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.
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.
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.
