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Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Cure

Posted , 60 users are following.

Tympanic
Tympanic

    As far as I know, there is not ETD cure, yet. I am interested in finding one. I am a Caucasian 34 year old man living in Santa Clara, CA. I have a BA in Psychology and work in a Neuroscience Lab. I was diagnosed with ETD a year ago. I have been suffering from it for 17 years. 13 years ago I had a bought of Bulimia that lasted for about a year. I had Anorexia Nervosa as an adolescent. I was given the maximum dose of testosterone to boost me through puberty since Anorexia was preventing it. Soon after I abused alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and various other drugs until 2005. I believe all these factors have contributed to my ETD. I was diagnosed with OCD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder two years ago and have been taking Effexor (Venlafaxine) to cope. An Ear, Nose, Throat  doctor (currently called Head and Neck surgeon in US) prescribed me Flunisolide (coritcosteroid) to reduce ETD inflammation. It seems to help a little, but it is certainly not a cure, even when used for a significant period of time (i.e. 3 weeks).

    My ETD has been recently aggravated by my attempts to remove pimples and skin tags, which may be a symptom of OCD. Has anyone else experienced this situation? Numerous doctors say there is no connection between the skin abrasions and ETD, but they obviously don't have ETD.

    Primarily, I am asking for information regarding ETD. I need to know the statistics of ETD so that I can develop a valid research proposal. Health organizations neglect to respond to my questions. It seems that most biological research is involved in diseases such as cancer and heart disease, which is great. But, as I am sure that anyone reading this knows, Eustachian Tube Dysfunction is a debilitating disease that hinders one's ability to live to their fullest potential. As I have recently graduated with a Bachelors degree. I am researching what my next step will be. I am strongly leaning towards statistics and data mining, since that is a much needed position in all research fields.

    I am looking for information on the number of people with ETD worldwide and specific to certain regions. A timeline of ETD cases in these regions. Research groups, Academic and Professional, that are researching ETD. Research groups that are investigating ETD from the Neuroscience and/or Ear, Nose, Throat (Head and Neck surgery) perspective. Any other information is helpful as well, especially your own personal accounts of ETD. Please share your history, as much as you care to disclose, so that I can begin to develop an etiology of ETD.

    I have read many of the other discussions on ETD and recognize that many of you are suffering and I certainly empathize with you all. I am still trying to decide if my anxiety disorders are the result of ETD, my ETD the result of my anxiety disorders, if they are mutually intertwined, and/or if something else is going on. I very much hope to hear from you so that we may begin to develop a cure for ETD so that we may not be hindered by this ruthless malfunction.

   

1 like, 209 replies

209 Replies

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  • carloscrosa
    carloscrosa Tympanic

    Posted

    Hi All, i was suffering from it for 8 months, is improving now.

    After seeing many doctors ENT, lots of cortisone etc, i went an alternative way.

    I got checked for a doctor who also works on natural stuff, who told me that i had Coronavirus on my ear. He gave me some medicine for that, and 3 weeks after i'm much better. For me, does make sense everything the doctor said.

    Check it out yourselves. i'm finding myself out of it

  • jason89486
    jason89486 Tympanic

    Posted

    I too had ETD and TMDisorder. I found relief through working with an ancient remedy. Listened to my muscles and emotions and found I was bottled up (tense). There was this Bioelectrography
  • Olizzieo
    Olizzieo Tympanic

    Posted

    Hi guys I am an audiologist in Australia. Many of you sound like you are suffering with Patulous Eustachian Tube (PET). It is hard to know without a full history and assessment of your symptoms. One of the best things you can do is find an audiologist that will assess your hearing and your middle ear function using a tympanometer. The tympanometer gives a lot of information about how your middle ear system is working. I have included information and symptoms of PET below. Please feel free to send me any questions and I will point you in the right direction if I can.

