MEM - Middle Ear Myoclonic Tinnitus

Misleading/incorrect Tinnitus Information of the Month award must go to Amplifon for this page! I can almost guarantee that if you go to Amplifon regarding tinnitus you’ll get a hearing test, some Resound aids and very little information about T.

Vibrations are not caused by tinnitus. They can only be caused by something physical, something moving. Air/sound would qualify, as it can move and vibrate tissues.

So do muscle movements, and in some incredibly rare cases, the tiny muscles in your middle ear can contract incorrectly, very fast, on and off. This can cause you to hear a sound that doesn’t exist for anyone else. Air movement would normally create a vibration of your eardrum and middle ear bones - in this case the middle ear is vibrating itself, which your brain will interpret as sound.

That fluttering or rhythmic vibration sound you’re hearing fits the criteria for tinnitus, and would be named Middle Ear Myoclonus (MEM or MEM tinnitus).

Not tinnitus as we usually think of it, but it definitely fits the criteria of “something you hear with no external source” so I’ll allow it 😬

This condition can also distort sound. The sound waves will be causing rhythmic vibration in the middle ear, but because the middle ear is also vibrating at a different rate, sound is distorted.

I understand there are some treatments available, but this is into ENT specialist territory so they are the ones to consult. If MEM is having a significant impact on your quality of life, I recommend highlighting that to ENT. Certainly in the NHS, money is not spent unless it improves lifespan or quality of life.

This might also be a rare case where bone-conduction headphones could actually be better than normal ones. Since they vibrate the cochleae directly, they might help override the happenings in the middle ear. That’s just a theory though!