Eustachian tube dilation success stories

Hello, Burak.  Firstly, I was wondering what procedure was performed on your nose in addition to the balloon dilation you had done to your eustacian tubes. Also, do you recall what sort of scans, or what methods the doctor used to diagnose both your conditions (ear and nose issues)?  Hope to hear from you. 

Hello Casey!

My doctor told me a blocked nose could cause blocked eustachian tube in years...

So he did both surgeries together. he just removed some cartilage tissue internally to let the nose breath better. (nothing external) i didnt need any special scan for my nose, any doctor could easily say i have a blocked nose when making a simple check.

i was suffering for 3 years and started be paranoiac. cant even point that this strange feeling was coming from my blocked eustachian tube. had several brain MRs and blood checks when i got panicked!!!

after my surgery all strange feelings disappeared in weeks. dont delay it if you have the similar... i lost 1 year of time by delaying... but now life is perfect

Hello Burak, is it possible to get more info about your doctor? Thank you very much

Thanks so much for the quick reply, Burak. I also was interested in who your doctor was and where he might be located. I’m not sure how moderators work on this site. Posts seem to get moderated when you include personal info like phone numbers and stuff. If you are willing, you can send info

Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums.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.

Also, were you experiencing issues in one ear or both ?

?Dear Burak,

?I am also suffering from chronic blockage of nose and ETD, giving me -110 dB pressure on my ear and Tinnitus started like a month ago, which is like a buzzing of 24 hours and especially troubling at night when it is quiet.  Couple questions if you don't mind sharing your experience - 

?1. Did you have pressure in your ear?  If so, what were the -dB level?

?2. When you clear up your nose (with rinse or spray), does your ETD symptom go away?  For me, even when my nose if cleared, I can still feel the negative pressure in my ear, so I wonder if your doctor says ETD could cause blocked nose, or only the other way around?

?3. Did your doctor mentioned about inserting Ear Tube (Tympanostomy tube)?  I am scheduled to have Tympanostomy Tube inserted on 6/5 (in one week) so I am wondering does Tympanostomy tube work as effectively as Eustachian dilation?  Would your doctor know?  Which operation has a higher success rate of ETD?

?Your response would really help me combat this chronic disorder that's causing me anxiety and trouble sleeping for a long long time.

?Blessings.

I was having issues on my left ear only but my doctor applied operation on both since operation is harmless and my right ear did not get enough pressure when swallowing during tests. To prevent possible future blockage my doctor applied procedure on both.

Hello Jean.

Thanks for your message and hope you get recovered soon.

First of all i am not a doctor. Just an experienced patient. So i cant know which operation is best for you. But if you are sure that you have blocked Eustachian tube, then i would say Baloon Dillitation is newer technique and has better results. So please make sure you have visited not an old fashioned doctor but a doctor who is also capable of making Balloon Dillitation operation. So check again what technique he offers?

I think clearing up nose will not mean clearing up eustachian tube since both or separate tubes. But clearing up nose will help clearing up the eustachian tube or prevents future blockage of it. So the rule is even you have health eustachian tube, still keep the nose cleared.

Again i am not a doctor but i am an engineer So according to my logic, if Eustachian is blocked, Balloon Dillitation directly aims to clear up this tube. Putting ear tubes will only help balancing the ear pressure and help to drain some dirt. But whats the outcome of this procedure when your eustachian tube is still blocked? I have never tried ear tube operation.

Thank you for your response Burak.  Do you mind addressing my first question - [u]1. Did you have pressure in your ear?  If so, what were the specific -dB level your audiologist tested on you?[/u]

?I think this question will help us distinguish the symptom of Ear Pressure vs Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.  If you only had ETD and not experiencing ear pressure of -100 or above, then Balloon Dilation might be the best bet.  But if you have heavy/constant ear pressure, Ear Tube might be tackling that specific issue.  Maybe both do the similar thing - and I am not a doctor as well, so we can only look at it from our symptoms perspective.  The heavy pressure on my left ear is causing Tinnitus so I need to tackle the pressure straight on.

Ear Tube seems like a less risky of the two operations (with much higher success rate I assume?), so maybe Ear Tube is worth a try, and if it doesn't alleviate the pressure, Balloon Dilation comes next?  Do you think that's wise decision?

?I don't have experience finding doctors with Balloon Dilation experience.  Do you mind sharing [u]your doctor's location[/u] and [u]hospital info[/u]?   If you don't feel comfortable sharing here, feel free to private message me.

Also, what [u]exact type of scans [/u]did your doctor perform on you to determine the severity of the ETD? 

?      Q - [u]Is CT Scan of Temporal Bones something very useful to determine ETD?[/u]

Thank you for sharing your experience as it helps tremendously for people who are going through this terrible daily pain.  

?Sincerely.

