For the past 4 days, my ears feel like I'm in an airplane - all plugged up. If I pinch my nose and blow, they clear out but only for a couple minutes before sealing up again. Pretty much just like on a plane. My doctor told me today (after determing there is no infection) that swimmers are prone to problems with the eustachian tubes and that there's not much that can be done about it. He suggested wearing ear plugs while swimming, though I'm skeptical that is going to help. Anybody else have experience with this problem? It's REALLY annoying. I never get ear infections (not since I was about 10, anyway) and I use Swim-Ear always after swimming to dry out my ears. It really seems to have nothing to do with water in the ears, just this sudden inability to balance the pressure.
Interesting -- I had that problem for a while and it went away when I took an antihistamine (Claritin). You might to check if it's an allergy; this is the pollen season and allergies can develop even if you've never had them before.
Allergies would be a great diagnosis IF ear infection has been ruled out along with water in the ear. I see lots of people with allergies that manifest themselves with the symptom of my head is in a barrel.
Questions to ask yourself:
Have you had seasonal symptoms before?
Are you getting older? Allergies increase as we get older.
Do you have an unexplained running nose, headache, sneezing, dizzyness, or post nasal drip, stopped up head?
Was this a sudden onset?
Do you have this problem every year at the same time? Plants come out about the same time each year.
If so do the following:
Try to take an antihistamine and decongestant to start. I like Clariten and Sudafed. It will take several days for this to take effect. In addition a warm cloth ( dont burn yourself) placed below the ear lobe on your neck will also help the fluid to move out of your ear canal. You should see an improvement shortly and as your head feels better you can stop the Sudafed. I do not like to recommend the Sudafed for more than a few days at a time because of HBP. If the above does not clear up the problem you might talk with your doctor about adding Flonase for additional help.
If it turns out to be an allergy next year start two weeks before you have your trouble taking Claritin. If you start early you can avoid the Sudafed.
Have a great day
Paul
You might also try just straight alcohol (Isopropyl). The glycerin in the Swim-ear stuff may be irritating your drum. My ear, nose, throat doctor suggested this approach 3 years ago and I haven't had to return to him since.
I have had this problem for a couple of years, my wife swears I am going deaf...I have told her for the past two years it is swimming related. Specifically my problem is worse in the right ear, my breathing side, I can't hear as well out of this ear either.
I have claimed all along it that it is a result of rolling my head and the water running down into my ear canal. Nice to know I may not have been all that far off.
I have a perforated eardrum. I had my ear doctor make a custom made earplug. It still leaks a tiny bit so I put Vaseline around the earplug to get an added seal. The plug stays in while training but I need a cap that will stay down over my ears if I dive off the blocks. I have tried latex, lycra and silicone. They all roll up. I tried the EarBandit, but that is for a 3 year old that is not pushing off the wall as it rolled up on my turns. I could use the one with the strap under the chin with a flower on top, but....... Any ideas on how to keep my ear plug covered so I can do start off the block would be greatly appreciated.
I have been told that as we age, the Eustachian tubes become less flexible (like other things in our bodies) and my not drain as well as in our youth. I have been having a bout as well over the past couple of weeks - I had stopped taking Zyrtec for allergies and restarted it, with relief after a few days.
My husband (aged 62 and a non-swimmer) had a similar problem. It seemed to come out of no where and he had never had this issue before. He saw his dr. who prescribed an antihistamine and Neti pot. He tried both with no success. It continued to worsen and at the advice of a client, he sought help from an ENT who specialized in ear dysfunction. He was immediately put on Prednisone (and spent a miserable first day with headache side-effects) and followed the course for 10 days. His hearing returned to normal. About a week after finishing the meds, the pressure returned. He had to go back on the Prednisone and get an MRI to rule out an acoustic neuroma (negative). His hearing and release of pressure are again abating. However, this time when he first took the Prednisone he had a horrible episode of vertigo, vomiting, and extreme fatigue. The dr.'s are now thinking it may be Meniere's disease and that the dizziness, etc., was not related to the Prednisone. They don't really know. I guess that is why they call it practicing medicine. I hope your problem is soon fixed, your hearing restored and that this information is helpful in your determining a course of action.
