Glue Ear?

[mick1987]

Hi guys,

Last night my ears went severely stuffy/pressurised and my tinnitus went through the roof! I woke up today and it's still the same. Ears blocked, tinnitus a lot louder, I spoke to a doctor over the phone and he said it sounds like glue ear, which makes sense because I had some fluid behind my eardrum over a month ago.

Anyway he has told me to try and pop my ears to help clear it (valsalva maneuver) but I'm a little nervous to try that because failed attempts a couple of years ago resulted in my then tinnitus going super severe for 6 hours! I vowed never to do that again but it looks like I've got no choice?

I was also told to try inhaling smelly salts (olbus oil, menthol crystals etc), if that doesn't work I might need grommets in my ears to drain the glue.

The pressure in my head is intense and my tinnitus is crazy loud! Has anyone any experience of glue ear? Is it safe to do the valsalva maneuver?

Thanks,

Mick

 

[linearb]

I'd watch out for grommets; I've read questionable things. I wouldn't think they are warranted in an adult unless you have severe problems or they go on and on for a long time.

My sinuses get gunky in the winter, and I have TMJ -- both of these things conspire to pack my Eustachian tubes with garbage. I get a lot of mileage out of Neti Pots, and steam baths at my gym. I also sleep with a vaporizer running in the bedroom, to keep it all from drying out so much in the night.

Your tinnitus is probably louder because your hearing thresholds are reduced because your ears have fluid in them. This is normal, it has happened to me many times, and it always gets better.

 

[mick1987]

So after trying to pop my ears this morning on doctor's advice over the phone (told me it sounded like glue ear) my tinnitus got even louder! It's now fleeting tinnitus loud! I just come back from the hospital/ER because it's gone so crazy, the doctor looked in my ear and said I had an infection... which I replied "I thought it was just glue ear?", and he said it was the same thing? He prescribed me amoxicillin antibiotics which I'm about to take.

Anyway if the fluid in my middle ear won't drain how will antibiotics help? I will still take them because my tinnitus is now loud!

 

[Laurxn97]

Hi, I'm new here.

But anyways, I've been suffering from "glue ear" for over a 1 month now or maybe more. I've tried everything and it seems nothing is working. It's getting to the point where the noise is driving me insane (suicidal).

My doctor told me to buy Otovent which I have. It makes the noise go away for about 2 minutes and come back. My doctor also said once the fluid is out my ear my hearing should be normal.

 

[Seymour]

So I went to the doctor concerning my tinnitus spike and she looked in my ear and said I had bad glue ear and she saw many bubbles behind my ear drum.

She thinks the resulting decrease in hearing is probably why my tinnitus is louder. That it should get better as the glue ear resolves.

Does that make sense?

 

[Benoves]

I bought an otoscopic camera. Does this look like glue ear to you?



Below you can compare my girlfriend's eardrum with the same camera. You see much more details behind the eardrum.



Benoves