Overall I'm feeling better being only 30 days into treatment. Energy is back, fatigue is gone, brain is clearer. Even the tinnitus is much fainter (usually).
The one thing that drives me NUTS is my ears feel very full / stuffy (called "aural fullness") and it feels like they are plugged and I need to pop them.
I can pop them fine if I do the Vasalva manuver (hold nose and blow), but they still feel stuffy.
SO FRUSTRATING. For those of you who have had this, does it go away??? Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
My ears feel full from time to time, but when my LLMD looks in them, they look normal. Mine are better than they were in the beginning, but still flare up from time to time.
Posted by greengirl (Member # 25316) on :
I have full ears, but no answers. It has gotten better on treatment (only full every so often instead of all the time.)
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- While many do this, my ear doctors have told me not to hold my nose and blow. It can damage ears. Holding nose and swallowing can be helpful, though and does not put the kind of pressure on the ears as blowing does. Yawning can help.
SING. Yes, singing can help. Humming, too. It's maddening, though, with blocked ears so don't torture yourself, just give it a little vibration.
The ears really take a hit with lyme. Liver congestion also can clog ears. Really. (I saw that raised eyebrow !).
Ginger Capsules can help. Avoiding gluten, dairy, corn and soy can also help. Magnesium and Turmeric can help reduce inflammation. Allicin/Garlic can also help. Wasabi and Chinese mustard, too (with a meal, that is).
Stinging Nettle helps (as it helps reduce elevated cytokines that cause inflammation) and Quercetin also helps with upper respiratory clearing.
On-going liver support is essential for the ears. You might also benefit from gentle cranial-sacral therapy that addresses the eustachian tubes. (Never any quick neck twisting, though.)
Some yoga poses are also helpful to move lymph and, thereby, help open up the eustachian tubes. A warm bath, too.
Be sure you are not around mold, scented products or chemicals. The chemical finish on new fabrics, carpets, and dry cleaning can really mess up liver and ears.
Using a NETI POT with warm water and a little sea salt can help.
Avoid nasal sprays as they may provide a strong blast of clearing but, actually, can perpetuate the need to continue on something that does not really address the underlying problem.
A Neti Pot is best but if you feel you must use some sort of nasal spray:
Olive Leaf Nasal Spray -
Posted by merrygirl (Member # 12041) on :
I have this and my doctor used an otoscope with some sort of air blower on it. He said the membrane should move when air is applied. mine dont. So He said my ears are full of fluid. I am on zyrtec and flonase (yes the flonase has steroids in it and I dont want to hear about it) The goal for me is to get the ears to drain normally so I dont need to have them drained with needles etc....
My ear pain is better and the fullness is better
Posted by applewine (Member # 26220) on :
Well, there are probably many possible causes. I think estuchian tubes can cause these symptoms, or muscle spasms, probably others too. You can feel like your ears are full even if there is nothing there I think if the right muscles spasm, that has happened to me and lasted on hours. You might want to look into estuchian tubes because I heard they are very narrow. That happens to some people. Look into other causes too.
Posted by bcb1200 (Member # 25745) on :
Thanks I've been down that road. Before my lyme dx I had a battery of ent tests. My ears and dizziness are among my worst symptoms
We looked at eustacean tube dysfunction, hearing tests, abr, eng, ecog, etc. All normal.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- bcb, I'm pretty sure you've seen these links. However, for others coming along with ear issues:
![[rant]](graemlins/rant.gif)