# Am I hearing my eardrum take a beating? (and if so, that's pretty cool). **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783 "2012-06-11T03:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Imago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@Imago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imago)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/1 "2012-06-11T03:25:45Z")
Okay, so when my apartment smoke detector goes off, I have to stand under it and fan it with a T-shirt to make it stop. I instinctively always seem to cover my left ear completely with a hand, for some reason. And _every time_, I get this consistent thumping sound in my right ear, sounding like it’s coming from just inside the curve of the ear. It stops a second or so after the alarm stops ringing. I didn’t think anything of it until I overheard a drunken argument between two mutual friends of mine the other night. One has an inability to measure and control her voice volume, and it gets worse when she’s drunk. She thought she was talking softly and she was basically hollering to be heard on the next continent over, and when she starting actually trying to yell it got even louder- at which point I started hearing the tapping sound. Only the ear closest to her at first, then both as she got louder. Stopped whenever she stopped talking, even if the other (much quieter) person was shouting. And then I was on the bus with a _seriously screaming_ baby, like worse than I’ve ever heard any of the myriad babies I’ve known scream\*, and I heard it in _both_ ears when each scream reached its crescendo. Again as soon as the kid stopped to take a breath, the thumping stopped, and didn’t start right when the sound started again, but right when it got loud again. Now, both of those later times the sound was physically very painful to hear the whole time. With the fire alarm, though, it’s only painful once the tapping sound starts up and only stays painful until the tapping stops (which happens when the alarm stops). Clearly I’ve not actually broken an eardrum, because the pain stops immediately and there’s nothing like blood, loss of hearing, none of the telltale snap people mention. But is it possible I’m hearing it get hit particularly hard and/or get _close_ to breaking point? ETA: It’s definitely not my pulse, by the way. For one, it’s much quicker than my usual pulse, and it’s also a lot more measured, and reverberates a lot less. It definitely lacks the forceful quality of the sound fo blood rushing through your ears. - The mother was on the way to the children’s hospital, judging by the stop she got off at. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/2 "2012-06-11T03:30:18Z")
Dunno but if and when you end up with damaged hearing you won’t think there’s anything “cool” about it. ---
**Author:** ![gunnergoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@gunnergoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gunnergoz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/3 "2012-06-11T03:42:44Z")
Am not a doctor, but my advice is to see one, pronto. You don’t want to mess with permanent hearing loss and what you describe seems - to me - ominous. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/4 "2012-06-11T04:01:19Z")
I’ve experienced similar, but only with EXTREMELY loud and sustained stuff like rock concerts/clubs or overpowered sound systems in cars. I can’t imagine a neighbor being able to yell loud enough to get to THAT kind of level. If you’re experiencing this so seemingly easily, yeah, you might want to get checked out. ---
**Author:** ![David42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@David42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David42)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/5 "2012-06-11T04:24:32Z")
From a rock musician who has been exposed to extremely loud volumes, I think there is something wrong with your ears and that you should hie yourself to the good doctor posthaste. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/6 "2012-06-11T11:43:24Z")
Sounds like your [tensor tympani muscles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani) are doing what they’re supposed to do: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > When tensed, the action of the muscle is to pull the malleus medially, tensing the tympanic membrane, damping vibration in the ear ossicles and thereby reducing the amplitude of sounds. This muscle is contracted primarily to dampen the noise produced by chewing. (Compare to the more general dampening function of the stapedius muscle.) > … > In many people with hyperacusis, an increased activity develops in the tensor tympani muscle in the middle ear as part of the startle response to some sounds. This lowered reflex threshold for tensor tympani contraction is activated by the perception/anticipation of loud sound, and is called tonic tensor tympani syndrome (TTTS). In some people with hyperacusis, the tensor tympani muscle can contract just by thinking about a loud sound. Following exposure to intolerable sounds, this contraction of the tensor tympani muscle tightens the ear drum, which can lead to the symptoms of ear pain/a fluttering sensation/a sensation of fullness in the ear (in the absence of any middle or inner ear pathology). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/7 "2012-06-11T12:14:02Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Sounds like your [tensor tympani muscles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani) are doing what they’re supposed to do: Well, if that is right, the OP has [hyperacusis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperacusis), which is not good, but can be treated. So, yeah, talk to a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Imago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@Imago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imago)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hearing-my-eardrum-take-a-beating-and-if-so-thats-pretty-cool/624783/8 "2012-06-11T12:20:55Z")
Oh balls. Yeah, I see one tomorrow anyway, so I’ll ask her then.