How many people can make a rumble noise in their ear?

I can make the odd rumbling noise, as well as a high pitched ringing noise. Not sure what it’s for, or why it’s important for the human body to be able to do it.

I can do it (the rumble, not the high pitched ringing).
But i can only do it with my eyes closed.

Other people can do that?! Yay!

And there’s a NAME for it! Yay again!

I’ve never met anyone else that does it.

Yup, I can. It never occurred to me that some people can’t!

Fascinating! I suspect not, as I have no idea what you are talking about.

I can do it!!!! I always thought it was fun when I was little to do. lol

I can’t, but I sometimes hear a very low pitched rumble that can go on for days.

Does making this sound involve the vocal cords at all? If not, then I can’t do it.

yes! thank you for reminding me! I was thinking about it the other day, and was meaning to ask my SO about it. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one.
I do it most when i’ can’t sleep at night. it’s easier to control when my eyes are closed. i can do it slowly, and it helps down out other noises.

ya mean like when ya yawn?

I can do the high-pitched thing, but I just hurt my ears trying the rumble. I thought I had it, but it was the thunder outside!

I am so glad there’s a name for it and that this is something other people can do. Up until now, I thought I was really weird and that doing it was likely harmful. I can do the rumble, not the high-pitched noise.

I used to do it when I was a kid and I was getting chewed out by an adult. Kind of like growling at them, but in my head.

The tensor tympani muscle has the involuntary function of dimming out very loud (120 decibals) sounds to reduce hearing damage. The rumble is drowned out by the loud sound, so you do not hear it.
@Draconess25 I think that the high pitched noise you are describing is the sound of your ears popping. This is caused by the tensor veli palatini muscle. People who can control this muscle can pop their ears at will. I can do this too.

I can pop my ears, but I don’t get a high-pitched squeal.

I’m jealous. I want the high, too!

I never heard of this rumble business or ever tried it before, so far as I know, but I can do it, I think by tensing a jaw muscle. It didn’t seem to take any special thought or skill.

I doubt that this has any evolutionary importance. It is probably just a side effect of something else that does have a use or value.

My guess is that there is no way of obtaining a count of how many people can do this. What would the answer mean?

@Jeruba I should have said what percentage. A count will be in the tens of millions and above.

@Drcpb The more i think about it, the more it seems that you are actually describing tinnitus. If the sound is persistant, this is almost certianly tinnitus. Is it voluntary? If so, I do not know what you are talking about.

Rumble noise?

Never heard of that till now.
What I can do is if I am eating something crunchy and I am looking at a screen I can make it swim, that is it seems to waver in my vision. Try it one time. It’s pretty cool to do.

If your asking what it is then you can’t do it.

I never even thought about it, it’s just something I’ve always been able to do. Awesome.

@Parrappa Can you explain how it’s done?
Now I feel scared that I can actually do it.
Maybe I can do it like whistling which is something all people with teeth and a tongue can do but just don’t know how to do it.

@Kraken I have teeth & a tongue, but I can’t whistle! Or snap my fingers.

@Draconess25 You can’t snap yo fingas?
Wow, that is the first time I heard this. My grams can’t because she has Arthur Itis but most all other people I know can.
Don’t hate me for posting this Lil’ Jon song as it’s called snap your fingers, LOL :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoA-ByjIf2M&feature=fvw

Krunk ain’t dead.
I am a really silly guy.

I can…but I can’t snap my fingers either or tie my shoelaces with the right handed way

@Kraken My mom loves that song! XD

I can pop my ears, which I think is due to wax accumulation, but I can’t make a rumble. But I can wiggle my ears.

Yes, I can do this. It comes in handy when I’m at a music concert and I’m too close to the speakers. I can actually turn the volume down in my own ears/head. Although, as I’ve gotten older, it isn’t as easy to keep it “on”.
Wow, I thought I was the only one in the world that could do this. I never really asked anyone because I wasn’t sure how to describe what I was doing without sounding like some screws were loose. LOL!

@stratman37 I’m assuming that’s the same noise. Yep, I can do that.

@PhiNotPi Yeah, it’s voluntary. I can do it by tensing my jaws.

Wow, I can do it! Actually, I do it all the time. It’s like a bad habit. I do it in time to music….I always try to make myself stop because I feel like it will give me a headache or something. (I feel it mostly in my sinuses and ears.)

I’ve always wondered about this…....is there a name for it?

Not me, I can’t wiggle my ears, cause them make any sound or any of the other things I have read about above – except pop them when altitude changes.

