Ears pop when I bend
I've been working on bending for the past few months and still can't nail it. I can feel the position that my tongue and mouth need to be in to achieve bends, but when I hit this my ears pop and I get momentarily dizzy. I'm not pulling particularly hard with my draw, same as I normally play unbent notes, but for whatever reason I feel the air pressure shift inside of my sinuses and it feels like my eyes are being tugged backwards and my ears are about to pop. Have you run across an issue like this ever? I do have an inner ear disorder called Meiniere's disease and I'm wondering if my sinus anatomy is such that bending will always be an uncomfortable experience for me. I'm hoping that I can correct my technique and fix the issue because I really enjoy playing and this has been a real roadblack to my progress.I'd love any advice here.-Steve
Yes, please do!
I'm happy to provide additional details if they are interested.
Yes, please do!
I'm happy to provide additional details if they are interested.
Yes, please do!
I'm happy to provide additional details if they are interested.
Sabo909:
First off, I am NOT a doctor. So this isn't medical advice. But: Dizzyness and stuffed ear feelings are known symptoms of Meiniere's disease. Have you checked with your own physician about ways to minimize symptoms?
And by all means, if David has a physician student or friend who might have some ideas, not a bad idea to ask your own doctor about possibilities that other doctor may mention.
One of the great things about the harmonica is that folks with all sorts of physical problems can still play well, even if they can't play any other sort of instrument. (At SPAH in 2016 I met a woman who had lost both arms, and was enjoying playing chromatic with a foot-pedal device and holder so she could push the button using her foot.)
So definitely hope that your own, or other physicians and therapists, can figure out ways for you to get full enjoyment out of playing despite your ear issues. Best of luck to you.
Hey Rob,Thanks for the reply. I have been working with my ENT to help control my Meniere's symptoms and have been pretty successful in doing so.Meniere's is an interesting condition because it's now understood as a collection of various issues that manifest in a set of syptoms that present identically to one another. Underlying causes of Meniere's are thought to range from autoimmune disorders, developmental abnormalities of the inner ear, etc. The sensation that I get when bending is VERY similar to when I'm about to have a Meniere's attack. I have a feeling that there is some sort of anatomical issue undergirding my Meniere's that is also exacerbated when I bend. I've spoken to my ENT brother in law about this informally and he thinks there might be something to this. I have an appointment with my normal ENT in November and plan on bringing it up to her as well. Thanks for the response and well wishes!
From what Dennis says below (thank you Dennis!), I think I have an idea of what's happening.
When we bend, the nasal cavity must be closed (to have a tuned chamber--the nose can't be open). My guess is that your nose is open when playing a draw note, and then, when you go to a bend, your nose closes (thus the pressure differential).
It's not a good thing to have the nose open when playing draw notes. Since we spent 80%+ of our time inhaling in 2nd Position, you'll want to keep your nose closed for your draw notes. We do open it sometimes, but it's pretty uncommon.
I recommend you check out this lesson, it will teach you how to close your nose: https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/breathing_harmonica
As you'll learn in the lesson, it's common for us to open our nose for blow notes (as a pressure relief valve, to get rid of all the air we bring in while drawing). So, this could be an issue for you...moving from a blow note (nose open), right into a draw bend (noes closed). Maybe you'll need to be careful to close your nose on blow notes that precede a bend.
Some experimentation will be in order.
Lastly, you can shape your playing style around what you need to do. Bruce Lee, arguably one of the greatest martial artists of all time, had one leg shorter than the other. He developed a specific stance, and how he would kick, to accommodate this. So...don't be dogmatic in your learning approach...learn and adjust.
Report back please.
"With full disclosure that i am a 10 year retired general internist and not an ENT specialist, I find this a very interesting symptom.
My suspicion is it is related to a temporary blockage, then sudden opening of the Eustachian tube that connects the back of the oral cavity to the middle ear that functionally allows our ears to “pop” when we experience a change in atmospheric pressure, like driving up a mountain or descending in an airplane. We can sometimes facilitate this by yawning, chewing gum or swallowing.
I suspect that my fellow student is 'yawning' to get bent notes in a way that temporarily then suddenly backs up and releases pressure in his Eustachian tubes. ( An educated guess.)
I hope his otolaryngologist can offer some suggestions how to mitigate this while playing.
He should play his best blues bending song to entertain his doc while demonstrating his problem!
Let me know if I was in the ballpark"
Thank you both for the help! I make an effort to close off my nasal passage when playing generally but I'll pay special attention to this when I sit own and practice my bends later this evening.I'll let you know how it goes.
As a humble ED doc and not an ENT specialist, I would agree with the above assessment: it sounds like what some call "Eustachian tube dysfunction" and will be made worse at times when there is an upper respiratory tract infection such as the common cold. There could be some deliberate "yawning" type exercises that could be practiced prior to playing, to clear any mucus-plugging etc but I'm only speculating...
I practiced last night, paying extra attention to my nasal passage to ensure it was shut tight, and made myself quite dizzy after a few minutes of bending. I can't feel any air travelling between by mouth and sinuses, but I'm sure it must be happening. If I deliberately open my nasal passage then I can feel the force of the bend hammer up into my ears when I release it and cause my ears to pop, so I think you all are on the right track in your assessments here.
I sent a message to my ENT and her response wasn't super helpful. I'll bring it up again when I'm in her office this November.
"It is hard to know with certainty the cause of your symptoms. Increased intracranial pressure associated with blowing forcefully against high resistance may cause any number of symptoms. It is possible there is pressure transferred to the middle ear, but it is also possible that pressure is causing stimulation of the trigeminal nerve (sensory nerve of the face), which is linked to triggering migraine, which is also possible. I do not think that it is necessarily dangerous for you practice the harmonica, but you may need to modulate as you best see fit based on your symptoms."
I'll keep on truckign here either way!
Thanks for the update, it does sound like we're on the right track Steve. Thanks to all the contributed to this thread.
Hello Steve. I have not run across this before. I could understand internal pressure issues if you're squeezing with a lot of muscle and drawing hard, but the fact that you're, "not pulling particularly hard with my draw, same as I normally play unbent notes," you have me stumped. I have a doctor student that might have some isight on this...mind if I share your post with him?