pregancy and ear issues

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hello everyone I'm currently 7 months pregnant and for the past 7 months I devloped patleous eusthian tubes I think that's what it's called everyone I talk I hear an echo in my voice my eight eardrum moves when I talk I been very depressed with this and this whole pregancy just wondering if anyone had experience with this and if it goes away after I give birth? Any advise please also a little back story four years Ago I got really sick with a cold and my tubes closed up after about a year of nasal decongestants and antibiotics it cleared up but I started having clicking everytime I would swallow but I got used to that now the clicking is there but not as much this echo thing is what bugs the most

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9 Replies

  • Posted

    I just sent you a private message - the moderators erase links. Yes it is possible that your symptoms will be relieved, or at least get a lot better. There are various treatments being done by very few doctors. I started out with terrible clogging and still have that, but also have patulous symptoms on and off. 
  • Posted

    Hi Jenny,

    When you hear your own voice loudly when you speak this symptom is called is 'Autophony'  I am wondering if your symptoms have anything to do with your Pregnancy or are just coincidence.  Normally with Patleous Eusthian Tubes (PET), I have read that people complain about hearing their own breathing which is pretty loud.  I am curious whether the sound of your breathing bothers you since you didn't mention this specifically?  I think it is fairly easy for the ENT to check for PET.  I have seen videos where the Dr watches the ear drum while the patient breaths in and out forcefully.  If the Dr sees the ear drum move back and forth in sync with the patients breating, then this shows that the tubes are stuck open.  I am not a Dr, but do have Autophony as one of my symptoms from another condition that can cause this called Superior Canal Dehiscense.  I have read up Autophony quite a bit and know first hand how frustrating this symptom can be.  For me, it is difficult to talk when I need to raise my voice to be heard.   I would be interested to discuss your symptoms more.   Do you have any other symptoms other than hearing your own voice? Hope the symptoms do go away once you deliver.

    • Posted

      Hello my right eardrum also moves when I talk loud and I have clicking but the breathing thing I don't have just my voice seems like I'm talking in a tunnel I have been to several ent and when they look at my eardrum they say it doesn't move and I'm fine I have read that you can get this from pregnancy because of hormones but I do know what you mean it gets hard to speak and the hardest part is the autophony how do you know yours is not pet did they do specific tests I feel like every doctor just brushes it off like it's nothing they don't know how hard it is to live with autophony

    • Posted

      Hi Jenny,

      Not exactly sure what you mean when you say 'eardrum moves when you talk'  I haven't heard of any autophony symtom coming from hormones before that would be a new one for me.  

      Yes, I had tests doen with ENT that showed I had Superior Canal Dehiscence (SCDS).   With this condition, one of 3 balance canals (the superior canal) develops a small hole (also known as a dehiscence).  One of the several side affects is often but not always Autophony.   This condition is rare, and it is unlikely that you have this, but it might be worth getting a test to rule it out.  The testing for SCDS is normally to get a special CT Scan of the temporal bone covering the superior canal.  This is a special CT scan that needs to be done with high resolution in order to look for the small hole that could be the size of a pin head. So you would want to make sure the right test gets orderd (it is messed up a lot based on feedback from others with SCDS).  Another test that is commonly run is called a VEMP test and can be used to confirm the imaging results.  These tests would normally be orderd by an ENT or Otologist.

      My Autophony symptoms are quite frustrating,  I cannot hear people when I am chewing because the chewing sound is so loud.  It also makes conversation more difficult when people talk at the same time I do.  Hard to hear others when I hear my own voice.  

      Other symptoms you might get if you were to have SCDS would be none or some of the following (symptoms really vary a lot with this condition)

      - Sense of fullness/pressure in the affected ear (called Aural Fullness)

      - Noise Induced Dizziness or Vertigo (called Tullio Phenomenon)

      - Cronic dizziness/imbalance/disequilibrium

      - Overly senstivity to certain sounds like clapping (called Hyperacusis)

      - Tinnitus

      - Others

      Autophony symtoms can include more than just hearing your voice do you notice that you can hear other wierd things like: heart beat, blinking, eye movements, joint movements or footsteps?

    • Posted

      Hello dizzyear

      What I mean by the eardrum is I can actually feel it move in and out if that makes sense I did devolpe sesativity to sounds such as loud noise and when someone claps etc it dose bug me I don't hear my footsteps but my left ear dose feel full at times I may have to ask the ent to rule that out but I'm not sure if I can get a CT scan since I'm currently pregnant yes I know what you mean with autophony often times my words echo so much that it goes in and out of my ears and I can't understand what I'm saying I also have ringing in my ears but I had this before pregnancy but with pregnancy it seems it got louder I have became very depressed over this and it has changed my life just wondering how you cope with it I wish anybody who is suffering from autophony gets healed one day praying for everyone it can be very difficult to live with so I understand your pain I know many people don't and say it's not a big deal.

    • Posted

      Pregnancy is a leading cause of patulous.You could ask for an mri of the ear instead of a CT scan.
    • Posted

      Hi Jenny,

      The CT scan is just for your head, it might still be okay while pregnant (would need to check with Dr).  You could also consider the VEMP test instead which is much safer but not as definitive (has no X-Ray exposure).  Coping with Autophony for me is mostly about, talking more softly, letting other people speak for me, like when ordering food, and avoiding loud environments where I would need to speak more loudly.   There are only a few conditions that are known to cause Autophony, I am sure by working with your Drs, you should be able to get to the correct diagnosis.   Pretty much all of these conditions are rare, SCDS, PET, TMJ.

    • Posted

      Hello dizzy ear

      Thank you for all the info but I think mine Is Def pet because I noticed my pressure Is off in my ears which means my tubes are off several doc's have told me that hormones from pregnancy causes pet I'm hoping this go away after I give birth and yes autophony is hard to deal with I too don't speak as much I try to avoid social places I wish you luck that one day you will be free from this sending my preyers your way

    • Posted

      Hi Erica thank you for all the info yes that's what everyone keeps telling me it's caused by pregnancy which makes sense because I never had this before I was pregnant I'm due in about 2 months docs say it will go away after I give birth thank you I hope you heal soon from pet wishing best of luck

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