB of protection. If they are not inserted properly, that protection factor is greatly reduced and can approach 0 dB if they are much too loose.
You can prove to yourself just how much protection you get when inserting them properly vs inserting them loosely. Just listen to a sound with them out to get the baseline, then insert them loosely and see if the sound is reduced or not. If not, or not much, then you know the answer to your question. Then insert them properly and see how well they reduce sound.
Cordially,
Neil
How do yo know if you’v put them in too far? I see pictures always almost flush against the ear but then how do you grab on to them for taking them out, to get a grip to twist?
Thanks for answering everyones questions. Tinniutis is like the river styx. No one wants to touch it.
Hi Doug:
The kind of ear protectors I have mostly seen stick out of your ears no matter how deeply you insert them so there is no problems getting ahold of them to pull them out. I know there are some that are much shorter and getting them out could be more of a problem. If this is a problem, use the longer ones.
Cordially,
Neil
I got my foam ear plugs ripped out by someone I work with. It was very painful, and I thought I heard a very loud popping sound. Can you please tell me what that was ?? Should I have a hearing test ? Thank you very much for your time, Patrick
Hi Patrick:
When you pull something out quickly that is tightly fitting in your ear canals, the suction pulls on your ear drums and makes it bulge out. Then when the air rushes back in, your ear drums snap back like an elastic–the movement of which generates the equivalent of a loud sound–the pop you heard.
I probably did not do any permanent damage to your hearing, but if you want to have your hearing checked, go ahead. It won’t hurt, but unless you notice a change in your hearing, it’s probably unnecessary.
Cordially,
Neil
I was showering last week and I was cleaning my left ear with my finger while it was wet, then I pulled my finger out of my ear and all of a sudden I felt sharp pain in my left ear followed by muffled hearing and hissing noise. The pain has disappeared after few mintues but I still have muffled hearing and hissing noise. I saw three doctors so far and they say give it two weeks and it will heal. They said that there’s no rapture but they could see blood around the eardrum and liquid behind the eardrum. I’m terrified. What should I do? Please help
Hi Sam:
I’m assuming that you quickly pulled your finger out of your ear and created a vacuum that pulled your eardrum out–hence the pain and muffled hearing. The result would be the same as being exposed to a very loud sound.
The hissing noise is tinnitus and it often accompanies a hearing loss (the muffled hearing you now have).
I don’t think there is anything you can do at the moment but do as the doctors say and let it heal on its own. See what things are like in two weeks.
Cordially,
Neil
it has been 2months and i still have muffled hearing and tinnitus. i have done some tests but they told me to wait a couple of months for the next checkup. the test results showed a slight hearing loss in my left ear and the pressure test showed that my left eardrum travels a longer distance than my right. i can hear all frequencies and i dont have problem understanding words in crowd. when i try to blow my nose or create suction i can feel that my eardrum on left ear travels a bigger distance than normal and it feels like its popping when moving from inside to outside and vice versa and i can hearing the popping. what does that mean that my left eardrum moves more than normal, did i damage my middle ear bones?
Hi Sam,
I’m sorry you lost some hearing in your left ear. Is it all better now? Did you do anything in particular to help it heal?
I need help from i am suffering from
Sensitvity to noise i am undergoing audiology test tomorow i will let you know that what i can do to improve my tolerence to sound
Hi Gururaj:
There are a number of things you can do to help your hyperacusis, which is sensitivity to normal sounds. First, you need to protect your ears from loud sounds in the future. Every time you expose your ears to loud sounds you will set yourself back to square one again. This means that when you are around loud sounds you need to always wear ear protectors.
Second, you need to always be listening to sounds. You don’t want to have silence. The idea is that you want to slowly rebuild your dynamic range, which means that you listen to background sounds as loud as you can stand them, but not so loud that they may cure hyperacusis worse. In other words you are slowly stretching your dynamic range back to where it should be.
Cordially,
Neil
Yeah I’m screwed I pulled out one of the bones in the ear canal by yanking my ear buds out to fast
Hi Dillon:
Why don’t you go to an ENT and have him fix the problem? It’s probably fixable.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, so I bought some earaser ear plugs and they are shaped differently than normal ear plugs, if you look them up on google they are the see through ones, how ever one of them on the left side sucks on my ear when I wear it, should I be concerned? My hearing seems muffled just after a hour of wear only in that ear?
