Posted , 53 users are following.
Who has had the eustachian tube dilation and it was a success for you! I have met only 1 person. Mine was NOT a success. They say the success rate is 80%. I would like to hear from anyone who it has worked for.....was it instant or it took weeks for you to feel that it worked.??
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burak07076 kelly91202
Posted
And something to add. When you try to check success rate on internet you will mostly see the failure cases because the ones who are failed with surgery are more tend to check further on internet and continue on the subject. But the ones with success won't anymore visit the topic any more.
My doctor told me success rate is %90 according to his patients.
anne05078 burak07076
Posted
Hello, Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful successful news. I've ask for this procedure
but for some reason my ENT consultant won't perform it. Maybe it's works for some and not others.
Like you've said, it's a shame more people on the Forum don't let us know of their successes too.
I've suffered Eustachian Tube Dysfunction for 30 years now and you're right when you say the spray
simply stop working, as mine did. I'm fortunate living in England with a brilliant National Heath Service
that I'm prescribes a stronger nasal drops. These shouldn't be used long term, however, because they are working for me I try and only use them when my ears get blocked and that's usually every 5 days or so, so
not having to use the drops every day. Even my smell and taste has returned since all the inflammation
has cleared up.
So happy for you
Anne
gokce60695 anne05078
Posted
My doctor told me he wouldn’t perform the procedure because there have been apperantely two cases of deaths during this operation due to catoid artery rupture which is adjacent to the eusthacian tube.
gokce60695 burak07076
Posted
I have also gone to supposedly the best doctors I have found but could not yet clear all symptoms and the doctor whose advice I am currently following won’t do the balloon procedure to anyone soon.
burak07076 gokce60695
Posted
I have sent you the info in private.
Most ENT doctors even wont understand you when you talk about ET issues. This was also too surprising for me.
I am really surprised to hear the death cases due to balloon surgery. I have checked quickly on internet about that. It seems to be too rare and preventable by a CT scan before the surgery and a good doctor.
Beeing a 3 years sufferer of ET, i would still take the risk and have this operation.
seth1313 kelly91202
Posted
Aloha Kelly!
I'm surprised to hear that anyone here has told these doctors about what you're going through....because I feel like they've never heard anything like it from anyone, ever!!! Are you speaking of Dr. Hadley? He's the only one doing the balloons to the best of my knowledge, but my other ENT, Dr. Linda Chiu, she's happy to do her first one on me!! Gee, thanks! What an honor!! When I expressed a bit of concern she comforted me by assuring me that she did it a couple of times on cadavers in school. I think I'll pass. So, anyhow, I'm spending the holidays at home alone while my wife and 11month old son (born on Christmas Day) is with her family and some of mine who now reside on the mainland....because my ear flared up a few days ago and went from almost copable to " are you seriously thinking about getting on a plane!?" Anyhow, I'd love to exchange info with you as it seems you've been at this a while here in the aina....I began my journey enrolled in Kaiser but now am HMSA PPO..and would LOVE any guidance, advice or comfort you can offer!! Merry Christmas
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Seth
kelly91202 seth1313
Posted
Aloha Seth
I've seen 3 ENT doctors here....Dr. Alfred Parks at Straub, Dr. Cho at Straub & Dr. Patrick O'Donnell at Kapiolani Medical Hospital. Dr. Cho does the balloon dilation. Dr. O'Donnell told me to "live with it" nothing he can do. I won't go into details my personal feelings about the lack of knowledge these doctors had on ETD. I knew more.
I have had the dilation done twice this year by Dr. Brian Weeks in San Deigo. I loved him, he validated every symptom I was suffering. Unfortunately, it wasn't successful. I'm beyond devastated.
Dr. Weeks advised me that I had a lot of inflammation & to see a allergist when I got home. I did, and I have no known allergies. I have never had sinus problems or ear infections, no allergies ever!Just got a cold a year ago and my ears plugged up and muffled. A lot of popping and clicking and crackling.
The allergist referred me to Dr. Kevin Hadley. I have an appointment with him in February. I've done the dilation twice, so I'm not sure what more he can do....i gotta keep trying to find answers.
Kelly
anne05078 kelly91202
Posted
Hello Kelly,
Please try and find my posts to others and try what I've done.
You have to get rid of all the inflammation that is leaving your
ears swollen, they will then be able to drain.
See the medication I took in April this year and I've been clear
for 5/6 days before I have to use it again just once, then I pop
the ear and it remians good for another 5/6 days.
