Q:
Last weekend I had a flight from California, back home to Wisconsin..Thanksgiving vacation with the family. I’ve always had troubles with flying and my ears adjusting to the pressure in elevation change. Well, we landed in WI, and both of my ears were plugged, not a big deal in the sense that they eventually unplug with yawning, chewing of gum, etc.
Well, eventually that night my left ear un plugged but my right ear remained plugged. That night I came down with the common cold, which I believe I caught from my brother who had a cold when we were in Cali. Woke up the next morning (last Saturday) with my ear still plugged, along with sore throat, stuffed up nose, and a cough. Went to Urgent care and despite the cold they diagnosed me with an ear infection in the right ear. Put me on a 9 day amoxicillian course, and sent me on my way.
Well later that night my ear popped, and I seemed fine, never any pain in the ear to begin with. I continued to take the prescripton, as I still am finishing up on it. That’s beside the point though…later last weekend (sunday night) I began to feel my right ear become plugged again. It became extremely plugged and I would say I have about 20% hearing in the right ear. It continued to be plugged, and thursday morning I went to the doct. They checked my ears and said the infection was getting better but it was a inner ear infection, in which fluid is trapped in my swollen E tubes and that’s why my ear is plugged so severly - suggested I begin to use Afrin, only for 3 days though. Went through that, no luck.
Well..as of now (late Sunday night) my right ear remains extremely plugged and my left ear is plugged about 60% aswell. My cold simptoms are little bit of a stuffy nose, no sore throat, and a bit of a phlyem cough remains.
I have tried everything imaginable to get my ears to drain/pop..valsulva manuver, neti pot with nasal spray solution, decongestions, etc. I am beginning to worry in the sense that my cold is diminishing but now both of my ears are plugged.. This is extremely frustrating and very annoying! I can hear myself breathe, chew, swallow, even think! I also can hear the water hitting my head when I shower, and when I brush my teeth it’s a bit outragious.
Any suggestions, comments, or advice??
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
You’ve had a middle ear, not inner ear, infection.
You’ll probably feel better soon, as you said the cold symptoms are getting better, so my guess is within a few days your ears will start to open up again. If you have no fever or ear pain, you can wait a few more days and see if things start getting better.
If not, you should probably be followed up and checked with otoscopy in about 4 weeks from the start of the symptoms that your ear infection has healed. Talk to your doc about that.
With regard to the persistent feeling of plugged ears, if it doesn’t resolve soon - if your doctor determines that your ear infection has healed and no further treatment is necessary - you might try a course of oral decongestant, or maybe antihistamine/decongestant combination. Additionally, it sounds like you might benefit from a course of nasal corticosteroid such as Nasacort.
To summarize:
1. Make sure your ear infection has healed, have your doctor perform an otoscopy (=look into your ear)
2. Ask your doctor about a course of oral decongestant/antihistamine combined with nasal corticosteroid
Hope that helps
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