Feels Like Water In Ear But No Water

Fixing the problem, if it can be found, may make your symptoms go away. (For example, your provider may remove ear wax.) If TMJ is the cause, your dentist may suggest dental appliances or home exercises to treat teeth clenching and grinding.

Glue ear

The most common symptom of glue ear is temporary hearing loss. It can affect both ears at the same time.

Other symptoms may include:

• earache or ear pain
• hearing sounds like ringing or buzzing (tinnitus)
• problems with balance

If glue ear lasts a long time, it can affect a child’s speech development and progress at school.

Glue ear is much more common in children, but adults with glue ear have the same symptoms.

Other conditions that cause ear pain

Ear pain with a change in hearing

Earwax build-up, an object stuck in the ear (do not try to remove it yourself – see a GP), perforated eardrum (particularly after a loud noise or accident)

Ear pain with toothache

Ear pain with pain when swallowing

Ear pain with a high temperature

Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:

Your child has signs of a hearing problem, such as:

• speaking loudly
• being difficult to understand
• asking people to repeat what they say
• asking for the TV or music to be turned up loud
• strugglng to hear people far away
• becoming easily distracted when people are talking
• finding it hard to concentrate or seeming tired and irritable because it’s harder for them to listen

What happens at your appointment

A GP should be able to tell if it’s glue ear by looking for fluid inside the ear.

They’ll use a small scope with a light and magnifying glass. This should not be painful.

If your child has had glue ear for more than 3 months, they may be referred to a specialist for hearing tests.

Hearing tests can help find out how severe any hearing loss is and what’s causing it.

Treatment for glue ear from a GP

Glue ear is not always treated. The GP will usually wait to see if the symptoms get better on their own.

This is because there’s no effective medicine for glue ear, and it often clears up on its own within 3 months.

Your child may be monitored for up to a year in case their symptoms change or get worse.

The GP may suggest trying a treatment called autoinflation while waiting for symptoms to improve. Autoinflation can help fluid in the ear to drain.

It’s done by either:

• blowing up a special balloon using 1 nostril at a time
• swallowing while holding the nostrils closed

As autoinflation has to be done several times a day, it’s not usually recommended for children under 3 years old.

Antibiotics may be prescribed if glue ear causes an ear infection.

Hospital treatment

Your child may be referred to a specialist in hospital if:

• glue ear symptoms are affecting their learning and development
• they already had severe hearing loss before glue ear
• they have Down’s syndrome or a cleft lip and palate, as glue ear is less likely to get better by itself

The 2 main treatments are temporary hearing aids or grommets (small tubes implanted in the ear).

Occasionally, surgery may be recommended to remove some glands at the back of the nose (adenoids). This is known as an adenoidectomy.

The specialist in hospital will help you decide on the best treatment option.

Grommets for glue ear

A grommet is a small tube that’s placed in your child’s ear during surgery. It drains fluid away and keeps the eardrum open.

The grommet should fall out naturally within 6 to 12 months as your child’s ear gets better.

If your child needs grommets, you might find these links useful:

• Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH): treatment of glue ear with grommets
• National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS): Harvey gets grommets

Video: What is glue ear?

This animation explains in detail what glue ear is, what causes it and how it’s treated.

Media last reviewed: 1 April 2024
Media review due: 1 April 2027

Page last reviewed: 05 June 2023
Next review due: 05 June 2026

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Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the medical term for “hearing” noises in your ears. It occurs when there is no outside source of the sounds.

Tinnitus is often called “ringing in the ears.” It may also sound like blowing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, humming, whistling, or sizzling. The noises heard can be soft or loud. The person may even think they’re hearing air escaping, water running, the inside of a seashell, or musical notes.

Considerations

Tinnitus is common. Almost everyone notices a mild form of tinnitus once in a while. It usually lasts a few minutes. However, constant or recurring tinnitus may be stressful and may make it harder to focus or sleep.

