ENT Wants to Put Tubes in My Eardrums — Positive or Negative Experiences to Share?

So today is my three month tinnitus anniversary, well really yesterday. Went to ENT today and she said I still have fluid in my left ear and my eustachian tubes are a mess and after three months my ENT (who thinks I have inflamed ETs and ETD) wants to put tubes in my ear drums to drain the fluid and relieve the popping, crackling, pressure, fullness, and pain.

With any surgery there are benefits and risks.

Does anyone have any positive or negative experience with tubes in the ear drum?

Does anyone think I should wait?

My tinnitus changes so much all the time from cicadas, dull ringing, listening inside of a sea shell, electric zaps in my ear.... could all of this really be caused by fluid and inflamed ETs and if so is this an opportunity to improve the intensity of my tinnitus?

Thank you anyone for your response

 

You could ask if your tinnitus spikes with tubes in could they put steroid injection through the tube?
Thats what I would ask.
Love glynis

 

@glynis i don’t know if I could handle a spike. I’m so scared of a spike as I’m just getting used to the rollercoaster I’m already on. Not sure I’m ready to try a new ride yet...

Thank you sincerely for your input !

 

My daughter had some tubes put in after repeated ear infections.
It did slow down the rate of infection dramatically (albeit not completely).
It did also relieve her from pressure pain as well since the middle ear is now equalized with the outer ear via the tube (unless it's clogged - which can happen with infections).
On the downside she does sometimes complain of discomfort in her ears, as the tube can sometimes rub against the malleus on the other side of the drum (depends how/where it is inserted).

It's a pretty routine procedure nowadays, but it's still surgery, so it's good you are weighing pros & cons.

Good luck!

 

I understand that you fear, what your Dr wants to do. Understand this as well, if your ears are retaining water and fluid and if this can further bother your ears and possibly cause further issues down the line. Then sometimes in life we have to bite the bullet and do what the Dr wants us to do.

I been in these situations many times myself and if it means that my health/life gets better, then even if i hated to do something....I did it. This is the choice you make. 100% up to you on what you want to do...

 

Tubes in the eardrum if inserted properly go nowhere near the malleus handle

They can help ventilate the ear (once the fluid is aspirated) and help mitigate against ETD (and reduction of tinnitus is a secondary bonus...) but despite being a routine operation, it still requires a degree of skill by the surgeon.

 

I was supposed to get tubes put in when I was 10 because I had ear infections way too often from 4 years old. Doctor said my ear drum was close to rupturing each time I had one and that my tubes were way too narrow for my ears to properly drain.

I threw a fit because I was scared, so my parents didn’t make me do it. I’m 32 now and regret it because I still have ear issues. If I happen to sleep on either side the ear on that side is really clogged when I wake up.

I know it’s scary, but I would seriously consider it.

 

Agreed. The key words being "if inserted properly" (ask me how I know).

 

Firstly, I’m no dr or surgeon, but have they checked your adenoids? If they are enlarged they maybe the source of all your problems, but I’m assuming they already checked this out.

Secondly, have they mentioned what type of grommet they’re going to be using? Will they be short term or long term?

Longer term ones don’t tend to heal as well and can lead to perforations. The majority of people usually have grommets that last around 3-6 months and they grow out on their own. The eardrum will usually heal just fine.

If your ETD is bad enough then your eardrum/s may perforate anyway; instead of having a surgical incision you could end up with a rupture.

I totally understand your concerns, I’d be the same, but you have to listen to your drs concerns as well.

Good luck.

 

Agreed. Longer stay grommets are often called T-tubes and stay in for a few years - but they usually have to be surgically removed as they have a larger T-flange that holds in the ear drum (and therefore don't fall out).

The downside with short or long-term grommets is that you have to plug your ears when washing your hair or go swimming etc as getting water in the ears is a big no no.

 

Try first corticosteroids before it causes permanent damage with tubes.

 

This has all been helpful to get everyone’s input. I’m typically a non invasive kind of person. I’d rather take turmeric pills than steroids but alas these have been desperate and strange times.

I’ve done steroids three times, flonase, anti histamines, steaming, saline spray, Sudafed, hmmm am I forgetting anything? Antibiotics too

Nothing has gotten my ears to open up. I feel like three months is a long time but I also believe in the bodies ability to heal.

I think I might just give it one more month. I read a story on here earlier about a woman who had a myringotomy to remover fluid and her tinnitus went away 8 weeks later.

I just don’t think I’m that lucky, but to lessen the tinnitus by getting full hearing and pressure equalized back into my ears would be amazing.

Wishing you all many blessings and prayers.

 

Three months for ETD is not long at all really. Some people have it for years before it resolves. You know your body best so go with your gut instinct.

Have you ever tried ‘milking’ the steroid spray into your Eustachian tubes?

My last bout of ETD finally resolved after around 3 months. But I was doing all sorts the entire time including sinus rinses, breathing steam, steroids, etc

 

@Ed209 what does milking the steroid spray mean? I will not touch the valsalva maneuver so if it involves that I just can’t.

