I can give you a solution which will clear your problem completely. 1) Shed your fat 2) Start jogging, aerobics everyday(must, this is a magical cure) 3) Start swimming(must) 4) Steam inhalation 5) Saline water irrigation 6) Use a breathing mask to cover your nose 7) Cover your head while sleeping 8) Do pranayams 9) this starts at night when you sleep and your breathing rate becomes low, so consult your doctor how to alleviate that problem, can use an antisnoring device or CPAP, Or blow air inside your sinuses
Hello, Burak. Firstly, I was wondering what procedure was performed on your nose in addition to the balloon dilation you had done to your eustacian tubes. Also, do you recall what sort of scans, or what methods the doctor used to diagnose both your conditions (ear and nose issues)? Hope to hear from you.
Why is swimming imperative? I imagine any cardiovascular activity will suffice? Please let me know some details as to why you recommend swimming. Also, when you mention saline water irrigation, I assume you mean using a neti pot? And lastly, what do you cover your head with while sleeping.
My doctor told me a blocked nose could cause blocked eustachian tube in years...
So he did both surgeries together. he just removed some cartilage tissue internally to let the nose breath better. (nothing external) i didnt need any special scan for my nose, any doctor could easily say i have a blocked nose when making a simple check.
i was suffering for 3 years and started be paranoiac. cant even point that this strange feeling was coming from my blocked eustachian tube. had several brain MRs and blood checks when i got panicked!!!
after my surgery all strange feelings disappeared in weeks. dont delay it if you have the similar... i lost 1 year of time by delaying... but now life is perfect
Thanks so much for the quick reply, Burak. I also was interested in who your doctor was and where he might be located. I’m not sure how moderators work on this site. Posts seem to get moderated when you include personal info like phone numbers and stuff. If you are willing, you can send info
Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.
For what reason did you have the surgery? I have tinnitus because of my dysfunction. Or so I believe. It hasn't been properly diagnosed. Was that what you had your OP for?
I am also suffering from chronic blockage of nose and ETD, giving me -110 dB pressure on my ear and Tinnitus started like a month ago, which is like a buzzing of 24 hours and especially troubling at night when it is quiet. Couple questions if you don't mind sharing your experience -
1. Did you have pressure in your ear? If so, what were the -dB level?
2. When you clear up your nose (with rinse or spray), does your ETD symptom go away? For me, even when my nose if cleared, I can still feel the negative pressure in my ear, so I wonder if your doctor says ETD could cause blocked nose, or only the other way around?
3. Did your doctor mentioned about inserting Ear Tube (Tympanostomy tube)? I am scheduled to have Tympanostomy Tube inserted on 6/5 (in one week) so I am wondering does Tympanostomy tube work as effectively as Eustachian dilation? Would your doctor know? Which operation has a higher success rate of ETD?
Your response would really help me combat this chronic disorder that's causing me anxiety and trouble sleeping for a long long time.
I was having issues on my left ear only but my doctor applied operation on both since operation is harmless and my right ear did not get enough pressure when swallowing during tests. To prevent possible future blockage my doctor applied procedure on both.
Thanks for your message and hope you get recovered soon.
First of all i am not a doctor. Just an experienced patient. So i cant know which operation is best for you. But if you are sure that you have blocked Eustachian tube, then i would say Baloon Dillitation is newer technique and has better results. So please make sure you have visited not an old fashioned doctor but a doctor who is also capable of making Balloon Dillitation operation. So check again what technique he offers?
I think clearing up nose will not mean clearing up eustachian tube since both or separate tubes. But clearing up nose will help clearing up the eustachian tube or prevents future blockage of it. So the rule is even you have health eustachian tube, still keep the nose cleared.
Again i am not a doctor but i am an engineer So according to my logic, if Eustachian is blocked, Balloon Dillitation directly aims to clear up this tube. Putting ear tubes will only help balancing the ear pressure and help to drain some dirt. But whats the outcome of this procedure when your eustachian tube is still blocked? I have never tried ear tube operation.
I was told I had ETD......i had the dilation done twice? Not successful. My new doctor doesn't think it's ETD but a inner ear issue. Sick of it all and the thousands and thousands of dollars spent for absolutely nothing!
