Rather than fear something really bad causing your eyes to make a cracking sound with nearly every blink, there are a few facts that are important to know first.
It’s not uncommon for someone to occasionally hear a cracking type of sound when they blink.
“The average person blinks about 1,200 times an hour,” says Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD, eye surgeon and founder of The Boxer Wachler Vision Institute, and developer of the Holcomb C3-R® procedure which treats a degenerative eye disease.
Dr. Boxer Wachler explains, “Your eyelids are like windshield wipers and coat the surface of your eyes with your tear film.
“There is also air right outside your tear film. Tiny amounts of air can get behind your eyelids, and when you blink it can make some pretty interesting sounds like cracking or popping, especially if you squeeze your eyelids tightly.
“So if you hear that cracking sound, then just blink normally.”
When someone hears a cracking, crackling or popping sound when they blink, the first impulse is to blink harder and/or more frequently to figure out what’s going on or if the sound is just in one’s imagination.
However, more aggressive blinking could make the cracking more likely.
It’s advisable to try daily eye drops to make sure that the surface of your eyes is adequately lubricated.
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Just relax and know that this situation is benign and not a sign of a serious eye or nerve disease.
Before you know it, the cracking or popping with each blink will be gone or hardly noticeable.
Cracking Sound with Cause Other than Trapped Air: Case Reports
A case described in the Journal of Audiology and Otology (Kim et al): A patient heard sound every time she blinked; examination showed rhythmic movement of the eardrum with each blink.
In the journal Laryngoscope (Lee et al), the case was a patient whose forceful blinking caused “crackling/clicking” caused by contractions of the ear muscles.
Other case reports are similar: movement of the eardrum or tympanic membrane, or contractions of middle ear muscles. Forceful blinking is especially blamed.
There is no documented case in the medical literature showing a tumor conclusively causing blinking‑induced popping, cracking or clicking that seems to come from the eye.
Dr. Boxer Wachler has delivered hundreds of lectures on eye surgery to thousands of eye surgeons from around the world, and is a pioneer in keratoconus treatment.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
