are there muscles inside your ears?

[bmccartney]

my ears cause me so much anxiety ! i know there is a connection between anxiety and ear problems but what the heck is going on! been told that tight shoulder and neck muscles can pull on the muscles inside the ear and give you all kinds of ear symptoms. my ears are definately my number 1 anxiety symptom and could loose my mind! anyone else have anything like this?

[Zee]

Hi, On both ocassions that my HA reared up it started with ears/neck & shoulder tension.

I have had ear noises & droning, dizzy turns, ear fullness, crackling noise etc.

My GP told me same as you were told. Shoulder tension to neck to muscles side of neck which affect the inner ear.Ive found that when my tension is better so is the ear problem.

[bmccartney]

thanks for response..it does seem a possibility i guees that tight mucsles can cause havac in your ears.. just makes anxiety so much worse!! have you tried any treatments on your neck that has helped? maybe physiotherapy or something? i have to try something... sitting at computer all day just adds to the misery

[Zee]

Yes, I had physio for a shoulder impingement and tense Trapezius. When my shoulder tightens I feel it tensing my neck ( right side ). I can feel it pull then on my scalp above ear.
My GP said that the tense neck muscles pulling affect the tiny bones in the inner ear.

Do you find that you get droning noise after using the pc ?? Dont know why but mine is worse after laptop use ?

[harasgenster]

Hi
I was having problems with neck/ears/shoulders then realised I was hunch my shoulders upwards throughout the day - they'd just gradually creep up with the tension!

If you think you do this then what I did was just try to remind myself now and again to relax my shoulders! I know this sounds really, really simplistic but you don't notice your muscles are tense if you're used to it all the time so just reminding yourself to relax frequently throughout the day can help :)

[harasgenster]

Do you find that you get droning noise after using the pc ?? Dont know why but mine is worse after laptop use ?

Are you hunching over it or have you got one of those stands? You might be pulling your shoulder towards the screen and tensing it? If you haven't got a stand to make the laptop lean towards you you try that, as it might help you sit more comfortably.

[bmccartney]

thanks ! my shoulders definetely creep up and are held tense during the day on computer and the nature of my job is confrontational and stressfull. once my neck gets tight , my ears start to tighten inside and anxiety is horrendous. going to go to physio and see what they suggest... have to find a solution . ! will be checking my posture and where my shoulders sit more frequently thru the day. muscle tightness seems to go hand in hand with anxiety

[Whatsgoinon]

I know where your coming from i feel my ears are weird and i agree with the other posters it is to do with your neck. Infact a lot of my anxiety came from when i injured the side of head and i had a constant feeling of being blocked up in my ears - i went to a specialist at the time who said they were fine. The tension in your neck and upper back is responsible for a lot of the affects of anxiety try getting a massage and see if it improves (go on because as the advert says your worth it!). I try and move my neck and jaw during the day, i find it helps also if you feel like your eyes are straining get them checked as straining your eyes is really bad for this kindof thing

[Hilary8Ward]

The ear and jaw share blood flow and nerves… headaches,and tension inside the jaw muscles have been discovered to generally be higher in tinnitus sufferers.....that's not good!!!

[Whatsgoinon]

Yeah but tinnitus is 1) not life threatening and 2) generally occurs with a ringing in the ears - this sounds more like neck strain