I Am a Newbie, Went to ENT, Open Eustachian Tube?

Hi,

I have had tinnitus off and on over the last few years, but it tends to go away. But about 4 months ago I started having an echoing effect with sound. I went to an ENT and the audiologist did a sound test and I appears my eustachian tube(s) are open.

Lately, loud sounds, such as metal hitting metal, or hard plastic hitting something hard is almost painful, makes me wince.

The last few days, I have been experiencing tinnitus that you all know can drive you batty. I have a follow-up appointment with ENT in January.

Just looking for suggestions, not sure what source is, have had earwax problems (used q-tips too much).

Plan on stop drinking caffeine, and cut back on sugar intake. I take lisinopril-hydrochlorothiazide for high bp. I plan on stopping this also to see if it makes a difference.

Thanks for any advice.

 

I don't understand...what test did the audiologist do for him to say your Eustachian tubes were open?

 

That's "patulous Eustachian tube" (PET)... A characteristic sign is that you can hear your own voice "echoing" much more loudly than it should be in your ear/head when you speak. I've had this a few times during my troubles with ETD but only for a few moments at a time. You can look up the condition by this name and see if you can find any remedies, but I'm not aware of any "quick fixes". It sounds like you are already addressing your diet, which can help.

 

Thanks for the input,

I had a "hearing test" to check may range of hearing, and then they did some type of "pressure test", appears there was a drastically altered decrease in pressure below what is normal. Not sure what the name of this "pressure" test was. My worry is that the "loud" sound that I feel that appears to be above normal decibel range to me could be causing further damage to my hearing, even though no one else seems to be bothered by same noise. Should I wear ear plugs, or head set to muffle the sound?

 

The ear pressure test was probably a tympanometry. It is used to check the balance of pressure between your outer and inner ear. Normally, the pressure is the same on both sides. A "bad" pressure test could indicate a problem with your Eustachian tube, or fluid in your middle ear, or other things.

If you have PET and your Eustachian tube is open more than it should be, and the loud sounds that you are hearing are internal (yourself speaking, breathing, etc.), then earmuffs or earplugs won't do you any good... The sound is generated internally.

You mentioned external sounds (hitting metal or plastic) causing pain, which actually sounds like hyperacusis. I don't know much about this having never experienced it myself, but it can be treated. You can use ear plugs to block your ears and that can help, but you don't want to use them all of the time; hyperacusis treatment requires allowing your brain to sort of readjust to normal sounds. Using ear plugs all of the time can make it worse, but it's certainly OK to use them if you are going someplace particularly noisy that you know will cause you pain or discomfort.

 

Thank you Aaron,
I hope I can learn to cope with this, I have parathesia (tingling sensation) which affects my left fore finger and thumb, which is caused by nerve damage in my cervical disc (neck). I have learned to almost ignore this most of the time, so I hope eventually I will be able to tolerate the tinnitus a little easier, mine seems to wax and wane during the day. I can't really put a source on it, or what seems to aggravate it. It is nice to have others who can relate to this and other some advice, thanks again.