Ear blocked for 1 week, started using drops & now feels painful/pressure

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hi,

I've had a blocked ear without pain for 10 days. I left it for a week to see if it went away, but no luck so was advised by doctor over phone to try Otex ear drops to soften the presumed build-up of wax for 10-14 days and then the wax can be removed by syringe. After 2 days of the drops, my ear now feels painful with constant 'pressure' inside. I also can't hear anything out of that ear. Is this what normally happens with ear drops? It also seemed odd to me to have to apply drops for so long before anything can be done - it's so uncomfortable I don't know if I'll be able to manage for nearly 2 weeks! 😦

By the way, I have only spoken to my doctor by phone because I'm in a vulnerable group for COVID-19 and didn't want to go to see him in person because (at that time) my ear was just slightly blocked.

Any advice or similar stories with resolution would be much appreciated. Thank you.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    I had a blocked ear a few weeks ago - it was an infection and I was prescribed Otomize ear spray. It cleared up. 2 weeks ago infection returned but with a discharge. Same drops prescribed over the phone for 7 days but no improvement. Rang doctor again today who told me to go to surgery and have a swab of the discharge taken to send to hospital to see what sort of antibiotic is needed. Ear is still weeping, feels as if liquid is trapped inside (I stopped using spray yesterday) and is extremely painful from time to time especially after bending over. You could have an infection and I would advise speaking to doctor again to get some sort of antibiotic.

  • Posted

    Hi Monarch. i know the feeling of a waxy blocked ear as i have one right now. im under referral with my ent so have my ears micro suctioned. now and i have my ear done privately if the wax had built up to much before my next appt that i have. fortunately i still have my appt in a week so i can finally have it sucked out. I highly recomend micro suction. its painless but noisey but your ears are squeaky clean afterwards. when i go private they only charge £ 40 per ear. i use HEAR4U. check them out as you may have them in your area or ask your GP for someone that does it. HONESTLY i wouldnt use ear drops. you will get a build up of air and it makes your ear feel worse. i hope your ok xx

    • Posted

      Hey nicola,

      My dr actually made my ear worse syringing and got the wax stuck up against the ear drum. I could hear fine before i went in and now no hearing out of the one ear. He's referred me to ENT to have the surgery and because of the trauma he caused me i'm now so paranoid to put anything in my ear but do need to get it fixed. I can't wait a month though, let alone 2 weeks so i may just go to hospital and see if ENT is there to fix this. I feel like the Dr syringing really messed my ear up, there was blood and quite painful. Its a real shame they can just leave you worse off than when you came in and just 'oh go see the ENT, they will call you" meanwhile deaf in one ear having to work and chase 3 little ones around when you're not. Really low point in my life, i hate ear problems worse than anything.

  • Posted

    Good morning.

    I agree with you. Ear problems are the worst and GP are useless at times. Ive had ear problems all my life and they do effect your health big time!

    On top of having children to look after its even harder, i know as i have two myself.

    Im having distorted hearing in both ears but not at the same time thankgod, but evertime i someone speak it sounds like a vibration, or if someone plucking a guitar string. its horrible and sometimes evenmore unbearable . ive always had tinnitus but sometimes i get what seems like " inflamation" tinnitus sounds bizarre but it makes my ear more twangy its like a low humming. it wears off after a while but still left with the orignal problem. I think its my eustachian tubes , im hoping it can be put right in some way. om under referal any way , have been for 8 ears due to another condition and i usally have 6 monthly appt for check ups ect but ive had nothing but cancellation letters even before covid. Finally i have one in August. YOU SHOULD BE REFERD AND INSIST ON IT, GP tend to fob you off when it comes to ear problems. when i went to see mine 8 years ago, i kept telling him something was wrong, nothing there he said. i knew my ear wasnt right and i had gone back and for at least 4 times, then when my ear errupted with pus he said he would refer me ! i hope your ok and feeling better. all we can do is keep going!!

    xxx

  • Posted

    have you ever had tubes put in? I also have had ear problems all my life and early on it was really bad. I had tubes put in and they worked really well. Of course the first 1-2 days my ears felt horrible after the tubes but quickly they felt 100x better. Now into my 40s though its like these ear problems are coming on again. And yea, its so hard dealing with these ear issues when you have screaming kids and whatnot. Hopefully that August appt will be a godsend for you.

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