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1 year later- ETD after middle ear infection: Thinking out loud

Posted , 3 users are following.

steve77387
steve77387

Try any suggestions at your own risk.

Just some ideas that have seemed to help. I'm at the year mark. Have had issues with my right ear after a middle ear infection. Also, occasionally have a sensation like something is in my right nostril that needs to come out. Seen 3 specialists, they don't seem to be concerned or have the time. One said I had a nasal polyp, the other disagreed. I posted back in April, thinking I was cured. I was wrong. You can read some of my previous notes, I don't follow the previous advise anymore.

First, think back to before you had ETD. How often did you try to make you ears pop? Myself, I don't think my right ear ever functioned as well as my left, but it wasn't a focus until the infection, and my ear nearly ruptured. After that, it became a habit. My current strategy is to do as little adjusting as possible. Trying to pop my ear only makes things worse. I've found that if i gently apply pressure to my ear, with my middle finger on my tragus, I can hear air or fluid squish out. If i open my mouth all the way and do the same thing, it seems to set something back in place. I do this off and on but try to as little as possible. I do this before sleeping for the evening, so I have 8 hours to leave it alone. If you wake up in the morning feeling better, don't test anything just go about your day. Try to break the habit of focusing on the discomfort. Find things that keep you distracted.

Meds- If you've been taking meds and they haven't helped, give them a rest for a couple weeks. If you're using anything like ear drops, or if you clean your ears all the time, stop. Let you ear wax naturalize. I get some relief from the new version of Flonase(oval white bottle, with light blue cap. I occasionaly take it right before bed. I have noticed though with my good ear, that if I use the spray for a long amount of time, it starts acting up. I've also seen results from 12 hour Claritin-D and standard Sudafed, the version that last 4-6 hours. Obviously, do not take them together, one or the other.

Good luck. Eat healthy. Let me know if you experience the same issue of being able to press the air or fluid out of your ear... Again, gently try this at your own risk. Cartilage can break. If my condition continues I'm going to get a CT scan. This thing is like 10 steps forward and 9 steps back.

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2 Replies

  • oto88861
    oto88861 steve77387

    Posted

    Hi, I got after ear infection subjective tinnitus and a month later objective one, ear popping and cracking, have this problem for more than a year, no doctor ever managed to give me proper diagnosis whether it is ETD, i believe it is.

    In half of a year the insensitivity of ear popping and cracking reduced- it can be that some days it is almost not noticeable , I tried many ear drops, pills, nasal sprays but i think the only thing that helped is yoga and breathing exercise .

    Good Luck and be patient.

  • sally75817
    sally75817 steve77387

    Posted

    I am curious as how you are doing now? Back in oMarch, I developed an upper respiratory infection that went into my middle ear. Basically I had a pretty nasty middle ear infection. I took two rounds of Antibiotics and a round of steroids. My ENT doc made an incision into my eardrum and sucked out a little bit of fluid. He did say I was swollen in there. I have been on nasal steroid sprays since March 4 . I have taken Sudafed… The kind you have to sign for, and it has as done nothing. I also have been taking different antihistamines, And again they have done nothing!! My ear still feels full, and it is driving me crazy. Last week my ENT says now that he thinks that I have cochlear hydrops and is sending me to a neurotologist. I am praying that I don’t have that. He scoped my nose and did not see anything wrong with my eustachian tube, but can he see the entire length? I have come to the same conclusion as you about trying to pop my ears. I can do the Valsalva maneuver and my ear pops, but within seconds it seems to get the fullness feeling again. Hope you got well, and if you did, I certainly could use some words of encouragement and what you did. Thanks!

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