The most common cause of Eustachian tube dysfunction is when the tube become swollen (inflamed) and mucus or fluid builds up. This can be caused by a cold, the flu, a sinus infection, or allergies. Some people are at greater risk for Eustachian tube dysfunction.
Another way to do it is to get you to “pop” your ears on a more regular basis, about 20 times per day, often by closing your nostrils with your hand and blowing gently against that pressure. The pressure should help force the Eustachian tube to open a bit, draining pressure and any fluid that's in that space.
Simple actions such as swallowing, yawning, chewing or forced exhalation against a closed mouth and nose can help to equalise pressure in the middle ear and resolve symptoms.
When you swallow or yawn, the tubes open briefly to let air in to make the pressure in the middle ears equal to the pressure outside of the ears. Sometimes fluid or negative pressure gets stuck in the middle ear. The pressure outside the ear gets too high. This blockage causes ear pain and sometimes trouble hearing.
Most cases of Eustachian tube dysfunction clear up in a few days with the help of over-the-counter medication and home remedies, but symptoms can last one to two weeks. If you're still having symptoms after two weeks, or they're getting worse, you may need more aggressive treatment.
Fluid often builds up inside the ear during a cold or allergies. Usually the fluid drains away, but sometimes a small tube in the ear, called the eustachian tube, stays blocked for months.
Popping your ears can help open the eustachian tube, allowing fluid to drain. The simplest way to pop your ears is to yawn, chew, or swallow. You may also want to try popping your ears using something called the Valsalva maneuver: Take a deep breath and hold it.
If your ears are plugged, try swallowing, yawning or chewing sugar-free gum to open your eustachian tubes. If this doesn't work, take a deep breath and try to blow out of your nose gently while pinching your nostrils closed and keeping your mouth shut. If you hear a popping noise, you know you have succeeded.
VOLUNTARY TUBAL OPENING | Tense Your Throat and Push Your Jaw Forward. Tense the muscles of the soft palate and the throat while pushing the jaw forward and down as if starting to yawn. These muscles pull the Eustachian tubes open.
Eustachian tube massage
Using firm, steady pressure, slide your finger down until you feel a groove between your ear lobe and jaw. Trace that groove all the way down your neck to your collarbone using the same firm pressure. Repeat this process three times on each side, three times a day.
Diagnosing Obstructive Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
Over time, negative pressure can build up in the ear, causing pain, ear fullness and muffled hearing. When this occurs, sometimes your doctor can see the ear drum (tympanic membrane) change shape due to this pressure and become concave.
That's because, unfortunately, untreated Eustachian tube dysfunction can last for months, especially when the underlying cause goes unaddressed. Long-term ETD can lead to serious ear infections and, in severe cases, hearing loss.
Myringotomy. During this procedure, your surgeon makes a small incision in your eardrum to drain the fluid from your middle ear. In adults, the incisions usually stay open long enough for the swelling in your eustachian tubes to resolve. Pressure equalization tubes.
A myringotomy is a procedure to create a hole in the ear drum to allow fluid that is trapped in the middle ear to drain out. The fluid may be blood, pus and/or water. In many cases, a small tube is inserted into the hole in the ear drum to help maintain drainage.
They may be closed for months on end, leading to long-term symptoms of inner-ear pain and hearing difficulty. Chronic ETD is unlikely to go away on its own and must be treated by a healthcare professional. Allergies, illnesses and infections that cause inflammation may lead to ETD.
Long-term blockage of the Eustachian tube leads to the accumulation of fluid in the middle ear space that further increases the pressure and hearing loss. This is called serous otitis media. Should bacteria contaminate this fluid, a middle ear infection may result, called acute otitis media.
Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) - Symptoms usually follow the onset of an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) or allergic rhinitis; symptoms include aural fullness, difficulty popping ears, intermittent sharp ear pain, hearing loss, tinnitus, and disequilibrium.
Myringotomy (ear tube placement)
Through this outpatient ENT surgery, we make a small incision in the eardrum and place a pressure equalization tube in it to allow fluid to escape. As a result, it not only resolves chronic earaches, but Eustachian tube problems as well.
Your ear congestion may have happened during an ear infection and never went away, or may get worse when eating certain foods, or they may have become plugged at the onset of an autoimmune condition.
Over-the-counter nasal steroids can help to open the eustachian tube and help to drain the fluid from the ear. They work by reducing the inflammation in the nose, which will help to drain fluid from the eustachian tube. But it may take up to a few days to show its effect.
Applying a warm compress
Fold the towel and tilt the head, resting the ear on the compress. Rest there for several minutes, letting the warmth relax the ear and promote drainage. It may also help to use other techniques after the ear is warm, such as yawning or tugging at the ear to promote further drainage.
The specific acupuncture technique we use acts on the nerve regulating the mucosa of the eustachian tube. It has no systematic side effects compared to antihistamines. Patients normally experience relief within minutes in both ears. The aim of treatment is the complete resolution of glue ear after 4-6 treatments.