Q:

During the past month I have noticed occasional thumping in my right ear. It seems to happen during times when I am stressed. It is not loud and my hearing seems to be fine. It is just incredibly annoying. Should I be concerned about this? What is this thumping in my ear and how can I get it to stop?

 

A:

The thumping could be from pressure changes in the middle ear or from awareness of your pulse.  Is it rhythmic and regular, coinciding with your heart beat or is it intermittent?  If you can't get it to resolve through valsalva (holding your nose and forcing air into your Eustachian tubes to equalize pressure in your middle ears, i.e. "popping" your ears like on an airplane) then it makes sense to have them evaluated in the clinic.

~The Doc