ETD After a Cold: My Experience and Some Tips

I've had two prolonged bouts of ETD in recent years and found my GPs to be unhelpful, so I wanted to write a bit about my experience and offer some tips to fellow sufferers on this forum. I know there are existing threads on this theme but thought I'd start my own because my ETD is maybe a bit less serious than for some of the others on the forum.

I often get muffled hearing during and after a cold, and twice in recent years this muffled hearing has lasted for months. When I say 'muffled hearing' I'd guess I'm talking about roughly 80% hearing loss. I have hearing loss in my left ear permanently, so when my right ear gets ETD I find it extremely hard to understand anyone and would need the TV turned up to a ridiculous volume in order to watch a programme.

On the first occasion I had ETD, I'd guess it lasted for two months. The second time, when it really started to bother me, it lasted for four months, from January to April. On both occasions the ETD was caused by nothing more than a common cold. So my tips are for those who get ETD in similar circumstances, rather than those who've had ETD caused by an accident, or who have suffered from persistent ETD for years on end.

I found it helpful to understand that my eustachian tube was blocked and that my goal was to unblock it. This meant (and sorry to get a bit gross here) getting as much mucus out of my nose and throat as possible. Decongestants can help, of course, but they also have a rebound effect, so it's not recommended that you take them for more than about a week. My experience is that Otrivine can actually cause ETD if you use it too much. I also avoid those nasal sprays that claim to stop a cold in its tracks. They work by bunging you up, which is exactly what ETD sufferers want to avoid.

The most effective way of getting mucus out of my system was to steam my head over a bowl of menthol flakes. Put half a teaspoon of menthol flakes or crystals into a bowl containing about 300 ml of hot water. Put a towel over your head and over the bowl to create a kind of tent and trap the vapour in. And sit there and inhale the menthol vapour for 10 minutes. I did this twice a day for four months. I'd blow my nose several times during and after the steaming and I'd feel the tube unblocking as I did so. Sometimes my ear would pop as I blew my nose and my hearing would return for a few minutes. Eventually I could guarantee that my hearing would return briefly every time I steamed my head with menthol. Then it returned for half an hour instead of a few minutes; then for an hour; then for a whole morning. You get the picture. I stuck at it and eventually my hearing returned permanently. (Until the next time I get a cold, of course).

Apart from the menthol steaming, I've found it helpful to do two other things. First, I now make it a habit to blow my nose whenever I need to. This is silly, but I was brought up not to blow my nose in public in case it offended anyone. Now, I carry tissues everywhere and if I need to blow my nose, I blow it. I won't allow myself to get bunged up unnecessarily. Secondly, I sleep with two pillows under my head every night. This helps your eustachian tube to drain naturally overnight, so you don't wake up bunged up.

Sorry to have written so much on a very simple solution: menthol flakes! But because it's so obvious, and doesn't need a prescription, and because it takes a long time to work, I think some of you might overlook it. The main thing I want to say is not to lose heart, and to keep at it. I've found that other people, including GPs, massively underestimate how debilitating the condition is. It destroyed my family life for the four months I had it and made my job impossibly difficult. But eventually, for most of us, it does go away. 

Good luck!

4 likes, 10 replies