Chronic Eustachian Tube Dysfunction?
Aug 27, 2013
I have been reading the boards about ETD and all the other potential causes of my ear problems for the last 6 months and am still without a clue what is causing my particular issue.
The story is long and like so many others on these boards also very frustrating. In March I was diagnosed with and inner ear virus as I was dizzy, foggy headed and had a slight sensation of fullness in my left ear (all occurred less than 24 hours after a 3 hour flight). This lasted for 3 weeks at the end of the three weeks all symptoms subsided except for the constant need to "pop" my ears. This lasted 4 days and was gone.
For 3 weeks I was symptom free, I had to take another flight which went off without any problems. For days after the flight I had spells of dizziness and on day 7 after the flight hear came the ear fullness and need to "pop" my ears.
Went back to the ENT and was told I have ETD and will resolve....6 months, 4 ENT's and an Allergist later my ears still feel pressurized. I have mad improvement over the months and instead of having to "pop" my ear 1 million times a day I am down to maybe a half a dozen.
My major concerns are:
While driving my ears bother me the most I feel increased pressure instantly no matter if the windows are open or closed.
Also I have post nasal drip MD diagnosed with non allergic rhinitis, never had that prior to the dizziness and ear issues.
ENT and others say it will go away it just takes time, I have not read of anyone's ETD going away on this board and feel like I can not live with this forever!
What are your opinions: will it resolve over time are we stuck with this forever?
I have been on oral and nasal steroid no significant improvement, I am doing acupuncture and seeing a chiropractor. I am negative for any allergies and my MRI came back negative.
The next step is tubes which they say can help in 50% of case and may make it worse in the other 50%, as much as I want this to go away I can not even take the chance of making it worse.
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This started around late November 2013, I started getting my normal Winter allergies and then came down with what I now believe was a sinus infection. Non-stop mucus, post nasal drip, face hurting, head throbbing etc.. This lasted for about two weeks. During the end of this and soon after, my ears slowly became more and more congested. I attested it to these allergies/sickness and thought it would slowly go away.
It never did. Instead, it started getting worse. Towards mid-December, I began to get slight ringing and more fullness in my ears. Soon the tinnitus grew worse and worse. My tinnitus during this point was extremely loud high-pitched noises, sweeping in and out. Coupled with 24/7 hiss, like an air conditioner was on in my room. Can't hear high frequencies anymore. A loud tea kettle-esque whistle in my right ear if I hear something of a certain pitch or something too "loud."
I saw my primary care doctor on two separate occasions, who said he saw a little liquid in my ear but that my eardrums appeared fine. He gave me Prednisone. No help. I got recommended to the Head and Neck specialist.
The first specialist I see, he doesn't really care to listen to me to say the least. He does get me a hearing test within a few days though. The hearing test shows a curve that they say can be attested to sensorineural hearing loss that someone my age (23) shouldn't have, and that since my hearing dropped with the timeliness of my sickness, that it was odd.
I see a different specialist next trip. He attests it to allergies and says that my eustachian tubes seem to be blocked up. He looks in my ears, up my sinuses, etc.. He recommends I just use a sinus rinse and to not get my ears drained because that will probably make things a lot worse.
I began to do so for the next week or two, and my symptoms did not seem to change at all. I had already been taking flonase and allergy medication as well, to not much help for my ears.
Lastly, I saw another specialist about a week or two ago. He told me that my hearing test showed what he typically would cite as congenital hearing loss, and kept implying that I had been born with bad hearing (That's definitely not the case, this has been a HUGE shift!) He had me do bloodwork for environmental allergies and other tests and a CT scan. I also asked for antibiotics just to rule things out- those have been used up now.
To say the least, I had to call back a few times as a follow-up. They didn't even bother to get in touch for my results, and all I learned was that I did have mild allergies (something I've known my whole life) and that the CT scan was "fine." I ordered those results to be sent to me to see for myself, but either way I guess he hasn't much interest in seeing me again. Do I see ANOTHER specialist now?
