Since a few days when my dad passed away. I suddenly developed a sensation of fullness in my R ear and ringing. ( low pitched roaring sound).Nothing that preceded it as far as I can tell. No colds or infections or anything. There was no vertigo. I am able to pop my ears, but there is no relief. My hearing doesn't seem to be affected, although the sound of my own voice has a strange echoquality to it on that side of my head. Even my own voice sounds muffled. It's autophony (the loud, echoey hearing yourself speak). It feels like when you go to a concert or when you go on a airplane. I could hear myself talking or hear an echo. Outside noise is amplified and it would make me hear drumming sound in my ear. Insomnia because of ear.
I began to develop a real sensitivity to sharp loud noises, crowds, restaurants, dishes clanking, etc. I also noticed that any kind of pressure applied to the ear canal or pushing in the ear canal with my finger resulted in a very odd feeling along with occasional sharp pain deep within the ear I know when it is coming now because i would feel 'flutter' like having an insect in the ear, or give a feeling of drawing the eardrum inwards (which it does!)
I have tired:
-Ginkgo biloba, Vit E, warm compression on the ear, sleep on the L ear. Lipo Flavonoid Plus or
lemon Bioflavonoid
-I have placed myself on a low salt diet.
-MRI normal
-Blood work Normal
-Hearing test is normal
-Had two dose of prednisone
I went to 3 ENT and the Dx: Meniere's Disease
The last ENT is also a Neurotology is a branch of clinical medicine which studies and treats
I was given a diuretic which helped me for 2 weeks.
DDX:
1-cochlear hydrops
2-perilymph fistula (PLF) or Tonic Tensor Tympani syndrome or Superior canal dehiscence
PulsatileTensor Tympani syndrome. . A small muscle in the middle ear is attached to the eardrum via the malleus bone. The muscle contracts normally if the face is touched, or air is blown on the eyeball. It seems to be equivalent to the blink reflex for the eye, but now no longer useful as a protective reflex for the ear. The appendix is an example of another body part that has lost its use due to time passing. Nevertheless the muscle often does contract if we are tense and reactive
3-Tinnitus is also known as Vascular Tinnitus.
TREATMENT:
1-Get those tubes open again. You need to open your Eustachian tubes as often as you can to get air into the middle ear cavity and also allow excess mucus to find it's way out. When you achieve this you will hear and feel them pop or crack (this is good!) You can do this by swallowing hard or falsely yawning, pushing your jaw forward hard. Use the 'Valsalva movement', which is done by pinching your nose and blowing quite hard with your mouth closed, filling your cheeks until both tubes pop open. It can take a while, but keep going. Hold them open for a few seconds, release and then swallow. Do this 4 or 5 times a day at least. You might think this is not working, but keep at it as the ET's need to be retrained to open up again.
2- Antiinflamatories.I believe that these drugs can help. A common cause of the ET not working is inflammation in or around the ET's and by reducing this you can help things to get back to normal. It's worth a try, but keep going as it can take days to take effect. Be careful about the maximum period to take these, however complete a full course before stopping unless you need to stop.
3-Chew gum . Do this as much as you can and preferably use a menthol gum. The chewing
action will help the tubes to open naturally and the menthol will assist as well. Again, don't just use a packet and think that's rubbish! Keep going for weeks and don't stop until you are sure it is doing nothing which could be sometime.
4-Use steam and lots of it. Using steam will help to free up mucus and open the tubes up. Do this as often as you can. If you have access to a steam room, then use this and sit in there for an hour. If you don't like most people go and use a free trial at a health club telling them that you might join and use theirs! Using Olbas Oil with a nasal steamer is very good. A facial sauna machine is a good substitute as this will keep the steam hot for longer than a normal fill inhaler. This is a good one to consider HERE Whilst breathing in, open the ET's by yawning. Using abowl with a towel over your head is OK as well but it cools quite quickly.
5-Heatpad . Use a hot water bottle wrapped in a thin towel and hold it tight against your ear as hot as you can stand it. The heat will radiate through to the middle ear and will help to free up that stubborn mucus. Try this for at least 2 weeks.
