Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Ear Pressure

I know I haven't been blogging much and there are like tons of backlog for me to write.
Give me some time, I been dragging and dragging, so much to do, too much for me to handle.

Anyway, I went to the doctors today.
Not something I expected to have, I wasn't there because I got a flu or whatever, I went there cause my ear was hurting me too much to handle.

It was hurting so badly, that I wasn't even able to eat my dinner in peace, cause every bite to the food, results into tons of pain in the ear. I practically cried trying to eat my dinner.

Actually, I didn't even plan to see a doctor at first, but ma make me go, I think it's the EAR, so she just make me go, and it's just opposite the house.

I am googling and wiki-ing facts on what happened and what pre-cautions I can take, and what affected it and such.
I do not want it to happen again, or if I am so unlucky enough, what can I do when it reoccurs.

So apparently, my ear felt block, what they called ear pressure, 耳鸣 in chinese.
I do get it quite easily, like on flights, car rides (sometimes), flu and such.
It's actually quite normal for people who have motion sickness to get it? So apparently.

There are actually different symptoms and ear problems.
Found this chart which actually helps in a way of another.
It might not be 100% true, but at least it lets you know to a certain extent what might happened to you, and what you can do with it.

http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/health-tools/search-by-symptom/ear-problems.html

Ear pressure are like mainly caused by a malfunctioning Eustachian tube.
The tube connects the middle ear to the back of the nose/throat.
It helps to equalize the middle ear and the outer, open and closes when we swallow or yawn.
So when it malfunction, you will feel that the ear is blocked or muffled.


Common causes :
- allergics
- sinus
- cold
- infections within the ear
- pain and swollen in the jaw

Sad to say, currently I got a cold, and I always have sinus. Thus, it's a double "attack".
It was already on and off the day before, but it wasn't hurting me.
The ear felt blocked so it's like I can't really hear properly.

Imagine you went swimming, and the water get into your ears and resulting into slight hearing blockage, and that's the exact feeling I got.

I actually didn't think much about it, till today it started hurting so badly, that it spreads towards the throat and the head, affecting my speech and eating.

Make it worse I had car sick in the morning so the sinus was quite bad.

There are few stuffs you can actually tried before going to the doctors if you think it's not very serious.

Remedy # 1: Try to yawn. Yawing will help in opening the Eustachian tubes, hence, allowing the pressure in the middle ear to equalize with the air pressure in the environment. 

Remedy # 2: Eat a chewing gum or hard candy. This will allow some movement of the Eustachian tubes which will help relieve ear pressure. 

Remedy # 3: Close one of your nostrils with your finger and blow your nose gently. Don't blow with force, as this may lead to severe ear pain. 

Remedy # 4: Fold a few paper towels together, wet them with hot water and place them over your ear. Sleep on your side, with the affected ear on top. Now, place a small cup, over the towel placed on your ear. The heat from the paper towels will force your ears to open up and relieve the ear pressure. 

Remedy # 5: Buy a decongestant or nasal spray. These will help cure ear pressure caused due to sinus infections.
                                                       http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ear-pressure-relief.html 

What you should do if you get ear pressure.


  • Drinking plenty of fluids will give relief from sinus ear pressure. Water dilutes mucus and helps relieve ear pressure.
  • A warm compress is the another best method to reduce ear pressure problem. Place a cloth soaked in hot water over your ear. The heat from this cloth helps relieve ear pressure.
  • Keep your head elevated, using two or three pillows, while you sleep.
  • Take a hot shower or steam for at least 15-25 minutes. Steam is quite helpful in relieving this problem and reducing the constant discomfort caused due to ear pressure. Also, running hot water over your nose will help drain the sinus and relieve ear pressure.
  • As mentioned above, over-the-counter nasal decongestants should help relieve sinus pressure. You can also opt for a saline nasal spray. It is a mixture of water and salt which helps moisturize and relieve sinus problem. It also helps get rid of allergens. A saline nasal spray is usually available in an easy to use bottle.



Luckily, I don't have any infections in the ear, so the doctor gave me some painkillers to let me feel better.   Really hope that the pain will go away as soon as possible.

Though the painkiller works, it doesn't hurts as much as before but there are still occasional sharp pains here and there, and the medicine are kinda the drowsy type.
I am falling asleep while typing this already.


No comments:

Post a Comment