Hello Jean;

The symptoms i was having was dizziness(more in outside, less in closed environment like home or car)

Hearing my own voice when talking.

Inbalance in my head with little pressure feeling. I didnt have strong pressure or strong attacks but it was non stoping constant and too annoying that harming all my social life. i remember even my body feels strong i wanted to sleep all day or put my head on pillow since my head wasnt good.

I have visited most famous doctors in my country. My understanding is ETD cannot be diagnosed %100 correctly specially if there is no visible pressure in your drumhead. This Balloon Dillation is like try and see but has good success rate on my searches. All the doctors checked me, could not see any visible symptoms and my drumhead was perfect. All the outcome is the symptoms i was having that i know there is a problem but not visible to any doctor.

All the audiology test results was very fine for me. The only proof was the last test they have done 2 days before surgery. I dont know the name of the device or test but basically they connect a sensor on your ear and doctor ask you to swallow. Repeat this for both ears and the sensor measures the pressure. For me both ears were problematic according this test results where not enough pressure is transmitted because of blocked or not very good functioning tubes.

I havent read any risk of Balloon Dillitation so far. Only risk for me was it was done under general anesteshia. But still safe if you dont have special allergy to narcos. Both ear takes 15 minutes. For me it took 1 hour including nose operation.

Its really hard for me to advice you what to try first. But the worst you can do is waiting which i did. Try and see without loosing time. Again i am not a doctor but thinking aloud, a functioning ET will balance the pressure on your ear, so your logic didnt sound me correct. Naturally this is the way how it is balanced and ear tubes is just a hack. I would still recommend you find a good doctor who is capable of doing both (Balloon Dillation & Ear Tubes) so he could decide better.

I will write you my doctor's name in private since we saw above its not allowed by moderators.

Everybody here could have different story. I am just writing mine in detail and will be glad if this could help somebody since i ve spent too much money and time on this.

A few doctors I know to be performing balloon dilation procedure in America:

Denis Poe in Boston

Brian Weeks in San Diego

Cuneyt Alper in Pittsburgh 

I’ve read different people online say they’ve received the dilation from a doctor in the Philadelphia area and Canada.  It seems it’s getting more and more attention following FDA approval. 

Thank you Casey!

?Do you happen to know a website where I can search for doctors who has performed specific medical procedures, such as Ear Tube or Balloon Dilation?  

?I'm new to finding doctors online.  

?Any website or even reliable reviews of doctors online would be very helpful.

All the Best!

Hello Burak,

?Yes, definitely your symptoms appears to be very different from mine --> Dizzyness VS Pressure in my left ear + Tinnitus.  Since I don't know any reliable doctor in my area to perform Balloon Dilation, I would listen to your advice and do something instead of waiting around (which I already waited 7 months).  Therefore, Ear Tube would be the next best thing.  

?I just don't know what are some good tests I should tell my doctor to perform before narrowing down that ETD is the only cause of my Ear Pressure and Tinnitus.  So far, my ENT doctor has performed Laryngoscopy? + CT Temporal Bones.  Anything else you guys would recommend the doctor to perform before the surgery?  MRI really needed, or CT Scan suffice?

?Thank you all once again.

I can’t help specifically in regards to that.  I’ve found most of my info just from using google and looking through forums about ETD.  I know that ear tubes, or a myringotomy are a very old and common procedure so I imagine any ENT can do this. The balloon surgery only recently received FDA approval so it’s only been recently that more doctors have started testing it out. 

Do you know why not many folks have tried Ear Tube before trying Balloon Dilation?  Common procedure but with less risk and good result?  I don't really know how our ears will recover after the tube falls out after 6 months, but Balloon procedure is so new and success rate and risk appears to outweigh the benefit.  Do you think so?

?I wish there are more doctors on the west coast to choose from.  So far only one reliable one Dr. Weeks in San Diego on the west coast.

?Any one has experience with Ear Tube in this forum that can share their story?  Such as protection when showering and airplane ride?

Your help is appreciated!

I think the tube is typically considered when their is evidence of fluid in the middle ear space. I think a lot of kids have to get tubes specifically cause of how ears grow and some kids are prone to ear infections.  When the primary or sole issue isn’t a drainage issue, I’m not sure how much the placement tubes would help. They may help for air pressure relief as well, I’m no doctor.  But it seems to me that the balloon dilation is more geared towards solving ET problems by attacking the issue directly whereas tubes are more of a bandaid fix. I agree, I’ve seen a lot of people online talk about how the procedure wasn’t successful but I have also seen several that say it fixed their problem completely, Burak being one of them. I myself am considering having the procedure done here in Pittsburgh later this year. 

