Flonase and Negative Ear Pressure

Hi,

My ENT said I have a lot of negative pressure in my left ear and some in my right ear. He recommended that I use Flonase. Anyone who has negative pressure in their ears, and did Flonase help? I don't really feel like I have sinus issues, but I do have negative pressure in the ears.

How long have you taken Flonase. Do you take it at night or the morning?

Any other ideas of how to relieve negative pressure in the ears?

 

I'm not sure if what I had was negative pressure but it sounds similar. I had just returned from a four-hour flight and I noticed the hearing in my right ear was dull. I was very scared. I went to my ENT and she said I had a protracted eardrum. She put me on Flonase and Affrin for a few days. It worked perfectly. I felt like I just got my life back. Good luck!

 

I'm not sure what negative ear pressure is. Could you by any chance describe it briefly, and what symtoms you're experiencing from it? -- It would have been nice if your ENT had other suggestions as well. I may try to do a google search on it and see what I can find out.

 

I am not sure exactly what it means but I think the ears are blocked or have pressure in them, like being on a plane. It is an issue with the eustachian tube. As a result, I don't hear high pitches as well on my left ear.

I've been taking Flonase for about 4 days it has not helped at all but caused a spike I believe. Does it usually cause a spike before it starts working?

 

Can't really say, but my brother took Flonase for a while, and he eventually quit taking it. He described it as being sort of "nasty" stuff. Can't recall specifically what he was referring to. I've also heard that taking it for too long can interfere with our bodies' normal steroid production--I think primarily cortisol levels that are critical for normal circadian rhythms (sleep and and waking cycles).

 

Well, Flonase is a bunch of steroids that reduce inflammation, specifically to reduce and/or eliminate allergy symptoms.

I used to use it in the summer for my allergies... now I use a different product, but the general makeup/ingredients are the same.

 

My ear pressure is around -160 dapa on my left ear, and -80 dapa on my right ear based on the tympanometry two months ago. Are these figures high? I did not follow through with flonase because of the symptoms.

I have not tried Afrin/nasal decongestants yet. Anyone with ETD seen an improvement in their ETD and tinnitus after using Afrin?

 

There aren't that many internal pathways to the middle ear, so if you want to equalize pressure on both sides of the ear drum, it'll have to come from the eustachian tubes. That's why you were told to use Flonase.

A more radical approach involves surgery and ear tubes.

 

I was thinking if Afrin works, Flonase will definitely work long term. I just wasn't seeing much results with Flonase during the 10 or so days I took it. Anyone see any results with nasal decongestants? Is there significant improvement? I want to know what to expect.

 

Are you using Flonase appropriately? There is a very specific orientation when applying it to your nose in order to "aim" towards the eustachian tubes.

 

Yes, I have seen the videos on aiming towards the eustachian tubes but not sure it was working.

 

I think I was watching the wrong videos. How do I aim towards the eustachian tubes? I get we have to bend our head down. However, I don't see how the nozzle goes into our nose based on the correct picture: https://www.fauquierent.net/etd2.htm
The nozzle is not even pointed at the nose hole.

 

I'm not sure what the confusion is. Look at the picture that shows the "CORRECT spray angle on the right side about 1/3 of the way down the page. put the nozzle into your nose perpendicular to your face so that the spray goes straight back rather than "up" your nose.

 

The way I see it, the nozzle is facing the upper lip and nostril skin. Am I supposed to push the nose up with the other hand, and force the nozzle in in a 90 degree position?

 

In neither picture do they show the nozzle in the nose. what they are showing is the direction. You don't have to "force" it - you don't want to hurt anything. You could use both hands if you want, but I would just use one. Insert it as you normally would and then tilt the bottle up until the bottle is perpendicular to your face, then spray. Remember you are aiming for the back of your head rather than the top. Spraying typically works better when you are bending over.

There's another picture on this page https://blog.fauquierent.net/2011/09/intranasal-treatment-for-clogged-ears.html just before Method 2 that shows that you do need to kind of force the nose up a bit so you can spray to the back of the head. He also talks about a second way, but that involves an eye dropper and seems more complicated than spraying.