6-Nasal sprays. These can be useful to start to free up the sinuses and ET's. Saline spray is safe and some say quite effective. Others include decongestant and steroid sprays, however take care not to over use these as this can cause a reboundaffect and end up prolonging the problem and not helping it. In other words your tubes get so dry that they will not be allowed to function and more mucus is produced to deal with that problem.
7-Sleep upright. Don't lay flat because the fluid will shift into places that will not help. Prop
yourself as high as you can, which will naturally allow the fluid to drain. The problem ear should be upper most in my experience, but please try either way and compare if there is any difference for
you.
8-Use a distraction to relieve the tinnitu s (Noise Therapy) If you need to spend the night sat in front of the TV to drop off to sleep then do whatever it takes. Relaxing music through headphones or a pillow speaker can work, as can 'white noise' which can cancel out the ringing or loud hissing sounds often suffered with this. You can download these files or purchase them. Experiment with various tones as some will work and others will not.
9-Avoid alcohol and caffeine . These are stimulants and will enhance any tinnitus that you have. The temptation may be to lose yourself with drink. This will not be productive. Now is a good time to try herbal and green teas. Drink other hot fluids such as diluted fruit juices with honey which can act as natural decongestants and help with keeping your body hydrated.
10-Excess salt in your diet can aggravate this condition many believe and has been directly linked with tinnitus. I am fairly convinced that excess salt enhances my 'T' although I cant be 100%.
11-Oral decongestants you decide? The jury is out on these. Some advice will say use them. My doctor said treatments such as Sudafed are a complete waste of time to deal with this. Yes they may dry up mucus but don't forget that we actually want this stuff to clear by running out, not drying to hard deposits in the ear. This can cause the ear to produce yet more mucus to shift the dried up deposits in what is referred to as a 'rebound affect'. I did use them initially, however I will not the next time if this comes back as I am convinced that prolonged use of these did me more harm than good. Piriton I found very good at drying up the mucus, however this caused my ear to block again and also caused the tinnitus to worsen.
12-Nasal irrigation Many will suggest this as being helpful. The Neti Pot is the most popular. I used the SinusRinse system by Neilmed which is easier than a Netipot and did seem to help. I would say for a small outlay it is worth a try, particularly if your sinuses are blocked as well.
13-Look after yourself. Eat well and ensure you are getting what you need to stay strong. High dose vitamin C is viewed by many as good to help battle this. Dairy food is thought by many to be one of the biggest causes of excess mucus. Little evidence exists to say that it is that I can find, but for me avoiding this when your body is trying to shift it is probably a sensible sacrifice to make. Certain food groups are thought to be inflammatory which may be triggering this problem. Look at these foods and restrict inflammatory foods. Fresh garlic, ginger and fresh pineapple are excellent natural decongestants. Gentle exercise may help, particularly in the fresh air, but avoid strenuous aerobic activity as again this creates more of the stuff you are trying to shift. Keep well hydrated by drinking you daily consumption.
14-Clean Air. I noticed that going out in the fresh air would often help relieve symptoms, so you might conclude that being able to live indoors and particularly sleep with clean air free of dust and other allergens may help you deal with this. I obtained an air purifier Ioniser which I left on before before going to bed and kept running through the night. The air certainly felt fresher and with the added bonus that the fan noise would take my mind off the tinnitus
15-Thinkpositive. It is very easy at 3am with no sleep and an ear that feels like it's going to
explode, to feel that the world is ending and that you will be cursed with this forever. You must keep positive and believe in yourself that will eventually go. Virtually all cases of this will clear up, unless you have a rare complication which will not allow this. If you have this for a prolonged period, you must pester your doctor and demand to see a specialist. This is because he/she is the only person to see if there is an underlying cause which needs other measures. Medical interventions are limited to solve this and the exact causes of this illness are still unknown.
16-Intra-Tympanic Steroid Injection
So after everything,my doctor gave me a steroid injection in the ear. So far so good. I will keep you up to day
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