Yea, all I'm hoping for is just "release of those air pressure" (dB -110 that I mentioned on one of my ear when the audiologist tested), and if simple ear tube does the job, I would be thrilled.  Do you have ear pressure?  If so, what's the decibel level of pressure?  I would rather have 6 months of good balanced hearing on both ears as a "hack", then continuous Balloon Dilation, which from many folks on the forum, such as diana & merlin, have indicated that initial surgery don't usually work, due to the procedure being so new and lots of "trials and errors" have been reported by many folks.

?As Burak have mentioned, waiting too long might make the symptoms worst - which is for my case, since I Tinnitus just started for me the last 3 weeks due to this constant pressure in my ear.

?I wish there are more patients who can share their Ear Tube experience.  Also, more experienced doctors around the world so patients can get more successful treatments for ETD.  Most of the doctors I have visited just tell me to relax and just prescribe Flonase, which helps me breathe better but not solving ETD pressure.

?Praying for better days ahead...

 

I do not feel any ear pressure, but extensive tests were done on me at a eustacian tube dysfunction clinic here in Pittsburgh, and apparently I have dysfunction in both ears. My ability to clear pressure is actually worse in my right ear than in my left, which was very surprising to find out since my symptoms are all occurring on the left side. My main symptoms are clicking, popping, and sloshing in my left ear during and after swallowing. It drives me crazy. 

The first round of treatment I was prescribed after the clinic was Flonase of course. I now have an appointment to go back and have my pressure checked again. The doctor at the clinic basically offers me the balloon dilation surgery already. I’m pretty sure he’s only been performing test trials as of recently with the device. He was very up front in telling me that he wasn’t sure if the surgery would help my condition or not. 

Good day Casey, do you have any idea about the price of the ballon dilation in Pittsburg? Thank you Roger

Casey and dear all;

I have some updates for you. 2-3 days ago i went for camping and stayed in a tent. I got little cold there and we had a camp fire that night. Because of the random wind i got effected under smoke of the fire time to time. And smoked too much that day. The next day i started to feel again fullness on my left ear and clicking and still have it. And since my surgery (6-7 months) i havent stopped smoking. My doctor warned me before that i should stop smoking not this to repeat.

 Anyway, i wish this will be temporary after i get recovered of flu, i hope my ear to be fine again.

The conclusion is even you get surgery and get well, you should stop smoking and be carefull about flu. Flu can easily cause swelling of your tissues in nose and all your eustachian tube. If you have that, do not hesitate using Illiadin kind of spreys to keep nose open all the time until you get well.

But if i my ear doesnt get well in some days or weeks, i can have another balloon dilitation surgery with my eyes closed! I remembered how a bad feeling it is now again!

Burak you need to get better! And quit smoking! You are our hope! Roger

No doubt - Flu causes beginning of all symptoms

​Question - How is Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride 0.05% (Illiadin) different from Fluticasone Propionate (Flonase)?  Which one is more effective or they treat different things to our body?

​Thanks for sharing your experience!

Hello All;

I am %95 healed again naturally by using illiadin + sea water sprey for my nose and by drinking good amount of water and exercise more. But this experience still proofs that even after surgery doesnt mean it will not repeat again. Should wait for the next flu to observe more

Before this balloon dilitation method was avaliable, one of the old fashioned but good doctor recommended me to have an active life and consume a good amount of water to fix this naturally. I think sitting in front of a computer all day at work teases the symptoms. Going to gym and drinking a good amount of water really helped for me in the past till the tube totally get locked one day. And after nothing has helped except the surgery.

Also the other things helped me in the past temporarily was using Allergodil and Rinnoclenil spreys. The outcome was visible not before than 10 days using both regularly. But ask your doctor first before using.

Jean;

I have no experience of Flonase. But to my knowledge Illiadin also has nothing to do directly with eustachian tube. I use it to keep my nose open so that this open air canal helps eustachian tube to heal better. And my doctor also recommends sterilized sea water and i use both when i get flue and not try to use Iliadin too much.

Good day Burak, glad to hear that everything went well with you!  I wanted to ask you if you had popping and crackling in your ear before the ballon operation. And the second question is if you have tinnitus. 

Hello Roger;

I dont and didnt have tinnitus. But yes i am having popping and crackling when i feel the issue is present.

Thank you for sharing that Oxymetazoline + Sea Water spray works for you!

Do you have a link to what exact sea water spray are you referring to?  I use salt water sinus rinse that Neil Med makes, is that similar to your Sea Water Spray?  

?I'm kind of experiencing the same as you described that - EXERCISE more does alleviate some of the symptoms, even though "ear pressure" feeling still might be present, but at least it does bother me as much if you know what I mean.  

What's weird with my symptom that's different from you guys is that - I Do Not have many popping and crackling sound, so my Eustachian tube is rather "quiet".  It's just that -100dB pressure that's "filling" my ear that wouldn't go away.  I do have Deviated Septum so I'm not inhaling much oxygen on the trouble left side compared to the right side.  

Why is ear so complicated?