Tinnitus can be:

• Subjective, which means that the sound is only heard by the person
• Objective, which means that the sound is heard by both the affected person and the examiner (using a stethoscope near the person’s ear, head, or neck)

Causes

It is not known exactly what causes a person to “hear” sounds with no outside source of the noise. However, tinnitus can be a symptom of almost any ear problem, including:

• Ear infections
• Foreign objects or wax in the ear
• Hearing loss
• Meniere disease — an inner ear disorder that involves hearing loss and dizziness
• Problem with the eustachian tube (tube that runs between the middle ear and the throat)

Antibiotics, aspirin, or other drugs may also cause ear noises. Alcohol, caffeine, or smoking may worsen tinnitus if the person already has it.

Sometimes, tinnitus is a sign of high blood pressure, an allergy, or anemia. In rare cases, tinnitus is a sign of a serious problem such as a tumor or aneurysm. Other risk factors for tinnitus include temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), diabetes, thyroid problems, obesity, and head injury.

Tinnitus is common in war veterans and in adults age 65 years or older. Children can also be affected, especially those with severe hearing loss.

Home Care

Tinnitus is often more noticeable when you go to bed at night because your surroundings are quieter. To mask tinnitus and make it less irritating, background noise using the following may help:

• White noise machine
• Running a humidifier or dishwasher

Home care of tinnitus mainly includes:

• Learning ways to relax. It is not known if stress causes tinnitus, but feeling stressed or anxious can worsen it.
• Avoiding things that may make tinnitus worse, such as caffeine, alcohol, and smoking.
• Getting enough rest. Try sleeping with your head propped up in an elevated position. This lessens head congestion and may make noises less noticeable.
• Protecting your ears and hearing from further damage. Avoid loud places and sounds. Wear ear protection, such as earplugs, if you need them.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Contact your health care provider if:

• Ear noises start after a head injury.
• The noises occur with other unexplained symptoms, like dizziness, feeling off balance, nausea, or vomiting.
• You have unexplained ear noises that bother you even after you try self-help measures.
• The noise is only in one ear and it continues for several weeks or longer.
• If the noises are pulsatile (rhythmic noise that follows a steady beat).

What to Expect at Your Office Visit

The following tests may be done:

• Audiometry to test hearing loss
• Head CT scan
• Head MRI scan
• Blood vessel studies (duplex Doppler ultrasound and angiography)

Fixing the problem, if it can be found, may make your symptoms go away. (For example, your provider may remove ear wax.) If TMJ is the cause, your dentist may suggest dental appliances or home exercises to treat teeth clenching and grinding.

Talk to your provider about all your current medicines to see if a medicine may be causing the problem. This may include over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements. Do not stop taking any medicine without talking to your provider.

Many medicines are used to relieve symptoms of tinnitus, but no medicine works for everyone. Your provider may have you try different medicines or combinations of medicines to see what works for you.

A tinnitus masker worn like a hearing aid helps some people. It delivers low-level sound directly into the ear to cover the ear noise.

A hearing aid may help reduce ear noise and make outside sounds louder.

Counseling may help you learn to live with tinnitus. Your provider may suggest biofeedback training to help with stress.

Some people have tried alternative therapies to treat tinnitus. These methods have not been proven, so talk to your provider before trying them.

Tinnitus can be managed. Talk with your provider about a management plan that works for you.

The American Tinnitus Association offers a good resource center and support group.

Alternative Names

Ringing in the ears; Noises or buzzing in the ears; Ear buzzing; Otitis media – tinnitus; Aneurysm – tinnitus; Ear infection – tinnitus; Meniere disease – tinnitus

Images

References

Tunkel DE, Bauer CA, Sun GH, et al. Clinical practice guideline: tinnitus. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014;151(2 Suppl):S1-S40. PMID: 25273878 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25273878/.

Worral DM, Cosetti MK. Tinnitus and hyperacusis. In: Flint PW, Francis HW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 153.

Yew KS. Tinnitus. In: Kellerman RD, Rakel DP, Heidelbaugh JJ, Lee EM, eds. Conn’s Current Therapy 2024. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:66-70.

Review Date 5/2/2024

Updated by: Josef Shargorodsky, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.