Thank you for your response Burak. Do you mind addressing my first question - 1. Did you have pressure in your ear? If so, what were the specific -dB level your audiologist tested on you?
I think this question will help us distinguish the symptom of Ear Pressure vs Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. If you only had ETD and not experiencing ear pressure of -100 or above, then Balloon Dilation might be the best bet. But if you have heavy/constant ear pressure, Ear Tube might be tackling that specific issue. Maybe both do the similar thing - and I am not a doctor as well, so we can only look at it from our symptoms perspective. The heavy pressure on my left ear is causing Tinnitus so I need to tackle the pressure straight on.
Ear Tube seems like a less risky of the two operations (with much higher success rate I assume?), so maybe Ear Tube is worth a try, and if it doesn't alleviate the pressure, Balloon Dilation comes next? Do you think that's wise decision?
I don't have experience finding doctors with Balloon Dilation experience. Do you mind sharing your doctor's location and hospital info? If you don't feel comfortable sharing here, feel free to private message me.
Also, what exact type of scans did your doctor perform on you to determine the severity of the ETD?
Q - Is CT Scan of Temporal Bones something very useful to determine ETD?
Thank you for sharing your experience as it helps tremendously for people who are going through this terrible daily pain.
The symptoms i was having was dizziness(more in outside, less in closed environment like home or car)
Hearing my own voice when talking.
Inbalance in my head with little pressure feeling. I didnt have strong pressure or strong attacks but it was non stoping constant and too annoying that harming all my social life. i remember even my body feels strong i wanted to sleep all day or put my head on pillow since my head wasnt good.
I have visited most famous doctors in my country. My understanding is ETD cannot be diagnosed %100 correctly specially if there is no visible pressure in your drumhead. This Balloon Dillation is like try and see but has good success rate on my searches. All the doctors checked me, could not see any visible symptoms and my drumhead was perfect. All the outcome is the symptoms i was having that i know there is a problem but not visible to any doctor.
All the audiology test results was very fine for me. The only proof was the last test they have done 2 days before surgery. I dont know the name of the device or test but basically they connect a sensor on your ear and doctor ask you to swallow. Repeat this for both ears and the sensor measures the pressure. For me both ears were problematic according this test results where not enough pressure is transmitted because of blocked or not very good functioning tubes.
I havent read any risk of Balloon Dillitation so far. Only risk for me was it was done under general anesteshia. But still safe if you dont have special allergy to narcos. Both ear takes 15 minutes. For me it took 1 hour including nose operation.
Its really hard for me to advice you what to try first. But the worst you can do is waiting which i did. Try and see without loosing time. Again i am not a doctor but thinking aloud, a functioning ET will balance the pressure on your ear, so your logic didnt sound me correct. Naturally this is the way how it is balanced and ear tubes is just a hack. I would still recommend you find a good doctor who is capable of doing both (Balloon Dillation & Ear Tubes) so he could decide better.
I will write you my doctor's name in private since we saw above its not allowed by moderators.
Everybody here could have different story. I am just writing mine in detail and will be glad if this could help somebody since i ve spent too much money and time on this.
A few doctors I know to be performing balloon dilation procedure in America:
Denis Poe in Boston
Brian Weeks in San Diego
Cuneyt Alper in Pittsburgh
I’ve read different people online say they’ve received the dilation from a doctor in the Philadelphia area and Canada. It seems it’s getting more and more attention following FDA approval.
Yes, definitely your symptoms appears to be very different from mine --> Dizzyness VS Pressure in my left ear + Tinnitus. Since I don't know any reliable doctor in my area to perform Balloon Dilation, I would listen to your advice and do something instead of waiting around (which I already waited 7 months). Therefore, Ear Tube would be the next best thing.
I just don't know what are some good tests I should tell my doctor to perform before narrowing down that ETD is the only cause of my Ear Pressure and Tinnitus. So far, my ENT doctor has performed Laryngoscopy + CT Temporal Bones. Anything else you guys would recommend the doctor to perform before the surgery? MRI really needed, or CT Scan suffice?
I can’t help specifically in regards to that. I’ve found most of my info just from using google and looking through forums about ETD. I know that ear tubes, or a myringotomy are a very old and common procedure so I imagine any ENT can do this. The balloon surgery only recently received FDA approval so it’s only been recently that more doctors have started testing it out.