@Drcpb What you have is a case of tinnitus that is caused by tensing your jaw. I have read about one person who can make different sounds by sitting. Read this link. Response #2. This is not an actual sound, but occurs inside the audatory circuts of the brain. They sound as real as any other sound to the person who has tinnitus.

With the link on the previous post, read response #2.

Well, I’ve got TMJ as well. So I’m thinking that if I do have tinnitus, then they are somehow connected. Anyway, it’s quite interesting.

@Kraken, I can’t explain it. It’s something I do internally that I completely am lost on how to describe it. It’s really not very exciting though, you’re not missing out.

I can do it, but can’t explain how. It has something to do with flexing jaw muscles.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I can do a snake yawn! I yawn, bare my fangs, & pop my jaw.

@Draconess25 Kewl. That might cause you problems in the future though, like TMJ, dislocating your jaw like that.

The sound I can make in my ears is sort of like a steam turbine or jet engine at a distance.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I can’t make a rumble. The only thing that rumbles is my stummy.

I cant explain how to do the rumble noise, but the high pitched noise you can make by tightening your jaw muscle. Act as if your opening your mouth, but don’t let it open, just tighten the muscle. Don’t know if anyone will understand how to do it, but that’s probably the best i can explain it.

Awesome, didn’t know there were others out there that have experienced this noise as I never really asked anyone about it. Now that I’m here procrastinating instead of writing a paper I find this flurry of interesting responses. I would describe the “rumbling noise” as a sound-check type of thing for your ears. I can do it at will but it’s difficult to explain precisely how I go about executing this phenomenon. I can also dislocate my jaw as some people had previously commented on. Maybe they are connected with each other?

I make it INvoluntarily! It can wake me up at night, and I even have it sometimes in the daytime. It drives me crazy sometimes. I has helped to plug my ears with some cotton or earplugs over the years, but lately it’s been so strong, I have to get out of bed and ‘wake up’ to get rid of it. Writing about it here also makes it come….

I went to several ear doctors years ago, but no one knew what it was. They said, ‘aha, you’ve got tinnitus’. No, it’s not tinnitus, which is a high pitched beeping sound, which I also have, but that doesn’t bother me, as it is inaudible most times.

The rumbling though, fills my whole head, and makes it impossible for me to talk or see or hear anything when it is there. I can feel it coming, and sometimes it’s difficult to stop it. I don’t know if it is the tensor timpani that is Help, anyone?

@glamfish I am not sure whether or not that is the tensor tympani muscle. The tensor tympani’s involuntary purpose is to dampen sound above 120 decibels. What you are describing is probably not triggered by that. I sometimes have it involuntary (when I am shivering, I guess I must trigger it unknowingly); however, as soon as I realize it is happening, I can stop it. To find out for sure sure if it is the tensor tympani, you must be able stop it or start it on command. Useless you are able to do this, it is impossible to completely outrule tinnitus (people can have more than one form of it). It is almost impossible to teach the ability, mostly because it is hard to get someone to be aware of the muscle.
@theseforensics As for as I know, the jaw and the tensor tympani have no connection. The only connection that I can think of is that they may share the same facial nerve- the mandibular nerve V3.

I Can make the rumble and the high pitched noise on demand, no closed eyes needed or major tensing, I can use the back throat muscles to do this.

High pitch noise i can carry on for hours, afterwards I feel calm and surrounding noise seems less offensive for a while… quite strange.. Its quite amazing how high I can get the pitch

It is made by a muscle in the ears called the tensor tympani. Its helps to dampen or protect the ear from loud noise, and equalize pressure in the ear. Its probably a primitive ability like wiggling ears and wisdom teeth. Maybe that’s why not all people can do it.

Yes, I can do it too. I have often tried to find a use for it (like using the force). I can do it for about 10 seconds or less with my eyes open. My nine year old brother can do it but only with his eyes close. None of my friends and family can (from what I know :P)

I have had tinnitus since being a child. I have been able to tense the insides of my ears since before that. Mine make a very high pitched noise. Love the fact that I’m not alone in this ability. Also happens when i yawn and sometimes when chewing.

@purplewings What I was describing is not tinnitus, but rather something else. Tinnitus is usually not voluntary, as far as I know. By “voluntary,” I mean the ability to start and stop the sound whenever you want. Is that what you are experiencing?

Yes, i can tense the insides of my ears voluntarily. I also have tinnitus. (I should have been more clear). I wonder if theres a link between the two. The noise i can make myself is very high pitched than my regular tinnitus.

Yes I can also make the noise in my ears, I thought I was the only one but I have to say if you smoke marijuana and do it it makes it more intense

I can at will.