     

    Most of the time the Eustachian tube is closed, except during swallowing when air passes up the tube into the middle ear.  An abnormally open Eustachian tube is called a patulous Eustachian tube. It is often misdiagnosed because the symptoms are like those of middle ear effusion and congestion. When misdiagnosed, a decongestant  is sometimes prescribed. This aggravates the condition, as the Eustachian tube needs sticky fluids to keep closed and the drying of a decongestant makes it even more likely to remain open. Patients who suffer from the even rarer condition of superior canal dehiscence are at risk for misdiagnosis of patulous Eustachian tube due to autophony often being reported in both conditions.

    PET is more common in women than men, and often associated with weight loss. . Pregnancy can also be a cause of PET. About 1/3 of patients with autophony have autoimmune disorders such as Wegener's granuloma, Bell's palsy, Crohn's disease and Meniere's disease (Dr. T. Balasubramanian M.S. D.L.O.) Exercise can worsen the symptoms.  The increased activity not only increases the rate and force of pressure changes in the airway, which is therefore transmitted more forcefully into the middle ear, but also drives increased blood flow to peripheral muscles, compounding the problem by further depleting the Eustachian tube of extracellular fluid and increasing patency. Activities and substances which dehydrate the body have the same effect and are also possible causes of patulous Eustachian tube. Symptoms can vary from mild to severe.

    PATULOUS EUSTACHIAN TUBE SYMPTOMS

    •       Client report of “fullness,” “blockage” or the urge to “clear the ear.” Patulous Eustachian tube generally feels dry with no clogged feeling or sinus pressure.

    •     Report of breath synchronous tinnitus

    •     Report of autophony (hearing one’s own voice and breath sounds in the ear). The person’s own voice may be so bothersome to the client that they speak at a low volume. The autophony is relieved when patients lie flat on their back or sit and put their head between their knees. In patients with severe autophony the compression of the jugular veins on the affected side with temporary improvement of the symptoms, may help with diagnosis.

    •       Report that exercise can worsen the symptoms.  

    •       Conductive hearing loss

    •       The client may sound as if they have congestion when speaking.

    •       Client sniffs continuously to close the end of the tube in the nose to get relief. 

    •       Physical and microscopic examination of the tympanic membrane especially during forced nasal breathing showing visible breath synchronous movement of the tympanic membrane; however, this may not be visible.

     Saw-tooth pattern in reflex-decay tympanometry, which is breath synchronous,

    • Im-fed-up
      Im-fed-up Olizzieo

      Posted

      Thank You for taking the time to write - I read it avidly.

      As most of us seem to live in different zones/Countries, treatment seems widely varied.

      I have had my problem since the end of December 2014

      I waited in the NHS queue until August 2015 to see an ENT specialist,

      as UK  GP's have a time out thing going - As in - 

      start ear drops - see if that works

      wait for three months - see if it clears up

      write to specialist - wait in a queue for up to 18 weeks !!

      Anyway, got to the ENT specialist as I said in August.....

      He had a good look about me and asked about ear wax and nasal moisture etc,

      - I don't have any ear wax ever, and my insides of my notstrils are dry and peel constantly.

      He decided I didn't have an ear infection but got his camera out which went up my nose and down my throat.

      I could see it all on a tv monitor. He said nasal passages were clear.

      He concluded it was definately a middle ear problem and explained that he was unable to see that from looking, so I went to have an MRI on my ear. 

      After a month of waiting on the resullts I received a letter saying that there was nothing visibly wrong,  and so I was discharged from the ENT department.

      During that month though my ear ache had never been so bad.

      I had a rotten time sleeping, the pain took up all my thoughts!

      I could hear my heart beating in my ear for days on end and I think to date that is what I couldn't cope with the most !

      Anyway at this very same time I got pneumonia in one lung.

      I took Doxycycline 100mg, and the steroid prednisone 50mg daily.

      for four weeks.

      I have to tell you that at about week 3, I had ear wax, and my nose was moist (all the peeling had stopped). and my ears felt normal.

      I know that it was those meds that helped me at the time.

      Unfortunately the symptoms seen returned as soon as I stopped the medication.

      I luckily don't have the heart beating in the ear thing so often, but my ear is hyper sensative and some peoples voice pitches just make me flinch in pain - canned laughter on the tv is another one.