Hi Edward:
I’ve never heard of ear protectors “sucking” on your ear while they are in place. Are you saying that the longer you wear them, the more it seems to be sucking in? I can certainly understand that a tight seal and suck your eardrum out when you try to remove them–and if you do that fast, you can cause problems such as the muffled feeling you get when you take them off. You need to pull them out slowly and slowly let the suction release before pulling them all the way out.
I don’t think sucking in is a problem, as long as you remove them safely.
Cordially,
Neil
That must have been really painful Dillon. I hope your ears are better now. Did they recover over time naturally? Did you do anything in particular to help them heal? I did the same thing 6 weeks ago.
I I put a headphone in my ear and while o was adjusting it I felt a sharp pain. This morning it is painful to blow my nose.
I work at a dive shop. Do you think I could have done enough damage to perforate my ear drum? Or is it just like a bruise?
Hi Levi:
Did this pain come from putting the earbud IN your ear and perhaps twisting it around, but not pulling it partially out? If so, I think it may be more of a mechanical bruise, but I really can’t tell from what you say. I don’t really think you perforated your eardrum, but if you are worried, see an ENT. Then you’d know for sure whether everything is ok or not.
I’m assuming your hearing is normal still–not muffled and not too loud?
Cordially,
Neil
Hey NEIL BAUMAN, after getting angry so many times over my accumulated hearing loss from having my earbuds violently ripped out. I learned that you can use clips to secure them, so no more violent ripping. To prevent the hearing loss from happening from too much pressure hitting and slamming.
I’ve never used a portable showerhead that you can move around before. BUT, i recently moved into a new apartment with one. The water pressure is pretty decent and i put the shower head flush up to my right ear for a good amount of time to clean inside of ear not even thinking that it could damage my eardrum. I immediately lost 95 percent of hearing in my right ear. I felt pressure in the ear with a slight buzzing sound. It’s been 3 weeks now and pressure has subsided alittle but still alittle buzzing. I’ve noticed that my hearing in my right ear has gotten alittle bit better, but still no where near normal. I’d say im still missing about 80 percent. I have no health insurance and need to know if my hearing will gradually come back on it’s own or what. I’m literally freaking out over this and what i should do. Please help.
Hi David:
It is possible that what happened is quite easy to fix. If you had a lot of wax in your right ear canal, squirting the water into your ear may have pushed the wax against your eardrum and “sealed” up your ear canal. Now sounds can’t get through to your eardrum, and thus the instant hearing loss. So that would be the first thing I’d get checked out.
The other possibility is that the water forcefully hitting your eardrum simulated exposing your ears to very loud sounds (by really pushing on your eardrum like a loud sound would). If this is the case, then you probably now have a permanent sensorineural hearing loss.
I sort of lean towards the first scenario since the hearing loss was “instant”. You really need to see some health care professional what can look in your ear canals and take the wax out if there is any impacted there. The good news is that as soon as they take the wax out, your hearing will return to normal (assuming wax is the problem).
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman – I have permanent hearing loss in both ears. Initially, it was only to very high pitches and was detected back in the day when schools used to conduct hearing tests. Apparently, this was due to damage to the stereocilia, but no one has been able to tell me why. About 8yrs ago, my hearing loss deteriorated to the point that I now require hearing aids (possibly due to military service). Thankfully, the loss has since stabilized. Now, I use ear protection whenever I’m going to be exposed to loud noise, such as a lawn mower or blow dryer). Today, as I was pulling out ear plugs, I began to feel a sharp pain in my left ear. I immediately stopped and the hearing aid loosened on its own. After that, I heard a bubbling sound (like one hears when solution to loosen ear is poured down the ear canal). Then, I realized my inner ear was bleeding a little. This lasted only a few minutes. My inner ears still hurts a little, however. At first, sound was a little muffled in that ear, but this seems to have subsided. I’ve never had this happen before. Does this sound like impact to the ear drum and should I be concerned?
