Head Feels Pressurized

Telis

Member
Author
Hall of Fame
Jun 26, 2014
2,264
Tinnitus Since
11/2013
Cause of Tinnitus
Drugs barotrauma
My head and ears feel full. I don't know if this is the deafness and tinnitus or if my ears are not equalizing properly? My ears do crack when I swallow, but I'm pretty sure they have always done so, even when I had no ear issues.

When I bend over or do push ups, my head and ears seem to roar (very low frequency rumble). And it feels as though the pressure gets more intense. Or almost like my ears are swelling.

My ears do pop when I yawn but they still feel full.

Not expecting this is something that can be helped. My ears just seem to malfunction in general since T.

I did have a basic test done at the audiologist to check my eustachian tubes...I think it was an impedance test. She said they seemed ok.

NOTE: I originally developed tinnitus from trying to manually pop (Valsalva maneuver) followed by antibiotic ear drops.
 
Aural fulness seems to be a common T symptom doctors can't really explain. I just discovered 'cochlear hydrops' which explains aural fulness and T. Check it out - I just resurrected an older thread about it.
 
Hey Telis this sounds to me like one of the symptoms of TTTS. Which is my biggest problem at the moment. With muscles tense up it is common for the ears to feel full. When bending over or working out i get the rumble noise to. I think the pressure goes to the head area and the ears start so flutter, which is that sound. Mine is so extreme that the muscles behind my eyes, cheeks lips all quiver at times. If i gently touch that side of my face my ears starts the rumbling and fluttering like crazy.

Have you tried some type of sound therapy and let your ears rest for a time. This is my third flair up, for me xanax and sound therapy seem to help bit.

I have a link with the symptoms for it ill post it for you as soon as i get the chance, todays the first day in the last month in a half where my fullness is not super annoying, so this is something that can be treated slowly.

@SoulStation it seems to be common with TTTS, wonder if you have this along with ear pain or facial pain.

@Telis do you take any meds at all? for sleep or anxiety? What your feeling is definitely real but is without question for me made worse when stressed.
 
Hey Telis this sounds to me like one of the symptoms of TTTS. Which is my biggest problem at the moment. With muscles tense up it is common for the ears to feel full. When bending over or working out i get the rumble noise to. I think the pressure goes to the head area and the ears start so flutter, which is that sound. Mine is so extreme that the muscles behind my eyes, cheeks lips all quiver at times. If i gently touch that side of my face my ears starts the rumbling and fluttering like crazy.

Have you tried some type of sound therapy and let your ears rest for a time. This is my third flair up, for me xanax and sound therapy seem to help bit.

I have a link with the symptoms for it ill post it for you as soon as i get the chance, todays the first day in the last month in a half where my fullness is not super annoying, so this is something that can be treated slowly.

@SoulStation it seems to be common with TTTS, wonder if you have this along with ear pain or facial pain.

@Telis do you take any meds at all? for sleep or anxiety? What your feeling is definitely real but is without question for me made worse when stressed.
Hey cullenbohannon,

Yeah I get that ear fluttering as well, especially after a workout...drives me nuts. Along with the feeling of pressure and tinnitus, hard to handle. If it's due to stress, guess that makes sense as I'm non stop stressed with ear issues.

I don't take any meds...just drink beer and smoke herb.

I haven't tried any type of sound therapy. I will give it a try.


I get worried I am doing damage with workouts as everything feels swollen. Like my ears are about to explode.
 
@Telis
This is just my opinion of course but maybe give xanax a short term try, unless the beer and herb help. For me at least xanax was more helpful the alcohol. I just think its important to try and relax as much as is possible your situation. So whatever your comfortable with.

As for the sound therapy a lot of people use pink noise or white noise i think. Those are a little harsh for me at the moment so i use different nature sounds on youtube and am slowly working my way up in volume and mixing some pink noise from time to time. Also im kind of just winging it with this im no expert so you might want to ask around.

I got worried to, i dont lift nearly as much as i do, and started doing more bike riding and kayaking, hiking, that kind of stuff. I do life when my ears are not full though. I would take it easy maybe go higher reps and lower weight. Although it may feel like your doing more damage i don't think we are. Its not a nice feeling though.

This link will probably be more helpful then me.
http://www.hyperacusis.net/resources/noiseandhealth20131.pdf

http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/tensor+tympani+syndrome/default.asp
 
@Telis
This is just my opinion of course but maybe give xanax a short term try, unless the beer and herb help. For me at least xanax was more helpful the alcohol. I just think its important to try and relax as much as is possible your situation. So whatever your comfortable with.

As for the sound therapy a lot of people use pink noise or white noise i think. Those are a little harsh for me at the moment so i use different nature sounds on youtube and am slowly working my way up in volume and mixing some pink noise from time to time. Also im kind of just winging it with this im no expert so you might want to ask around.

I got worried to, i dont lift nearly as much as i do, and started doing more bike riding and kayaking, hiking, that kind of stuff. I do life when my ears are not full though. I would take it easy maybe go higher reps and lower weight. Although it may feel like your doing more damage i don't think we are. Its not a nice feeling though.

This link will probably be more helpful then me.
http://www.hyperacusis.net/resources/noiseandhealth20131.pdf

http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/tensor tympani syndrome/default.asp
Thanks for the info.

Yeah I lift way way less now...hate it. Although I do like the bike.

Hope things keep getting better for you.
 
Hey cullenbohannon,

Yeah I get that ear fluttering as well, especially after a workout...drives me nuts. Along with the feeling of pressure and tinnitus, hard to handle. If it's due to stress, guess that makes sense as I'm non stop stressed with ear issues.

