Horrible ear problem

I have had this problem with my ears for about 8-9 years now (I'm 16) - I never thought much of it and it never bothered me that much when I was younger but it's starting to become more of a problem now.

Basically, I feel like I constantly have pressure in my ears. If I take a very deep breath abruptly through my nose, I can do what feels like 'sucking' the 'pressure' (?) deeper into my inner ear, and if I yawn or hold my nose and blow, I can do the opposite. I have become pretty good at controlling this, however when I yawn without meaning to it can be quite annoying - as it is not only uncomfortable, but it also changes the volume of everything I hear. 'sucked in' = quiet, muffled noise... 'pushed out' = unusually loud noise. I find it more comfortable to keep this pressure 'sucked in' so this is what I do the majority of the time.

The trouble is, unlike other people who can pop their ears after flights etc. to equalise the pressure, I don't seem to be able to do this. I hold my nose and blow as hard as I can, but this 'pressure' reaches a point where it is pushed out (away from the inside of my head) and will physically not go any further. I'm not sure if it is literally not possible for me to push any harder or whether it is the fear of damaging my ear drum or something inside my ear that is stopping me from pushing it. When I push out the pressure, I hear clicks and strange sounds that sound like they are underwater.

As I mentioned, this didn't bother me much when I was younger, but now I have realised that it is making me quite an introverted person - it amplifies the sound of my voice and makes it sound really low (when I listen to recordings it's not as low) and muffles the sound of other people talking so I often don't hear what other people are saying to me and have to ask them to repeat multiple times. The combination of not liking the amplified sound of my own voice and the fact that I have muffled hearing of external sounds makes me not want to talk to people very much and so I have become really shy and I will avoid saying a lot when people ask me questions.

I have visited a specialist about this, however he simply suggested that it was due to the structure of my skull and eustachian tubes not being completely right and this causing an imbalance of pressure which I cannot correct, but he told me that I would probably grow out of it, and prescribed some nasal drops to relieve the discomfort. I have had this problem for nearing 10 years now, so I don't feel like I am going to grow out of it, and the nasal drops didn't help. One thing he did tell me from a test he ran was that my ear drums are apparently quite tight and more 'sucked in' than they should be. So is this the eardrum that I can feel moving every time I try to adjust the pressure?

I don't know what to do, my parents spent £300 on a specialist appointment, just to be prescribed some nose drops and the problem is really starting to affect me, both in my social life and studies, since the muffled sound makes it so hard to concentrate on what teachers are saying.

If anyone knows anything (i.e. what this problem could be, is it common, are there any treatments) then please help; I am willing to do anything.

Thanks in advance

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