Ear problem

[Hogtini]

DP (mid 30s) is experiencing hearing loss and tinnitus/echoing like he can hear inside his own head but not outside in one ear for about 3 weeks now. He went to the Drs the week before last and Dr said there was no sign of infection inside and gave him nothing just said to keep using over the counter drops (Otex express). We also got some decongestant tablets upon the advice of a pharmacist and he's also tried eucalyptus oil in boiling water to inhale the steam. He's also tried an ear cleaner which to be fair did clear a lot of wax. He went back to the Drs on Thursday (they said come back in a week if no change) and another Dr gave him nasal drops and ear spray. However, there's still no change. Has anyone else experienced this and if so how long did it take to improve? It's getting more worrying the longer it goes on and he's obviously very upset that this could be permanent.

Unfortunately, I've had tinnitus for 5 years now and I'm 35. It's horrible so I really feel for him. You develop coping techniques - sound machine at night, try not to be in silence, keep busy. The fact that it's only one ear though means he should push for further tests. Mines in both ears, which is a more permanent thing.

Thank you for replying hot. Sorry to hear you're suffering too, thank you for the tips. It really is horrible, he's very withdrawn. The Drs have been useless so he'll have to go back and ask for ENT referral.

It sounds like eustation tube dysfunction, I get it really badly if I get a terrible head cold, is he basically hearing himself x100, like chewing, talking etc? There is no cure but steroid nose sprays can help, I don't think anything in the ear will reach the problem area. Basically the tubes in his ears are blocked, a bit like when you suck a straw and the straw goes thin and sticks to itself, which then distorts his ear drums. Hence hearing loss and feeling like he's in a goldfish bowl! Good luck

And to add I use this spray (below) and decongestant tablets, but not for too long as if you do (the tablets) they can then have the opposite effect, I also use antihistamines and they calm down the histamine response to what ever is pissing your ears off!

The spray above is for the nose, which imo is the best way to wage war upon the ears!

Yes I have ear issues. I use a nasal spray called Dymista. It has a steroid in it but also an antihistamine. It has helped me a lot but ultimately, I'm going to be having balloon surgery on my ear to increase the size of my tubes. My problem is they are very, very tiny and I have allergies, which causes them to be plugged a lot. It can be very painful as well due to pressure. But look into this spray. I am in Canada and it is quite new on the market.

Single sided hearing loss should always be treated as a medical emergency. My husband has total hearing loss in his left ear from both him and his Dr not realising the potential seriousness of the situation. It went from partial hearing loss to profound deafness within a couple of weeks. If he'd been given high dose steroids at the earliest stage he might not have lost his hearing permanently.

www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/sudden-deafness

I'm sure that 99% of the time it's nothing serious, but it's scary how many people we've met with the same story as dh. Only a little while ago we both went for our annual optometrist appointment and she was telling me about her husband who had the same start of single sided hearing loss. He went to his family Dr who told him that it was probably just congestion. He then went home and Googled, and she admitted that she accused him of being a hypochondriac, but he insisted on a referral. The ENT specialist confirmed that it absolutely wasn't conductive loss, so immediately prescribed the steroids, and he recovered a lot of his loss of hearing.

My DH can't even get a hearing aid for that ear now as there's literally no signal from the ear to the brain. He has terrible tinnitus too.

Nothing showed up on MRI so the most likely theory is that it was "a virus" that destroyed the nerve.

In your husbands case it is hopefully congestion, rather than nerve damage, but the consequences of it not just being congestion are so serious that one should never just assume.

If his doctor has advised "wait and see", without actually testing to see if it's conductive loss or not, then I'd really push for an urgent second opinion.

Thank you all so much for the replies. Buster, yes that's exactly what he describes it as. Googling suggested that too so to use the nasal spray and steam/eucalyptus oil and the pharmacist recommended the decongestant tablets.
He pushed for an appointment today and they've said he has a bulging ear drum with fluid on it. They said it will either pop by itself or ENT will put a grommet in to do that rather than waiting. He's been prescribed amoxicillin and referred for ENT apt on Friday...thank goodness. Really cross that he's had to wait this long but appreciate it may not have been so bulgey at the first apt!
I hope that's the end of it! Sorry to all of you/your loved ones suffering.