Can ETD Be Caused by Stress?

[David G]

I have this slight feeling of clogged ears, plus I get these popping/cracking when there's certain noises. But this only happens when I'm indoors, this is more irritating than the tinnitus.

Can nasal spray fix this?

 

[threefirefour]

I have this slight feeling of clogged ears, plus I get these popping/cracking when there's certain noises. But this only happens when I'm indoors, this is more irritating than the tinnitus.

Can nasal spray fix this?

Probably not, but the clogging in ears could be symptomatic of active sternoacloid muscle, or TMJ. Stress causes bruxism, which could lead to this and tinnitus.

 

[Luman]

I have this slight feeling of clogged ears, plus I get these popping/cracking when there's certain noises. But this only happens when I'm indoors, this is more irritating than the tinnitus.

Can nasal spray fix this?

I have the same clogging, plus tinnitus, but the crackling to certain noises doesn't usually happen unless I open my Eustachian tubes. Stress can definitely make tinnitus symptoms seem worse, happens to me all the time and I'm attempting to deal with that. Although the crackling sounds are unsettling, I'm willing to put up with it if it means that mucus is moving and hopefully will clear out of my tubes at some point.

I use Arm and Hammer Simply Saline Nasal Mist, after steaming with a face steamer, followed by the Valsalva maneuver or using the Valsalvi Eustachian Exerciser device. The crackling happens about 50% of the time after doing this, and it does react to noises like running bath water, rustling of silverware, other sounds, and very occasionally with no sounds at all or with no Eustachian tube exercise. I assume that the crackling sounds means that there is movement of liquids or mucus.

I saw a highly experienced ear specialist/surgeon on Friday, showed him my audiologist report from last August, and after looking in my ears with an otoscope he said that I do not have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. He did not discourage me from continuing to use the Valsalva maneuver, if I wanted to. I suspect that I have clogged tubes, but not enough to be considered actual blockage, by current medical standards. My tinnitus is present upon waking up in the morning, but after one to four hours, it often gets much lower, which is a significant improvement. I don't know for sure if the Valsalva, etc., has helped, but I'm going to continue doing it a few times a day as the doctor said it can't hurt. I've only been doing this for about three weeks.

Spraying the Eustachian tube openings with nasal spray is not the same as for sinus'. To correctly spray the Eustachian areas you have to do it looking downwards, and aim the bottle sideways towards the ears, see the link below for instructions on doing this procedure. Also, be cautious about overuse of the OTC products, such as Flonase, as they can dry out your tubes too much, which can cause a rebound effect.

I am not an expert at this, just a member here, and a relatively new one, so please consult with your doctor first, if you decide to try any of these techniques or advice.

https://www.fauquierent.net/etd2.htm

 

[David G]

Probably not, but the clogging in ears could be symptomatic of active sternoacloid muscle, or TMJ. Stress causes bruxism, which could lead to this and tinnitus.

I do get a slight ringing in the ears on top of the persistent one, which lasts for about 5 seconds, and my right ear rings when the right side of my jaw clicks.

But when the tinnitus began, the ear problems didn't start a few days later, after I freaked out and stressed. The beginning was awful, I had dizziness and ear pain, but that all went away except for this popping/crackling.
Chewing gum helps a bit, but does this clear up itself?

 

[threefirefour]

I do get a slight ringing in the ears on top of the persistent one, which lasts for about 5 seconds, and my right ear rings when the right side of my jaw clicks.

But when the tinnitus began, the ear problems didn't start a few days later, after I freaked out and stressed. The beginning was awful, I had dizziness and ear pain, but that all went away except for this popping/crackling.
Chewing gum helps a bit, but does this clear up itself?

If chewing gum helps then it could be ETD. Most likely TMJ in my opinion. Perhaps you can go get it looked at during your next dentist visit.

 

[David G]

I'll go to my GP and get more nasal spray, and see how things go in the next few weeks.

 

[Christof]

I know this is an old thread, but maybe someone will return to it:

I have had a maddening problem with a clogged and crackling right ear for 5 years. Seen 4 ENTs, paid thousands to try and get it figured out, and so far NOTHING.

My crackling is triggered by sounds just like you guys: Clanging plates, plastic rustling,
banging silverware, ice cubes hitting the ice cube tray, loud laughing and yelling and screaming — basically, any loud, sharp, bursting sound. Drives me nuts.

Valsalva maneuver temporarily clears this response, but only for 2 minutes or so :-(

I got tonsilitis in May 2019, and this was FIRST thing that cleared up my crackling and stuffiness in 5 years! Was wonderful! Wish I could have tonsilitis all of the time!

My right tonsil sags down, and is collapsed and looks fundamentally different than my left tonsil. I have NEVER had ear crackling in left ear. I believe having my right tonsil swell up massively during my bought with tonsilitis changed the architecture on my right side ear/ET. Either it somehow helped drain it, the swollen tonsil helped close a partially open ET (one of 4 ENTs said I 'might have' PETD), or the swollen tonsil blocked flow of stomach acid coming up from my stomach. The latest ENT I saw speculated that silent acid reflux could be cause of my chronic ear crackling. He said I have physical signs of acid reflux in my throat.

I have spent last month working the acid reflux angle — tilted my bed up on blocks, no late meals, try to sleep only on left side, etc. Seems plausible that stomach acid could be cause of my 5 years of right ear crackling. But, so far, after a month, no substantial improvement. Sigh...

I had briefly been taking H2 blocker for stomach acid. BUT a GI doc I saw 10 days ago said stop taking it — until you get an endoscopy. Couldn't schedule that until Nov. 2019. So, more waiting — what's a 2 months after 5 years of waiting, ;-)

One other thing: The right ear crackling and stuffiness started exactly at the time when I started taking anti depressants in March 2014. Some people say antidepressants can affect the esophageal closing, and trigger acid reflux. I also lost 35 pounds in 4 months due to my stress and depression. I know there is speculation that PETD is caused by sudden weight loss. Unfortunately, gaining weight back did NOT help the problem. And only one of 4 ENTs. I have seem thinks it MIGHT be PETD. Also, I went to two, TMJ specialists and they said I do NOT have TMJ. Also, the TMJ theory makes NO sense in my case: Crackling is triggered by sounds that happen when I am NOT moving my jaw or mouth or head.

We shall see. Good to see that others have the SAME crackling ear response to the same sounds — another sure thing that triggers my crackling = clanging keys. I can trigger the response every single time by holding a bunch of keys up near my year and baking then so that they hit each other.

Finally, here is a link to a YouTube video I posted 2 years ago in which I complain about my crackling ear. It's pushing 19,000 views now — there are lots of people out there with a similar problem clearly.