Water in the Ear from Neti Pot?

[krzkrz]

I don't have the money yet to see an ENT, though I have seen an audiologist who recommended an ENT visit and possibly even an MRI.

Basically, I've had ringing in my right ear for two weeks. The ringing is quiet in the morning, starts ringing when I get up, it rings when I chew food, talk, or hear certain frequencies. It quiets down at night as long as I keep my head still. I still haven't found out what could have caused it, though it dawned on me that perhaps frequent Neti Pot use in the days leading caused water to get trapped in my eustachian tube and/or middle ear. For now, it's just a theory.

But has anyone here heard of anything like this before? The ringing has gotten slowly better, but at this rate it might take several months to heal, if at all. As far as I can tell, the hearing in my right ear is just fine, though my audiologist said there's a certain frequency "missing", which is probably the frequency of the tinnitus. But it doesn't feel like I'm going deaf, just a ringing on top of my normal hearing (in my right ear only), that almost exclusively rings with sound/physical stimulation.

Is this water in the ear possibly?

I'm a little crabby today because I'm sick (literally) but a bit depressed/desperate about this whole tinnitus in my right ear thing.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[NimQ]

I want to reply since you seem to need support, but must confess that I have no idea whether water can get trapped in ear or eustachian tube because of Neti Pot usage. Can you actually feel or hear water in your ear? One of the reasons why the usage of Neti Pot could lead to T is if you have clogged sinuses and forcibly blow the water out of your nose. I think this could cause similar effect than valsalva maneuver (which you should not do!) - putting pressure on eardrums and risking damaging them. I have also heard that Neti Pots can cause inflammation, if not used with caution: water might end up in wrong places and might even bring bacteria in if the water isn't 100 % clean.

I tried to look for similar situations and found a thread here on TinnitusTalk Water in the Middle Ear After Neti Pot; Louder Tinnitus. There are some good info there, it seems - check it out.

Since your T is new and the cause is unknown AND you suspect there might be water in your ear, I'd hurry up visiting ENT and audiologist. Could you loan money from someone? It could be useful to get your hearing tested as well.

 

[krzkrz]

@NimQ, Thanks for responding. You were right about me needing support, I was feeling a bit down about a lot of things, but I feel better today. As for blowing water out after using Neti Pot, I feel one would have to blow VERY hard for there to be any impact on the ear drums, but when I blow the water out it's usually not much harder than as if I were blowing my nose regularly. I've been searching for many possible causes and the idea of water seeping up my eustachian tube from using the Neti Pot just seemed very plausible to me. I also followed directions closely and used 100% distilled water, and made sure to rinse the Neti Pot with the same distilled water before and after each use (though I think I got lazy with the rinsing part prior my T, so maybe some bacteria was already sitting in the Neti Pot, but who knows?)

I actually did read a bunch of posts by the guy you linked me to, and after looking at his posting history, it looks like his T started after a loud party bus ride a year or so earlier. It's fortunate for him and many others who have a clear idea of what caused their T, whereas with me I'm left wondering if it was just caused by a stressful day (and lots of stress leading up to it), or a host of other things. It seems like a weak reason (stress), but that's the only thing that stands out that day because the day my T started, it was fine in the morning and I only noticed it when I got home from work.

I saw an audiologist recently who confirmed that I have overall good hearing, but my right ear (the one with T) is lacking a certain frequency in the mid-upper range, which is probably the frequency of my T. As for affording an ENT, I guess I would have to borrow money, but it pains me to do that.

I'll be getting another hearing test soon just to get a second opinion.