Sore ears equal eustachian tube trouble?

Hey all, I think Support is the right Forum for this. A quick question:

Have any of you ever suffered from one of your ears suddenly getting very sore, almost like an ear ache, plus feeling some swelling or weird sensation in your throat? Also a lot of ear fullness? (although I know T ears often feel full). This came on suddenly for me yesterday. I also feel a little pain when I do the valsalva maneuver to "clear" my ears.

Do I have ETD (eustachian tube dysfunction)? Something else? Should I see the doc? Or is it just one more annoying tinnitus symptom? No drainage from ear. I get nervous about this as ETD led to my barotrauma which led to my T.
Thanks.

 

I'm sorry your ears are playing up

I have to say that since T I'm much more aware of my ears, and my left ear quite often has shooting pains and aches (which usually stops when I stop eating chocolate) and trouble unblocking my ears especially when there are changes in pressure.

Any chance you could be getting a cold/flu?

 

Nah, I don't have any other cold symptoms. I may try some serious decongestants and see how that goes. My tinnitus was really loud and driving me crazy yesterday when it started. But today its pretty calm... and the ear still hurts, particularly when I swallow.

And good luck with you sinus issues. I have a feeling those infections may have been contributing to your T and you will maybe get some relielf. At least I am crossing my fingers that's so!

 

I get alot of ear pain, especially in my left ear. I don't know if it's hyperacusis or just general ear pain though but it has been pretty constant over the past few months, currently on a course of prednisone to try and get it under control, which has helped by is only a temporary fix. I actually caused the pain by over-doing the valsalva maneuver one too many times back in June, I'm not sure if I caused any sort of barotrauma but it didn't feel right, so I would advise against getting too used to doing it (most people seem to do it just fine, just becareful I guess though!).

I also have enlarged adenoids (things that sit on the back of your soft palate) and tonsils which could possibly be messing with my eustachian tubes.

Hope you feel better!

 

Thanks yonkapin. I have adenoid and tonsil issues since childhood. May b on to something!

 

I've had on off Sinusitius for months since I got my second wave of T. Unsure if it's connected. Going back to the Doc to get mine looked at again next week. Currently got headache, earache, blocked nose, toothache, T, ear fullness etc. Basically feel grim!