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Eustachian Tube Dysfunction: tube is plugged
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) | Last Active: Aug 15 10:56am | Replies (59)Comment receiving replies
I was born deaf in my right ear. About two years ago I noticed my ears felt plugged up and I couldn't seem to get them to pop. I also noticed distortion in hearing in my ( somewhat good) left ear. Went to doctor and was prescribed antibiotic and decongestant. Didn't help. The I went to ENT where I got my hearing aid- they had no idea- prescribed nasal steroids. No help. Made an appointment with a specialist in ENT clinic. He said there was nothing wrong with my ears that he could see. Suggested my teeth were the problem. Went to yet another ENT 3 hours away from me. She did tests. Had no idea why I was still having distortion in my hearing. I used to be able to listen to music. Now I can't. It all sounds distorted or off key. This is very depressing. I have absolutely no idea what to do about this. I'd give anything to be able to hear music the way I used to.
Replies to "I was born deaf in my right ear. About two years ago I noticed my ears..."
I've had a similar problem, diagnosed as Eustachian tube dysfunction. There was inflammation and mucous in my ear canals causing the weirdest distortion in sound, plus hearing loss. I've had roughly 50 medical appointments since this occurred last July. The things that have helped so far are: Ear Tubes, steroid ear drops through the tubes, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, cranial sacral massage, chiropractic treatments, and ear molds from my audiologist, that block all extraneous noise on my hearing aids. I am a pianist, and for 6 months I experienced the distortion you are describing. I could not play the piano or work as a musician. A dog barking and a neighbor hammering sounded about the same. My beautiful grand piano sounded like a child's out of tune xylophone. I'm not done with the process of clearing my ears yet, but now I can enjoy music again. Hang in there and keep searching for answers.
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Welcome to Connect @wills3. What a frustrating problem. I have bilateral hearing issues form and Acoustic Neuroma on one side and then cancer on the other with surgery that removed my ear canal on the other. I wear a BTE hearing aid on one side and have a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid on the other. Since all of this, music is never the same. But if I stream it into my BAHA via bluetooth or a mini mic connection, it is somewhat better. I am told that it would improve with a Cochlear Implant also. I have seen an assortment of Audiologists and have a fairly good one locally, but the Audiology team at Mayo Clinic always does more testing and works hand in hand with my surgeon as needed. We drive 10 hours (and have for 12 years) to continue using Mayo Clinic MN for my cancer followups. I think maybe you need to continue your search for a great ENT and/or Audiologist. Do you have a large teaching hospital or referral center close enough to consider using?