      What I need to know the answer to is -

      why do symptoms all but go away when steroids and antibiotics are taken ?

      I look forward to hearing everyones opinions.

       

    • Tympanic
      Tympanic Im-fed-up

      Posted

      I assume the steroids and anitbiotics are doing their best to stop the defectiveness in the inflammatory immune responses.

       In my case, I got a myringotomy and tympanostomy tube inserted in my right/bad ear yesterday. I do feel some relief and it is pleaseant to be able to do the Politzer maneuver (it turns out Politzer is the proper term for the manuever of exhalation with mouth closed and holding nostrils closed, as opposed to Valsalva, which is somewhat different) and have air and pressure come right out the middle ear. As expected, I now feel focus of pressure on the left side, although I will wait a while to decide on doing that side. This is the best treatment I have found so far, in my case. I believe steroids did not significantly help me. Whatever the origin of the pressure, I feel like it can be relieved and released through the ear tube. Although, it is not perfect and I have to be careful about not getting it infected and hearing and speaking is somewhat strange, although no significant hearing loss. It is certainly a procedure worth considering.

    • Tympanic
      Tympanic

      Posted

      I had the tube removed a few days after insertion, mostly due to the strange vibrating feeling and sound it made while I spoke. It was not providing sufficient relief that was enough to warrant keeping the tube in. It was nice, however, to have the hole and I wish it did not heal up, at least so quickly.

        Do be careful in considering this procedure, since some have had more severe side effects, such as hearing loss.

  • Tympanic
    Tympanic

    Posted

    Regarding research, I have an interview tomorrow for a research assistant/statistician position with an Otolaryngologist who specializes in ETD. I welcome any advice on securing this position.
  • cybercsi
    cybercsi Tympanic

    Posted

    I have been suffering with this crap for years now too. I was just recently diagnised though and believe it or not it got worse after I did a huge pitch towards fitness. I lost 42 lbs doing P90X and T25, Yoga and biking and the research I have done reflects that losing weight worsens the condition..go figure. Im certainly not going to stop my fitness improvment because of this annoying condition. Mine is worse in my left ear due to scar tissue from infections and exposure to interior gunfire a few times in my career field. I was disappointed with my visit to my ENT as it seemed all he wanted to do was sell me hearing aids for about 6,000 bucks. I also perfrom a strange pressure relieving meanuver which looks strange but sucessfully pops my ears to what is an open (louder) condition. Have any of you found that cold weather or even season changes affect your condition becuase it seems to in my case. Also do any of you notice it worse when you wake up, becuase I do. Sometimes I wake up in the morning in the fal/winter and it sounds like Im hearing through a tunnel and when I talk it sounds like something is vibrating at an annoying tone frequency until it goes back to normal. Some sounds bother it more. When I pop my ears sometimes once they open I get violently dizzy. Just wanted to get some feedback if any of you have experienced any of these symptoms. By the way ways I deal with this sometimes if popping doesnt work I get on y bike and excersise with wirelss bluetooth headphones playing music and I pop my ears repeadtedly and once the ride is doen (45 mins or so) I take the headphones out and Im close to normal again. Also sometimes just laying on a heating pad for a couple of hours helps it. I feel for everyone on here with this problem, it is so very annoying and soemtimes interferes with life quality and work.
    • Tympanic
      Tympanic cybercsi

      Posted

      I find that my symptoms are decreased in colder weather, possibly due to lowered inflammation from heat. For me, morning and evening is the same.
  • john1604
    john1604 Tympanic

    Posted

    Hi guys I see there hasn't been a post in a while I have all of the above symptoms and problems I would be interested in trying to push this also as help is non existent

    We all have bad days with it and it can really get you down but you must stay strong even when it's eating at you it is a horrible condition and it's tough stay as healthy and eat as healthy as you can avoid alcohol and hope that at some stage someone finds a solution 

    Thats my advice as I have tried everything else Try a little Vaseline up the nostrils daily and drink plenty water 

