Ears and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

So I have another 'illness' to add to my list of illnesses...Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. My left ear is so plugged that it feels like it's full of cotton...and I can't hear anything out of it.

I went to the doc today, and he gave me a decongestant and steroid nose spray. Since it was 4 before I got out of there, I've only taken the steroid nose spray. I hope this works, and my ear clears up in a few days.

As a musician, this worries me. I've had my share of bad ear infections, even as an adult, but anything that will interfere with my ability to hear and make music (and enjoy listening to music) is really, really bad.

Thankfully, I'm listening to an album right now, so I can listen to music. But still, I worry about losing my hearing.

I'm sorry you are going through this. I had chronic ear infections as a kid, and lost a lot of my hearing due to scarring from the infections.

My daughter is going through the same thing right now, and I'm terrified the same thing is going to happen to her. I can still hear music, but any type of noise in general is painful and I have to fight through it to enjoy music.

I hope this doesn't happen to you. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Well, I ended up taking a decongestant. If I can't sleep, I'll take a melatonin on top of it.

And I just used my Neti-pot, which was really effective. The clog in my ear is about half the size it was before.

I'm probably not in danger of losing my hearing. My doc didn't seem to think it was serious; otherwise he probably would have drained it himself.

It's rather hysterical to me that you mentioned the Neti-pot. My husband thinks it is the bees knees, and I won't touch it.

He absolutely loves it for clearing out his sinuses, but I can't do it lol.

Well, I always feel better after using the Neti Pot. Even if I just have a clogged nose (and it's not my ears), it's like I can breathe again after using it. And you can use it as often as you want (it won't hurt you), so if your nose gets clogged again...

As far as ear infections, I haven't had any hearing loss yet. And I've had some pretty bad ear infections.

Well, I wish you luck. I think you will be just fine

Is a neti pot the same as a bulb syringe? I wondered how they work. My boss suggested that for my recent sinus infection, the syringe filled with warm salt water. You hold your breath, and squeeze the syringe into one nostril until the water comes out the other nostril. It's messy, but it works pretty well!

LightbulbSun, do you use ear drops? They can make a HUGE difference for plugged ears. You can buy it at any drug store. You just put a couple drops in your ear, one side at a time, and the drops literally dissolve the wax (it sounds really weird while it's going on), and after a few minutes you get up and flush it out with the bulb syringe filled with warm water. Then repeat on the other side. It really does get to all that backed up crud in your ears.

turnera, what I have in my ear isn't wax, it's fluid. Basically, my sinuses backed up, and I got fluid from my sinuses in my ears.

If it was just ear wax, I wouldn't be as worried as I am. Because fluid can turn into an ear infection, and hearing loss can happen.

Since I have fluid in my ears, the ear drops won't work. They'll just make the problem worse. Basically, I need to get all this junk out of my ears, and the decongestant is the only thing that will help drain them.

IDK. I had an ear infection last week from my sinuses and I took antibiotics and it's gone now.

I have suffered with severe fluid in my ears and it gets horrible with sinus issues. I have had success with the sinus irrigation (neti pot, kind of), and when my ears get really clogged I have hubby pour hydrogen peroxide in there and let it bubble all the gunk out. It feels kinda funny when it's in there bubbling, but it feels soooooo much better once it's done.

I've had this issue with my ears since my late teens / early 20's, the docs gave me all kinds of allergy meds and sinus sprays, and nothing worked. They even told me I needed my jaw broken and wired shut to relieve the pressure on my eustachian tubes... ummmm, thanks but no thanks!

Good luck, I hope you get some relief!

UPDATE: My ear cleared...kind of. It's about 3/4ths of the way clear. It no longer feels like I have a pressure bubble on the side of my head.

I guess decongestants really do help.

Good to hear!

A long time ago, my old GP, knowing I had allergy problems, told me to take either a spoon of dimetap cough medicine or a...what's those little pink pills for allergic reactions?...every night during hayfever season. Even if you don't have an issue. Just to keep things draining.

The problem is that are hearing aids can be quite expensive. An array of hearing aids are available today, and the better-performing ones are the most expensive. Every now and then, someone e-mails me asking for help getting hearing aids for them-self or for a child.