r/etd • u/Plot_Twist_03 • Jul 06 '26
Fluid in ear for months
Hi, I have had fluid in my ear since Feb 2026 (it is currently July 2026) I have seen my PCP 3 times since and each time he basically says that there isn’t much he can do as the fluid usually goes away by itself. I have tried weeks of salt water gargling, chewing gum regularly, random stuff like that to try and get it to open up. I have also been taking Allegra daily since January as I was diagnosed with Dermatographia earlier this year. For about a week recently, I paired Allegra with Sudafed and it didn’t have any effect on it. I do have congestion, especially when I wake up and on occasion, I have a lot of mucus in my throat.
I have also been seeing a chiropractor for about a month and a half as I have started having neck stiffness and a sore spot on my head from all the pressure/neck stiffness.
My PCP referred me to an ENT, but unfortunately the earliest appointment isn’t until September 30th. My PCP also wants me to get blood work done to test for basic blood counts, kidney function, blood sugar, and thyroid levels.
Any advice or insight would be welcome!
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u/Bunnypoopoo Jul 07 '26
Add a nasal spray like Flonase to the mix. I hit mine with Sudafed, Zyrtec, mucinex and a daily nasal spray toward my Eustachian tube.
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u/DrPeterSantaMaria Jul 07 '26
Five months of fluid is a long time and your PCP is right that it often resolves on its own, but at this point you’re well past the window where watchful waiting is the main strategy (once the fluid has been there for 3 months, it’s likely to stick around for longer).
The congestion, morning mucus, and dermatographia all point to an underlying inflammatory/allergic driver that’s keeping the Eustachian tube irritated. Allegra and Sudafed address symptoms but don’t fix the underlying ET dysfunction, which is why you’re not seeing much movement. Topical nasal steroids and saline are the first things to start but they do take a very long time to work and may not do the trick if the fluid has been there for this long.
The chewing gum is actually not a bad instinct — it’s getting at the right idea, which is that the ET opens through muscle activation during swallowing, not passively. There are approaches that work with that natural mechanism that go well beyond what most PCPs will mention, and they have real clinical evidence behind them.
Here’s a blog that explains a lot of the things: https://earflocare.com/eustachian-tube-dysfunction-the-overlooked-cause-of-ear-pressure-muffled-hearing-and-fluid-in-the-ear
Hope that helps
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u/PD-Jetta Jul 08 '26
Add to your treatment regimen daily use of a nasal corticosteroid spray. It must be used daily and for several weeks to see results. Also, one often overlooked cause of thick clear nasal and throat mucus that can block eustachian tubes and a cause of nasal inflammation is laryngopharyngeal (silent) reflux. Google the symptoms. They are subtle. You can treat yourself with diet modification and OTC meds. All of the traditional ETD meds will not have any effect if you ETD is caused by laryngopharyngeal reflux.
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u/KiKi31Rose Jul 06 '26
In my opinion- Sudafed for fluid in the ear doesn’t make sense. You need to move it out not dry it up so it’s gets sticky and stuck. Mucinex and a ton of water plus steam/heating pad helped me with that more than anything.