 

Good day Burak, I was wondering how are you doing. Do you still have popping and crackling on your ears? Or are you back to perfect condition? 

Roger

Hello Roger;

I am back to perfect condition, %100 healed. Just i need to be carefull about flu and the smoke for the rest of my life. It showed me ETD problem may repeat anytime but surgery still keeps its magic.

Dear Jean;

The Sea Water sprey i was using branded as Sterimar. But i dont think the brand will make any difference. Sea water is just sea water. And according to my doctor best is to swim in a high dense salted sea. The spreys is just sterilised version of normal sea water.

I agree with you that ear is small but so complicated.

Good luck!

Hello Jean I was wondering how are you doing? Did you get the ear tubes? 

I hope everything is going well!

Roger

Thanks for your well wishes Roger!  I did try the ear tube, but it resulted in decreased hearing but some slight improvement in ear tension and circulation.  I should've tried the airplane ear tube which lasts about 4 months instead of the 9 month t-tube.  I didn't know ear tube will decrease hearing, so my hope is that in a month or so, I can see improvements... fingers cross... praying hard!

-Jean

I heard that some times takes few weeks to adjust to the ear tubes. For how long have you having them.? 

I didn't know that it would reduce hearing dramatically.  I have had it for 24 days now.  The tube is more comfortable now, but audiology test hasn't improved at all.

Roger, sorry for the delay in response. I never received a notification in my email. I don’t know the price. I won’t be going back to the ET clinic in Pittsburgh until August 28th and will get that info then. I don’t know if my insurance will factor in or not. I believe I’ve read online that the procedure is generally a few thousand dollars, and since it’s only recently fda approved, it would make sense that a lot of insurance companies aren’t covering it yet. 

Did your doctor tell you that you could have the procedure done again if need be?  Did he say how many times it can be done to one person?

Hi Burak.

I hope you're doing well.

I have just registered to connect you....So I'm compeletely new in here.

Looking up your name,I thought we could be living in the same country.I have seen many doctors but none of them couldn't diagnose the main problem so I really need a good doctor to help me.Bur comparing to your situation mine seems alike..Could you please share the doctor's name and contact information with me?

Thank you so much and hope to hear from you soon

Hi Eda;

Welcome to the stage. I am still great after the surgery. Hope you will be fine too. What is your latest situation?

Sorry btw, i was on vacation and just saw your message.

I live in Istanbul / Turkey and your name sounds Turkish too

My doctor's name is Yusufhan Suoglu and i can recommend him. You can give him my reference.

We are connected with Gokce too and if you want too i am sending my contact info via private message.

This is one of the simplest but most annoying issue in life i have seen.

Wish you good luck!

I had the eustachian tube surgery back in December 2017 . I have had eustachian tube dysfunction for almost 10 years . do eustachian tube dilation did not work at all! I have found that the only thing that works for me is the tympanostomy tubes . I averaged a new set of tubes once a year. life is almost unbearable without them! I hope you find your resolution! this is a miserable condition.

Hi,

I know this is a very frustrating condition. I have been suffering from ETD for past 3 years or even more. I am 30 male from India. Went to several ENT doctors who asked various tests ct, mri etc and finally said etd. i have problem in 1 ear only. but it has ruined my life to say least. the worst thing is no one understands it unless they have it. you are finally classified as nutcase and your social life goes zero. its really debilitating.

docs gave various nasal sprays but nothing worked.

so i read somewhere that oral steroid prednisolone works and taking 40 mg for 20 days really worked but not completely, basically this is self medication on my part after getting frustrated.

finally doc said to go for balloon dilation and its due tomorrow. lets see what happens. hope for the best and fingers crossed.

hello burak

new here and just had balloon dilation surgery 2 weeks ago. my symptoms prior to surgery were popping and clicking in ear, fullnes and pressure, sounded like i had water in my ear even though i didn't and my main complaint DIZZINESS. i still have the symptoms listed above, however my ear is less full. Also, the "water in the ear" sound is gone. My question is how long after surgery did you have improvements? I'm glad to hear the surgery was successful for you. THANK YOU!

Hi t52656;

As far as i remember my symptoms started to clear after 2 weeks. Not immediately!

Even after the surgery, my issues repeated during the times i smoked too much or i got flu. But somehow i succeeded to recover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28oT4aFZmNc

BTW, I find this youtube video very helpful as a self healing technique. Worked for me before.

thank you for getting back to me and thank you for including that video. i appreciate it! i will do the video technique. I'm on my third week after surgery and felt like symptoms were starting to settle down and then today it hit me again with vengeance. (For the record i dont smoke and i am not ill). i hoping this heals soon.

THANKS again 😃

my balloon dilation was done by DAVID BUTLER HERE IN SANTA MONICA He is excellentmine was three weeks ago hope it will help not healed yet

Hi judi44826 and burak07076,

How are you now?

Thanks,

Darryl