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Eustachian Blockage: 3 Weeks of Hell, Ear Just Popped!

Posted , 4 users are following.

trey00884
trey00884

3 weeks ago after a flight and an odd virus where I felt run down/tired/stiff swollen neck I was left with sudden severe hearing loss in the left ear and eventually a buzzing in the ear.

I've been very depressed and worried this could be permanent. For most people this will not be the case. I advise if you have sudden hearing loss to see the ENT specialist ASAP. I was put on co-amoxiclav by my GP which made me very ill and did not treat the problem, which turned out to be a swollen eustachian tube. Avoid antiobiotics if you have no pain/swelling/pus, I actually feel more ill from the antiobiotics.

I was given Nasenex (precription steroid spray) and Sterimar saltwater spray (over the counter).  I was given them 3 days ago, at first I was using them as described in the booklet, but this is for nasal congestion, not eustachian tube and it did nothing.

You must aim the spray perpendicular to your head  inside your nose with your head tilted back in the direction of the problem ear.  Spray the canister in the nose perpendicular to the head Snort it up hard with your jaw open (to open the Eustachian tube)  the do the valsava maneouvre to press the fluid up the tube.

The pop finally happened (just minutes ago) after I washed out the nose this way with the salt water spray numerous times, keep spraying and snorting and clearing your nose, lots of phleghm came out. I then used the steroid spray, and did the valsalva manouvre and they popped, after 3 weeks of misery and depression. Interestingly both popped even though I only had significant hearing loss in one ear.

I imagine  this may be possible without the steroid spray using nasal decongestants or anti histamines, possibly even just with the saltwater spray. Clean the tube vigorously, it is importat to get the fluid right down the tube.

Reading online forums made me even more depressed, the majority were people who had spent months or years with this, I imagine for many there must be more going on.

It seems you need to rinse out this tube vigorously, repeatedly and eventually it will clear.

I did the valsalba manoueve countless times in the weeks prior without the sprays and it did nothing.

Best thing is not to worry. Easy to say I know. I hadn't notied just how deaf I'd become, I can hear backroud noises of cars and the mild hum of people outiside which I'd forgotten were there,even after 3 weeks I had become almost adjusted to being deaf.

I have a much bigger respect for people with deafness and other disabilities. You have no idea how difficult it is until you suffer with it.

1 like, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • joshs
    joshs trey00884

    Posted

    Thanks for posting a positive outcome. Reading the message board posts can be depressing.

    It seems the correct way to use the sprays is often not conveyed. When i first had them perscribed they said nothing,i finally saw an ent who gave me the same instructions you describe and I think it is finally helping helping.

  • mouhssine1987
    mouhssine1987 trey00884

    Posted

    Hello my name is mouhssine iam from london uk i was reading ur post about the problem u had with ur ears.ihad similar problemes as u iam kinda depressed too much cuz my symptomes are a bit similar to urs i went to gym after my workout i had like 5 min in sona then a shower the same night i feely sick like cold or flu symptomes for like 4 days and i wake up the sqme night with some crackling in my both ears like crisp it last for few days the it goes and comme back time to time but the horrible thing is these last days i start having tinnitus and changes in some voices like bus and cars braks and hover and things that have a thin sound like ssssss and i feel lile fulness in my right ear as well i went to doctor several time he checked my ears and he said that i have kind of redness inside and he perscribe me entibiotiques and enti hestamines and steroids nasal spray saying i got hay fever wich iam not thinking the case i got no deafness i can hear proprly with no problemes but the back ground sound hurts me too much and the tinnitus as well driving me crazy and even my voice seems to have some vibration when i speek a bit loud i dunno if u had the same symptomes or something different iam waiting to see my gp again but the system of refferal to ent spesialiste is really slow and thats affecting my daily tasks too much

    I would like an answer from u please if that possible many thanks

  • AlaskaTom
    AlaskaTom trey00884

    Posted

    Yeah my ears plugged up from a strep throat infection. GP gave me amoxicillin for both. I wish I never took the stuff. Cleared up my strep right away but after being on it for 10 days it gave me terrible anxiety. I think because it not only killed the bad bacteria in my body but also the good bacteria, which are essential to healthy nervous system. 

    So now I have to deal with the plugged ears and anxiety which at times can be challenging. 

    I went to another GP and she determined that my ears are not infected anymore, but still have fluid in middle ears and can’t drain because of the blocked Eustachion tubes. She gave me nasal spray and Sudafed. The sudafed makes makes me more anxious so I stopped that. I can only do the nasal spray method as you described a couple days a week because it makes my throat really soar. I hope to keep trying that technique more once my throat heals up. 

    I have several friends who said they dealt with what I’m going through for a few weeks to up to three months and eventually their ears just “popped” open and they were walking on cloud 9. 

    I’m hoping for the same...

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