Ear Fullness Followed by a Tinnitus Spike — Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Challenges

[yusharowe]

I continuously go through this cycle every few months. My right ear clogs up, which causes an increase in tinnitus. It is the strangest experience because the sounds are different with every spike.

I have been very congested for the past few weeks, and the doctor said it is not an infection, just some inflammation. I am really trying to find answers for these Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) issues. I have also been trying to get an MRI done. Can an ENT deny a request for X-rays?

The fullness in my ear has led to a low humming sound in my right ear. My baseline tinnitus is a high-pitched hissing on the right side with a small mid-frequency hum. I also experienced middle ear myoclonus (MEM) in 2020, which went away but came back throughout 2024 on and off. Thankfully, the MEM has subsided now.

Recently, I started using a nasal spray (Mometasone) and am on my second day of taking Sudafed. This has led to a low humming sound, and while my right ear is still clogged, it is not as bad as before. Only my right ear clogs, and it is the main source of my tinnitus. My left ear has a small wave-like sound that I had even before my tinnitus onset in 2020.

I have noticed that rotating my neck changes my perception of the tinnitus sound, especially the small wave sound in my left ear.

The worst part of my tinnitus is when my ear clogs up and new sounds start to emerge. It becomes incredibly frustrating.

 

[squiggy]

How can you tell if your tinnitus is bilateral or unilateral? Mine is mostly in my left ear. But when I go to sleep and rest my head on the pillow on my right side, if I listen closely, I can hear a low humming. I'm not sure if this is my imagination or if the sound is reverberating from the left ear.

Today the sound was louder, and my ear feels full. I'm thinking of it as a spike and hoping it will return to the baseline level of habituation that I've somehow learned to live with.

Has anyone ever had a spike where the sound stayed at that heightened level and never returned to what you had conditioned yourself to? Today was stressful, so maybe tomorrow I'll find the sound has lessened.

Has anyone had a spike that never went back to the original sound level?