    I hope this is of some help 

    Best of luck 

  • sheetha20286
    sheetha20286 Tympanic

    Posted

    Hi I suffer a sudden earing lose ent drs say it's a viral infection .I was treated with steroids but I am totally deaf.i suffer from tinnitus .I hv head pressure something g like air beginning sucker into my ears once this happen I lose balance and headache. I also hv acute labyrinthitis.i am depressed I just want this head pressure to stop.i even wanted to end my life it's that terrible
    • xminh2329x
      xminh2329x sheetha20286

      Posted

      There is no cure for tinnitus, but you can retrain ur brain to filter out the noise. You won't even notice it after you learn how to filter it out. Search the internet for a guide on how to do this correctly. It's pretty easy to do.

      My strategy is to retrain the way I view tinnitus. Rather seeing it as something abnormal and wrong with you, see it as something very normal and very standard, like it's a part of you what you hear and your supposed to hear it. Make tinnitus as a standard rather than a curse. The only reason youre hearing the ringing in your ears is because you're in an environment that isn't natural to human beings, evolutionarily speaking. For a very long time, we had to live outdoors, in nature, where the world was very alive and filled with all kind of sounds. Only when we moved from outdoors to indoors, that we began to notice the slight, faint ringing in our ears. If you were to live out in the woods, where crickets crows, and where bushes and leaves rustles in the wind, you would not have noticed ur tinnitus, so why would it be such a big deal when you move in doors and realize that it's there? Well, anyway, if you practice not giving too much thought to your tinnitus, it will go away. You'll learn how to automatically filter it out. You wont even think twice about it. Just be careful not to make it worst by further damaging ur ears. smile

  • daniel18142
    daniel18142 Tympanic

    Posted

    Hi everyone, I found this forum on the internet and I just had to come here to give my solution. Im from NYC and Ive had severe UTD for about 4 years. It started when i moved to the city and got a really bad ear infection. Here were my symptoms.

    -nearly 100% blockage of the left ear

    - hear my voice when i talked

    - click noises when i had some openings, i was happy to hear clicks

    - pain around the jaw area, not sure if it was my TMJ or my est muscles being sore.

    So i want to tell you all what i did and I would like you all to try this to validate this solution. Maybe my etd got me crazy and im imaging I can hear well. Haha.

    Ok here is the solution, its so simple. Water.

    I started noticing I had dehydration symtoms, like cramping of the leg when running, fatigue, dry mouth, etc. so i started thinking, what if my eustation tube was dry making it sticky since fluid goes through there naturally. So a month ago i started drinking heavy amounts of water, 5-8 glasses a day. In 2 weeks i heard a big pop in my left ear! I was slowly starting to get my hearing back. i just kept improving, so for proof i took a flight for new years to LA from NYC. Take off and lands NO ISSUES! Not even a slight pop. No pressure. Please try this out it might work for you. And please post back here your results. Im not 100% sure this solves it, maybe its some fluke thats working temporarily. But i definately was dehydrated, and now im feeling better. No more ETD, so far. *knocks on wood*

    -Dan

    • daniel18142
      daniel18142

      Posted

      I don't like how this forum does not allow us to edit posts, i want to add a disclaimer and fix some spelling mistakes. UTD means ETD. Sorry. And I wanted to state this may not work for other causes of ETD, like virus infections and such. But give it a try, dont assume your doctor is right. They cannot confirm its a virus until they take a swab of your ET or sinuses and identify a virus under a microscope.

      Another symptom i was having that went away was tinnitus.

    • theresa04217
      theresa04217 daniel18142

      Posted

      Wow, that's awesome news Daniel!  I am going to try the water thing.  If it helped with the tinnitus too...wow, that would be so amazing if it could help me.  I do tend to not drink enough fluids and get very tight sore muscles...so Im feeling I could benefit from the extra water as well.  

      I'll post back and let you know!

    • JTcop
      JTcop daniel18142

      Posted

      Daniel, you said that you had 100% blockage, does that mean you had the clogged feeling?
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