Hi Elaine:
To me it sounds like you ruptured your eardrum by pulling out your ear protector too fast and not breaking the suction seal first.
Note: the bleeding is from your outer/middle ear, not your inner ear.
Eardrums, like the rest of your body, can heal themselves, but it could be a good idea to have a doctor, preferably an ENT check your ears out so you know what has happened and whether he needs to do anything to fix it.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil,
I have hyperacusis, chronic tinnitus, tiny ear canals, and have a generally low tolerance to pain and stimuli (Autism Spectrum). My usual, extra-soft-small-barrel-style, plugs are terrific, and I really should not have tried what I did. However, I was wanting something more discrete, for job purposes, and tried a flesh-colored variety of bullet-style plugs the other day. In the past, I couldn’t get any of the longer, bullet types to easily fit in my extremely narrow canal bend – so I simply use the shorter, barrel-shaped variety to avoid needing to pass the bend. Then I got these new polyurethane bullets, and they went right in. The only problem was that they fit so well that they did not de-pressurize when I twisted them to slowly pull out, a few hours later. Instead, they reversed-pressurized, and drove in further. I, thankfully, was eventually able to get them out (very slowly of course) by the normal method – but the pressure and sharp pain, in both ears, while doing it was nevertheless mind-blowing. The result is a moderate spike which has lasted now for 4 days.
Hence, my 2 questions:
1) Is there much possibility that the reverse pressure caused any thing permanent?
2) What perchance could have been happening to activate such sharp pain?
The pressure was more than I figure anything in the ear could tolerate – and still be unaffected, I’m telling you, Dr., the ear-pressure-pain (only during removal albeit) was the among the worst of any type of ear pain I have ever known. First, intolerably sharp pain, from the entire canal inward – then muffled T-spike – then, the next day on, mainly the persistent-fluctuating T-spike in both ears, and intermittent glassy/muffled hearing in left ear.
Thanks you for reading,
Best
RL
Hi Randall:
1. I don’t think there will be any permanent damage. Basically, you “pulled a muscle”–hence the pain. Just like any other muscle that gets “pulled”, give it time and it should be ok again.
2. You “pulled” one of the tiny muscles in your middle ear and/or your eardrum.
I think if this happens in the future, and you can’t “break the seal” while pulling out an ear plug is to continuously swallow thus equalizing the pressure inside your middle ear to the outside. If that doesn’t work, try holding your nose shut and blowing to bulge out your eardrum while you are gently pulling the ear plug out.
One way or another, you want to break the suction that is holding the ear plug in, but in the process not radically moving your eardrum suddenly which mimics a loud sound, nor overly stretching the tiny muscles in your middle ear.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so very much for responding swiftly! Your direction all makes such perfect sense now. You have been highly helpful and inspirational, all the way through my T&H journey – really like no other resource.
Best Regards,
Randall Lewis
I was doing work at Starbucks a few weeks ago and inserted earplugs to block out the noise. I don’t use earplugs often.i don’t listen to music w earphones. I didn’t know that you’re supposed to remove them slowly. When I went to remove them a few hours later it felt like a strong suction had formed. I got nervous and pulled them out quickly. I felt a ringing sound for several days which subsided. Now it has returned and seems worse. It’s about 2 am. I can’t sleep bc of the loud continuous ringing in my left ear. I have an appt with the Ent tmrw morn. I am really worried that I did serious damage to my hearing. I had tinnitus in the same ear about 5 years ago and I wonder if the ear was more sensitive to ear problems.
Hi Sherri:
I’m not surprised you have tinnitus if you yanked the earplugs out after they had sealed themselves so tightly. You may have caused some hearing damage, but the tinnitus may prove to be your main problem. Once you have a hearing test, you should know the extent of any hearing loss.
