Rapid beating in right ear ONLY

Ears, nose and throat
1

I am a 19 healthy female, underweight and currently experiencing a rapid beating in my right ear. This beating only occurs by certain triggers such as:

• hiccups 

• burping inside

• going for a walk around my village (weird I know)

However, sometimes this beating can be random. It mostly only tends to last a few seconds and is very fast, does not match my heart beat. I’ve recently had a hearing test which came out good (category 1). I’ve also seen my GP who has told me I have allergic rhinitis and eusathian tube dysfunction which affects 3/10 people in my area. However I keep panicking myself that something is wrong as it is only in the right ear - I have been prescribed a nasal spray and have started taking an antihistamine everyday. 

I was just wondering if anyone was experiencing similar symptoms or if you could offer any advice. 

Thanks, Chloe

2

Hi Chloe,

I have had this same thing.  They call this 'middle ear myoclonus'   It is caused by a muscle spasm of one of the muscles of the middle ear.   It is not dangerous.   You should be able to find more info online. When the muscle spasms it pulls on the ear drum causing a thumping sound.  I also have the triggers (yawn most common for me) and it goes away in about 10-30 sec.

3

Hi dizzyear, thanks for the response. Is your beating in one ear and what does it sound like? Mine can sometimes be random like it started randomly last night for a long period