Janelle2 Hi Bob I can do it too except mine is still voluntary. I've been able to do it for a few years now. I have no idea what it is or if many people can do it but i just thought you might feel better knowing you're not the only one. If you found out any information on it it would be greatly appreciated :)



rb2008 Your posts are very timely. I know exactly what you are talking about and have been able to do that since I was a kid. But today something alarming started. That noise started happening for 5-10 seconds on its own, recurrently, only on one side. I joked with my husband that I thought I was having a stroke. Not painful or anything, just weird. I Googled "thunder in my head" on a whim, to see what would hit, and here this thread appeared. Would love to know what is going on.

robehack I also can make the same sound. It seems to me like it may be some sort of air escaping through the eardrum or something, possibly vibrations due to it or something, but I really have no idea. I'm having a seperate problem that has been queing it on its own along with some other physical responses, but it never happens for more than a second without me doing it on command. Really, really would like to know what it is.



Doesn't appear to be all that uncommon. I could be wrong, but it seems like I remember having conversations about it with people growing up that had the same sounds in their heads/ears.

chris516 Yeah I've been able to make this same noise since I was very young I had no idea that anyone else could also. Does anyone know if this is something only a few people can do? I've asked a few people now and they all look at me like I'm crazy.

SaffronAxis Hi, I'm 22 and can create the sound on command too.

I have had this pointless ability for about 10 years or so.

I have had some crazy looks too when i tell people :)

I can keep it going for 25 seconds, after which it becomes difficult.

It is never painful.

People can not hear it.

It never functions without me commanding it.

Maybe in the future i will?

My ears are clean.

Came on this thread to try and shed some light on this. We need answers! :)

There's a few of us out there...!

palco40 Hi I can also do this and have been able to for years. I have no pain with it and it is voluntary. I can keep it going for very long periods.

Glad to know i'm not alone with this.

Seperate from this, I have been in bed with Labrinthytus for a week having dizzy spells. Over last 3 days i've lost hearing in my right ear almost totally. No pain but can't seem to get it cleared. Any suggestions as I think once cleared dizzyness will ease.

Palco40



Evo951 wow im totally surprised to find others like me. been able to do this since a child. I had tubes in my ears as a kid, my mom a nurse had thought maybe scarring around ear drum the culprit. who knows. wish i knew for certain. mine is voluntary and i dont like to do it, kinda annoying, sometimes it cancels out all other sounds sometimes it does not. cheers.

evo

candymancan Its called poping your ears, very few people can do it on command. I can do this also. Its you openeing your eustation tubes in your inner ear. Most people have to hold there nose and swallow to do this.



Its a nice trick to have when your ear is clogged or has pressure in it. Its also nice to have when your swimming in deep water because you can equalize your ear pressure without holding your nose

qwanqwan I can do this too! I did some light research, and came up with this. The action is called a voluntary contraction of the tensor tympani, and very few people can do it. It aids in equalizing ear pressure when flying or underwater, etc. Try preforming this action when diving deep underwater, you will feel the pressure equalize (uncomfortable at first, but you get used to it), and will be able to dive quite deep without the awful pressure on your ears. Just make sure to do it again on the way back up!



Source: Own experience, http://*****************/question/index?qid=20090628001312AAcrJFh





stevey112 i can also do this, i can do it for about 15 seconds before it starts to fade away n become difficult to continue. It can become a habit if i do it too much so i try to limit doing it. I thought i was the only person that could do this so its good to see other people that have the ability. I also had tubes in my ears when i was younger so perhaps this has something to do with it?

PJMorgan22 I have also been able to do this since I can remember......what made me think of it today was that my 3 yr old son looked at me and asked "What is the noise I hear when i close my eyes?" I asked him to describe it and he closed his eyes and after a few seconds said "thunder". Guess it is genetic. I asked my 6 yr old daughter if she could do that and she can't.