In any case, protect your ear from loud sounds for the next month or two and let your ear heal as much as it can. Hopefully, the tinnitus will begin to fade away–especially if you learn to ignore it and focus on the loves of your life.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I have been experiencing ear problems for 5 weeks now. It began with a ringing in my ears and constant crackling and popping when I swallowed. I’ve been seem by two doctors. The first said i had ETD and suggested an allergy medication, which didn’t work. The second doctor said my ears looked fine and that the ringing would likely go away on its own. I was exposed to a second of very loud sound from my car stereo a couple of days before this started, but both doctors doubted that could have caused the issue. Since then I have frequently checked my ringing to see if it’s decreasing by covering my ears with my palms. When I do, I feel a vaccuum effect and can hear if there’s ringing. I’m careful to remove my hands slowly, but I’m concerned i may br making my ringing worse by doing this. I’m now very afraid I’ve caused serious damage. Please help, doctor.
Hi Scott:
5 weeks ago did you have any active allergies?
Before the loud car stereo incident, did you have the crackling, etc.? If not, I don’t see that this was the cause of the crackling stuff.
If your ears are congested, that could account for the ringing because you probably have some degree of conductive hearing loss and tinnitus almost always accompanies hearing loss. When the congestion resolves, the tinnitus should also go away.
You can make your tinnitus worse by worrying about it, and by constantly checking to see if it is still there. You need to stop checking to see if you tinnitus is still there and whether its getting louder or softer. Just totally ignore your tinnitus for a week, then assess whether it is getting better or not. Once a week is often enough to check it. When you strain to hear your tinnitus, you are telling your brain that this is an important sound–and it’s not. It should be a totally unimportant sound–so unimportant that you don’t even think about it. That gives your brain permission to let it fade into the background and maybe go away completely.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your reply! Regarding the crackling, I noticed it 2 days after the car stereo incident, the same day I noticed the ringing. When I saw the doctor that week, he indicated that I had sinus drainage and negative pressure when he examined my ear drums. He suggested I had Eustachian Tube issues. For 5 weeks I’ve hears loud clicking and popping every time I swallow. I absolutely hope this is all this is, and that I’ll make a full recovery.
My concern is the way I’ve been checking. I press my palms flat against my ears to block out all other noise. I’ve tried to be slow and careful whem removing my palms, but there is always a very definite suction effect when I do.
I’m concerned that I may have caused damage to my ear srum ir inner ear by foolishly checking like this. I thought it was safe, but reading some of the entries above, I’m worried I may have given myself noise-induced tinnitus due to suction on my eardrums. Do you think this is possible from what I describe?
Hi Scott:
If your Eustachian tube is clogged you’ll hear this crackling until it clears. The sucked in ear drum is a clue that this is what is happening.
I don’t really think that the suction from your palms is strong enough to cause tinnitus. And especially since you are careful to try to slowly break the suction.
And doing this could also be sucking gunk up your Eustachian tubes to some extent. Better not to do it at all.
If you want to block the sound just push the tragus–the protuberance at the mouth of your ear canal–and it will seal your ear canal very well without causing any suction. That’s the best way to temporarily block your ear canals.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your patience and care, Doctor. I truly appreciate it. I’ve been so concerned, because when I covered my ears, Insometimes pressed very hard to block out the sound, and I was worried I may have ruptured my ear drum or sometime by pressing the air in too hard. I’m just so tired from sleep deprivation that I’m worried anything I’m doing is making this ringing worse or making it permanent.
I did want to add that this all began at the end of a 2-year period of intense stress (divorce, move, changing careers, etc.), and I am experiencing extress muscle tension and pain. I have noticed that when I move my head or jaw in certain ways, my ringing changes pitch or gets louder or softer.
I apologize for throwing so much information at you. Im just so scared, and without health insurance at the moment it’s difficult to get much help. I realize that the course of care and recovery are quite different for somatic vs. noise-induced ringing, and I want to do the right thing. I appreciate your insights and kindness, Doctor.
Hi Scott:
The intense stress can certainly cause you to “tighten up” and result in tinnitus or make existing tinnitus worse. The fact that you can temporarily make your tinnitus louder by moving your head or jaw just means you have some degree of somatic (body) tinnitus as well. This typically happens when your neck and jaw are not in proper alignment and that can be due to the stress.
