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Ear Pressure, Dizziness/Woozy feeling and imbalance. ETD ?

Posted , 24 users are following.

M992
M992

Hello,

My problems started exactly one year ago. I started having this woozy feeling which is somewhat hard to describe. Its like my head is heavy.Its almost constantly there, and i can always feel it in the background, its like a mild wooziness in the frontal part of my head. around the same time i also developed ear blockage that wouldnt seem to go away, ive tried countless medications for that. 

Ive always had spring allergies so i thought it had come early that year, and visited my ENT who started me on corticosteroid sprays and a mucolytic, but the problem just persisted and wouldnt go away. ear pressure(mainly in left ear) + dizziness + a sensitiviy to loud sounds + imbalance when walking(feels strange) although i must mention i never fell down or anything. I would wake up in the morning and sounds would feel just annoying in my ear( doors closing/ knives+forks dropping on plates .. etc). 

Fast forward to this day, and i have visited over 6 different ENT specialists and 1 Neurology specialist. I had done a CT, MRI, an EEG and some bloodwork. All came back normal. I have tried countless medications, from antibiotics to corticosteroid sprays to Betacerc and finally anti anxiety medication. Ive been on anti anxiety medication for 2 weeks now, still cant tell if my symptoms are getting better .. 

To summarize : 

1 year of dizziness, ear pressure , sensitivity to sound , and feeling of dysequilibrium. final diagnosis is Anxiety. 

Could it be ETD ? i have no negative pressure value in my ear upo examination( normal tympanometry result) and no retracted tympanic membare on otoscopy. Does that rule out ETD ? or could the Eustachian tube be blocked without having signs on examination ? 

This past year was not easy, this has had a huge impact on my life and its my first time posting here. I would love to hear everyones opinion, each and every reply is highly appreciated.  

Thank you

PS: I thought i must mention, im a medical student in my final year. so specific medical info is highly appreciated too smile.

0 likes, 61 replies

61 Replies

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  • michael11955
    michael11955 M992

    Posted

    HelloM992,Just seen your original letter for the first time & I have almost identical symptoms as yourself .I've also seen several specialists,had CT & MRI scans without any positive conclusions.At this time I've come to the conclusion & my GP agrees with me that this is going to continue until science comes up with a treatment or cure or I fall off the perch.

  • M992
    M992

    Posted

    Hello all ,

    Its been a while since i last posted here. Its hasnt been easy for me the last couple of months. I still suffer from the same symptoms of dizziness and ear pressure. Sound sensitivity subsided and seems to have resolved on its own thankfully.

    I have graduated from med school 3 months ago, im glad that went through okay. It was just so hard for me to go through all the finals and stress while having this terrible disease. Also, to make things worse, i had terrible abdominal pain and some urinary symptoms for a while too which turned out to be a renal stone, its all good now though. That was just the hardest thing ive gone through so far. It was so bad i actually find it funny how bad it got at some point! 

    Anyway, ive put off visiting doctors for my case for a couple of months until i had time again, it was so stressful and i thought id live with it and hope for the best. I consulted a couple of doctors in the last 2 months. I must mention the treatment for Menier's Disease has not worked for me. im pretty certain that was a misdiagnosis. 

    Right now im doing some Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy(VRT). Also Ive had another brain MRI done, which showed " Fluid signals in Left Petrous Apex". Ive followed it up with a Mastoid CT scan (focusing on the Petrous Apex area) and it showed the same thing, a fluid collection of some sort. Ive read about it and it seems its mostly an incidental lesion, that does not explain the symptoms and is just left alone and not treated. However i did find a case study on the internet that says a patient with a similar finding had similar symptoms(dizziness and ear pressure), and was succesfuly treated medically with a course of Antiobiotics + anti inflammatory drugs.

    Ive asked for more than one opinion for this matter, and whether it could explain my symtpoms, one doctor was actually understanding enough and looked into the matter. I have started the medical treatment mentioned above a couple of days ago, and will continue to pursue it as nothing else seems to be the cause so far.

    I will check back here more often now that i have the time. Does anyone have any new insight/success stories ? 

     

    • Ouch1234
      Ouch1234 M992

      Posted

      Hi, I can see its been some time since you have posted but on the off chance you get a notification I was wondering how you are now and if the VRT helped at all.

  • brandi26540
    brandi26540 M992

    Posted

    I had similar for 5 mos now.  Go to an upper cervical chiropractor.  I found my C1 vertebrae was out for long that it pushed my mandible none into my Eustachian tube!  I had similar symptoms to your only mine turned into chronic sinus infections too.  I went to chiro, they found the culprit immediately!  Also said I had bad Forward Head Posture and this made it all worse.  So, for the last 2 mos I’ve gone to chiro weekly and doing Posture exercises to fix my Posture.  I’m 90% better!  Hope it all clears up soon!  Weird thing for us. Thank God I found the cause.  Regular docs found nothing and just kept treating the symptoms.  If you can’t find an upper Cervical chiro, try a regular one with good reviews.  I hope this post helps others!
    • brandi26540
      brandi26540

      Posted

      Phone typos! Meant to say C1 was out for so long that it pushed my mandible bone into my Eustachian tube.
  • michael11955
    michael11955 M992

    Posted

    DearM992,I'm also almost exactly the same as you & have seen three ENT specialist & not one of them has come up with any kind of hope.It's try this & try that.It's almost that they appear to try & dodge answering the questions I've been asking. All 3 of them seem to be embarrassed by their inability to  find anything that can give me any relief. The worst symptom is the pressure I feel in my head.The nearest thing I can  liken  it to,is the feeling I have a soccer ball inside my head & it's being pumped up to it's full size.

    • John8472
      John8472 michael11955

      Posted

      Its the dizzyness that i find uncomfortable.i mean,im not dizzy as in spinning but it feels like i am if you know what i mean
    • michael11955
      michael11955 John8472

      Posted

      I know exactly how you feel & what you mean John. I've had this condition for 3 years ,but as I've mentioned several times previously in these  columns,the doctors,plus 3 specialist ENT  doctors  don't seem to have any answers.Even after several xrays  & scans the only person who came up with a positive answer was a radiologist.He assured me that every scan was negative & that I  didn't have ETD,but what I did have,he just didn't know.

  • John8472
    John8472 M992

    Posted

    Hi,just wondering if you got yourself sorted.ive veen experiencing the exact sane thing as you have described the last month or so and its really annoying.
  • oliver79637
    oliver79637 M992

    Posted

    Hello, My ET was caused by malocclusion. The Et is right next to the jaw so anything that messes with the jaw muscles can mess with the ET

    • oliver79637
      oliver79637 michael11955

      Posted

      Hi, in my experience dentists and orthodontist are absolutely terrible. No-one can see forces so its totally possible for teeth to look straight but for the bite to be terribly unbalanced

  • michael11955
    michael11955 M992

    Posted

    My symptoms are very much the same as your own.In particular ,the dropping of cutlery ,slamming of doors,people who "whoop ",extreme television noise.That said the main problem is the pressure in the head & ears which prevents me from concentrating on anything else.Thankfully there isn't anything I would describe as pain & the three MRI that I've had don't show anything at all.All I can get from the doctors is the same negative remarks "It must be in your mind"

  • JMit
    JMit M992

    Edited

    I'm having the same symptoms you're having and it think it might be Barotrauma of the Ear. It just comes some days, disappears, then comes back.

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