Has anyone ever had this happen before?
Posted , 3 users are following.
To give background info: I'm 14 and got my braces put on in February of last year. They never really caused me any discomfort though as of recently they've made my left cheek feel tight. The last time my wires were changed was on January 5th of this year, which is when my ears started to feel weird as well as my cheek.
Since a scare when the left side of my face went numb for a few hrs back in December, I've taken up the nasty habit of cracking my left cheek to make sure that I can still feel it. This would have been around the 5th or 6th of the month. The day after that occurred, I learned that I had missed my most recent orthodontist appointment and pinned the weird cheek feeling on that, but I still cracked my cheek constantly. I couldn't get in again to change the wires until January, so I had to stay for a whole month with the old wire in my mouth. (I think this made my cheek feel tight some days as well.) Ever since then, the habit has stayed with me and caused me to feel a little bit of soreness in my left cheek every now and then and a little tightness.
The day before my wires were changed last month, my ears started feeling like they couldn't pop and I felt constant pressure in them.This continued after the wire was changed, and I still feel pressure in them to this day. I also heard occasional ringing or crackling (in both ears, left was more prominent) and on one particular night I felt that water was about to start pouring out of my left ear. I woke up in the middle of the night twice with briefly muffled hearing and it terrified me. I went to the doctor's to get this checked out, she said something was wrong with the Eustachian Tube inside my nose. I was told to take nasal spray to relieve myself of it, and I did, to no avail. (The pressure eventually went down by itself but I still get it and the feeling of air rushing in/out my ears) At this appointment, I didn't think to mention my cheek at all. I realized today that I probably should have.
Earlier this morning, I felt my cheek feel up with air when I yawned. It stayed that way for a good minute, and i could barely hear myself talking in my left ear due to the air/pressure in my cheek. This also happened a few days ago, also when I yawned. This made me think that maybe my ear problems had something to due with cracking my cheek so much. Maybe I did something and now my ears are feeling the consequences of it. Is there even a possibility of a correlation between my cheek and ear issues?
Have any of you ever had your cheek fill up with air like mine did? If so, did you crack your cheek/jaw a lot like me or have braces that caused problems with your mouth? Do you have any idea what this could be? And most importantly, is there any way of getting it fixed?
Thank you for reading, and I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum. This is the only one that seemed like a match for this issue.
TLDR; Constantly cracked my cheek for a month, ears and cheek started feeling weird and want to know if there's a correlation between the two.
0 likes, 3 replies
anne05078 katie12131
Posted
Good morning Katie,
I think you're in England too, as you are calling them braces.
Sometimes things are just sheer coincidence....braces and
ears. Of course it could well have been the problem with
braces that has started up your ear problem, but may not
be.
Yes, this is the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Forum, however,
it does sound as though that is what you're suffering.
Blocked ears = ETD !!
No doctor looking in your ears would be able to see your
Eustachian tubes, just the condition of your eardrum and
even then they can't tell whether it's blocked or not, only
you know that.
If you feel they are blocked then you'll need something
to try and help you as it's the most miserable condition
to suffer, like many of us on the Forum.
Have you tried putting your head over a bowl of boiling
water with a towel over your head. Breath in the steam
for about 20 minutes, then try pinching your nostrils
together and blowing, you may need to do this a few
times and hopefully your ears will pop. All the noise
of crackling sounds like mucus that's sticking your
tubes together....in children it's called Glue Ear.
Did you have a cold at the time your ears started to feel
blocked ? or do you suffer sinus issues rf allergies.
All of which cause ETD.
You really should have gone back to the Orthordondist
earlier, although I can't really see braces affecting
your ears. Having said that Ears, Nose and throat are
all connected.
You've put a very good Post forward for a 14 year old
and explained it well. My advise would be go back
to your doctor and ask for a steroid nasal spray and
use it regularly. You maybe one of the lucky ones
that it works for. You could also try a decongestion
tablet.....Sudafed.
Like many on the forum I've suffered ETD for many,
many years and have only recently seemed to have
sorted this problem out with the help of my NHS ENT
consultant, who is brilliant. I've suffered several
perforations in my left eardrum.
I really hope you soon get sorted.
Kind wish
Anne
maureen05275 katie12131
Posted
Hello Katie
I can't help you at all as I have a quite different ear problem. What I wanted to say was to endorse what Anne said and what I thought the first time I read your post. I am now retired but was a science teacher, mainly biology and chemistry, for 30 years. You write really exceptionally well for a 14 year old with ideas set out logically, appropriate paragraphing, correct grammar and spelling. You would be a dream to teach! I do hope you are feeling much better now and have found an effective means of relieving your symptoms. I wish you well in the rest of your secondary studies (Australian expression for education between the ages of about 12 and 17) and in whatever career path you choose.
Very best wishes, Maureen
anne05078 maureen05275
Posted
Good morning Maureen,
How are you feeling lately ? Nice to see you're still participating on peoples posts.
I had a bad episode the other days where both of my ears blocked. I hadn't used
the Nasules in almost a week....probably too long to go. Used them and after 5
hrs this time I managed to pop them where they've remained good ever since.
I should start to think about using them perhaps every 2/3 days so I don't
experience a build up of mucus, due to the sinus and allaergy issues.
I don't like to keep having to use steroids though, so a catch 22 !!
Let me know how you're getting on, either on the Forum or via private
messenging.
Good wish to you Maureen
Anne