I’m under a doctor’s care, not asking for medical advice.
A month or so ago, I took some antibiotics for an ear infection. It went away, but for the past few weeks I’ve been hearing kind of fluidy in one ear, you know? And sometimes it hurts a little. So I went to the doctor and she said that the infection had been dealt with but there was still fluid in my ear and it would be a breeding ground for bacteria, so she gave me antibiotics, an antihistimine, and a decongestant. I have to come back on the 8th and if it isn’t gone then she’s sending me to the ear nose and throat guy.
So my question is, how can you have fluid stuck in your middle ear? Isn’t that where the Eustachian tubes come out of? I assumed they didn’t work in an ear infection because they swell then, right? Then if there’s no infection, why doesn’t the fluid just drain out? Shouldn’t gravity do the work?
How do they generally work to start with? What’s it like in that middle ear - dry? Wet? Where do the tubes come out? Will I taste nasty ear fluid in the back of my mouth if it ever does drain? I realized I don’t really understand as much as I thought I did about the whole system in there - fight my ignorance?
I snorkel now, but when I started diving in 2000, I started getting this crazy thing in myear. It’ll all of a sudden sort of slip and I can hear my breaths and my voice echoing in my head, almost like talking into a stethoscope.
Over the years, I noticed that it’s often triggered by exercise, cold weather and caffeine. Flying doesn’t really effect the little guys. I’ve done countless searches online for a cure, and everyone says to see an ENT doctor. I’ve tried antihistamines and the only quick cure is to double over and let thefluid in the tubes slide to one end, which aleves it for about 2 minutes. Very annoying.
IANAD. And this is anecdotal.
Did the doctor say you had a fluid buildup in your ear? If not, then maybe you have decreased air pressure as the result of Eustachian tube irritation.
The way my ENT splained it to me:
Your middle ear contains air, air which over time gets absorbed into surrounding tissure.
The Eustachian tubes connect the middle ear to the throat. They “open” in response to various stimuli (possibly yawning or swallowing), and if the pressure is lower in the middle ear, a bubble of air travels up to equalize the pressure.
When the throat is irritated as the result of allergies or infections, they might not open as often as they should.
The air pressure in the middle ear then starts dropping (making it seem as though your ears are “stopped up”), and sometimes you get an earache, as the result of air pressure on the eardrum being much high than on the other side of it.
And if the doctor said you have a fluid build-up, what I wrote above is probably irrelevant.
I understood her to say I had fluid build-up, although you know how it is when you go to the doctor - it all happens so fast that even a good doctor gets you confused. (And I do have a good doctor - I’d tell you to see Leslie Stuck at Columbia Medical Associates, Earl, but I know she isn’t taking new patients.) But I guess I kind of thought that the middle ear was, you know, damp? to start with? (I guess I pictured something like ball bearings packed in grease, which come to think of it is a weird thing to picture going on in your ear.) It’s usually dry? Packed with air? I always assumed it was wet in there, but I couldn’t tell you why. (Which I guess is the reason I asked the question.)
The ear is a puzzle, as the OP knows. Even more puzzling, they claim fluid in the eustachian tubes help us keep out balance, so there’s always some fluid there we must presume. A co-worker of mine just saw a documentary that explained how the eustachian tubes (the show says there are three…wrapped into one French horn-like thing, from the pics I’ve seen) are oriented in such a way that, no matter how we turn our heads, it is basic fluid mechanics that gives us orientation and balance. In short, these tubes work like a p-trap with water always settling to the lowest point.
Don’ t try this if you DO have an infection, but just an FYI: I always have trouble flying due to my ears. A ENT once told me to use nasal spray and a decongestant just prior to flying. It works 95% which helps me avoid the ear pain when descending, a true miracle! But, I can still wake up with at least one stuffy ear. I tried the remedy after flight, and it has been 75% effective. Time seems the best healer, however. (OTC ear drops for fluid in the ear proved usesless.) - Jinx
I think you’re confusing two different things. You’re describing the semicircular canals, which do work as you described. Those are a sealed system, though, AFAIK. The Eustachian tube is a different thing altogether, and links the ear to the pharynx.
Bump? Paging Qadgop? Nobody’s answered my original question - how are the Eustachian tubes supposed to work and what happens physically when they don’t? What is the normal environment and fuction of the middle ear and associated tubes, and what happens when things don’t work?
My ears do that and have done that since childhood! I can do it and undo it on purpose. I’ve never even considered that anything was wrong or that I should go to the doctor, but I guess it would be annoying if I couldn’t make it go away on demand.
I can’t even really describe what I do to make it go away–it’s like making your ears pop for a change in altitude, but different.
Al I can tell you is that after a burst eardrum, 2 days of Bactrim + 14 days of Cipro, plus Sudafed, plus Nasonex, plus saline lavage, plus NSAIDs, plus opiates, I still have pain and stuffiness in my ear, tinnitis, and hearing loss. Answer: I dunno; mine apparently don’t.
The Eustachian tubes do connect the middle ear with the throat. Normally the middle ears are filled with air. Think of the eustachian tubes as collapsed balloon necks and not like rigid straws. Their job is to equalize pressure by allowing communication to the middle ear. It’s common for them to malfunction in some way. For example, an inflammatory process that causes fluid buildup in the middle ear might cause swelling along the Eustachian tube as well and prevent it from draining properly. Or there might be a mechanical dysfunction. Some folks have trouble just with elevator or airplane pressure changes. Once there is a pressure difference it can be surprisingly hard to equalize it again. Sometimes manipulation helps (various pullings on the external ear to transmit traction to the eustachian tube. Sometimes drying agents help (medications that decrease secretions). Sometimes we poke the eardrum with a needle and let out the pressure that way. Sometimes a middle ear fluid buildup will create so much pressure that the eardrum bursts and the fluid drains out the ear canal (this usually produces a marked relief of pain and a temporary problem hearing until the ear drum heals itself, which it usually does…). It’s ridiculous that this positive pressure doesn’t just push the fluid down the eustachian tube but the design is such that the opening just gets blocked by the soft tissues of the middle ear.
It bugs me too that the eustachian tubes don’t do a better job of what they are obviously supposed to do. Crappy design work, IMHO, or possibly just the result of Original Sin.
I can open and close mine eustachian tubes at will. As a diver it’s great. I never have inner ear pressure problem. In fact, I can open them and hold them open. And I get that stethosope sound you mentioned.
I don’t have to equalize by holding my nose in the mask and giving a little puff (I can do it that way too). Don’t have to move my jaw, swallow or anything.
I’m the only person I know that can do this. Though, I must admit, it does not come up in casual conversation.
My ears also equalize if I do swallow. Every time. I also have tinnitis. Hmmm.
I have been to an ENT and an audiologist. I mentioned this to them, and didn’t get much of a response.
Your levator veli palatini and tensor veli palatini muscles are outstanding.
See here http://www.bcm.edu/oto/grand/71196.html for a better discussion than mine, including a discussion of why you don’t want the eustachian tubes open all the time.
I can also do this, but I had no idea it was so rare. I use some kind of “deep” muscles in my head that I can’t actually feel with my fingers, but I know I am using them. I find it extremely difficult to explain to someone else.
But you are right; I’m a diver, too, and it is a wonderful gift!
If anybody’s interested, I went to the doctor for a follow up yesterday and she’s sending me to the ENT. She thinks my Eustachian tubes may be “incompetent”. I find this incredibly hilarious. (Personally I just think they’re lazy slackers who call in sick to go to Disney World.)
