Unique symptom? (bubbling sensation in ear)

Guys I wonder if I’m the only one to experience this: I get an audible sensation of fluid bubbling through my ear. I can encourage it with physical position. In certain head angles it increases. In other positions it stops. It’s sometimes accompanied by mild vertigo but usually not . I used to get it for a while with no other symptoms. It’s almost only obvious in the morning before or as I get up. Over time it has become less intense but of longer duration.

Anyone else get anything like this?

Although I don’t experience the same thing, I do get a strange pulsing/vibrating sensation through my ear whenever I am around high-pitched noises or am in a certain position… Although we’re not diagnosed with an inner-ear infection, many of the symptoms overlap so it’s possibly not surprising that we experience this. Have you discussed it with your neurologist?

Yes although she has said it’s not a significant observation. I’m not so sure.

@turnitaround - I get this! And I definitely notice when I sit up in bed in the morning. Also with certain head positions for sure! Such a puzzling and scary symptom. Do you feel like yours is synchronous with your pulse? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.

Not quite, but yes, generally my tinnitus is sometimes in sync with pulse, maybe 5% of the time. It’s when it’s at its most annoying and distracting usually.

I am not alone, yay! :wink: (well i wouldn’t wish it on anyone really)

I have been diagnosed by a couple of doctors with possible Hydrops. I have a theory that pulsative tinnitus is simply the fluid pressure building up in your inner ear so much that it starts to press against the blood supply and starts to take on the rhythm of your blood. My theory about the sensation in the morning is that there is some kind of blockage (causing the Hydrops) which shifts as you sleep. In my case I almost only get mild spinning attacks in the morning. I hypothesise that by morning, due to gravity and position, my blockage has moved enough to let all the fluid mix and this is when you get fluid moving through you ear (sometimes bubbling through) and a spinning sensation as the fluid moves past your balance organ, simulating a head turn (whereas in fact you are stationary). Of course this could also be the result of pressure on the nerves, but I don’t think so…

Then when I get up I’m thinking the blockage and fluid shifts a lot for a brief while (so you get a sound) and then stops once you are upright, ready to cause pressure to build up once again during the daytime.

Interesting theory! Can you tell my a little about hydrops? I’m not too familiar with it. Shortly after getting my MAV dx I developed a host of other health issues which has consumed more of my time than the MAV dx. It’s all so overwhelming some days. How long have you had symptoms?

The ear is an organic pressurised plumbing system. Endolymphatic Hydrops is when there is higher than normal fluid pressure in your inner ear. The amount it’s higher by can vary. It causes symptoms like tinnitus, dulled hearing and imbalance. It can be permanent or temporary. Many people with Hydrops have no symptoms. Others are not as lucky.

Gotcha. How long have you had symptoms?

For 1 year and 3 months chronically

I’m sorry to hear that. Today is my first day posting, so I look forward to supporting each other as we make improvements!

Funny that you should mention the ‘bubbling’ sensation! I had this very weird sensation sometime last week. I have been sitting just one or two steps down from totally O.K. for some weeks, and suddenly out of the blue this strange kind of bubbling…quite loudly in my ‘bad’ ear. At first I thought there was an insect in there…it probably only lasted about 30 seconds (though it felt longer), and then it was gone! - not returned so far. It was in the middle of the day, and I was at the computer. ???
James, you have mentioned several times that you get spins in bed/ on getting up in the morning…I habitually sleep on my back due to back problems and all seems to be well, but I quite like a few minutes on my side before getting up, and I have found that lying on my ‘bad’ side is not a good idea at all, and even the other side can cause an increase in tinnitus and an inclination to spins. I sleep with one pillow, but have found that adding an extra pillow to kind of prop up my head and shoulders will give me a bit longer symptom-free. This is a purely personal observation - and may well be attributed to my age for all I know!

I used to do the same - double pillow - to try and avoid symptoms, but recently my philosophy has completely changed: I don’t fear the spins, I welcome the spins.

My theory is that the spins represent fluid in your ear equalising, so I say - Equalise away! Reduce the pressure, please!

I’ve been fairly lucky in that the drugs suppress eye movement so I don’t get hallucinations of the room spinning when I feel the spins and i’ve only had more than light spinning a couple of times, so it rarely phases me. In addition i’ve only had combined tinnitus very briefly once (which did worry me as this is a classic menieres like symptom?)

I don’t welcome any form of spinning or dizziness!!! :slight_smile: I have never tracked any marked correlation between any kind of spinning/dizzy episodes and tinnitus. The tinnitus has been with me for many, many years and the volume seems to fluctuate randomly. Strangely, I have often wondered if the louder tinnitus is not perhaps a sign that some sort of pressure is equalizing in the ear…??? Sometimes I seem to notice it more when the barometer drops suddenly…but have never really taken note. Try to get over the anxiety about going deaf…we all know stress is not good :smiley: :smiley: . Yeh, yeh, I know, easier said than done!