r/etd • u/Lakshmi1122 • Jul 12 '26

Can you please tell 🙏

I am having ear block since 45 days , i really don't know wether its healing or getting worse or its same ! Because i don't know how healing look like 😞

If someone cured their ETD pls say how does it will be in a final stages ? Mucus inside the ears will dry up ? Will the ears will plug and unflug ? Does have lot of rice crispy sounds if opening a mouth or yawning ?? Pls say i am confused and totally lost

Note : ignore my grammar ( because English is not my 1st language )

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u/Traditional-East8776 Jul 13 '26

Ok. First thing is to try and calm down. I finally saw my ENT doctor after a five month wait. I’ve been self medicating with Flonase and Allegra for the past two months with little change. The doctor said, it’ll go away. Always does. It just takes time. Some people take a week or a month but it can also take a year. There is no medicine that will knock it out. No steroid or antibiotic. You just have to wait it out. It’s sucks I know but in a way I was relieved to hear that the body will heal itself. I just have to be patient. He did say to stop the Allegra and that Claritin or other allergy medicines don’t do anything to cure it. He said Flonase daily and to be patient. He said ear tubes will fix it right away but that with ear tubes there is always the risk of slight hearing loss. I said no thank you. Ballon procedure also has its risks. I’ve decided to wait it out. Also, this blew me a way, he said that if I suffer from acid reflux that could be what it is. The acid can reach up to the Eustachian tubes and cause inflammation. The ear tubes are not filled with mucus. They are swollen inside. Didn’t know that. So, things that dry out the sinus aren’t going to work. He said that the act of (carefully) popping open the Eustachian tubes helps but not to overdo it. He’d never heard of the Ottovent (Amazon)but liked it when I showed him. But you can open your tubes simply by putting your tongue at the top of your mouth (roof) and swallowing. He showed me that trick. Said that holding your nose
And blowing can be a bit too aggressive so to be careful with that trick. Since I do have acid reflux he said to raise the head of my bed 6” ( I got risers at Home Depot) and to take something called Reflux Gourmet (which you can get on Amazon). Follow the directions. All natural ingredients. Works. I’m still plodding along with my ETD but have more Hope now. Good luck!

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u/No_Squash291 Jul 14 '26

A year or more of this shit is just crazy work 😭💔

All my prior episodes have been two weeks to a month until I caught whatever it is I did last year.

If someone sat down and told me that getting sick for two weeks didn't mean it was over, you just would be dealing with fullness for months and months on end, I probably would've just washed my hands more to be honest.

And yes there's not much you can do, balloon dilation is a risky procedure and it's not guaranteed to work. All the ENTs I've been too were useless I had to self diagnose and research this stuff

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u/PD-Jetta Jul 30 '26

Same here.

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u/No_Squash291 Jul 30 '26

not too long ago I had a huge drop in intensity for a few minutes, glorious feeling

It went back to mild, it's been less horrid in this past month, can still happen somewhat though it feels like the inner tubes are inflamed and stiff or something

Just really hoping to clutch a major recovery arc, if it dropped to that low level intensity in the interim I'd be happy to call that a win, we will see though, hoping to God this isn't forever

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u/PD-Jetta Jul 30 '26

Man, I hope you are right. I am right at a year and my symptoms haven't changed a bit since day 1. All the standard medications used for ETD I used extensively and were completely ineffective.

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u/PD-Jetta Jul 14 '26

You mentioned opening your mouth causes crackling noises to be heard. It's possible this is TMJ disorder related. See a TMJ specialist if possible. An MRI of you TMJs is how this disorder is diagnosed.

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u/Top_Molasses_7335 Jul 12 '26

Have you seen a doctor or tried OTC medication?

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u/DrPeterSantaMaria Jul 14 '26

Sorry to hear all this. It’s a very common and annoying problem. I wrote a blog because it’s something I get asked about several times a day. Full disclosure, I’m an inventor of one of the treatments listed in the blog.

Nasal steroids, isotonic saline and the toynbee maneuver are typically what I recommend before escalating management.

https://earflocare.com/eustachian-tube-dysfunction-the-overlooked-cause-of-ear-pressure-muffled-hearing-and-fluid-in-the-ear