27 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

As it dmsounds like ENT issue ruked out suggest next consulting oral/maxofacial specialist as per my post of July 2. Could be issue with jaw/TMJ joint

 

Yes, that's also another thing to investigate in addition... 

 

I also want to do a Tympanometry test... 

Yes could be TMJ (forgot the name before).

You say you have no pain, but have you pressed with your fingers really hard around the outside of your ear on the jaw near the hinge and down. Also above the ear on the side of the head?

Evidently there are many muscles that can contract and stay contracted unless you manipulate them. 

Have you visited a physio that also specialises in TMJ? If they do acupuncture (mine did) they will stick needles into the contracted muscles which makes them release. Good fun, but works over a few visits.

Also did you try a course of Celebrex (my specialist recommended this in case the joint has inflammation.) If you have arthritis in other joints you could well have it in your jaw hinge joint too.

I told a friend who got ear trouble and specialist couldn't find anything to press around his ear jaw hinge, he said it didn't hurt, I said press real hard, he said it hurt because he was pressing hard. So told him to press the other side as hard and it didn't hurt. There you go. 🙂

 

9 hours ago, carlyai said:

Yes could be TMJ (forgot the name before).

You say you have no pain, but have you pressed with your fingers really hard around the outside of your ear on the jaw near the hinge and down. Also above the ear on the side of the head?

Evidently there are many muscles that can contract and stay contracted unless you manipulate them. 

Have you visited a physio that also specialises in TMJ? If they do acupuncture (mine did) they will stick needles into the contracted muscles which makes them release. Good fun, but works over a few visits.

Also did you try a course of Celebrex (my specialist recommended this in case the joint has inflammation.) If you have arthritis in other joints you could well have it in your jaw hinge joint too.

I told a friend who got ear trouble and specialist couldn't find anything to press around his ear jaw hinge, he said it didn't hurt, I said press real hard, he said it hurt because he was pressing hard. So told him to press the other side as hard and it didn't hurt. There you go. 🙂

 

 

Thanks for suggestions, I have tried that, I think the GP also pressed there, I have no pain or discomfort in my jaw or hinge while pressing, no artritis either, while pressing and moving the jaw the crackling sound in my ear does not change at all in any way, that's why I suspect it's not related..., but it's another root of enquiry in the future... 

 

I am beginning to think now this is not even the eardrum, it will be hard to imagine such crackling, distinct stepping noise, from eardrum movement. I start thinking this maybe the bones behind the eardrum, maybe when I had infection 4 months ago it damaged it or something... 

 

Anyway, I give it a bit more time and see, it's not getting worse, so not a concern in that way... 

 

Do you have sinus infection issues a lot? One nostril chronically closed?

11 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Do you have sinus infection issues a lot? One nostril chronically closed?

 

No, nothing like that... 

 

I ride motorbike a lot when I'm in Thailand.. 

I hade ear problems for many years....including cracking sound when chewing.  After several ENT doctors, antibiotics, what finally worked for me was keeping my ears dry....all the time.  When I shower, I try to keep water from going directly in my ear.  As soon as I finish showering, I rollup a 1/4 of a cotton ball and put in each ear for a few minutes.  I tried ear plugs/silicon plugs when swimming, but could never keep my ears dry.   Once I finally overcame the ?fungus? problem, I haven't had a reoccurence in many years.

9 hours ago, kokesaat said:

I hade ear problems for many years....including cracking sound when chewing.  After several ENT doctors, antibiotics, what finally worked for me was keeping my ears dry....all the time.  When I shower, I try to keep water from going directly in my ear.  As soon as I finish showering, I rollup a 1/4 of a cotton ball and put in each ear for a few minutes.  I tried ear plugs/silicon plugs when swimming, but could never keep my ears dry.   Once I finally overcame the ?fungus? problem, I haven't had a reoccurence in many years.

 

I had anti-fungal drops for about a week or 10 days..., I don't think much water enters my ear showering, but I will follow your lead for drying it a bit more when I come out... 

 

I tried putting plugs in my ear when swimming in the sea or pool, but it's very uncomfortable, and, it causes wax built up as any plug pushes wax back in..., I can see it with my camera...! 

 

About how long do you think your keep-dry approach took for the crackling noise problem to go away...?