Fluid in Ears and Tinnitus

So I recently went back to my regular doctor and of course she looked in my ears and saw fluid in both ears again!

Since my tinnitus has started my ears pop a lot more than they ever have especially my left one, just moving my jaw makes it pop and crack. Both ears fill full.

I have bad allergies, seasonal and year round.

Can fluid build up cause super loud tinnitus?

She has even mentioned doing a water pill to help reduce the fluid if my nasal spray doesn’t work.

 

Taking a really good antihistamine will help and nose spray, even a little Vaseline up your nose can help allergies.
Also the extra mucous can get in your estuation tubes when sleeping so use an extra pillow at night and an allergy pillow .
love glynis

 

Hi CrystalB

Yes blocked ears (with fluid) can result in tinnitus. This is usually temporary and goes away when the ears unblock. The popping is good - means the ears are trying to clear themselves up. Fluid builds up behind the eardrum meaning air can't get in and circulate as with normal ears. Unfortuanately, bad allergies (that affect the nose and throat) can affect the ears too

 

Every time I go to my regular doctor she says she sees fluid in both ears, I have noticed my ears fill full.

I’ve had tinnitus for 6 months, don’t know the cause of it yet may never know, but she says she doesn’t want to give up on me yet. I have really bad seasonal and year round allergies.

She prescribed me nose spray to get rid of the fluid and if that doesn’t help she wants to put me on a water pill.

I took Flonase for a few days and noticed my ringing got even more louder than it was! It helped with me feeling open and everything.

I stopped Flonase and started taking another nose spray.

I have noticed the more open I feel with my sinus and my ears not as full, my tinnitus is louder?!

I feel so much better but why on earth does it seem like it’s making my tinnitus louder?

 

Tinnitus can be caused by a multitude of things, likewise it can be exasperated by a multitude of things. Try and find what triggers your T to get worse. For me it’s extreme sleep deprivation, caffeine and hangovers. I still subject myself to all these things lol, but at least I can expect a spike in my T. The effect of your meds might just cause a spike in T. You will probably find it lowers as your body gets used to having open sinus’!

 

@CrystalB Doctors generally focus on physical signs and symptoms, would you ever consider investigating the root cause of your allergies? Are they all year round or seasonal?

 

Have you seen an allergist? Undergone any allergy testing?

 

I had done allergy testing.
I was allergic to trees, grass, cats, dogs, ragweed, mold and the highest to dust mites.
So my allergies start up at anytime, I can dig in my clothes or shoes in my closet and my eyes will swell up and I become stuffy due to dust.
Hopefully this nasal spray will help! It makes my tinnitus loud seems like but I’m still going to use it to try to get rid of it!

 

I have the same allergies. Are you taking Claritin too? Did your allergist discuss allergy shots? I’m currently taking Claritin and using Flonase, but may do allergy shots.

 

I had fluid in the ears for a while after stem cells. Prednisone an oral steroid helped clear it up. It could be an option with your doctors advice.

 

I have thought about allergy shots.
I do take Claritin and now I’m using that nose spray.
It’s weird, I have some doctors saying my ears look okay, and another doctor saying she sees fluid in both, so it’s kinda giving me mixed signals with what is going on with my ears and the cause of tinnitus.

 

I wouldn't want to take Flonase for too long looking at the side affects (Rx List) but tinnitus is not listed as one -

If you have fluid in your ears, the very fact this blocks the ears can cause tinnitus but this is usually only temporary - once the blockage goes, the tinnitus goes.

Problem is, as the sinuses, ears, nose and throat are all interconnected, a blockage can affect any one of these. Usually with allergies, skin or mucosal lining becomes inflammed and swells up as the body initiates an "over the top" immunological response to something that isn't harmful

 

I had tinnitus before back in August It wasn’t as worse as this time, I went to urgent care, she said I had fluid in my ears and prescribed me a nose spray called mometasone furoate I took it everyday and within a month or two the tinnitus went away because I just stopped noticing it, I don’t even know when it did go away.
I got tinnitus again in November, and it’s not went away, so I decided to go back on the mometasone furoate nose spray again and see if it won’t go away.
Have any of you heard of that kind of nose spray?