Anne
seth1313 kelly91202
Posted
Sorry to hear about your ongoing struggle. Mines about the same. Started about 10onths ago, but no cold. Just woke up one morning with a completely blocked ear and a stiff neck. I've had close calls, but never full recovery...the stiff neck has sent me down some unusual roads to recovery and I think I've discovered some interesting coincidences in many sufferers like us. There is quite a bit of research dealing with NUCCA approach to chiropractic adjustment. It's passive and only deals with the top two vertebrae...where the neck still houses the brainstem and all of it's nerve connections. Some people go in for a few adjustments and tadaaa....no more ear pressure. This got me thinking about the eustachian tubes and the muscles that surround them. They've known for a while about how easy it is for TMJ symptoms to include ours, due to swelling of the jaw muscles as they are 1 centimeter away from these flimsy little oh so vital tubes...but what about the muscle that actually surrounds them?? Think about a steak....and now think about a soft tissue narrow tube of 6 centimeters threading though the steak...what would happen if due to stress, injury, etc. , etc., surrounding muscle began to harden and knot up?.. so I began attacking it not like an ear and sinus issue, but more as a skeletal issue... physical therapy, massage, jacuzzi, no repetitive actions(like carrying around my colicky baby boy who was about 2-3 months old when this started(after carrying him 22 hours a day and sleeping upright with him.on my shoulder...anyhow, I've a deviated septum so I naturally thought it was tied to that, anyhow, I've been more successful with this approach....I'd like to ask you more about your stats, posture, level of activity(athletic) do you surf, dive, boat(also wondering about strange fungal/bacterial inhabitants of the local and filthy reefs...anyhow, I'm curious about your history as pertaining to common correlation. If you're comfortable disclosing on here..or you can call/text me 808.895.2273
Seth
I truly believe this can be figured out...and I'd really like to crunch info with someone who is familiar with the life😁.....it truly has become a lifestyle at this point...ok, that's my vent..
Mahalos
seth1313 kelly91202
Posted
Oops...
808.895.2272
Not sure if you'll use it, but I guess it would help if the number was at least correct!🤔
Mahalo Nui,
Seth
kelly91202 seth1313
Posted
Hi Seth,
I've been checked out for TMJ, don't have that. I have no neck issues. I dont sure or dive. This all happened when I got a head cold.
Who did you see locally? Did they diagnose you with ETD? Did u have the balloon dilation?
I'm on Facebook if you want to chat more on messenger. I'm under Kelly Doyle-Harper
kelly91202
Posted
You did mention that your ENT would perform the procedure.....did u have done yet? Is there a charge? Insurance doesn't cover the dilation but some doctor's might wave it?
seth1313 kelly91202
Posted
Oops...
808.895.2272
Not sure if you'll use it, but I guess it would help if the number was at least correct!🤔
Mahalo Nui,
Seth
Kelena kelly91202
Posted
No success story here. I also live in Hawaii and flew to San Diego to be treated by Dr. Brian Weeks at the Senta Clinic. Nice guy. Nice staff. A total waste of time and money. Worse than a waste of time. They talked me into have a perforation in my sinuses plugged during the ear dilation procedure. For three months after my sinuses smelled like death and I had to breath through my mouth. I eventually had the button --which a second opinion said was way oversized-- removed. In the meantime, gunk was flowing up and into my nasal passages and perhaps into my Eustachian tubes. Suggesting that I have a procedure which could cause gunk to float up and around my eustachian tubes seems supremely stupid to me.
In any case, as soon as the button was removed I could breathe again, but went back to having a hole in my septum, which whistles a little.
As for my eustachian tubes -- it did not work. I had absolutely no relief and still don't 8 months out. I had to pay for the balloons --about $3,000. I should have just stayed home in Hawaii and thrown that cash into the volcano. I would have saved myself a lot of misery. Balloon dilation did not work in my case and I am beginning to think it is oversold -- that it rarely works at all. A website for a clinic that does this in Thailand admits that the success rate is closer to 50%.
They don't even know why it works when it does --if it does. I don't want to say this is a scam. But I do want to say I had zero relief and much, much misery from the unnecessary and poorly executed repair of the hole in my septum.
Highly professional clinic. Nice doctor. Great nurses. I wish I had never met them.
anne05078 Kelena
Posted
Hello Kelena,
What a nightmare of a story you've told. That's the reason my ENT consultant won't use the
Balloon method on me.......success rates nil !!
Was the the hole in your septom caused by using Steroid based Nasal sprays ? This happened
to a friend of mine too. So lucky living in England as we get everything for free on our wonderful,
but now totally abused National Heath Service, due to all the immigrants from Europe now settling
here. Little England wasn't meant to hold so many people !!
I do hope your misery gets sorted.
Merry Christmas rom England
Anne
kelly91202 Kelena
Posted
Hi Kelena
Sorry it's taken me a week to respond, also, very sorry to hear you had to go through all of that, I had the dilation done twice this year, March & September. After the 1st dilation was successful I was devastated, I had such High hopes.......never had any issues pertaining to my ears, no infections, no allergies, no sinus problems. Just caught a virus and my ears plugged up, pressure, popping and clicking and crackling in both ears.
I saw 3 ENT doctors here in Honolulu, Dr. Alfred Parke & Dr. John Cho at Straub & Dr. Patrick O'Donnell at Kapiolani Medical Hospital. O" Donnell told me to live with it, nothing he could do......at this point I was in bed for 3 months, not working and thougjt I was going to lose my mind......I still can't believe that this problem can't be fixed??
Even though my balloon dilations didn't work, Dr. Weeks validated everything I was going through and made me feel that it wasn't all in my head.
Have you spoken to Dr. Weeks since your surgery? Does he know it wasn't successful and that you had other complications? If not, he definitely needs to know what you went through after the procedure.
It's been going on with me since September 2016 and I'm still suffering from. ETD. Life has changed
dramatically for me.
I'm on Facebook & messenger if you want to talk further.....I would like to know a little bit more about your situation and what doctors you've seen here......I live in Honolulu, do you live on Oahu?
I'm under Kelly Doyle-Harper if you want to chat on messenger. Hope to hear from you.
Kelly