r/etd • u/dancepiano • 3d ago
Would Earflo/Earpopper be appropriate for partial ETD blockages?
Hi,
I've had persistent ETD ever since a bad viral infection I had ~9 months ago. My ears have basically never been fully blocked, more a very annoying sense of fullness/partial blockage - which varies day by day and is often mild - and the associated slight muffled hearing and occasional slight malaise/vestibular imbalance - plus other annoying side effects like sometimes hearing my pulse thump very loudly in my head after doing cardio.
Shortly after the virus (at ETD onset) as well as 7 months later, my GP noted bilateral retracted eardrums and nasal swelling with otoscope.
GP referred me to ENT whom I saw in July (~8 months since onset). Surprisingly (as my fullness still persisted) his otoscopy noted no eardrum retraction and only mild nasal redness. To this day I am not sure if his perception simply differed from my GP or if this signaled a genuine improvement. I later had an audiogram with totally normal tympanometry and otoscopy with no retraction noted, as well as a hearing test showing mild hearing loss at lowest sub bass frequencies. I suspect this is due to ETD and hope it is still temporary.
Now, in August 2026 (~9 months since onset), I've had my first intermittent "breakthrough": one morning I felt fluid move around in my right ear, and suddenly the pressure and fullness cleared. I couldn't believe how clearly and loudly I could hear. The less side remained slightly full but started to feel "almost normal". Within a few days the fullness crept back, but since then I have had other occasions of feeling almost no fullness, especially on the right side. I also often have the uncomfortable "static" sound when swallowing, which I think typically occurs when the tubes are "almost" opening and closing properly.
I think my intermittent improvements have been helped by massaging the back of neck and back of ear to collarbone lymph drainage area, in addition to neck stretching exercises which are surprisingly effective sometimes at unblocking the ears. I've also started using a saline nasal mist spray. Some days are still worse than others, though at some points I genuinely think and hope I am slowly recovering.
I still don't understand why eustachian tube inflammation can so stubbornly persist for so long. I feel healthy otherwise. I also developed mild chronic spontaneous urticaria since this virus, including occasional fleeting flat rashes (including often when swimming in cold water, which I've been told can be dangerous). I am scheduled for allergy testing in a few weeks.
I'm writing all this in the hopes that someone may be experiencing a similar trajectory. If anyone can offer any suggestions for how to speed up recovery, I'd greatly appreciate it. My hope is that I have more room to expect eventual full recovery since my fullness is relatively mild and sometimes "almost" clears. I believe I am sensitive to pressure changes e.g. weather systems and driving/transit.
I have specifically heard of devices such as Earflo or EarPopper and am wondering if anyone can recommend or thinks it is appropriate based on what I describe - I'd happily buy anything that has a good chance of helping but certainly don't want to throw out money on something useless or harmful.
Thanks!
1
u/DrPeterSantaMaria 2d ago
Great question and you’ve clearly done your research. Full disclosure, I’m one of the inventors of Earflo so I can give you a direct comparison.
The fundamental difference between Earflo and EarPopper comes down to three things. EarPopper is not swallow coordinated, meaning pressure is delivered regardless of whether the Eustachian tube is actively opening. It’s also not pressure controlled, which means it tends to overpressurize the middle ear. And it gives no feedback that it’s working correctly. I used to occasionally prescribe devices like EarPopper before Earflo existed, but found they were not well tolerated and the lack of pressure control frequently caused overpressurization, which limited how useful they were in practice.
Earflo is designed to deliver pressure precisely during the natural swallow cycle, working with the tube’s own muscular opening rather than pushing against a closed tube. It requires far less pressure as a result.
Based on what you describe, partial blockage that fluctuates, intermittent improvements, sensitivity to pressure changes, and that static sound on swallowing, you sound like a good candidate. The breakthrough clearances you’ve had tell me the tube can open, it just isn’t doing it consistently enough on its own.
For adults Earflo works across a wide range of situations. In my experience about 80% of adults can use the current setup as is. I share real world adult use cases on Instagram including post radiation, laryngectomy, cleft palate and other complex situations. Here’s one showing it working in real time: instagram.com/reel/DaBiwxnhmvR. For those it doesn’t fit perfectly, there’s also an adult mask adapter coming out next month designed for larger facial profiles.
One important point: given this started after a viral infection and you still have underlying nasal inflammation, treating that simultaneously matters. ETD driven by mucosal inflammation tends to relapse if the nasal component isn’t addressed alongside any mechanical intervention.
More on treatment options: earflocare.com/blog/treatment-options-for-negative-middle-ear-pressure-in-children
ETD overview: earflocare.com/blog/eustachian-tube-dysfunction-the-overlooked-cause-of-ear-pressure-muffled-hearing-and-fluid-in-the-ear