 

We call it Nasonex here in the UK. Have a look on Rx List for common side effects. Like any medicine, it's not for everybody. Hope you have success with this one

In the meantime CrystalB, how are you "dealing/managing" your tinnitus? I understand it is difficult to not monitor or check it periodically but have you tried any form of sound therapy/masking?

 

Some doctors will think they see fluid but it’s not there. I once had a nurse practitioner insist both of my ears were full of fluid, and the very next morning my ear specialist looked and said there was absolutely no fluid, no sign I’d recently had an ear infection, and he doubted the NP. Honestly I would trust an ENT over a general doctor on this. The other thing, which I’ve learned thanks to multiple doctor visits with my children, a very minimal amount of fluid is not uncommon and not reason for concern or medication if it drains on its own.

 

That’s so true, every doctor will tell you something different.
I know the ENT told me he saw a bone that your not suppose to see in my ear, it was the ear that pops and cracks a lot and told me my ears feeling full he thought was a mild case of Eustachian tube dysfunction, so I don’t need know what that means, because back in December he gave me prednisone and I took it for about a week or so and it helped with my ears feeling full.

 

A bone that you're not supposed to see....!!!???

Utter rubbish in my book...

When examining the ear, any good ENT will see at least one small bone that is attached to the medial side of the eardrum (from the middle ear), and sometimes, two or even three bones can be seen - depending on how opaque or transparent the eardrum is

Ear feeling full could be fluid or low pressure due to Eustachian tube function (e.g. through allergy inflammation that swells and keeps it closed) but it's disappointing that you haven't found a good ENT

Honestly, some doctors will tell you anything just to get you out of the office....

(But there are many good ones out there....it's finding them...)

 

You did the stem cell treatment? Did it do anything good for you?

 

He may have said that from the CT imaging data (I think the OP mentioned doing CT). Not sure what he means by bone that shouldn't be there, and why that doesn't seem to be of concern apparently.

 

Lol I was like a bone?!
My ENT seems like he has been good about doing test like a MRI and hearing test etc. but last visit he asked how I was doing, looked in my ears and prescribed me anti seizure medicine, sent me on my way.
Haven’t took it.

 

Ah I missed that and yes I agree, if there was a bone that shouldn't be there, that would raise alarm bells. But as it was of no concern to the doctor, then like you, I fail to understand why CrystalB was told this other than to just increase her anxiety further

 

Whaaat !??

Get yourself a different ENT....!

 

I’m thinking about it! I go see him again next week, I’ll see how that appointment goes and go from there! Last visit he came in, and asked why was I there and the nurse reminded him why, he must not have even looked at he’s notes. He said “your the unique one”

 

I agree on a different ENT, but I think there are some seizure or epilepsy meds thought to help with tinnitus. I think a member here has done this.

 

Did he prescribe gabapentin?

 

Yes. And no but emptied my wallet. Hahahahaha.

 

I’ve had tinnitus for 6 months.

They have no idea what the cause of it is, I’ve had an MRI and CAT scan both comes back normal. I have no hearing loss, it just happened one morning.

Mine is so so loud I can hear it over everything.

I had gone to the doctor, she says I have fluid in both ears she believes is from allergies, I have year round and season allergies.
She gave me a nose spray and I’ve been taking for about 2 weeks.

A few days after taking it I could tell my tinnitus was getting lower, so I thought maybe it was going away.

Then today it has got back very loud. I’m getting very frustrated with this.

I just want it to go away! I’m so tired of hearing this sound all the time. I had my hopes up that maybe it was getting better, but now that’s been shattered.

 

Hi @CrystalB . I think we share some of the same symptoms. I have had MRI CT OPG and everything normal. Been to ENTs and nothing. I think mine was caused by a cold/flu and ear infection connected with loud/concentrated noise. Did this happen to you? Can you rethink when you first noticed your noise? How were you feeling? Check your calendar, or phone logs, or emails and see if you can recall what you might have been doing around that time. This may help to find a cause - and a journey to recovery.