ETD due to sinus drainage from allergies?
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Around Christmas I had a bad pain in the back of my head on the right side. On New Year's Eve the pain from the back of my head was gone but it had moved to the bone directly behind my right ear. I woke up on New Year's Day and my right ear was clogged. None of the doctor's offices were open so I went to a grocery store clinic with a NP. She said I had a lot of wax build up in my right ear and proceeded to clean it with COLD water and baby shampoo in a trigger sprayer. I got nauseaous, dizzy, threw up and my BP dropped. Then she started picking at my ear with some type of plastic tool and it hurt so badly I screamed to stop. At this point it felt like I had a ballon inflated in my ear and the sounds were so loud. She sprayed more water in it and the balloon feeling went away but my hearing was muffled. She said I had an ear infection and gave me 10 days of amoxicillin. I finished the medication without any improvement and my left ear was now muffled and clogged. I started having panic attacks due to the claustrophobic feeling and had to start taking Klonopin to get through the day. My family doctor started me on a steroid pack for 10 days. The clogged feeling let up and both ears felt like they were full of fluid. I made an appointment with an ENT at Indiana University. She said my ears looked fine and there were no abnormalities. She said my sinuses were inflamed and draining due to allergies that were causing my eustachian tubes to swell and not function properly. I also had negative pressure and my ear drums were at odd angles (can't remember the exact number). She said I needed to get the allergies under control and the ears would clear up. I went to a 2nd ENT and was told the exact same thing. I went to an allergist and gave 10 tubes of blood to be tested for allergens. The results came back with a slight allergy to dust mites and a high allergy to dogs. We have two dogs. I wasn't allergic to anything else. I was miserable at my house so I moved in with my mom. My oldest daughter had stayed with my mom for 6 mos and had a dog so there was a dog in her house until Christmas. I was better at her house but still not great. I was slightly better at my dad's house since he has a dog that only comes in occasionally. I had to go back home because my kids had musical programs and I was miserable again. Today I moved to a pet free hotel. I'm still not perfect but I am better here than at home. I wanted to live in a totally pet free environment to see if it clears up. My husband doesn't believe it's the dogs because I don't have typical allergy symptoms. I have a ton of drainage (sometimes so much I can barely keep up swallowing) and my ETD. I don't have sinus pressure, running nose, itchy eyes, stopped up nose, itchy throat . It's just drainage and my ears.
My left ear is muffled. I don't really notice it much until I eat and then I can tell by how it feels. My ears fill with fluid and sometimes it's hard to get them to drain. My right ear is the worst. When I swallow it sometimes feels like the side of my head is being sucked in. Other times I can hear popping and cracking noises. Some days my right ear is open and my left acts up. Occasionally both ears will clog and it feels like my entire head is caving in when I swallow.
The ENT and allergist keep telling me once I get the allergies under control or I get away from the allergen the eustacian tubes will function properly. I am so afraid of this becoming a permanent condition. Some days I feel like I can't function. Every time I go to swallow I wonder if it will go down OK or my ears my pull or crackle. I can't remember ever having been so miserable.
This is what I have been doing on the advice of the ENT: sinus rinse 2 to 3 times daily, antihistamines (tried Claritin for a couple of weeks, tried zyrtec and felt worse and now I'm using allegra), sudafed (one every 4 hours), flonase nasal spray 1 spray each nostril in the AM and 1 spray each nostril in the PM and benadryl to sleep.
The allergist told me to stop the sudafed and benadryl and to take mucinex. I was miserable just taking the mucinex. My ears were full of fluid and I was gulping to keep up with the drainage in my throat and getting a stomach ache!
I am also running a vaprorizer, air purifier and a diffuser with an essential oil for sinuses. I ordered several vitamins linked to allergies, colds, ears etc... B complex, echinacea, Vitamin A, zinc & copper, vitamin C, garlic and probiotics. They just came today so I am going to start them tomorrow but I'm not sure how to take them. Any suggestions? All at once? spread out? do some work better taken together?
If my ears clog up I can usually unclog them with the sinus wash and a hot shower (with the vent turned off to make more steam) with a hot rag over my face.
Has anyone been told the ETD is due to allergies and it will go away? What allergy symptoms did you have? With only drainage and ear issues my family doesn't believe it's related.
I feel better at the hotel than I did at home but still not back to 100%.
0 likes, 10 replies
joshs SallyA1013
Posted
Yes, you can get have ETD due to allergies (probably most common reason for chronic ETD) and that sounds like the likely cause in your case since you say it gets better when you remove yourself to environments that don't contain allergens that effect you.
Bottom line is that if it is allergies all that other stuff you are doing isn't going to help and the common antihistamines don't really help for ETD either. You need to reduce your exposure to allergens. Belive me, I've been through this...
I highly recommend you get a pescription for Dymista (it is a combo antihistamine and antiinflamitory nasal spray). Use as directed, stay away from your allergies and see how you are doing in a week or two. Do not overlook the dust allergy either, remember when you stay in a hotel it is probably full of dust and dust mites in the pillows, etc. Things that you are slightly allergic to will make a difference, the eustachian tube is extremely narrow.
Find somewhere to sleep that has hard flooring, remove any items that can hold dust, get new pillows and get dustmite proof covers for you bed and pillows. There's much you can do.
Good Luck!
SallyA1013 joshs
Posted
Yesterday I was Ok in the hotel but my ears acted up as soon as I got in my car. There hasn't been a dog in it for a long time but my son who has 4 dogs and 3 cats borrowed my car from mid October to mid November after having a wreck in his car and insurance was being stubborn. My husband says there is no way I could possibly be bothered by that. I just know I am OK and when I get in my car I'm not.
