Blocked Ears!

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 109
Forum Member
In desperate need of help!

Since Thursday, my ears have been blocked and I can barely hear anything. It's driving me nuts, and completely ruined my Christmas.

It's not getting any better, and ear drops have failed to helped. One ear popped when I sneezed yesterday which cleared it for a while, but has got blocked back up again.

I am recovering from two ear infections and the flu, so this is why they got blocked in the first place.

Any suggestions? Should I make an appointment with my doctor to get them surringed? However they are blocked from the inside, so not sure if this would help?

I'm at the end of my tether here, I want to be able to hear again! Thanks :-)

Comments

  • DRY_SWEEPERDRY_SWEEPER Posts: 3,278
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    go to the doctor and ask for penicillan tablets
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 109
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    I'm already on antibioitics that contain Penicillin, again since Thurs.
  • gmphmacgmphmac Posts: 2,212
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    If you've just had the flu, then you might be suffering from a blocked eustachian tube. It's more likely to be a build up of wax though.

    Make an appointment with the doctor. If it is wax, then you'll probably have to use ear drops for several weeks before they syringe your ears.
  • SpotSpot Posts: 25,118
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    I was advised to get some sodium bicarbonate drops from the chemist, and they worked.
  • mike1948mike1948 Posts: 2,156
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    I had a blocked eustachian tube and the trouble persisted for more than a month before finally clearing itself. There is not much that GPs can do for you if that is the cause. Time is the healer.

    If it is wax, your GP's surgery will not attempt to syringe it for at least a week after you have begun putting in drops. I had mine done three months ago.

    The GP's nurse usually does syringing and can tell you if wax is the problem.

    I am afraid you will have to put up with it for a while.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 243
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    Try drinking plenty of fluids and chewing gum, if it's a blocked eustachian tube, this should help.
  • PizzatheactionPizzatheaction Posts: 20,157
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    gmphmac wrote: »
    Make an appointment with the doctor. If it is wax, then you'll probably have to use ear drops for several weeks before they syringe your ears.
    Several weeks?! It was two days in my case. :D
  • mike1948mike1948 Posts: 2,156
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    Several weeks?! It was two days in my case. :D

    GPs don't like syringing because it can cause a perforated eardrum. They prefer that the blockage clears itself with the aid of drops.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 10,488
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    I had this problem in one ear and then the other recently. I tried all of the brand products with only minimal success. Eventually I washed out one of the brand bottles and filled it with olive oil. I warmed it in a cup of hot water twice a day put a few drops in my ear. I was clear in about 4 days and no problems since..
  • asp746asp746 Posts: 7,286
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    whenever i had a bath and water got down my ears it was really hard to get the water out and it sounded like i had my head in a bucket. i went and saw the nurse and she said i had compacted wax in my ears and the water was aggravating it.

    she said they cant just syringe ears without the person using oil for 5 days to soften the wax else it can damage your hearing.
  • scruffpotscruffpot Posts: 4,570
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    my doctors will not syringe ears any more
    they send you to ENT up the hospital and there they vacuum out the gunk instead.... so much better and so much easier
    You have to pour small amount of olive oil into your ears the night before so that any gunk can be removed easily.

    my doctors old me that syringing ears isn't the best cure as it doesn't seem to work all the time.

    Just don't stick anything down there.

    I suffer with excema of the ear canals and gunk always builds up in my ears so i have to have it removed twice a year. If you get offered syringing ask about vacuuming instead.

    Try some olive oil in the ears it may just do the job, it works for me
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 109
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    Thanks everyone. I'm going to try the olive oil treatment for a few days and see what happens. Hopefully this is all sorted by new years eve, don't want that ruined as well as christmas!
  • shirlt9shirlt9 Posts: 5,085
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    scruffpot wrote: »
    my doctors will not syringe ears any more
    they send you to ENT up the hospital and there they vacuum out the gunk instead.... so much better and so much easier
    You have to pour small amount of olive oil into your ears the night before so that any gunk can be removed easily.

    my doctors old me that syringing ears isn't the best cure as it doesn't seem to work all the time.

    Just don't stick anything down there.

    I suffer with excema of the ear canals and gunk always builds up in my ears so i have to have it removed twice a year. If you get offered syringing ask about vacuuming instead.

    Try some olive oil in the ears it may just do the job, it works for me

    I had that vaccuming done once and it was bliss..they said it may be a little bit uncomfrtable..but it wasnt at all it was very relaxing and the results were instant..I felt like I was in heaven afterwards after being so blocked up..
  • PizzatheactionPizzatheaction Posts: 20,157
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    I guess I was lucky to have no ill effects from the syringing. The hearing in my right ear had been worse than the left for several years, but it never occured to me that it could be wax, until it got rapidly worse over the course of a few weeks, to the point where I couldn't hear a thing in my right ear!

    When I came out of the surgery, the sound of my shirt sleeve brushing against my side as I walked seemed deafening! :D
  • Fibromite59Fibromite59 Posts: 22,518
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    scruffpot wrote: »
    my doctors will not syringe ears any more
    they send you to ENT up the hospital and there they vacuum out the gunk instead.... so much better and so much easier
    You have to pour small amount of olive oil into your ears the night before so that any gunk can be removed easily.

    my doctors old me that syringing ears isn't the best cure as it doesn't seem to work all the time.

    I suffer with excema of the ear canals and gunk always builds up in my ears so i have to have it removed twice a year. If you get offered syringing ask about vacuuming instead.

    Try some olive oil in the ears it may just do the job, it works for me

    I have suffered with ear problems most of my life and have lost count of the number of times I have had my ears suctioned out. It is amazing how much gunk can build up in there. I also have excema in the ear canals and get build up of it which leads to having them suctioned.

    It is worse if your ears are blocked from the inside or if the eustation tube is blocked, as obviously it cannot be cleared from the outside. If you can get it to pop then do so, but as you say, it often just blocks up again.

    It is worth trying inhaling. Put some hot water in a bowl with some vick in it and then put a towel round the bowl and your head, it is a good way to clear blocked up ears and noses.

    I had a terrible thing happen to me the year before last, as I suddenly went deaf in one ear and assumed it was the same as I usually have. However, it did feel different, as if it had gone totally dead and i couldn't hear anything out of it at all. My doctor said it would clear itself within two months.

    It didn't and to cut a long story short, I was sent to ENT and had to have all sorts of tests including an MRI scan of my ear. It was found that my hearing nerve had just died, probably caused by a virus. What should have happened was that I should have immediately had treatment with anti-virals and anti-biotics to have any chance of recovery. I hadn't been offered this and by the time it was found out, it was too late. I am now permanantly deaf in one ear.

    It has been the most awful blow to me, especially as I am musical, I can no longer tell where a sound is coming from and have to wear a hearing aid, which only helps a little. So, don't leave it too long, your ears are precious.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 666
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    I'd say olive oil as well.
  • RobinOfLoxleyRobinOfLoxley Posts: 27,040
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    I had a blocked Eustachian Tube a few years ago. It really does take 3-6 weeks to clear. Then one day it just went like magic.
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