Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, Tinnitus, TMJ, and Strange Symptoms

Hello, I'm really starting to feel depressed. About 6 months ago I was sick with a viral infection. There was a mild fever that lasted maybe 24 hours. During this fever I skipped the Tylenol and Motrin. I wanted to let the immune response run its course. Then 5 days later I was still feeling sick, my mother recommended I take a pseudoephedrine 120mg tablet. That day after taking it my ears started to ring but this was probably due to the viral infection. I also started experiencing leaning to one side when walking. Months later after an ENT appointment it was determined I probably had vestibular neuritis. I remember walking at night made me feel dizzier than daytime. Ever since this virus my ears constantly crackle every time I swallow.

I can also blow air into my Eustachian tubes when I yawn then hear a louder crackle when swallowing. I also have tinnitus in both ears now. It can be blaring really annoyingly at me in the morning and when I am stressed. I also have pinching and itching around my earlobe. I had mild TMJ and now its worse because I'm constantly opening wide to pop my Eustachian tubes. The ENT looked in my ears and also did the scope up the nose and didn't see anything. My most concerning symptom is when I am stressed my ears get very tight and this burning type feeling in the ears and back of the head, tinnitus increases, and I feel generally fatigued. Then when I relax the fatigue dies down.

I never had any tinnitus, crackling ears, earlobe pinching and itching, or any of this 6 months ago before the upper respiratory infection. I was PERFECTLY normal. My life now feels miserable. Its like this every day 24/7. The tinnitus is not noise induced. I never listened to loud music. Maybe its damage from the virus. Now I walk around a mess daily dealing with these ear issues. I can even hear crackling if I move some muscle without ever opening my mouth or swallowing. I'm such an idiot not knowing any of this could happen with the ears. I was sick plenty of times but never plagued for months of torment in my life before. This is true hell and NOBODY has ANY sympathy. They don't understand how bad this can be because you look 100% normal.

 

Sorry to hear this, it's a very rough time you've had.

I also have "blaring" symptoms in the morning, crackling, etc. I am fairly certain that it's all caused by clogged Eustachian tubes. The good news is, I've experienced some substantial reduction in daytime and evening tinnitus symptoms, by doing certain things, and hopefully my morning symptoms will eventually start to clear up, as well.

Try not to blame yourself, what happened to you could have happened to anybody. Instead, try to formulate a plan to change this situation of blocked Eustachian tubes. Besides yawning, there are other exercises, techniques and instruments that can help to safely do this, and accelerate recovery. I'd suggest trying some of these methods first but, if necessary, there are surgical procedures which can accomplish it.

Do you sleep on your side? This could be the cause of the pain around your earlobe. Pressure sores on the ear are called Chondrodermatitis Nodularis Helicis (CNH). I had that, from sleeping on my side, and recently got a pillow with a hole, so that there's no more pressure on my ear(s) when sleeping, and now that pain is gone.

 

Hello,
My problems seemed to start stacking up in May this year. From January I had had by May a couple of really bad colds, coughs, sinus headaches and an ear infection. Because of the sinus headaches after the cold in January my TMJ (which I was diagnosed with the year before) reached fever pitch. I had 4 solid months of continuous left ear pain, jaw pain, blocked eustacian tubes, cracking in the ears and a range of about 3 or 4 ear sounds from variating tones to "walking through snow". Worst of all, the "strange whining noises" I have been hearing for the last 10 years in my left ear got worse.
I finally managed to see an ENT specialist and after a very brief consultation she said the ear pain was my jaw and the surrounding nerves and recommended I see an Audiologist.
The audiologist didn't really explain or explore the different kinds of tinnitus at all. She just advised about sound masking, why we respond in the way we do to the noises in our ears.
I have another appointment with her in November.
My ear pain has almost gone. My eustacian tubes are a lot clearer. My tinnitus is less noticeable than it was, but this can change from day to day.
TMJ and eustacian tubes can be managed. I believe I had a bad infection and it just took a while to clear up. While my body was trying to heal itself I was tense and stressed and completely focused on the pain and the noises.
As my body healed and I began to be able to have a consultation with an Audiologist things improved.
I believe I have somatic tinnitus that's related to my TMJ, a whiplash injury and poor posture. I also have crepitus in my neck. When the crepitus is bad, and the neck is tense the tinnitus is worse. These are manageable things. For me anyway.
Hope you are feeling better soon. As your body improves, so will your outlook and the tinnitus might not seem so overpowering.

 

Hey cloudy, don't know if you'r still here. My doctor had the same thing happen to him once with all the same symptoms. His tinnitus dissapeared after a long time. It's hard to deal with but there is a chance things get better.

 

Hi Cloudy 1, my symptoms are exactly the same with yours. The doctors didn't see anything wrong when they looked in my ear too. Guess the ear is so complex the ENT can't figure out everything. Good news is you will recover. It takes a long time but this kind of tinnitus eventually heals. I came across this video which I recently shared on this platform. I wish I had seen it earlier when my suffering was intense. Pay attention to your diet and avoid anything that causes a spike for now and eat a lot of onions and garlic.

Dr. T's Ear Infection Massage Method

 

Hi, have you ever had your bite pressure tested?