I don't take any meds...just drink beer and smoke herb.

I haven't tried any type of sound therapy. I will give it a try.


I get worried I am doing damage with workouts as everything feels swollen. Like my ears are about to explode.

Hi Telis,

A friend of mine developed T because of to much lifting weight. He heard a pop in his ears and after that it was eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and never stopped. When I feeling down I talk to him the most about my T because he understands it.

You talking about the pressure en full feeling in your ear sounds like me a few months ago. I hated it more than the sound. I did perhaps some soundtherapy because I always have birdsounds playing on my phone but than again my fullness feeling of my ears was gone the moment I started using Tone (New Nordic)

Today my son became 2 years old and my friend who also has T was here with is mother and they are also trying Tone this coming week. If he has the same results with the fullness feeling that I have I will let you know so you can try it also.
 
Today I have yet another ear infection ,my umpteenth , yes I get this ear fullness most days of the week .dont know if this is why get infections as I do .My right ear feels really hot inside and out,to now having to put cold compress on this ear .Anyone get ear infections with having T .
Wonder to is it blocked Eustachian tube doing this ? Any answers on site today .
 
My head and ears feel full. I don't know if this is the deafness and tinnitus or if my ears are not equalizing properly? My ears do crack when I swallow, but I'm pretty sure they have always done so, even when I had no ear issues.

When I bend over or do push ups, my head and ears seem to roar (very low frequency rumble). And it feels as though the pressure gets more intense. Or almost like my ears are swelling.

My ears do pop when I yawn but they still feel full.

Not expecting this is something that can be helped. My ears just seem to malfunction in general since T.

I did have a basic test done at the audiologist to check my eustachian tubes...I think it was an impedance test. She said they seemed ok.

NOTE: I originally developed tinnitus from trying to manually pop (Valsalva maneuver) followed by antibiotic ear drops.
I had this issue few weeks back.. It was annoying. I think its just issues that come with T.. Or we always had this before T and never realised it. My ears feel full sometimes but then i can pop them but then they still feel full and the pressure that comes with it... I have no idea but i know it will go away so just giv it some time even though its freakin annoying.
 
Hi, I've had some "ear fullness" 2-3day per week last 1 month or so. It feels a bit like pressure isn't settling in ear. I was hoping that this a step closer to actually healing but when I red this thread I did some math. About 1 month ago I changed my workout back to the way it was before I got T. Basically big weights...and now I have this ear fullness thing going on.

So lifting some heavy weights with tight grin on your face may do this to your ears. Basically you should need to lower the weights, stop grinning and stop flexing the muscles you are not working out.
 
Hi Telis,

A friend of mine developed T because of to much lifting weight. He heard a pop in his ears and after that it was eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and never stopped. When I feeling down I talk to him the most about my T because he understands it.

You talking about the pressure en full feeling in your ear sounds like me a few months ago. I hated it more than the sound. I did perhaps some soundtherapy because I always have birdsounds playing on my phone but than again my fullness feeling of my ears was gone the moment I started using Tone (New Nordic)

Today my son became 2 years old and my friend who also has T was here with is mother and they are also trying Tone this coming week. If he has the same results with the fullness feeling that I have I will let you know so you can try it also.
I look back now and believe that weight lifting caused my plugged ears. It was then that I persisted with trying to pop my ears obsessively....after that....hearing damage and T, then ototoxic ear drops, this topped it all off. All from trying to stay fit. Life is a sick joke sometimes.
 
I spoke to him yesterday and he says after 3 years now ... it became less. He also almost stopped talking about it, so have I ...the less I focus daily on T ...the more it goes to the background. In a quit room I can still hear it loud but the sound needed to mask it becomes less and less. I stopped the birdsounds also during the day and use it only at night or really silent places. Don't give up hope my friend..... it's all we have at the moment!
 
I have this problem on and off. Sometimes it feels like my brain and face are stuck in a vice grip. No doctor I have ever seen has been able to explain it.
 
Does anyone do any cardio and if so, does it aggravate/increase their T or increase the fullness? I definitely need to get some form of exercise going...
 
@Telis Have you found anything to help with the pressure? I'm going a bit crazy right now because I had been doing fairly well living with reactive T, and HL, and the head pressure was only occasional so I had coping skills I had developed. It seems now that the pressure is almost daily and I'm losing it. I'm not taking any medication as I have in the past but didn't have good results. Do you think there's any connection between low pressure in the weather and that having an effect on the T and head pressure. I'm usually able to muster up a fairly cheerful demeanor in dealing with all this but I'm not doing good at all right now and hope you've found something with your situation that may help me and others.
 
@Telis Have you found anything to help with the pressure? I'm going a bit crazy right now because I had been doing fairly well living with reactive T, and HL, and the head pressure was only occasional so I had coping skills I had developed. It seems now that the pressure is almost daily and I'm losing it. I'm not taking any medication as I have in the past but didn't have good results. Do you think there's any connection between low pressure in the weather and that having an effect on the T and head pressure. I'm usually able to muster up a fairly cheerful demeanor in dealing with all this but I'm not doing good at all right now and hope you've found something with your situation that may help me and others.

Hey, I'm going through the exact same right now but the head pressure is so awful - it feels like my brain is always straining and labouring and idk if it is just because of anxiety or it comes with the T and hearing loss but it is such a disconcerting sensation!
 
@serendipity1996 I liked your description "brain is always straining and labouring". Right now its so bad I can't think of being around people as it makes me so edgy I'd have a meltdown. Does yours come and go or is it constant? Does your T get louder or remain the same?
 

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