Going to a chiropractor and/or massage therapist to get things all relaxed and properly aligned can take care of this somatic tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
I had an earplug stuck in my ear, which was pulled out wirh tweezers. Every since my hearing has been muffled in that ear but I don’t really feel any pressure. What could this be?
Hi M:
I can think of two likely things. One, not all the earplug came out and the tip is still blocking your ear canal.
Two, the ear plug pushed wax down near/against your eardrum again blocking the ear canal.
What I’d do is go to a doctor or audiologist and have them look in your ear canal to be sure there is nothing still left in your ear canal.
If your ear canal is clear, then I have some other ideas, but first, make sure it is clear before we spend time on them.
Cordially,
Neil
Foam earplugs gave me a lot of pain and they induced a low level temporary tinnitus at first before later creating a chronic tinnitus and host of other problems.. read on.
They also led me to a point where I could not smile with foam earplugs on..as they would poke something in my ear area when smiling. So one day I decided to nudge out the earplugs a little bit at a time after I inserted them fully. I nudged them out 5-6 times per ear until I pulled them out far enough so I could smile without feeling the poke…so maybe I moved them outward 1-2mm total after 5-6 nudges…each nudge was very small if anything. Well I think this caused some serious negative pressure injury (?).
After 4 hours of having the plugs on that day the pain of having them on became so excruciating I had to take off the in the middle of driving because it was so painful I didn’t have time to pull over. I still took them off slowly though. I just balanced the car and drove slow.
But I developed a major earache (painful for 2 months), louder tinnitus, fullness sensation, intermittent pain. It feels like Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. This was back in January and I still have the T and the fullness issues.
Any idea how this happened and anything I can do about it?
I really think it has to do with nudging out the earplugs a little bit–maybe a total of 1-2 millimeters out–after already fully inserted.
I’ve been researching this for the last 9 months and rarely see any discussion on earplug injury, but I found some here so I’d thought I’d post and hopefully could get some new insights.
Thanks.
Hi Sam:
I can’t see that nudging your ear protectors out a couple of millimeters and doing it very slowly on top of that could have caused your tinnitus. I think the problem is elsewhere. It could be that the foam ear protectors are putting pressure on some point in your ear canal and causing all the pain that you’re experiencing. That is my best guess. If you need your protection, probably wearing earmuffs style ear protectors would be a better idea for you as they don’t touch or affect your ear canals.
I wouldn’t be surprised that the ear protectors that you were using irritated the nerves in your ear canal and that resulted in the problems you now have. I think you’ll find that your trigeminal nerve is involved. Incidentally your trigeminal nerve also controls your Eustachian tubes so that is why they may feel like they’re not working right either.
Have you been wearing your protectors in the months since this happened? You don’t want to do anything that irritates your ear canals in any way.
Cordially,
Neil
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Hello,
A week and a half ago I pulled out an earbud (a gel-like earbud) out of my left ear too fast and immediately felt pain and knew something was wrong in my ear. It’s painful in my ear and around my ear as well and feels sort of full and different than my right ear. There is some tinnitus also but I already had some tinnitus but it may be worse now in my left ear.
I went to my ENT 2 days ago and he removed a big hunk of wax and said my canal is red and vascular but didn’t see any damage to the ear drum. He gave me steroid/antibiotic drops to use twice a day and I’m on day 2. So far it’s not any better and is often very painful and just feels wrong. And also when I go outside it is sensitive to the cold. I am very worried I did something to the ear drum or the tiny bones or something because it is so painful and feels so different than it did before the incident.
One other thing. 2 days after the initial incident I saw my primary doctor and she said she saw a bubble on the ear drum but it will heal. The ENT doctor I saw did not mention this. Thank you so much for reading this.
Hi Henry:
Two thoughts come to mind. First, is that as you pulled the earbud out your eardrum bulged out and stretched itself more than normal, thus resulting in pain. It would be the same as stretching any muscle too far, and it takes time for the stretch to heal and the pain to go away.