 

@Michellejean

This guy>>>
↑
Hi everyone,

I have figured out some treatment protocols that really help with at least some forms of tinnitus.

I think that many people have tinnitus that is actually caused by eustachian tube inflammation. Not all tinnitus comes from this problem -- some tinnitus is due to actual injury to the eardrum or hearing loss or other neurological causes -- but my hypothesis is that a lot more tinnitus cases are due to inflammation than anyone realizes. Even ENTs don't realize this in many cases (many of them are really surgeons who take a mechanical view of the ear and don't really pay that much attention to inflammation, unless it is very acute and obvious).

Simply put: When the eustachian tube becomes chronically inflamed it can lead to negative pressure in the middle ear and this results in tinnitus. The inflammation causes the tube to swell and stick shut, preventing normal ventilation, and this forms a sort of vacuum that pulls on the eardrum causing irritation that results in tinnitus. Inflammation can also lead to chronic low-grade infections in the middle ear that in turn results in negative pressure and irritation of the eardrum in the same way.

I have struggled with this problem for many months and have found several solutions that really make a difference. And the good news is that they are easy.

First of all, you really need to get serious about reducing inflammation in your entire body, and also your ears. Try the following:

1. Eliminate common allergens from your diet as much as you can. Especially dairy.

2. Take nasal steroids every day. A really good newer one is Dymista: http://www.dymista.com/

NOTE -- There is a proper way to take nasal steroids in order to direct them at the opening of your eustachian tubes -- You can learn about this technique here: http://www.fauquierent.net/etd2.htm

3. Use a device like the ear popper to help clear your eustachian tubes -- it really helps! Use it many times a day, and over time it will help to reduce negative pressure and re-open your eustachian tube. It's not that cheap, but worth it! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00449CW36/

4. Take high quality, super strong turmeric liquid. It's also not cheap but worth it and has a great effect on inflammation and has helped my tinnitus. There are many places to buy it -- here is one:
https://www.amazon.com/Health-Rangers-Organic-Turmeric-extract/dp/B00GSTOTEU/

5. Reduce systemic infections to further reduce inflammation; one supplement that really helps your immune system fight infections over time is Monolaurin (also called Lauricydin). Here is where I get it: https://www.amazon.com/Lauricidin®-Original-Monolaurin-Supplement-227gram/dp/B004I8SMOQ/

6. Irrigate your sinuses with a Sinus Pulse machine. It's a neti pot on steriods basically.

Here is a source for the best one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CWT4JI/

And another one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UO6NRA/

7. If you have a neti pot or a sinus irrigator (see point 6), you can also try this more advanced technique:

Angle your head so that the warm salt water comes out your mouth (this way it is going in your nostril, and out your mouth, passing right over the opening of the eustachian tube).

Immediately after the water starts to comes out your mouth, while the opening to your eustachian tube is still soaked with water, "pop" your ear by holding your nose and blowing.

When done right you will hear a squeak sound as some of the water goes into your eustachian tube when you pop your ear.

Repeat this a few times and more water will go in. Then let it drain out. You can move your head around, touch your toes a few times, to help the drainage.

This will help to clean out your eustachian tube. It has an immediate effect on tinnitus that is caused by eustachian tube issues.

Note that if you get water in there, it may temporarily cause a sensation of ear fullness and reduced hearing, but it will drain out and you will notice improvement over several days.

Also don't overdo this - too much water in there could cause an ear infection. Start slow and don't try to pop your ears too hard or force too much water in there -- you could damage your eardrum. This is an advanced technique and should only be done if you are also doing all of the other steps to reduce inflammation.

8. You can use a similar technique to point (7) to "milk" nasal steroids into your eustachian tube. Simply pop your ear after the you properly use the nasal steroid (see point 2) and this will milk the steroid into your eustachian tube where it can help to reduce inflammation.

9. Also try this tinnitus supplement which, if taken regularly, really helps reduce inflammation as well: https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Tinnitus-Products-60-Caps/dp/B0014AX72I/

10. Also take allergy medication every day (at night ideally) such as Allegra. This will also reduce sinus and eustachian inflammation.

11. In severe cases of tinnitus caused by negative pressure, if none of the above relieves it, your ENT can actually do a very simple surgical procedure to make a tiny hole in your eardrum, with or without a temporary tube inserted. This can allow air to flow in from the outside and relieve the vacuum, allowing the eustachian tube to open again. The eardrum heals on its own in a few weeks and there is minimal (temporary) hearing loss. This is not often suggested by ENT's but they can easily do it, and if none of the above work, you might want to bring it up with your doctor. It has helped some people immediately.


Also note, some things that I have tested that definitely don't help and/or can even make tinnitus worse:

1. Caffeine makes tinnitus worse in many cases, especially pulsatile tinnitus.
2. Cannabis has no effect on tinnitus or may even make it temporarily more annoying.
3. Rife machines do not have any effect on tinnitus. Don't waste your time. I've tested them.
4. Colloidal silver has no effect on tinnitus (and please don't put it your eyes as some people suggested in a forum thread here, unless you want the whites of your eyes to turn grey permanently!).