Right now, my tinnitus is not as bad as it was then (I could barely sleep then) but still extremely irritating. The tinnitus is still like that of an air conditioner, and there is still a constant ring that goes on, although it is a bit quieter than before. My hearing is still congested and full, and I can hardly hear someone talk a few feet away from me, I'm afraid my hearing may be permanently damaged or getting worse. I can no longer hear certain frequencies. Sometimes I feel like there is liquid in my ear, but maybe not. Wouldn't the CT scan or other ear examinations show that? Is this actually ETD?
I've done all the advice shown around (Proper Flonase spray to the tubes, Sudafed, (extremely careful) Afrin use, etc. I feel like I'm not getting better. My passion is music and I'm afraid I'll never be able to hear things "right" again.
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I am a teenager,aged 15. I have been suffering from problems with my eustachian tube for 2 years now. I felt thumping,buzzing,vibrations come from within my ear-but at the same time I felt the symptoms to DEEPER into my ear. It has created some headaches and I have to pause between conversations to attempt to unblock my ear.
However,nowadays I cannot unblock my ear properly. The 'stuffed-up' feeling I get has gone even DEEPER. I got an okay in many audiometry tests (PTA tests) and I got a weird thing that sucked out all the mucus in my throat a good 2 TIMES.
The doctor says it will go within time. I've had for 2 YEARS already, It would be terrible to go on like this without being able to swallows properly! Yes,one of my symptoms is the inability to swallow properly without the pressure building up where my tube is at-it makes me go light-headed and faint sometimes.I've tried taking nasal sprays,but they were hell as the steroids made my adenoids act up and swell (but my adenoids are okay now).One point to add,I have only got a deficiency in Vitamin D and I have no thyroid deficiency.
A few questions:
1: Does any UK hospital or the NHS have a cure/treatment to this?
2: Is it normal for teenagers to have ETD for a long period of time such as 2 years?
3: Do home remedies work,like the Candle Ear treatment? I've tried steam treatment but it doesn't work.
Please give some suggestions, It's truly uncomfortable getting out into the cold or out into the hot with such a feeling of 'stuffiness'.
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This started a week ago at night I started getting ringing sensation in both my ears which persisted that night and wouldn't let me sleep went to the Ent department and got diagnosed as eustachian tube blockage as I had popping of ears and had to constantly swallow so that the ears feel better had a Pure tone audiometry done which should no hearing loss then had a tympanometry which showed a bit increase in the middle ear pressure got prescribed with antihistamine and antibiotics any idea when the tinnitus goes it has decreased to an extent it doesn't disturb but if I close my ears I can hear it anyone experienced the same?
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I have recently been diagnosed with Meniere's disease because I had a few vertigo attacks, hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear fullness.
However, after much thought I am beginning to doubt that diagnosis. My ETD had been blocked for exactly the same time my symptoms appeared, I know that easily through the valsalva maneuver, my good ear is clear and bad one is blocked. Also, my bad ear does not pop properly after a flight. And my most severe symptoms happen within a few days after flying, which happened twice. I was vertigo free for 6 weeks in between the 2 flights. Another weird thing is I only get vertigo attacks in the morning right after I wake up, as if my horizontal sleeping position had something to do with it.
My questions:
1) Is it possible with ETD to get vertigo (room spinning) or severe dizziness attacks lasting up to a couple of hours?
2) Do any of you ETD sufferers sense that you get more dizzy after you get up from bed?
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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 (corticosteroid) 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.
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I'm 56. Several years ago I was dx with chronic diastolic dysfunction failure. With help from diuretics I lost 100 pounds in fluid. I was stunned when diagnosed. I still am and have trouble believing it. Lately I've had nagging coughs. I'm here to find out if anyone else has experienced this coughing and also had trouble with acceptance.
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I have one blocked tube ( my right one ) which my doctor thinks is due to having a ruptured appendix. I have been to fertility clinic today and the doc has put me on the waiting list for a lap to remove the right blocked tube. I am not sure how this will help? I have never fallen pregnant and I have been trying for 3 years ? Why would removing the blocked tube help? I cannot receive IVF as my partner already has a child with his ex, so apparently that means i'm not entitled. I really need some answers i'm really pulling my hair out and I am so frustrated.
