Baffling Ear Problem - Any Suggestions - Going Crazy Posted: 11-08-07 10:48am
Here goes...my left ear has had a feeling
of fullness for a few months. It somehow
messes up my speech and mood and is really
depressing to wake with and manage every
day. It's driving me crazy. I tried all
the home remedies I could think of/read
about. Finally went to the ENT. He
confirmed I have no wax buildup, no water
in my ear and my E-Tube is fine (looked at
with small camera). He gave me an
antibiotic for a slight sinus infection in
my right nostril. That cleared up. No
improvement in my left ear.
Here's the crazy part: If I go without
showering the symptoms improve. I dont
know why this would be since I have no
water in my ear. However, after showering
it FEELS like I have water in my ear. I
put an ear plug in when I shower. After I
take it out I can tell with my finger no
water got into my ear canal. It's dry.
Despite this my inner ear still feels wet!
Why would my ear feel wet every time I
shower when no water touched the ear
canal? My symptoms then get 10x worse.
Then I do the valsalva (sp?) technique and
I can hear stuff moving around in my left
ear.
I'm wondering if its not my ear at all but
something else. But why would showering
instigate whatever problem I have,
especially when no water actually gets
into my ear?
Last detail...Not sure if it's related but
several months ago I went swimming in a
pool and got water in my left ear. The
next morning, directly below my left ear
lobe, a huge knot swelled up. You could
actually see it and it was so big it kept
my head from turning comfortably. I was on
vacation so didn't go to the emergency
room. I put ice on it and my doc called in
an antiobiotic. The swelling went away in
a day. I'm wondering if that might have
something to do with it. We never
determined what the swelling was from...or
what it was the even swelled up. I'm
assuming it was a gland of some sort.
I'm at a loss and going insane. Any
suggestions are welcome.
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Tmddyan
Moderator
Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 4346 Location: post falls, id usa
Thanks: 93
Thanked:63
Posted: 11-08-07 14:13pm
do you have any problems with your jaw? i
know it soundds crazy but just bear with
me.
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russkkw
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 1
Baffling Ear Problem - Any Suggestions - Going Crazy Posted: 11-26-07 14:39pm
If you have any other info about this I
would love to know. I have a similar
problem. No sickness, illness, etc. I
feel fine, however my ear just feels
stuffy. It isn't terrible, but I always
feel like I should "pop" it to clear it as
if changing elevation. Sometimes it goes
away, sometimes it just lingers, I feel
like it could be allergy related, however
I don't have any other allergy symptoms,
and no real stuffiness in my nose. But I
have the wet feeling, sort of warm full
feeling, and stuffy, and it feels like I
could clear it like you could clear
phlegm, but it doesn't work usually.
During the day it is best, in the mornings
it's the worst. When I wake up I feel
like my ear is wet, but like the original
post said, there is no wetness if I use a
qtip. To answer the other poster, I don't
have jaw problems, though I do sometimes
have a popping in my jaw, slight TMJ I
suppose, though I really don't want to go
to a dentist or doctor to get surgery
recommended. It's weird, sometimes it
feels fine, sometimes it's irritating, I
think it might be a little bit allergy
related and a little bit jaw related. But
if there is something I can do to relieve
the pressure or keep my ear draining
properly without meds and without surgery,
I'd love to hear about it. Also, fyi, I
haven't even had a cold or sickness in
close to a year so I doubt that's it, and
also I eat a very healthy diet, stay away
from processed and sugary foods, and I get
plenty of raw organic fruits and veggies.
