r/etd

I must have this happen 4 times a year going on 3 or 4 years now. Every time I'm sick, sinus and ear issues and needs steroids to clear it. I believe its ETD. My ENT blew me off said my CT scan was fine and does not believe in steroids....yes I have fluid build up and drainage issues. My ears crackle and pop then get full. My lymph node under earlode is killing me.

Does this get better? Any advice?

I'm going to find another ENT

I do have a deviated septum, not severe though

Hi! Had ETD for 4 years started off as a cold but now left with pressure and no fluid, does anyone have any tips on how to release some pressure or anything that helps? I always see ETD with fluid never without 🤷‍♀️

Hi, had ETD for 4 years but no fluid so it's a pressure issue I assume, has anyone figured out how to make this better or cured?

Crackling in ears

Full when swallowing

I noticed my ETD / ear fullness issues are worse flying back home THAN going to where my going. I feel when I get closer to my home airport, I feel more muffled/ear fullness, loud pops on the descent downward. I felt bad Friday heading home from PHX airport to Texas. I did use Nasacort prior to boarding, felt ok for most of the flight but the descent down I was feeling bad a bit.

My Sinus ENT doc he had recommended in the past Afrin & Sudafe Pe but I noticed the Sudafed Pe has some ingredient(phenlephrine) has side effects of nervousness; and then Mayoclinic mentioned something about palpitations/heart rate issues.

Just had balloon dilation done on both ears and my sinuses yesterday. Found a great place in Columbia Sc for it. They put me under twilight anesthesia so I was knocked out. Took about an hour total from start to end. Leaving I was in pain. Good amount of blood but took some meds and was fine the next morning. Lots of congestion but they said no nose blowing first week. More updates to come on how this worked. I have had constant crackling and popping and fullness in both ears for about 3 years now. Hoping this is the fix.

Edit 1 : 2 Days post…less congestion still super clogged but this is expected. Able to do a sinus rinse tmro per my doctor so looking forward to that. Haven’t blown my nose yet. More updates to follow.

EDIT 2: Day 3 finally had my ears pop a little. If what it felt like after the pop is a sign of what’s to come man i’m happy I did this!

Edit 3 : Day 4 man I hope people use this to see how this works. Starting to really see some benefits left ear which was terrible before is starting to clear here and there randomly. I am not doing any manual methods to clear just letting my body re leaen to do it. After three years of the Valsalva and moving my jaw to po i am done doing it.

Last edit for a few weeks - I think worked. I slept last night the best I have in a long time. My nose feels so clear its concerning. My ears sre really starting to feel like how they should. I am hopeful this has worked.

I did a LOT of research prior to my most recent ENT appt as I felt I needed a tube in one of my ears. for background, i’ve had ear tubes placed around 5 times under anesthesia as a child and teenager. I read so many posts on reddit and online about how terrible and painful ear tubes were. I was really hesitant, but really didn’t want to go under anesthesia for something so simple now that i’m an adult.

It was honestly so easy. the numbing drops burned a bit, but way less than getting numbed for a filling at the dentist. after that I had no pain, it just felt weird, and there was a pop when the incision was made, similar to your ears popping on an airplane. The whole thing lasted about 5 minutes from beginning to end and so far my ear feels much better!

Obviously ear tubes aren’t the best for everyone, but I felt like I should share my extremely positive experience since I saw so many negative ones!

I have been dealing with issues since January. My ENT is convinced it’s not my eustachian tube, but I just can’t help but think it is. I got a CY scan but I have to go over the results. But my main reason for posting is the sudden switch up and how I feel. I will have one or two good days and then halfway through a day all of a sudden feel absolutely horrible and just feel a sense of dread. I am so sick of it and if anybody has any tricks, please share.

I have what feels like a brick in my right ear. I've had this fullness in one ear for 2 and a half weeks so far. I have chronic tinnitus, so the first week was accompanied by a spike, but the spike is gone, and the fullness remains. In my non-full ear, my ears pop when I swallow. The full ear pops like 5% of the time. Went to the doctor, and nothing was visible for the eardrum. Just a tiny bit of fluid and wax. The doctor said this is common after a cold (the slightest cold I've ever had, but this shit is so annoying). But do I really have to wait 3 months before this goes away? Taking decongestants and will start nasal spray. Am I cooked? Side note: this started a day after drinking for the first time in months. Idk if that matters, but yea. I also have sleep apnea which will be treated in a few months. Help please.

