Anxious and fed up

[Summermum479]

Hi there,

for nearly a month now I’ve had an issue with my left ear. It’s went from being extremely blocked after having that horrendous cold/cough everyone had over Christmas, to finally unblocking but still got muffled hearing in it compared to my other ear. When I went to the GP they said it was blocked Eustachian Tubes and that it would pass.

a few days ago I woke up really dizzy and with me being 26 weeks pregnant I was worried it was something to do with my blood pressure so again called GP. This time they have put it down to an inner ear infection as I told them about the muffled hearing I was experiencing and tinnitus. They checked everything else like blood pressure etc and everything was fine.

This morning I’ve woke up and realised that during the night when I was sleeping on the left side, I was getting ear ache. This isn’t something I’ve had thus far and it subsided once I swapped and lay on my right side.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? It’s really starting to get me down and I’m a worrier anyway so I’m starting to worry there could be something more to it which is obviously making things insufferable especially at 26 weeks pregnant?

any advice or reassurance would be appreciated.

Yeah i get it after colds. Muffled hearing, pain, tinnitus. Here's a link to an information sheet

patient.info/ears-nose-throat-mouth/earache-ear-pain/eustachian-tube-dysfunction

Thanks for your reply @Worriere it is reassuring to know. Have you ever experienced dizziness? It’s that that has really thrown me tbh

Yeah frequently, inner ear affects balance. I can see why you're worried, experiencing it for the first time while pregnant. All sounds fairly normal though.

Blood pressure monitors aren't expensive if it would make you feel better to have one at home.

I had a lot of ear problems after recovering from Covid:
ear pain, dizziness when standing up too quickly & tinnitus
The symptoms decreased eventually though took a while.
It could be lingering issues from your cough/cold virus
I hope it improves for you :)

@Summermum479 hi, how did you get on with this in the end? Also suffering with this whilst in the final weeks of pregnancy following covid and I'm really struggling and searching for reassurance. Thank you

@flowerlover1990 so sorry you're going through this too! Mine seemed to lessen a bit after pregnancy but it did eventually come back. I then went on holiday in September and my eardrum burst mid flight, I think due to the congestion that was behind that ear. It was painful at the time but for the last month it's been a lot better! I did take myself to the GP and I have been referred for an ENT appointment as I do have some slight hearing loss in that ear now but my appointment isn't until February next year 😂 I think being pregnant and having the flu the back end of last year made me v v congested and caused this eustachian tube dysfunction thing. I imagine you're suffering with something similar but might be worth a visit to the GP just to be sure? Hope you're feeling better soon and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! 🥰

@Maybaby1994 thank you so much for replying! And really sorry to hear your issues continued 😩 a burst ear drum sounds horrendous! I can't believe how long you have to wait to see an ENT specialist too. Hope you get some answers soon.
I saw the GP last night and he couldn't see an infection in the external ear so reckons it's a blocked tube in the inner ear. I've been given a steroid nasal spray but a bit hesitant to use it until baby is here. Hopefully it sorts itself out soon as it's so disorientating and making me feel quite miserable.
Thank you again for replying 😊