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ETD balloon inflation

Posted , 4 users are following.

thatsickkid96
thatsickkid96

Okay so a little background on me. So my whole life I’ve suffered from ear/nose/throat issues. I had enlarged tonsils, and a deviated septum. I would consistently get white tonsils, Post nasal drip, and a clogged ear. My doctor was consistently just perscribing nasal sprays and antibiotics and they would work until the next time I got sick. After years of frustration and shortly after my 20th birthday my doctor referred me to a new ENT. It was the best descion I ever made.

After I saw my new ENT she diagnosed me with tonsil stones and a deviated septum and said if I want to live a full life to get my tonsils removed, and a septoplasty. All of this would help relieve the symptoms of my chronic clogged ear. She also noticed I still had adenoids (apparently you out grow them after puberty) but due to many infections they never went away. So a week before Christmas 2016 I went unders surgery to fix all my issues, except for a minor complication all went really well and I definitely feel like I can breath better. 

In January after getting surgery I noticed my ear was getting clogged. The first time it happened I thought nothing of it but from then to present day I get a clogged ear once a month. I was very confused because I went through all that surgery and pain that was supposed to help but it didn’t. Over the summer 2017 my ENT diagnosed me with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (ETD). Since I had taken prediboson so many times in the past my doctor didn’t want to take that route any more. She wanted to do an mirangotomy to see if my ear could tolerate being drained. A month later of course my ear was clogged. 

Okay so I’m getting to the end of my story!! My ENT things that getting the ear tube dialation will solve the constant fluid in my ear. She didn’t want to try the tube since my ear didn’t tolerate the draining. This November I’ll be getting the procedure and I’m surprisingly not nervous. What I am concerned about is how this is so new and I can’t find anything about the procedure! So if anyone has gotten it, or know someone who has gotten it please reply. I am hoping this solves my issues, and I’ll be sure to share my experience when it’s over.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • laszlo14520
    laszlo14520 thatsickkid96

    Posted

    Wish you the best with the surgery. Hopefully it's going to go smooth. Unfortunately the only problem with the ear tube dialation is that only treats the symptom, not the cause. You still have an underlying cause for your ETD, could be allergies, infection, acid reflux or many other things. I'm pretty sure that the dialation is safe and has been done many times - some patients react to it well and go pretty much symptomless after and others don't see much improvement. Report back to us after the procedure and again: wish you the best!

     

    • thatsickkid96
      thatsickkid96 laszlo14520

      Posted

      Thank you for the well wishes- we don’t know the cause of my ETD but hopefully this reliefs symptoms. I appreciate the feedback!
  • Melbassett
    Melbassett thatsickkid96

    Posted

    I am 23 and I had the balloon dilation surgery in March 2017 under general anesthesia. Very quick procedure. Not very painful- mine was a little different because my doctor also fractured my turbinites and broke my nose to improve my breathing. I have severe, chronic ETD, and am on the opposite end of the spectrum of ETD (I have zero fluid in my ears vs what seems to be the most common issue, which is excess fluid in the ears), so the dilation was not 100% successful for me, personally. But it did marginally improve my ETD.  Best of luck!! Feel free to email me if you have any other questions or want to chat more about the procedure:

    Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

    http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages

    • maureen05275
      maureen05275 Melbassett

      Posted

      Hello Melbassett

      Could you please tell me what your severe ETD symptoms are?  I thought ETD (not the PET - patulous or open Eustachian tubes - variety) was always accompanied by fluid in the middle ear because the latter could not drain out of the blocked Eustachian tubes.  I do not understand how you could have zero fluid in your ears.  (I have the PET - just trying to understand.)  Thank you.

  • Melbassett
    Melbassett thatsickkid96

    Posted

    I typed a semi-lengthy response to this, but it didn’t seem to post. I’ve had the dilation surgery; it wasn’t bad, but wasn’t successful for me. My ETD is very severe and I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum from most other ETD patients; I have no fluid in my ears instead of excess fluid. The surgery did alleviate most of the pain from my ETD, at least. I would opt to have a second dilation because it seems like it would work, but my ENT said my Eustachian tubes can not undergo a second surgery. Feel free to pm me for any other questions or discussions. 
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