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I wanted to know how can I get pregnant if I already have the tube ligation burnt procedure.
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I'm 34yrs ,I had removed both my fallopian tube due to ectopic pregnancy,the dr told me that I cannot pregnant naturally and I have to go for IVF. Reading all of the stories now I got interested. I just want to know did any of you get pregnant naturally without both fallopian tube, how does it happen?
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I just got out of the hospital yesterday - was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. I'll be following up with my primary care doc tomorrow. They ran all sorts of tests on me during my stay, but never mentioned that this may become a chronic thing. Does pancreatitis always have to become chronic? Do many people just have this one occurrence, then never again?
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Anyone on here have chronic prostatitis. I've dealt with mine for 6 + years now. It's debilitating! Not sure if it came from infected bladder stones or unprotected sex.
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I am suffering from chronic angioedema. They are not sure that causes it, even though they did several tests. Anyway, they suspect on food, so I cut of egg, milk, fish, shellfish, nuts and seed for now, to see what will happen. Why is so difficult to find the cause of chronic angioedema? What can you tell me about it?
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I am 38 years old, male.
About a year ago I started having pains in abdomen and mid back.
It started with mild mid right back pain, then mild abdominal pain just between sternum and belly button, accompanied by indigestion, hypersalivation, bloating, reflux, very bad smelling and sometimes floating stools and flatulence. The pain does not seem to be food or alcohol related. It does not really matter that I eat or drink for the pain pattern
I drink alcohol rarely, no more than a couple of drinks a month, but I used to smoke for ~ 15 years and I quit about 3 years ago, also I lost about 5 pounds during this year
Since then I had various test including:
1) Abdominal US, found slightly enlarged right lobe of the liver only
2) Upper endoscopy with H.pylory sampling – all negative
2) Various blood tests including CBC, liver/pancreas enzymes, Hepatitis A/B/C , celiac- everything normal or negative
3) Abdominal CT scan with oral and IV contract -all normal
4) Abdominal 3T MRI with contract – all normal
5) Fiberscan – normal
The only test that showed abnormality was HIDA scan, were delayed (more than 60 min) filling of gallbladder was found, the radiologist decided do not proceed with the second part of HIDA protocol - CCK injection, therefore ejection fraction of GB was not tested.
Based on this finding the radiologist concluded that this finding is consistent with chronic cholecystitis , and since no stones were found during previous tests the GI concluded that this is acalculous cholecystitis with unknown etiology and referred me to surgeon.
Surgeon’s recommendation was to proceed with cholecystectomy, but she also said that there is a chance that surgery may not help to relieve the symptoms since the initial problem could be related to SOD or to the problem with biliary duct.
Now the pain is mostly on the mid back on the right side and for the last month it began to spread to the left as well.
The pain does not wake me up from the sleep, and usually laying down on the right side makes the pain to fade away, but if I sleep for longer than 7-8 hours the back pain kills me, then I walk it is getting better.
Also that makes the pain worst is if I stand still for longer than 10-15 minutes, on subway of doing some kitchen work.
I also recently noticed that sometimes then I am in pain if bend back I feel kind of click in the mid back and pain immediately goes away for several minutes.
Does this sound like gallbladder related problem?
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I've had difficulty falling asleep since I was a teenager (27 now), but over the years the problem has only gotten worse.
To put it as simply as possible: No matter how tired I am during the day, I am never tired or sleepy by the time I have to go to bed.I believe this is partly a case of DSPD (delayed sleep-phase disorder), because I do tend to fall asleep faster if I stay up until well past midnight. The problem is I have to get up at 8AM and there is no way to get around this (I own an independant store that opens at 9AM).
I am not stressed out when I go to bed or thinking/worrying too much, I am simply not tired. If I go to bed at 10PM it feels like I am trying to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. I ted to fall asleep between 12-12.30 at night which is around 1 to 1,5 hours later than I would like to fall asleep.