Second, you may have suffered acoustic shock. This can happen when you pulled the earbud out too fast and your eardrum was stretched as mentioned above. Then as the earbud released, air rushed in to fill the partial vacuum and your eardrum snapped back. The result to your middle/inner ear would be the same as if you had just experienced a sudden loud sound like a gunshot for example. This sudden unexpected, “loud” sound resulted in acoustic shock syndrome. One of the symptoms of acoustic shock is ear pain like you are now experiencing.another symptom can be sensitivity of your external ear and the area around it to touch and also other senses such as heat or cold which is what you are also experiencing.
I don’t really think that you have damaged your eardrum as such nor the three little bones in your middle ear.
I’d give it more time, but at the same time, do not stress or worry about it. When you do that you just make things worse. If it doesn’t get better in the next couple of months, feel free to contact me again and we can reassess what’s going on.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m dealing with pulling my earbuds out too quickly and having a muffled feeling in my right ear. There is no pain but there is a sensation as if my ear needs to “pop.” I can still hear out of it and there is no ringing but this has never happened when I pulled ear buds out. My hearing in the right ear is muffled and won’t “pop.” Is there a quick fix for this and should I be worried?
Hi Raul:
How is you ear doing now. I suspect that the need to “pop” your ear has gone away, correct?
There is no quick fix–it takes time for you ear to “heal”, so just protect your ears from loud sounds in the meantime and let it heal itself.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello. I have wired earbuds that i’ve had for a while, they get pulled out of my ears all the time. (snagged on a corner, door handle, my cat jumps on my lap and steps on the wire and that pulls them out, ect…)
i’ve realized that in the past year i’ve been getting a ringing occasionally (once or twice a week maybe?) in one or both ears for like 10 seconds or so and then it stops.
is this tinnitus?
I do take advil often for headaches (unrelated to the earbud thing) and my doctor told me that some pain relievers can heighten ringing in ears.
it doesn’t hurt when it rings, and it’s not bothersome as it only happens for a few seconds at a time.
should i be worried? have i caused permanent damage? i took a hearing test a few weeks ago and my hearing is good for my age.
I’m looking into getting either nonwired earbuds or headphones where it can’t damage my ear.
I’m only 16, i want to protect my ears if i can.
Thanks for the help!
Hi Jack:
The phantom sounds you hear are tinnitus–it doesn’t matter how long they last in order to be tinnitus.
Ibuprofen (Advil) causes tinnitus in lots of people. I have received more complaints from tinnitus from taking Ibuprofen than for almost any other drug. So if you tried a different drug, you could see whether that prevents these periodic tinnitus episodes.
If your tinnitus is a loud piercing kind of whistle sound that goes from nothing to very high levels in a second or two, then tapers quickly over the next 5 to 10 seconds to nothing, this is called Transient Tonal Tinnitus and happens to everyone from time to time. It could be rather frequent like you have or only happen maybe once a year if even that often. I have experienced that occasionally over the years.
Since you are only 16, your hearing should be “good” period, not “good for your age”.
The big thing with wearing earphones is that they direct all the sound into your ear canals–thus you want to keep the volume down so you don’t damage your ears. A good rule of thumb is to limit the volume of music to the same level as you would when listening to someone talking. Then you shouldn’t have to worry about damaging your ears with too loud sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
I just had something happen where I pulled my ear plug out and now I’m having difficulty hearing out of my right ear. I’m terrified I may have permanently damaged my hearing which could affect my job. I’m thinking it was just the pressure difference and that this can be treated and healed. I can sort of hear a ringing and the ear itself feels plugged. Is this conditional treatable and will my hearing go back to normal?
Hi Robert:
How is your ear now? I have expected it to have gone back to normal now after about a week. If not, let me know.
Cordially,
Neil
I hope you may be able to help, I have for many years been using foam ear plugs, last week I noticed as i I pulled them out bit of ringing sound for some minutes. However I now notice when lieing in bed and I move my head from one side to the other especially in the morning that after couple seconds my head starts to swerl around feeling dizzy even eyes sometimes move, this has been going on for atleast 3 weeks now. Couple of times going to the bathroom at night when getting out of bed I feel un able to ballance myself and moving to one side almost falling. This does not always happen when getting out of bed just if go fast up and out.
