Ear Problems

[Mixalot27]

For the last 2 months or so I have been having a problem hearing out of my left ear. What it feels like and how the doctor explained it to me is that it is similar to when you fly on an airplane or drive into the mountains. Usually it pops on its own after a short time and is then fine.

I originally went to see a doctor and he gave me a prescription for flownase (sp?) which I snort through my nostril twice a day. I used this for around a month and it seemed to improve for around 1-2 hours after doing this. But then it would be back to the same again. I saw the doc again today to tell him I'm still having the problem. He is now going to send me to a nose, ear, throat specialist. However it will take several weeks to get into see the specialist.

Its getting really annoying to not be able to hear normally and I'm starting to get concerned that it isn't going to go away.

So I'm wondering if anyone has ever had this happen to them before and if so what was the end result?

[00CivicSi]

Take a blow dryer and blow on it for 10 mins or lie on a hot pad for 10 mins. Do you use q-tips to clean your ears? If you do your gonna go deaf!

[thrasher22]

They might just be plugged with wax? I have super small canals (apparently) and mine get so plugged, when they pop, I feel off balance. try getting your doctor to flush them out?

[Jericho99]

You can try cleaning them by letting a lukewarm stream of water run in when you shower, make sure u let it dry out b4 sleeping. Allergies could be it perhaps, try avoiding dairy for a while any dairy even cheese in a sandwich.... it could be worse, they could be ringing. Maybe even try that thing with running salt water through ur sinuses forgot where but theres a link here somewhere

[Mixalot27]

Originally posted by 00CivicSi
Take a blow dryer and blow on it for 10 mins or lie on a hot pad for 10 mins. Do you use q-tips to clean your ears? If you do your gonna go deaf!

I will give the heating pad a try. I don't have a hair dryer since I have no hair. No I don't use Q-tips as I know your not supposed to put anything in your ears.


Originally posted by thrasher22
They might just be plugged with wax? I have super small canals (apparently) and mine get so plugged, when they pop, I feel off balance. try getting your doctor to flush them out?

Its not wax. One time a few years ago I did have to get wax removed from my ear. Initially this is what I suspected the problem was but the doc says there is very little wax in them right now though, so thats not the problem.



Originally posted by Jericho99
You can try cleaning them by letting a lukewarm stream of water run in when you shower, make sure u let it dry out b4 sleeping. Allergies could be it perhaps, try avoiding dairy for a while any dairy even cheese in a sandwich.... it could be worse, they could be ringing. Maybe even try that thing with running salt water through ur sinuses forgot where but theres a link here somewhere

I've tried the water idea, infact I used a little syringe thing specially made for this but it didn't help, in fact made it worse cause then I had water trapped in there too.

The allergy idea is a good one. I've never previously been allergic to anything as far as I know, but I think allergies can start anytime so who knows. I do eat/drink a fair bit of dairy so maybe I will try cutting that out to see if it improves.



It seems to be more of a pressure type issue than an issue with the ear being clogged. The only suggestion that the doc gave me was to try holding my nose closed and breathing outward to somewhat relieve the pressure. This does seem to help the problem a little in the short term but before long its back to the same again. All I know is its getting pretty annoying hardly being able to hear what ppl are saying to me and I hope the problem will resolve itself soon.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, much appreciated. Keep em coming if you have any more ideas.

[bunos]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Do you drive a lot with your window rolled down? Thats the most common reason for it...most likely a build up of wax. I would recommend getting your ears cleaned, not the most comfortable procedure but it should help.

[Mixalot27]

^My appointment with the specialist is tomorrow so I'll see what they have to say.

[Mixalot27]

Just came back from my appointment with the Specialist. My problem is that I don't have any/enough wax in my ears. So this results in them being overly sensitive to wind, water, etc. So I have to swab them with Hydrogen Peroxide to help them not to get swollen. I'm relieved that the problem is minor and not more serious.