ETD for a year and 4 months.

Hello everybody, this is my first post on this forum. I'm 21 years old and I have been suffering ETD for almost a year and a half.

My symptoms include: hissing tinnitus in both ears permanently, popping/clicking when I swallow/ move my jaw and sometimes when i walk.  A feeling of fullness and sometimes itchyness/hotness in both ears, occasional earache, feeling stuffed up permanenlty (mucus in the  back of throat, loss of smell, dulled hearing).

I have tried nasal sprays, nasal drops, decongestion tablets, prednisolone (steriods) and gluten/dairy free diets all to no avail. 

To put it mildly this condition has ruined my life. My ETD has caused severe anxiety which has led to me dropping out of university and breaking up with my longterm partner. Somedays I manage to keep a positive outlook on things with the hope that things will improve soon. other days I become completely overcome with emotions and  go to sleep hoping not to wake up.

I have a hearing test in two days with the NHS which i'm unbelievably anxious for. I'm also hopefully seeing a ENT doctor sometime in June. 

I'm mainly writing on this forum out of sheer desperation. My parents have told me never to google sypmtoms as it would just exacerbate my fears but I don't know where else to turn to. It's a very lonley feeling having this condition that you can't properly explain to anyone who is unaffected. 

Thanks for listening and I wish you all the best.

Alex

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