Any ear experts out there please?

[PussinJimmyChoos]

I am profoundly deaf with tinnitus.

I had a sinus thing a few weeks ago, really bad pressure that moved down to my nose and then went away, left me feeling extremely exhausted.

I thought I was over it all but now my right ear is totally blocked up. I saw the doctor last week and he said it was wax and to soften it with olive oil and they would syringe ears out. He also told me to take Sudafed and beconase inhaler to help with congestion etc

The blockage has got even worse in the last few days so I went back today and they said the wax has gone so no need for syringing and that my ear drum was quite opaque as if there was a lot of fluid behind it

Dr prescribed Erdoton 300mg capsules, one to be taken 2 a day to see if that helps with it all

I'm getting quite desperate as when my ears are not blocked, I only have 5% hearing and I really make the most of it. Without it I'm really struggling and I'm losing confidence

The blockage clears when I've been lying down for periods of time but as soon as I stand up, within minutes I can feel it coming back again

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated

Erdotin rather

Hello Puss

It sounds like you have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.

Decongestants can help, as well as steam inhalations esp with menthol crystals, and also blowing up balloons! It's a really annoying condition but hopefully now your sinus thing is better it will ease off soon.

Aww Sidge, I could cry - am that upset with it all. Thank you so much for posting

How are you and the lovely DDs btw?

Oh don't cry, I know it's awful though, can drive you bananas.

We're all fine than you, how about you and your family? How is that scrummy DS of yours?

Hi Puss, I know exactly how you feel. I had a cold over xmas that turned into a bad viral infection, then a bacterial infection then a sinus infection and now.... yep im deaf in my right ear and all i can hear is hisssssssssssssssssssss. My mum suffers with sinusitus and told me to take sinutab and use menthol crystals, i did and they didnt work. Went back to Dr on Monday,he said my ear canal is clear so it just a build up of catarrh thats making me deaf (JUST). Told me to take sudafed of which im doing but still no joy. He also told me the deafness could last a month. ARHHHHHHHHH.

Im always telling dd,s off for saying eh? wat? now thats all i keep saying.

Hope you feel better soon.

I'm hoping the tabs the dr prescribed will work...have just taken my first one...fingers and toes crossed!

Sidge - DS is fine thank you - we are waiting to hear (hah!!) re his school place...my baby...at school...hold my hand please!

dont understand why doc has prescribed erdotin as that more for chest and airways....I hope it works but am not too sure.

I can understand the sudafed as that should help dry it up.
Is the beconase for inflamed nasal passages.
Buy a vicks nasal steamer and put a few menthol crystals in it. My son uses it and its really good.

I have tinnitus. It seems to be getting worse, particularly at the moment as I had some sort of bug last week and a cold just before that.

Can it make you deaf? I thought it would just keep ringing (not that that is trivial in anyway, its sooooooo annoying).

Also when I took out my life insurance, they said they wouldn't cover me if I went deaf because if the tinnitus, is this why then?

Also I used to get wax in my ears and have them syringed but that was before the tinnitus. The nurse said having your ears syringed can make tinnitus even worse.

if the eustachian tube is inlfamed the goo inside may make you def.

Yes dont have your eyes syringed too oftern as you need your natural wax there to keep ear drum healthy and nurses now dont like to do it as there is a risk of perforation....if it is ear wax 4 weeks of softening with cerumol or sodium bicarbonate ear drop sworks well

Well I've had two of the tablets so far and while I was clearer for longer this morning, I blocked up quite rapidly and haven't heard all day....I feel quite 'heady' and stuffed with watery eyes so perhaps I'm getting a cold and this will shift it once and for all...

I was puzzled when I read the applications for the meds as it seemed more respiratory than for tube congestion but I'm willing to try anything!

Its really starting to get me down and the tinnitus is at pitch point as normally, the sound I hear masks the tinnitus to quite a manageable level but now all I'm hearing all day and in the night when I wake up is buzzing...

Would the vicks inhaler help to clear the gunk in the tubes??

Coldhands - tinnitus doesn't make you deaf, its more of a side effect of it although a lot of people have perfectly normal hearing and have tinnitus

Its a pita but I've learned to live with it. Its just the blockage that I've got atm that I'm struggling with...I never realised how much I used the 5% hearing that I have left until now!!

Oh good. When I saw this I thought I would end up deaf!!

I was getting worried cause it is getting worse and I have been reading up on it online and I have the problems where I can't tolerate noise (maternity ward was a truely horrendous experience for me) and I can't hear people talking if there is other noise in the room. Plus with my life insurance refusing to cover me for deafness, it made me wonder.

I'm not sure whether to go back to the doctors though. I never knew that the pulsating tinnitus (I have that as well as the ringing) was a different type that should be looked into. When I had my hospital appointments about 6 years ago, I asked if there was anything I could do (I was thinking of the white noise device) and they just said no without mentioning that device.

Do you think it is something worth seeing the doctor again for, or just get on with it?

thats what i was saying in earlier post that its not really for ears. cant nderstand why hes given it to you. The sudafed will help much more and the beonase will help reduce any swelling in mucus membranes

Sorry, slight thread hijack here but Coldhands I have pulsatile tinnitus in one ear too since having my first ds 5 years ago. I had a contrast CT to rule out anything nasty with the blood vessels which was all clear and have 'lived with it' since then. I too have the hypersensitive hearing as well as no directional hearing anymore. My hearing has got worse over the last year or so (since ds2 funnily enough), Dh says I often don't hear him or the kids if I'm not expecting them to talk to me. I'm heading back to the consultant in the next few weeks to see if there's anything to be done. I may also push for an MRI to see if there's anything can be fixed in there. Happy to keep you posted if you like.

Puss sorry to hijack, hope you're feeling better. Can you push for an ENT referral?

Pheebe, Yeah keep me posted, that would be great thanks. I read that pulsatile tinnitus should be looked at so I may go back to my docs, I have a different doctor from when it was diagnosed anyway. I didn't even think about the directional hearing, I have trouble with that sometimes too. I'm so used to this stuff now I guess I don't really think about it much, except at night when I go to bed grrrrrrrrrr. And my DH is always saying "didn't you hear that" etc but my hearing tests always came back fine.

Hi - if you are still experiencing pain and discomfort I would contact your ENT clinic and ask for a nurse appointment asap (they usually free and can get a dr in). This is what I was told (I am profoundly deaf and suffer with a lot of ear infections).