Patulous Eustachian tube, also known as patent Eustachian tube, is the name of a rare physical isorder where the Eustachian tube, which is normally closed, instead stays intermittently open. As a result, when it is open, all of the patient's breathing, talking, swallowing, heart beat, etc. vibrates directly on the ear drum creating an effect that sounds like the patient has a bucket on his/her head. The medical term for this phenomenon is autophony, the hearing of self-generated sounds.