# Inner ear and the roof of your mouth **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457 "2001-04-02T05:50:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/1 "2001-04-02T05:50:18Z")
Every once in a while I find myself with an itch deep inside my ear canal. Oddly enough, the only way I can “scratch” the itch is by rubbing my tongue against the roof of the mouth. Annoying, as it doesn’t really go away until enough time has passed. Bewildering because I have no idea how the roof of my mouth any my inner ear could be connected. Does anybody else experience this, and does anybody have any idea why it happens? ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/2 "2001-04-02T05:57:37Z")
God do I hate that. No idea what causes it, though. But sign me up as one who has experienced it. ---
**Author:** ![shell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@shell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shell)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/3 "2001-04-02T06:01:58Z")
I get that too Mofo, and alleviate it the same way. Can you effectively plug your nose without using your hands using the same technique? ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/4 "2001-04-02T06:15:06Z")
Yup yup, same thing happens to me. Annoying as hell, ain’t it? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/5 "2001-04-02T06:15:35Z")
Interestingly enough, I can **make** my ear canal itch by rubbing my tongue across my upper palate. True entertainment is watching me twitch uncontrollably when I accidentally perform said operation… ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/6 "2001-04-02T06:43:37Z")
Oops! I meant to post this in General Questions. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/7 "2001-04-02T07:42:31Z")
You did, but **JillGat** moved it to IMHO. IMHO, the GQ is > [@](#): > > does anybody have any idea why it happens ---
**Author:** ![shell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@shell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/8 "2001-04-03T13:51:25Z")
I’ve been searching through my medical books for the answer to this question Mofo, but haven’t found one that really explains the phenomenon. My best guess is that it has something to do with the eustachian tube (a tube that joins the nasopharynx to the middle ear cavity). My medical dictionary goes on to state that this tube is usually closed but opens during yawning, chewing and swallowing to equalize pressure in the middle ear. I assume that when your ear itches, you move your tounge in such a way that the pressure in your inner ear is changed and which also releives the itching sensation. I plan on shaking down the local ENT for the proper information. ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inner-ear-and-the-roof-of-your-mouth/60457/9 "2001-04-05T08:03:15Z")
I still don’t understand why this went to IMHO rather than General Questions. I wasn’t really trying to find a survery of people who had the same experience. I was trying to find an answer to a stupid experience most people have had. I can’t effectively plug my nose with my tongue. Does it have anything to do with the pressurization of your head? Flying quite a bit, I realized that faking a yawn would help to equalize the pressure in my head.