What’s up with my ears?

Hello @tsjimt, Welcome to Connect. Given the symptoms you have described and your last discussion with an ENT blew you off at your last visit but said if you thought it was something inside your inner ear you would have to go to a specialist, I would pick up the phone and make an appointment. I'm not a doctor and have no medical background but what you are describing sounds like it could be an inner ear problem, especially with the dizziness ears feeling muffled.

@snoopy108 mentioned similar symptoms in a discussion here - Can you have Meniierse Disease without an attack of vertigo?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/can-you-have-meniierse-disease-without-an-attack-of-vertigo/.

Here's more information on Meniere's Disease that may be helpful to see if the symptoms are similar:
--- https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/menieres-disease

Are you thinking about making an appointment with a specialist?

Hello @tsjimt Welcome to MCC. Hopefully you'll be able to get some answers based on other people's experiences. Inner ear issues vary considerably and are not always easy to diagnose or fix. However, a lot more is being done now than was a few decades ago. It's bothersome when a respected medical professional 'blows us off'. Sadly, that seems to happen a lot when it comes to the ear and hearing issues.

@johnbishop beat me to the punch here. 🙂 I agree with John that you might want to do some research on Meniere's Disease, especially after experiencing vertigo. Meniere's isn't uncommon, but it's also varied so one person who has it will experience it differently than another person will. Vertigo is nearly always involved. Hearing loss may or may not be. You mention tinnitus too. Tinnitus is very common. Often it begins because someone is exposed to extreme noise, either suddenly or in duration. Noise also causes hearing loss in many people, so tinnitus and hearing loss often go together. Just not always.

You said you had hearing tests. Did those tests show hearing loss? Do you have trouble hearing well when background noise is present?

@tsjimt-

Neck/head tension- jaw tightness.

Don’t underestimate the power of muscular tension that can cause migraine “type” issues.

Ear fullness feeling without result of pathology is often due to the muscles just under the ears.

People can go on the hunt from doctor to doctor for this sensation.

Refer to someone for stress/muscular tension that starts in the neck.

@seekinginfo @tsjimt Seekinginfo makes a very valid point that can be easily missed. I have experienced vertigo because of muscle spasms that move my cervical vertebrae by either twisting them or tilting them independent of any of my voluntary neck movements. The vertebral arteries run up the inside of these vertebrae and that is part of the blood supply to the brain. If vertebrae gets turned, those arteries get stretched and perhaps narrowed and that caused vertigo for me. Realigning my neck correctly resolved it completely. Allergies also increase ear fullness and pressure/pain in the ears. I think a physical therapist could be very helpful in diagnosing to determine if spinal alignment is correct, and if not, then to be able to provide treatment. I also have a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome that causes neck/shoulder tightness, and it is worse on one side, so that sets up the scenario for rotation to occur due to muscle spasm. TOS can be caused by a whiplash injury, bad posture, a repetitive stress injury or even be congenital based on physical build.

@jenniferhunter I have had these problems in my neck and shoulders for years. No one seems to help the pain. What have you done to relieve the pressure? PT has worked on the area at different times but the problem remains. I do stretching exercises daily. Who realigned
your neck? Are your issues completely gone? What about a chiropractor? Any thoughts would be great. Thanks for sharing all the info. Take care KLH

@kilh Thank you for your question. I have had neck pain for years too. I would never use a chiropractor for my spine. I know that it was so easy to rupture a bulging disc because I did that simply by turning my head. With degenerative discs, you never really know how weakened the disc has become. Injuries such as a whiplash cause small cracks in the outer fibrous layer and over time with aging, the discs dry out a bit and the cracks can separate and open up. If it ruptures, it spills out the jelly like nucleus inside, and the inflammation from that causes bone growth. In my case, that was bone spurs that were pressing into my spinal cord. I was stretching when the disc gave way and suddenly it turned my head farther than my range of motion and I heard it pop. That was not anywhere near the force that can be exerted by a person cracking your neck making "adjustments".

I was working with my physical therapist who also does myofascial release. The tension exerted by overly tight fascia can cause a lot of body misalignment. My PT would evaluate me every time I came in looking at total spine and pelvic alignment, head position, scapula position, legs, etc and find my pattern of tightness, and then hold a manual stretch on me with her hands until it released. That is how MFR works. It is gentle. I have had my jaw become misaligned and I have one side of my neck that is too tight that can throw it all off. I think most of this is caused by the TOS (thoracic outlet syndrome.) Muscles have to work in opposition to each other. For example, if the triceps on the back of the upper arm didn't exist, you'd probably punch yourself in the face trying to eat something. The triceps oppose and control the action of the biceps that bend the elbow.

Muscles connecting the spine, head and scapula work in similar ways. Often my PT could release one side of my neck or direct me to do something like turn my head while she is releasing something and it got me back to normal alignment gently and without excess force.

I can easily overexert myself and kick up my neck, and for the most part, I can do some self treatment because I have learned the techniques from my PT. Stress affects my neck by bringing on muscle spasms that cause pain and headaches, and also working to overcome the emotional responses helps a lot and understanding how the stress hormone cortisol affects me. I know my own pattern that changes things, and I self treat to overcome it when I feel a change coming on. For some things, I may need to go back to my PT because I can't get my hands or any other tool in the right position to be effective. I have to be careful how I sleep and have my neck fully supported or I can wake up with a neck spasm and pain. For the most part, I am pain free, but I can have a stiff neck sometimes. I don't have any spine related pain referred to other parts of my body as in numbness, tingling and pain, etc, but I can get some arm pain or fatigue from TOS related nerve entrapment under the collar bone. If I maintain good posture, I am pain free. I need to add that I had a cervical fusion of C5/C6 that calmed my neck down a lot, and the surgical scar does periodically get tight and needs to be stretched out so that doesn't link into the left sided pattern of tightness that I already had prior to spine surgery. I had spinal cord compression due to cervical stenosis, and surgery resolved all of that and I have not had any vertigo since my spine surgery.

Here is our discussion where you can learn about myofascial release. There is a provider search at http://mfrtherapists.com/
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Have you heard of MFR therapy before?

@jenniferhunter Thanks for all the info (a lot to absorb). I have had radio ablation several times on both sides of my neck. I am due a year ago. With a blood thinner, I was not sure about having my nerves burnt. Most but not all of my pain is on the left side right below my mastoid. My head feels swollen or too heavy for my neck to hold up it up. Therefore feeling kind of dizzy. An OT from home health has been here a couple of times. Her last time to be here she worked on that left side. She really left her mark. That spot has been really sore now for a week. Are they not concerned about your bones before making an adjustment (X-rays, MRI, etc.)? I have several friends that think the sessions are great. Since having all my teeth pulled and surgery(April and May), my head has been bent back so far, and this has made my pain and ROM not good. Trying to find some relief. All of this has set me back a good year with total fatigue and not getting much done in a day. Besides all that I am lip-smacking with continuous tongue movement and a very dry mouth. When I go to bed it all stops. What a relief. Thanks again for your reply.
Take care KLH