I feel I might have done something to the inner part of ear dont know if cristals or something in the suction of taking the buds out possibly quickly to suction of air. I noticed also putting the ear bud back in slight pain in the inner ear,
its for this reason I feel the act of putting in and out of ear the foam buds might have dislodged something in the ear as I know hmmer anvil and styrup are ver delicate items, I have been using ear plugs now the foam ones for many many years, never realised needed to take them out very slowly, I thought it could even be maybe dirt on the earbuds as I tend to leave them next to bed and notice sometimes dust on table, dont know if that could be potential cause of infection. I read today something about stomach vertigo or something thought maybe as Im bulimic might have caused it but feel more likely to be as result of taking ear plug out of ear. I have not noticed any loss in hearing since. I am now very careful in how remove earplugs but this dizzy sickly feeling is begining to irritate me lots. as I find it impossible to sleep with noise around.
I think its Vertigo that I have, but this has only been in the last 3 weeks. I hope it can go. I also feel bit sickly at times, nausea, noticed today looking up a bit roof also made me little dizzy.
Can you recommend I do anything. Its very difficult for me to give up my ear plugs due to my sensitivity to noise.
Thanks lots
Charles
Hi Charles:
Why are you regularly wearing ear plugs? Wearing them unnecessarily can cause tinnitus by itself.
When you move certain ways and get dizzy and your eyes move (nystagmus), that is an indication that something is wrong in your balance system. One possibility is the the otoconia (rocks in your head) are out of place. Typically, if that is the problem, getting a doctor or physiotherapist that knows how to properly perform the Epley maneuver can make them fall back into their proper positions and the dizziness will go away.
If it just happens when you jump out of bed fast and stand up, you could have orthostatic dizziness because your blood pressure is low at that point and not enough blood reaches your brain as you stand up fast. You could check and make sure your blood pressure isn’t too low. And of course, you can get up slowly in the meantime.
So if it is the speed of standing up is the problem–I’d say it was low blood pressure, but if it is the motion whether standing up or rolling over, etc, done at any speed, then I’d think it was benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) due to the otoconia out of place and fixed by doing the Epley maneuver.
Wearing ear plugs all the time isn’t the proper way to overcome your sensitivity to noise–and over time can make it worse.
From what you describe, I don’t think you have been taking them out too fast, nor is it dirt that is causing the problem.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, yesterday I removed a foam earplug in my right ear too quickly. It was my first time using foam ear plugs and I felt like something had exploded in my right ear. It wasn’t painful but for a couple of hours it did feel hot. Obviously, I read the packaging instructions after pulling my right ear plug out quickly and was alerted to the possibility that pulling out an earplug too quickly MAY damage my ear drum. I pulled the left ear plug out quite slowly in response. Within an hour of pulling my earplugs out, however, my right ear felt muffled. That muffled sensation has now gone but when I went to sleep I heard constant whistling in both my ears. I had to use some noise cancelling headphones to sleep.
Is it possible I damaged my eardrum?
Hi John:
I doubt you hurt your eardrum–maybe temporarily stretched it a bit. As I explained in this article, any damage is to your inner ear and could result in tinnitus, hearing loss and/or hyperacusis.
Hopefully, this is temporary, so just ignore it. If you obsess over it, you’ll just make matters worse. You shouldn’t need to wear headphones either.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Neil,
Thanks for the reply. I haven’t experienced any adverse effects since that day and I am unaware to any actual changes in my hearing. Is it even remotely possible, that i may have suffered permanent hearing loss?
Hi John:
It is possible that you have some hidden hearing loss, but don’t worry about it now. There is nothing you can do about it. Just be careful in the future now that you know what the problem is.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Neil, thanks for answering everyones questions, thats really nice.
I have kinda loud tinnitus previously and today I pulled out a Mac soft foam earplug without twisting it. I didnt grab it and yank it out. I pulled it from the top maybe 1-2 seconds but I heard a popping sound as suction released . It didnt hurt and doesnt now but it is ringing more.
Iv also read a lot of articles today about the damage this could do and my pulse is very high.
Your article is so important to read.
I always twist them out slowly but this time forgot the twist. My only hope is I dint yank them out but Im worried about permanent damage.
