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Ears clogged and feeling pressure

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haroon47113
haroon47113

H, for the past 2 years (February 2020) I’ve been having this issue where my ears are stuffed up and clogged up. I have this sensation of pressure similar to when defending in an airplane or underwater where the pressure makes it feel like ears are closing in. Constantly have that sensation. It started with the left ear and fast forward 2 years later, i have it in both ears.

Many different ENTs and Otolaryngologists have not been able to figure this out. I've talked to the otolaryngologists at columbia presbetarian hospital (top in the nation). none of the tests are showing anything including CT scan, MRI of eustachian tube and MRI of TMJ, ear pressure tests, etc.

this is very debilitating. I just came back home from a hearing test and pressure test Columbia hospital where they had me drink water during the test to see.

i can say that taking prednisone for 1 week helped but I stopped yesterday and the pressure is coming back.

I cant understand why if something is wrong, it's not showing up in any of their tests. My ears feel so clogged as i sit here and write this however the pressure test i just took an hour ago at columbia hospital didnt show anything abnormal. I'm baffled...

For past 2 years I’ve been taking Sudafed, cortisone nasal sprays, mucinex, and my ears haven’t opened yet. This pressure is causing me to feel claustrophobic and giving me intense anxiety.

One interesting thing I noticed was last week I traveled and during flight when we hit over 10K feet altitude, both ears opened up for a brief few seconds. Was the 1st time in 2 years.

The only thing i can say I did differently back in Feb 2020 was started applying Rogain (topical minoxidil) to my head to stall hairloss. But all the doctors are assuring me this is not a Rogain side effect. I’m currently asking my doctor at Columbia to look into doing a balloon dilation however they dont have any test data to even show i have Eustachian tube dysfunction. Any advice or experiences from people would be helpful. Thanks in advance

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