Mrmetal hi all, i can do this as well, I'm 22 and have been able to do it since i can remember, every time i can do it a little longer then before but as you all said previous its hard to keep it going, i can either keep my eyes open or closed (i can do it better when they are closed), i can keep it up for more then a minute now (took some practice) I never had any kind of ear problem when i was younger and it doesn't give me a headache, I read that it might be a thing that i can do underwater, which is nice because i really love the water, but haven't been in it lately do to the fact that really long hair is hard to brush out after i would go swimming



Its awesome to know that im not the only one

davekern I have also been able to do this for as long as I can remember. I am now 56 years old. I can only do it on command, but it sneaks in sometimes when I yawn really big. It feels almost like I am flexing some kind of muscle in my head somewhere, like wiggling your ears, but deeper inside my head. I can only make the sound for about 10 seconds at a time and then it gets harder to do. It is usually in the key of C. I don't know of many people who know what I am talking about. Is this a well known fenomenon and is it somewhere documented by scientific research?

cmsears352 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani_muscle



I was very relieved when I saw this, my mother had brain tumors and I thought somehow this was incorporated with it. I can do it on command with eyes open and closed.



Also when I get an itch somewhere and I dont scratch it - this noise occurs. Does sortof sound like thunder haha just hope theres no lightning on its way!

EchoPsychotic I'm 16 and I, too, can do this weird ear thing. I know of no one else who can, if I asked about it I recieved crazy looks. I recently went up to Arizona from Texas and my ears popped and the only way to relieve myself of the pain was to make the noise. I can do it on my own and whenever I yawn. It only lasts up to about 10 seconds. I've always wondered about it and now i am glad that i know what it is. Thank you very much.

EchoPsychotic and i am also glad to know that i am notthe only one who can do this. :)

Beczz I'm 24 and

have had this thundering I'm my left ear for awhile. It went away then came back .. It happens more when I'm in bed and laying on my

left side.. Other times it starts up randomly... Kinda relieved I'm not the only one.. Is it bad ?

tarka87 i have also been able to make this noise for as long as i can remember i feel this could be the cause of my dizziness because the noise you are all actually making in your ears is the sound of you tensing the hammer muscle and also the stirrup muscle which in turn is putting pressure on the hammer bone which in turn puts pressure on the ear drum causing a thunder like noise now although this doesnt apear harmfull at first im sure if we all keep doing it the muscles in the ear may grow and put constant pressure on the ear drum causing the noise to continue on its own. hope this has been helpfull to everyone. tarka.

RadioAstronomyObserver Tarka87,

I too can make a "Thunder" sound in my Left ear. It takes no effort at all but in my Right ear it takes some effort. Either way, what you describe as the mechanism sounds very reasonable.

DeceitfulNinja I love you people. I always thought I was alone until now. I'm 27 and have always been able to do this on command. Whenever I've tried explaining it to friends they look at me like I'm crazy. I can do it for about 30 seconds too until I run out of steam and need to recharge. Doesn't hurt at all it's just... a rumbling like noise in my ears. Thanks cmsears352 for linking that wikipedia article. It seems we're all have a rare and totally useless super power. :)

RadioAstronomyObserver I have only read the first few lines of the wikipedia link but will be reading it as time permits for research in the area. Out of what I have read it does not say where the muscle ends up... on one end it appears to be attached to the ear drum (tampani memberane) and the tinny bones of the middle ear. The other end is what I'm after. If it is in the wikipedia link then I'll eventually find it, but if not then I'd like some help in finding out where it does end up and what else may be attached to this muscle along the way.



I'm wondering if there is a connection between something I have and this muscle. Probably not simply because there are too many papers on this (my) topic and none that mention this muscle. But because it is at least "indirectly" related I'd like to learn more about it.

RadioAstronomyObserver Disregard that post. The wikipedia stuff was shorter to read than I had though and does mention Hyperacusis.

Zone21 hey im tim, im 16 and I have been able to this from when i was 6 till now, i can do it in both ears, i can sustainably hold the noise, something weird though I noticed that I wake up at night and the noise is going and as soon as i break concentration it small objects fall onto my floor, such as lighters, pens, control paddles, my window has shut suddenly, and im not completely positive but i find when i run through the woods listening to music pebbles on the trail seem to scatter away from me, i know this sounds crazy but im kinda freaked out man, i have been checked for dementia, schizophrenia, and have been sober for a year now. Is anyone else noticing this?