Hi Doug:
From what you say, I doubt you caused any damage–permanent or otherwise. I wouldn’t be surprised that your tinnitus has gone back to its former volume by the time you wake up tomorrow.
The big thing is don’t worry about it and obsess over it. Forget about it and focus on the loves of your life.
Cordially,
Neil
Question… I have tinnitus, no hearing loss. I purchased the High-Fidelity Concert Earplugs by EarTekPro on Amazon to use during loud events. However, when I take them out my ears make a terrible static noise and it takes a while for my hearing to return to normal. Why is that??
Hi Ashley:
I’m not clear on what you are saying. Are you saying that as you take the ear plugs out you hear this static noise, or that when you take them out, you hear this static noise for some minutes or hours afterwards?
Also, you say it takes time for your hearing to return to normal. What are you meaning by that–that your hearing sounds muffled after you take the ear plugs out and in a few hours your hearing returns to normal?
If so, I’d say the ear protectors aren’t protecting your ears enough, and that you have a temporary threshold shift (i.e. a temporary hearing loss) that soon goes away.
Cordially,
Neil
This morning I pulled out my ear plug too fast (half asleep and startled by my husband), and now I can’t hear at all out of my left ear. Have I caused permanent hearing loss?
Hi HB:
I doubt you lost all your hearing in the affected ear–it just seems to you like you did. It’s too early to know whether you caused any permanent hearing loss.
See what tomorrow sounds like. You may be back to normal by then or well on your way. If not, let me know.
Cordially,
Neil
My mother pulled my earplug(left ear) quickly and I felt pain in ear at that time. its 7 days and pain is increasing in ear. Is it ear drum damage ? Is it curable? Please answer my question
Hi Sarthak:
How is your hearing in that ear? If it is normal, I doubt there is any permanent damage. Your eardrum was “sprained” so to speak and it takes time for the pain to go away, but it shouldn’t be getting worse instead of better–unless you are exposing your ears to loud sounds/music. You want to limit sounds to normal everyday sounds to give it a chance to “heal” for the next few weeks.
Cordially,
Neil
My hearing is normal.but is pain is not going away.is it permanent damage to eardrum ? Thanks for answering.
Hi Sarthak:
Since your hearing is normal, I don’t think there is any permanent damage to your eardrum. Give your ear time for the pain to go away.
Cordially,
Neil
Is there any difference in the magnitude of the suction caused by removing a shallow-sitting single-flange earplug vs more deeply seated earplugs? When removing a shallow earplug too quickly today it made a loud pop which worried me a bit but didn’t cause any pain. I’m hoping it wasn’t loud enough to cause damage.
Hi Javier:
The only difference I can see would be in the distance you have to pull the ear protector before it breaks the seal. The longer the pull, the greater the vacuum created behind it and thus the more the eardrum will “snap back” as seal is broken. This may depend more on the design of the ear protector than on the depth it is inserted.
If you don’t have any resulting side effects from the loud “pop”–pain, hearing loss, tinnitus–I think your ears will be fine without any problems arising. Just be more gentle in the future.
Cordially,
Neil
I removed a triple-flanged rubber ear plug that was pushed deeply into my ear – deep enough to reduce almost all sound but not cause pain- in less than a fraction of a second and now i have partial hearing loss in my right ear that feels my hearing in that ear is muffled and slightly plugged. Is this permanent and if so, is there any specialist treatment i could seek? How long should i monitor my symptoms and how should i take care of my ear in the meantime? Thanks, Luke
Hi Luke:
Pulling a ear plug out of your ear too fast causes suction that when broken lets your eardrum snap back giving you the same effect as hearing a sudden loud noise. The result is the muffled hearing you are now experiencing. Your hearing should return to normal in a day or two without doing anything.
How are your ears now–5 days later? Everything ok?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Luke.
I use 3 rib silicon ear plugs which I remove by slowly twisting them out but i usually get a noisy pop from breaking the seal from the right ear only. Since I am not pulling them straight out am I causing any damage. Only once did I get a ring over my 24/7 tinnitus but other times nothing changed even with a loud pop. I do not know why I get pops since I slowly twist them out.
Respectfully,
Mike