Anyway, today is day 3 in a hotel and I had a good day. I had a little fluid in both and quite a bit of drainage with my left ear being muffled but I had very little pressure and swallowing issues.
I am staying one more night in the hotel and then I am moving to my dad's house for 5 days. He has a dog that rarely comes inside and since I started having problems he's not let the dog in. He has an upstairs with 2 bedrooms and a bath he doesn't use and no animal has ever been up there. A friend of mine is going to clean the rooms before I get there. I hate being 3 hours away from the kids but I can't justify staying in a hotel for more than a few days.
By the time I come back next week I will have been out of my house for 7 days. If I do get back to feeling great I'm not going back home until the dogs are gone and the house has been professionally cleaned and the furniture replaced. We have all wood floors so at least we don't have to replace those.
SallyA1013 joshs
Posted
The two ENT's I saw told me the ETD would go away once the allergies were under the control. The allergist doesn't seem to think it's going to clear up and recommended I go back to the ENT to discuss tubes.
Has anyone ever had it go away? I feel depressed thinking I am going to feel like this forever.
SallyA1013 joshs
Posted
I went to my family doctor today for my annual checkup. He thinks tubes are a good idea too. Everything I've read seems to be 50/50 as to whether or not it works and some reported their ears got worse.
I am taking Klonopin as needed and my family doctor told me he thinks I should take a daily anxiety med to try and keep this from bothering me so much. What my husband heard was: You need medication because you are crazy and it's all in your head.
He thinks I need a psychiatrist and that the dogs can't possibly causing this much trouble. This morning I woke up with one ear clogged and it uncloged with a sinus rinse and a hot shower. I was fine until I picked up my husband to go to the doctor. My sinuses were draining like crazy and I had fluid trapped in both ears. My doctor tried to tell him it could be the dander on him but of course he doesn't believe it.
I had to go in my house for about 10 min. to finish packing to go to my dad's house tomorrow. When I got back to the car there was a shrill whistle sound that pierced my right ear and it immediately started pulling and hurting. I had so much drainage I was having difficulty swallowing. Thankfully the noise didn't continue or come back.
It has to be the dogs!
joshs SallyA1013
Posted
I can empathize with people not understanding the mental toll this takes and also being unwilling to accept the fact it can be allergies to dogs/cats/dust/etc. but it seems like you are seeing direct correlation between exposure and your symptoms. Don't let anyone tell you it is all in your head and don't let anyone try to dismiss what seems like is becoming obvious to you in that being in certain environments causes your symptoms to get worse.
i never thought I was allergic to anything and never had probelms until out of the blue I had ETD and very bad post nasal drip/mucus to the point where I felt like I was drowning. Those are my only symptoms.
I was also skeptical that it could be allergies but tackling that has been the only thing that really helped. It is really frustrating when people just don't want to believe it and can't understand the anxiety caused by your ears being persistently clogged.
I don't know where you live but see if you can find an ENT-Allergist. A regular allergist and your GP are unlikely to really know anything about ETD. A good ENT will but you have to find a good one. I am lucky in that I am able to see a leading ENT-Allergist in my area who has done a lot of reasearch specifically into ETD due to allergies. Look up what an ENT allergist does to test for allergies, it should be of some interest. Their method is much more precise.
As far as the tubes go I also got varying opinions but the two ENT allergists I saw both said it was unlikely to help and that I needed to get allergies under control. In the end I went with that opinion. If you are constantly having pressure problems the tubes will help with that but they will do nothing for issues with fluid and excess mucous production. You can do tubes whule addressing the allergies but you don't want to have tubes forever.
I'm going to mention the Dymista spray again. The ENT allergist recommended it but then I was told the OTC sprays are the same thing by another doctor so I didn't bother with dymista because it is a lot more expensive. Big mistake, I finally tried the Dymista about 8 months later and it made a huge difference for me. It's worth a try, you should notice a difference in a week or so on it if it is going to help you. Also if it does help you can be virtually certain your issues are with allergies.
As far as does it ever go away I can say that I feel about 90% normal most of the time now, there is the occaisional flare up. I'm doing immunotherapy so hopefully that helps eliminate the issue.To be honest though the thing the never goes away, at least not yet, is a bit of persistent paranoia that the ETD will come back and I've become extremely sensitive to any perceived issues with ear pressure. It is hard to forget about for any extended period of time.
SallyA1013 joshs
Posted
My family doctor gave me a sample of dymista to try. The allergist said it's useful for runny nose but won't help ETD. I looked up the patient reviews and there seem to be a lot of bad side effects such as loss of smell, migraines, nausea, extreme drowsiness and a horrible bitter taste.
My anxiety is already so bad I am scared to try it.
SallyA1013
Posted
SallyA1013 joshs
Posted
I found an ENT Allergist and made an appointment for March 15. The ENT I saw at IU said two of the ENT's in her practice are getting their allergy certification but it will be at least a year before they will be certified.
I am seeing Dr. Stephen B. Freeman.
"Although I provide excellent care in all aspects of ENT, I especially enjoy the challenges of treating patients with nasal, sinus and allergy disease. I provide the latest in diagnostic tools, medical treatment, dietary changes and immunotherapy, which usually returns the patient to good health. However, if surgery is necessary, I am one of the most experienced sinus surgeons in the state of Indiana. Frontal sinus disease is among the most threatening and challenging problems. I developed the Freeman Frontal Sinus Stent to provide a solution with minimal sinus surgery that has been utilized in many centers to treat hundreds of patients over the past eight years.
joshs SallyA1013
Posted
I haven't found using Dymista any different than flonase or nasacort but I'm sure people's experiences vary. The only thing I find annoying is having it drip down my throat a bit after taking it but it beats drowning in post nasal drip. I haven't had issues with taste or smell and I've been using it for about one year.
steve77387 SallyA1013
Posted