Going to bed earlier has almost no influence on when I fall afsleep: For example if I go to bed at 10PM I'd fall asleep at 11.45, while if I go to bed at 11.15 I'd fall asleep at midnight. 30 minutes of laying awake is the minimum though and I consider that a REALLY good night.
To make matters worse, I am a competitive athlete which makes a good restful night's sleep all the more necessary. This is also why I have stubbornly only used a few types of sleep medication, because it is EXTREMELY important that my reflexes/focus is not impaired the next morning, which is a side effect of nearly all sleeping aids. What I've tried:
1mg lormetazepam: Slept fine but did not feel rested and felt groggy the next day
3mg melatonin: Had no influence on falling asleep and woke up in the middle of the night way too energized like it was the middle of the afternoon.
Passiflora extract: no effect
ZMA: no effect.
The bottom line is: I sleep 6-7 hours a night, I only feel rested after 9-10 hours, and no matter what I try, I can't seem to fall asleep quicker, or even be tired when it's time to go to bed.
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I definitely have anxiety and am now wondering if I also have CFS. Or maybe something else?
Brief list of symptoms...
Fatigue (groggy & heavy type tiredness)
Brain Fog
Feeling detached and 'spaced out'
Muscle weakness (especially in extremities and legs)
Sensitive to light and sound
Sometimes feels like I have flu or a bad virus (although I know I haven't)
Feels like I sometimes have a lump in my throat
Light headed
Light dizziness
Easily tired out
There are a few more general symptoms, but the more I read my lengthy list of symptoms, the worse I feel! Ha ha :-D
Brief History...
I have had anxiety issues on and off for many years and also hormone induced migraines. This year the migraines are definitely worse and so too is the anxiety. I had an 8 day brutal migraine early/mid September, followed by 8 days of severe brain fog/fuzzy head. I haven't been the same since. I'm also wondering if my symptoms are migraine related? I've had 2 full blood tests done and 2 urine samples taken. All came back normal/clear and healthy. I've also been to see an ENT consultant and he has ruled out an inner ear virus. He also checked my throat and balance. I had a full eye examination last week and my eyes are in great shape. I have an MRI booked next week and am also waiting an app have an ECG recorder fitted for 48 hours. I have not yet seen a neurologist or anyone else. My Doctor is saying it is all down to anxiety.
Is anybody experiencing anything similar? I feel more anxious not knowing what is happening to my own body!
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After my ENT said my vertigo/dizziness was caused by BPPV, I was sent to see a physical therapist. The PT did a lot of testing and actually ruled out BPPV (which I suspected would happen), and said I most likely have a unilateral vestibular deficit. (I had a bad sinus infection a few months ago that took forever to get better which caused some ear issues, including diagnosed Eustachian Tube Dysfunction). She explained things very well (much better than my ENT ever did...) and has started me on some therapy exercises to help me get used to/help make the vertigo better.
Has anyone else gone through this type of physical therapy? Has it worked in helping you feel better (less dizzy/vertigo)?
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So I've been having partial E.D and I looked up vitamins to help. I wanted to know if taking these all together were bad. If so which should I stop. Which will help. I got vitamin c 1000 mg, vitamin E 1000 IU, zinc 50 mg, magnesium, B1 250 mg, saw palmetto 900 mg and super b complex. Is that to much to do once a day?
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i am diabetic and now having problem of erectile dysfunction
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I'm a male age 40. Recently my sex mood had been down & it is difficult for me to get aroused. My erection also are very poor & only once in awhile i'm getting a moderate erection & even that was only for a short duration. I do not have any pressure or diabetes.
How do i can get back into the mood? Is it true a man can achieve an erection up to the level where the penis is heading towards to the person's head as shown in the blue films? Is blue films is one of the reason for this problem?
What medicines or changes that I need to do to get back into the mood & have frequent & quality erection?
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I'm 13 and a lot of my friends can cum, but i cant like i have an orgasm and all after about 3 or four minutes of masterbation, but no cum ever comes out not even precum, is this normal? will i ever be able to cum?
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