Is it possible to have ETD caused by jaw clenching due to anxiety, but have TMJ ruled out due to normal bilateral jaw x-rays? I'm beginning to suspect this may be what's going on with me. The only thing I can attribute to the cause of my ETD is anxiety and jaw clenching. I have no allergy, sickness, or acid reflux symptoms and the 15 or so medications I have used had no effect on my ETD. I was also under extreme anxiety when ETD began and I wasn't sick. Today I'm beginning to notice a deep seated ache in my jaw joint and I think I was clenching my teeth when I woke up today. Thoughts?

Hey guys, I only discovered ETD yesterday when I was getting desperate and looking up my symptoms online, while I believed I was simply experiencing ear barotrauma. Ever since, I have matched my story up with everyone else's, and it seems to be the case for me.

It began last Saturday when I went to a theme park and went on an extreme 360 ride. I had no existing problems prior, and for a while, there seemed to be nothing wrong. However, in a few minutes, my ear began to experience pain, making me dizzier than I already was.

I ignored it because it died down in minutes after I drank water and seemed to be extremely mild. I'm talking about very mild pains. No hearing loss, no fluid, no swelling. I looked it up, and it was seemingly ear pressure leading to ear barotrauma that would "go away in a few hours/days". So I didn't worry.

[Why did I came to this conclusion when my brother, who was on the ride, did not experience these pains? Apparently, if you look to the side during the ride, your ear will pressurise much harder and faster. I looked to my side to check on my brother during the ride.]

For the first three days, it was in the same state but did not seem to worsen at all. However, on the fourth day, I woke up with a weird feeling and slight hearing loss, which I sort of salvaged with the Valsalva maneuver, drinking water, and a warm compress. However, I began to experience a sharp, abrupt pain from inside my ear out of nowhere and slight hearing loss.

After I took a shower, it seemed to get worse. I now realise after looking through the internet that it may be because I did not keep my ear dry.

I slept on my bad ear (another mistake I made, which I now realise again), and in the morning it got 20x worse for me. I could only hear 80% well, and my ear felt full and sticky, and it was definitely throbbing both internally and externally. No fluid was leaving my ear in the morning, but it was definitely, definitely worse. My hearing reduced further, and all the pains I described previously remained and increased in intensity and frequency.

In the afternoon, fluid began to leave my ear. I took a nap, and when I woke up, there was dried fluid crust in my ear. And while cleaning it, I felt in my ear with a clean cloth, and then in my other ear. My infected ear seems swollen. I was scared shitless.

I took some tips from online and tried gentle maneuvers and hydration, but I don't believe it worked, nor will it work.

The 4th and 5th days were the beginning of its worsening. I would rather have any extreme external injury than ever experience this again. It is the worst feeling ever. It is so uncomfortable, and my ear always feels full and swollen, and I get sharp pains here and there. I also get episodes of anxiety and aggression (I hope I don't sound dramatic), and it is definitely not helping. It hurts so bad I cry every few minutes.

Here I am, between my 6th and 7th day (no.), waking up at midnight spontaneously, only to experience worse pains, and a persistent whooshing/heartbeat sound in my ear. It has stopped momentarily, but now my hearing is WORSE. I hate my life.

I am a minor, but I am very busy with a project, and school starts in a few days, and I don't think I'll make it. I believe I have health anxiety, and trying to search for success stories or remedies has only made me feel hopeless because so many people have only gotten their issues resolved after many months and MANY years. I am going on my 7th day, and it has only worsened.

I know I'll get comments scolding me about this, but I have not sought professional medical help yet. I should have. I will ask my parents if we can go to the clinic today. I know I should have asked earlier, but I was too nervous to interrupt them because they are very busy, and I should have been doing chores all day, but I was too dizzy and in too much pain to do anything except lie down and worry.

Even worse, we moved into a new suburb about two months ago. That seems like a lot of time but we were preoccupied with unpacking and school/work. I don't think my parents know any specialists or even any CLINICS nearby. How in the hell will this be resolved?

I am so scared. What else can I do from here? Is it common for ETD to last so long? If so, I will not be able to push through my assessments. Please help. This is as detailed and truthful as I can be.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, but I have had something similar to this in the past as a child, but it was after swimming, and I believe I also tried to wait it out across a similar period of time. Same mistake lol. It seemed to resolve within a few days or weeks, as far as I remember. This was in the Philippines and we were redirected by a pediatrician so maybe it won't be so bad. Still so scared.

Hey,
I recently got streph throat. It's making my ears pop and build up with pressure more often. Has anyone experienced the 2 together? I'm worried something will happen.

Thanks in advance.