u/Responsible_Monk6941

I thought I had Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), but now I’m honestly not sure.

I’ve had constant ear fullness/ pressure for months, along with crackling and popping pretty much every time I swallow.

I can hear my own breathing too, but it doesn’t sound unusually loud or amplified. This is the part that confuses me when I read about patulous ETD. Isn’t it normal to hear your own breathing to some extent? Everyone I’ve asked who has normal ears says they can hear theirs too.

I’ve also tried lying down and putting my head between my knees, since I’ve read that patulous ETD often improves in those positions, but it makes absolutely no difference for me. The pressure/fullness stays exactly the same.

At this point I’m just trying to figure out what kind of ETD I could have, or if this is even ETD at all.

Has anyone experienced constant ear fullness and crackling/popping with every swallow without having obvious hearing loss or unusually loud breathing?

It all started after I had a mild sore throat following a night out. The sore throat cleared up within a few days, but in the weeks that followed, I was left with inflamed nasal mucosa and Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), with constant pressure in both ears, although it’s worse on my left side.

Around the same time, I also started experiencing pressure headaches and brain fog.

After a few ENT visits, I was told I have a deviated septum and bilateral enlarged turbinates. The weird part is that I don’t really have trouble breathing through my nose, and I barely have any congestion or mucus.

When mucus does come out, usually only after a nasal rinse, it’s thick, gooey, and white, and there’s never much of it.

After a couple months with no relief, I started taking Dymista. It has helped the nasal inflammation a little, although my nose still feels pretty dry. I’m naturally prone to dryness anyway.

The ETD, however, hasn’t really changed since it started. It fluctuates constantly throughout the day, with pressure and crackling/clicking noises pretty much every time I swallow or open my mouth.

I’ve never had seasonal allergies or the typical symptoms that come with them, so I’m trying to understand what could be causing this and what else I could look into for relief.

Since I can breathe perfectly fine through my nose and already deal with a lot of dryness, I’m hesitant to have my turbinates reduced and potentially risk developing ENS.

Has anyone dealt with something similar, especially ETD that appeared suddenly after a minor illness and just never went away? Did you ever figure out what was causing it or find anything that actually helped?

(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.