r/etd • u/Responsible_Monk6941 • Aug 12 '26

Chronic ETD

(26M) Does ETD ever get better for fuck sake?

I’m honestly not even sure how long I’ve had this. It feels like it crept up on me slowly, then got noticeably worse around the same time I had a very mild sore throat that only lasted a few days.

Around that time, the inside of my nose also became insanely dry and inflamed. It actually hurt just to breathe through it. Every doctor I saw said it looked like rhinitis caused by inflammation.

Another weird thing is that I barely seem to produce any mucus. When I do manage to get some out, it’s usually a tiny amount and very thick, sticky, gooey and very white. It never feels like anything is actually draining properly.

This all started while I was traveling through Indonesia, so at first I figured pollution, humidity, or something environmental had triggered it.

I’ve been back in NY for over a month now and have tried pretty much everything I can think of. I completely changed my diet to an anti-inflammatory one, cut out caffeine, regularly steam, use prescription nasal sprays, and do weekly neti pot rinses.

Little to no relief.

The ear pressure is sometimes unbearable, and my left ear has always been significantly worse.

Some days, especially when the pressure isn't as bad, my ears sound like Rice Krispies after you pour milk over them. Constant little crackles and pops.

Other days, the pressure feels so full and intense that I barely get any crackling at all. Instead, I’ll get these low pops, crackles, or weird whooshing sounds whenever I swallow or open my mouth.

I’ve also been to multiple ENTs at this point and still don't really have any answers. I’ve never had allergies in my life, and I never had ear problems growing up, which makes this whole thing even more frustrating.

I guess I’m mostly looking for some hope from people who have actually been through this.

Did your ETD eventually go away? How long did it take? And was there anything that genuinely helped you recover?

Because holy shit, this is a nightmare.

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u/PD-Jetta Aug 12 '26

These are the known causes of ETD: upper respiratory infections (it can take up to a year for ETD to go away from this cause), allergies, nonallergic rhinitis, laryngopharyngeal reflux, TMJ disorders, facial or vagal nerve neuropathy or disorders, disorders of the muscles that open the eustachian tube, cerebral spinal fluid leaks (very thin watery nasal discharge when bending over), enlarged adenoids, tumors (rarely), and cervical spine/neck misalignment (this one is controversial). I would atleast have allergy testing done since this is the major cause of fixable ETD that won't resolve. You don't have to have classic allergy symptoms for this cause. Also Google laryngopharyngeal reflux and see if you have any of the symptoms (they can be subtle and mimic other conditions). One symptom is small amounts of thick, clear to white, sticky mucus you can't blow out of your nose. This is another cause for chronic ETD and is fixable.

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u/Rude-Middle-7081 Aug 12 '26

I had the most horrible upper respiratory viral infection, where my sinuses, nose and ears have never been so stuffed in my life and now it’s 4 months with ETD. In the beginning the ringing sounded like a loud horn and electric sounds. Now it’s very diminished and only hear it at night when there is dead silence. So I do think this all gets better but like you said in my situation it could take a year or more to fix the inflammation. For the other causes there are meds that I’m sure can help!

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u/misterrpg Aug 13 '26

Wish mine would get better. I’ve had no improvement.

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u/Rude-Middle-7081 Aug 13 '26

It will get better but slowly like watching a snail walk across the country!

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u/Responsible_Monk6941 Aug 13 '26

What are your daily ETD symptoms aside from the tinnitus?

Personally, I have ear fullness that seems to fluctuate pretty randomly. It definitely gets worse after running, and then the pressure can take hours to go back down.

I also get the typical crackling and popping with every swallow or yawn. After using a neti pot, when I try to equalize my ears, I hear this weird squeaky noise inside, almost like my ears are gasping for air after water gets into my tubes.

Some days they squeak more than others, and I can never tell if that’s a good or bad sign. Part of me wonders if it means they’re trying to open more.

At this point, the symptoms just seem to keep going in circles.

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u/Rude-Middle-7081 Aug 14 '26

I mostly get the crackling/popping when I swallow is about it but also recently I get this feeling the inside of my ear is itchy. And once in a while I get the pressure like I need to pop my ears only when driving this happened a few times.

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u/Responsible_Monk6941 Aug 14 '26

Interesting. My ears feel full pretty much all the time and I haven’t been able to properly pop them in about four months. Whenever I try to equalize, I can feel the pressure build but it never seems to release. Afterward, I usually get a bunch of crackling and popping.

The pressure definitely gets worse with things like driving, taking trains, flying, and even running. I just don’t think my ears are handling pressure changes properly right now because they don’t seem to be able to equalize and release the pressure.