Hi. I'm an 18 year old female who has had Patulous Eustacian tube dysfunction for about 2 months now. I thought it would be a great idea for all those suffering to comment on methods of dealing with this. We can all come together to share what we have discovered to relieve this harmless but annoying problem.
A little history of my problem:
I have a history of horrible panic/anxiety. I tend to be VERY hypersensitive--i notice every little thing that goes on in my body. I have seasonal allergies. I am thin (5'6. 115 ibs). and was on oral contraceptives (yaz) for 6 months. My problem began after I started going to college (i was REALLLY nervous, and didn't want to go) leading me to believe that this problem could be linked with anxiety.
I noticed fullness/clogged feeling in ear so I went to infirmary. I was prescribed flonase and decongenstants as well as allergy meds. This did not help at all. in fact it made things alittle worse. i finally went to an ENT back at home--she is one of the top ENTs in the state. anyway, she confirmed that it was not standard ETD because my ears were
popping just fine. it was patulous. she reasurred me that it was not a life-threatening problem, but it could be aggravating. she also said it depends on your ability to cope and distract yourself. she said that leading causes were weight loss (even as little as 5 pounds), stress and dehydration. my method of dealing with this right now is drinking lots of water, daily vitamin and eating lots of carbs--i'm trying to gain some weight. when i exercise, i don't do anything to rigorous (when i went to college, i was running A LOT). 3 times a day i am laying on my back on a yoga mat with my legs propped up on a chair. i am drinking chamomile decaf tea in the morning and at night. my most aggrivating symptoms is crackling and crunching in my ears..but i must remind myself that it is simply caused from the Eustacian tubes rubbing against eachother..harmless just loud and annoying. i noticed my symptoms are worse in the morning. i have to keep myself busy..
