Around Christmas I had a bad pain in the back of my head on the right side. On New Year's Eve the pain from the back of my head was gone but it had moved to the bone directly behind my right ear. I woke up on New Year's Day and my right ear was clogged. None of the doctor's offices were open so I went to a grocery store clinic with a NP. She said I had a lot of wax build up in my right ear and proceeded to clean it with COLD water and baby shampoo in a trigger sprayer. I got nauseaous, dizzy, threw up and my BP dropped. Then she started picking at my ear with some type of plastic tool and it hurt so badly I screamed to stop. At this point it felt like I had a ballon inflated in my ear and the sounds were so loud. She sprayed more water in it and the balloon feeling went away but my hearing was muffled. She said I had an ear infection and gave me 10 days of amoxicillin. I finished the medication without any improvement and my left ear was now muffled and clogged. I started having panic attacks due to the claustrophobic feeling and had to start taking Klonopin to get through the day. My family doctor started me on a steroid pack for 10 days. The clogged feeling let up and both ears felt like they were full of fluid. I made an appointment with an ENT at Indiana University. She said my ears looked fine and there were no abnormalities. She said my sinuses were inflamed and draining due to allergies that were causing my eustachian tubes to swell and not function properly. I also had negative pressure and my ear drums were at odd angles (can't remember the exact number). She said I needed to get the allergies under control and the ears would clear up. I went to a 2nd ENT and was told the exact same thing. I went to an allergist and gave 10 tubes of blood to be tested for allergens. The results came back with a slight allergy to dust mites and a high allergy to dogs. We have two dogs. I wasn't allergic to anything else. I was miserable at my house so I moved in with my mom. My oldest daughter had stayed with my mom for 6 mos and had a dog so there was a dog in her house until Christmas. I was better at her house but still not great. I was slightly better at my dad's house since he has a dog that only comes in occasionally. I had to go back home because my kids had musical programs and I was miserable again. Today I moved to a pet free hotel. I'm still not perfect but I am better here than at home. I wanted to live in a totally pet free environment to see if it clears up. My husband doesn't believe it's the dogs because I don't have typical allergy symptoms. I have a ton of drainage (sometimes so much I can barely keep up swallowing) and my ETD. I don't have sinus pressure, running nose, itchy eyes, stopped up nose, itchy throat . It's just drainage and my ears.
My left ear is muffled. I don't really notice it much until I eat and then I can tell by how it feels. My ears fill with fluid and sometimes it's hard to get them to drain. My right ear is the worst. When I swallow it sometimes feels like the side of my head is being sucked in. Other times I can hear popping and cracking noises. Some days my right ear is open and my left acts up. Occasionally both ears will clog and it feels like my entire head is caving in when I swallow.
The ENT and allergist keep telling me once I get the allergies under control or I get away from the allergen the eustacian tubes will function properly. I am so afraid of this becoming a permanent condition. Some days I feel like I can't function. Every time I go to swallow I wonder if it will go down OK or my ears my pull or crackle. I can't remember ever having been so miserable.
This is what I have been doing on the advice of the ENT: sinus rinse 2 to 3 times daily, antihistamines (tried Claritin for a couple of weeks, tried zyrtec and felt worse and now I'm using allegra), sudafed (one every 4 hours), flonase nasal spray 1 spray each nostril in the AM and 1 spray each nostril in the PM and benadryl to sleep.
The allergist told me to stop the sudafed and benadryl and to take mucinex. I was miserable just taking the mucinex. My ears were full of fluid and I was gulping to keep up with the drainage in my throat and getting a stomach ache!
I am also running a vaprorizer, air purifier and a diffuser with an essential oil for sinuses. I ordered several vitamins linked to allergies, colds, ears etc... B complex, echinacea, Vitamin A, zinc & copper, vitamin C, garlic and probiotics. They just came today so I am going to start them tomorrow but I'm not sure how to take them. Any suggestions? All at once? spread out? do some work better taken together?
If my ears clog up I can usually unclog them with the sinus wash and a hot shower (with the vent turned off to make more steam) with a hot rag over my face.
Has anyone been told the ETD is due to allergies and it will go away? What allergy symptoms did you have? With only drainage and ear issues my family doesn't believe it's related.
I feel better at the hotel than I did at home but still not back to 100%.