Well, here it goes. In December 2021, I went to sleep and woke up with significant Eustachian tube dysfunction. It felt like I was on a plane; my voice was too loud in my ears, and sounds from any generator sounded like a helicopter in my ear. That feeling would last for a few hours after waking. Once that feeling eased up, the sound of a purring cat would take over for hours. I had to take Dramamine daily due to vertigo.
The first ENT I saw prescribed Prednisone, which worked immediately. It turned me into a crazy person, but it worked. Within a few days of finishing the Prednisone, the cat sound came back. He performed a myringotomy, followed by more Prednisone. It always went away, and it always came back.
About six weeks later, I took a three-hour flight to Austin. That night, the sound was like a lightsaber fight in my ear. It was loud and sporadic. This lasted for about six weeks. Every day, I would wake up fine, and by mid-morning, the sound would come back. More Prednisone.
Fast forward—I have now seen four ENTs, two neurologists, and two TMJ specialists; I had multiple MRIs, CT scans, and a carotid artery ultrasound, and nobody knows what's causing this. I had been in remission, more or less, for over a year, until a few weeks ago. I started noticing sounds that I hadn't heard in a while, then the pressure came back, then the sound. I've been on Methylprednisolone for five days, and the sounds remain. There is less pressure in my ear when I wake up, but the sound keeps coming back. It can last 12-18 hours. It started as the cat sound, then became the lightsaber fight, and last night, when my five-year-old woke me at 12:30, it was a loud rhythmic pulsing. It was like I was hearing my heart pump in my ear, loudly. It's never been rhythmic like that before.
Nobody knows what's wrong with me. I feel hopeless and desperate.
The first ENT I saw prescribed Prednisone, which worked immediately. It turned me into a crazy person, but it worked. Within a few days of finishing the Prednisone, the cat sound came back. He performed a myringotomy, followed by more Prednisone. It always went away, and it always came back.
About six weeks later, I took a three-hour flight to Austin. That night, the sound was like a lightsaber fight in my ear. It was loud and sporadic. This lasted for about six weeks. Every day, I would wake up fine, and by mid-morning, the sound would come back. More Prednisone.
Fast forward—I have now seen four ENTs, two neurologists, and two TMJ specialists; I had multiple MRIs, CT scans, and a carotid artery ultrasound, and nobody knows what's causing this. I had been in remission, more or less, for over a year, until a few weeks ago. I started noticing sounds that I hadn't heard in a while, then the pressure came back, then the sound. I've been on Methylprednisolone for five days, and the sounds remain. There is less pressure in my ear when I wake up, but the sound keeps coming back. It can last 12-18 hours. It started as the cat sound, then became the lightsaber fight, and last night, when my five-year-old woke me at 12:30, it was a loud rhythmic pulsing. It was like I was hearing my heart pump in my ear, loudly. It's never been rhythmic like that before.
Nobody knows what's wrong with me. I feel hopeless and desperate.
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