If you hear a clicking noise in your ear when you are running, you are experiencing tinnitus. This condition is an annoyance but it can also warn you of an underlying condition. Knowing how to manage symptoms of tinnitus and when you need to seek medical care, makes coping with the clicking noise manageable.
Tinnitus
When you hear sound in the absence of external stimuli, you are experiencing tinnitus. The sound may be heard in either one or both ears. Different diseases present with tinnitus as a symptom and it may be the first sign of a condition that threatens the patient's health. Tinnitus may be a sign of hearing loss due to age, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder. You may hear ringing, buzzing, clicking, hissing or whistling due to tinnitus.
Possible Cause
A pulsating clicking during running is produced by the flow of blood through the surround hearing structures. Vascular tumors, atherosclerosis, ectopic carotid artery and cardiac murmurs are all conditions that can cause tinnitus in the form of clicking. When you run your heart pumps faster and harder, which leads to increased blood flow through the body. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reports that this increase in blood flow can cause pulsating, or clicking, sounds in your ear.
Risk Factors and Complications
Everyone can get tinnitus but certain people are more susceptible, including those who have been exposed to loud noise continuously. People who are over age 65 or who have hearing loss due to age are likely to have this condition. Men experience tinnitus more often than women and people with post-traumatic stress disorder, especially when exposed to loud noises, may have tinnitus. According to Mayo Clinic.com, tinnitus significantly affects the quality of your life due to sleep disturbance, loss of concentration, depression, memory problems and irritability. These complications of tinnitus can be treated. This may not lessen clicking noises but it often helps the person feel better.
Treatment
If you only hear clicking when you run, consider wearing ear phones and listening to music. This may mask clicking sounds while you exercise. Remove any impacted earwax from your ears. This may decrease your tinnitus symptoms. If your doctor diagnoses you with an underlying vascular condition, surgery, medication or other treatment may be necessary.
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