MemberAs I continue my journey into Tinnitus, I've got a few questions and I'm hoping some of you might have some thoughts as to how to proceed.
Some background: For the past seven weeks (the same duration that I've had tinnitus), I have felt a persistent "fullness" in my ears -- a trait that I know many of us tinnitus sufferers experience. (The fullness, like the T, applies to both ears.) I have some light hearing loss at the high ranges.
However, in my case, my tinnitus appears to be relieved if I am able to force-pop my ears. Usually, in the past, this would be relieved just by yawning. But now, when I try to yawn, I get a lighter, softer pop -- but no relief from the pressure. I've generally suspected that this means that I have some sort of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, especially because of the following:
Some background: For the past seven weeks (the same duration that I've had tinnitus), I have felt a persistent "fullness" in my ears -- a trait that I know many of us tinnitus sufferers experience. (The fullness, like the T, applies to both ears.) I have some light hearing loss at the high ranges.
However, in my case, my tinnitus appears to be relieved if I am able to force-pop my ears. Usually, in the past, this would be relieved just by yawning. But now, when I try to yawn, I get a lighter, softer pop -- but no relief from the pressure. I've generally suspected that this means that I have some sort of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, especially because of the following:
- Treatment with a Neti Pot using @engineerLA's method generally provides relief for 12-18 hours by significantly lowering the volume of the T.
- If I'm having a hyperacusis-related T-spike, yawning is able to end the spike and restore the normal T baseline high pitched buzz (without the screeching static that usually accompanies the T-spike).
- Usual rules of T-sufferers appear to apply to me: getting plenty of sleep and being hydrated lowers the T's volume. However, I find that when I get a particularly high quality of sleep, I awaken in total silence. It's only when I start sitting up that the T starts setting in.
- If I shift my lower jaw to the left, in the direction of my left ear, I significantly lower the volume of the T in that ear. Same for the right.
- How can I get this properly diagnosed? My ENT checked out my Eustachian Tubes just by "looking" in my nose, but there was no camera, and aside from a basic audiology test, I had no extensive testing done. Are there specific tests that I should request?
- Assuming this is typical ETD, what sort of remedies can I try to see if this resolves? Most ETD is known to resolve in a week or two, but this seems to have been enduring far beyond that time threshold.
- Has anyone experienced this fullness of the ears and Tinnitus that is relieved when you manage to actually pop the ears? We're talking a few seconds of relief, max, with a definite lowering of the volume. Not really silence -- that really only comes to me when I wake up in the mornings after a particularly restful sleep.
