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adult glue ear

Posted , 5 users are following.

susan27119
susan27119

how to fix this i went to doctor as my ear was so painful,he said its like glue ear in a child,gave me drops,and said its not really something they deal with and too go to a ear place that removes wax,but it is far to painful to let anyone touch my ear,this has been going on and off for 5 weeks.i told the doctor that i had pusss and blood come out the day before i went to him,and they same thing happened about two weeks ago and now the pain is stopping me sleep,i don't really know where to go about it,any ideas

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • GPChelmsford
    GPChelmsford susan27119

    Posted

    Dear Susan, has your family doctor looked in your ear? Were you told you had earwax? Glue ear is something different. It is caused by the build up of fluid in the middle ear, which is behind the eardrum and this usually happens with a cold or an allergic congestion. Glue ear is usually temporary, but can cause temporary deafness and pain. As soon as the congestion has settled, the glue ear will settle too and all the symptoms improve. Earwax is another possible cause of ear pain when it totally obstructs the ear canal. The skin behind this plug of wax traps moisture and it becomes even infected. Imagine how your hand skin would look if you kept it in moisture for days!

    Therefore, if you believe that you might have a blockage or an infection of the ear canal, you would benefit from seeing an ear microsuction specialist (a doctor or a specialist nurse who provide such services). You can easily google for such clinics.

    • susan27119
      susan27119 GPChelmsford

      Posted

      Thank you. Yes abit confusing.my family doctor looked at eat.said was glue ear and gave me prescription for ear drops.but he said to go to ear clinic as also wax build up.but it's been weeks and is so sore.I couldn't let anyone touch it at the momment

    • GPChelmsford
      GPChelmsford susan27119

      Posted

      Dear Susan, the ear Microsuction procedure is part of the treatment and it is actually even more important than the antibiotic ear drops because it removes the blockage and it takes the pressure away. It actually makes the ear better as soon as the blockage has been cleared and after that it allows the antibiotic ear drops to work on the affected skin. Also, the skin will start to recover immediately as soon as the air is going to get in the ear canal and it dries all that moist skin.

      It is true that it might be painful during Microsuction in your case, but in normal circumstances when the ear is painless the procedure itself does not hurt at all if performed by experienced practitioners.

  • leila29439
    leila29439 susan27119

    Posted

    Hi susan

    Hi had a really bad flu that resulted in an inner ear infection.  2 rounds of antibiotics and 2 rounds of penicilin didn't help with the deathness, popping, crackling, etc.  The doctor said there was fluid build up behind my ear drum and I had clear ear canals - no wax.

    Yesterday I went to the doc because I started coughing up green stuff again this is 3 days after the penicilin ran out.

    He teasted my hearing with a musical tuning fork and I could mostly hear it out of my "good" ear and barely out of my death ear.  Then he put the tuning fork on the centre of my forehead and I could hear it as clear as a bell in my death ear (first thing I had heard in weeks) and could barely hear it in my "good" ear.  Within seconds I was swallowing yucky stuff.

    My ear continued to drain for the next 8 hours with 2 major mouthfuls and 2 very significant dizzy spells.

    Today my ears aren't completely better but there is a 80% improvement.

    I have ordered a tuning fork and will treat myself when it turns up next week.

    I looked for info about sound waves draining blocked ears but couldn't find anything.

    I hope this helps and wish my doc had tried it weeks ago.

    • leila29439
      leila29439 susan27119

      Posted

      Hi susan

      I have been pointed towards some helpful info See Weber Test

      The tuning fork is 512hz or 1 octave above middle C.

      Hope this helps

  • Lil-not
    Lil-not susan27119

    Posted

    Hi Susan,

    Sounds as though you have had as poor explanation & treatment as I have. I've been suffering for 5 months with painful ears, particularly lose of hearing, sharp pain in the inner ear at certain pitch sounds, pressure build up in sinus accompanied by dizziness and nausea & should of water sloshing round inside my inner ear/head, cracking noises which has came & gone several times.

    After about 3-4 weeks it was too much, keeping me awake at night and impacting on work as well. So I went to the

    Walk in Dr who advised it was pressure issue( like when you land on flight) told to suck heard boiled sweets, steam therapy to loosen any mucus buildup & hold nose blow to fill Eustachian tube with air to balance pressure(each time I did this I went extremely light headed & felt like I might pass out) & as inflammation in ear canal gave prescription ear spray, to get if it got worse.

    A month later I started to get dizziness and nausea so went & got prescription ear spray. Pharmacist advised if not dreamaticly improved after 2-3 days then to go back to GP. Spray only appeared to make it worse.

    After suffering for nearly 5 months I Went to GP at my family surgery. He told me I have inner ear infection, similar to Glue ear in children, refused to refer me to specialists ENT Dr & said he would only consider referring if it continued for more than 6 months. He advised I get an over the counter nasal spray. Which has done nothing to help situation.

    Any advice on where to go from here , other home treatments I can try , would be very much appreciated.

    • jill67883
      jill67883 Lil-not

      Posted

      I suggest you find another primary care physician.  Yours seems to lack any empathy at all and it is alarming to me that he will not refer you to a specialist, since it's obvious you need one!  Glue ear is not always an infection but it can be the result of one (in children and adults); it also can be a complication of a blocked eustachian tube.  First, using a small handheld device, an ENT can remove all fluid from your ear quite easily, and this should not be painful but even if it is, it's worth it.  Second, your ENT may advise that this "glue ear" will persist and require repetitive treatment for removal, over a period of time. The treatment will not hurt your ear or your hearing but I think allowing mucous to remain in your ear will hurt your hearing and possibly harm your ear.  If your primary care Dr. refuses to help you and you are unable to find another, go to a large teaching hospital Emergency Room.  They may or may not have an ENT on call who can perform the short procedure of removing the mucous but they will be able to advise you, as well as suggest a specialist and perhaps even a new primary care Dr.  I am suffering from this "glue ear" myself (out of nowhere!) for some weeks now, I have seen two specialists (an ENT and a Dr. specializing in the ear, alone).  Neither one believes my hearing loss will be permanent but so far I need to see one of these Drs. once a week (am worried about my insurance at this point!) to remove thick mucous.  There is no mucous behind my ear drum, so it is most likely not a eustachian tube problem for me, but yes I have occasional vertigo and this stopped up ear has caused me to hear far less in that ear.  Know that this sort of thing can, and does, result in high anxiety, fatigue, insomnia and even serious depression.  it is not joke to have this problem and your primary care Dr. should be showing far more consideration to you.

  • susan27119
    susan27119

    Posted

    i have been back to doctor as this has been going on for ages now so sore and everytime it seems to pop and pus and blood come out ,then it goes slightly for few days then gets worse,this time a differnent doctor saw me and he said i have a boil down in ear canal so that why its been so painful and it has not gone away and also skin infection around my ear now as it has been so long,so have antibiotics now and it is starting to finally feel better,no ear wax at all like first doctor said it was,so finally got a good night sleep.
    • jill67883
      jill67883 susan27119

      Posted

      I'm SO happy to "hear" this (pun intended lol).  It's so frustrating when Doctors take so long to resolve something and sometimes make it worse while they're doing it!

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