Ear problems

K

Kjs

Guest
near the end of the school year difficult child complained of blocked ears. I took him to pediatrician. Was told his ears were fine. He continued to complain, now with some pain. husband took him back. They did an ear test and showed negative pressure. Sent us to ENT. (that took 5 weeks to get in). They also did ear test, showing significant negative pressure. They did a hearing test. Three of them. I was told he is within normal limits for hearing. Dr. said he has allergies which cause the eustacian tube to close. Gave him a prescription for Allegra-D and said that was all that could be done.

difficult child never had allergies before. I do not understand how he could have them set in so suddenly and only affect his ears. Not eyes, nose or throat. Only ears. And allergies to what???? No other symptoms just ears.

He hasn't complained about his ears in a couple months. I do notice him holding his nose and blowing or opening his mouth real big. So, I know his ears still bother him atleast a little.

Monday he woke up and said his ear hurts do bad it feels like someone stuck a knife in his ear drum. Called Dr. Took him in on Tuesday (which of course he felt much better. No pain) Dr. told me his ears are fine. Said he has eustacian tube dysfunction. Explained it as: Normal people have their ears blocked when in an airplane or fast moving elevator. difficult child has that daily. He must continue to hold his nose and blow, chew gum, yawn and do what ever he can to get the ears to open. Otherwise it will be painful from the vacuum effect. I was told there is nothing that can be done. I asked about tubes (he had them when he was a baby). Dr. said tubes would only be a temporary fix and put him at greater risk for infection.

Now what???

 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Neither of my kids had ear issues as young ones, but I can't imagine that your son will have this issue all his life and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Sounds like it's not that unusual and the doctor told you right.

Hugs to your son. My mom has lived with ear issues for many years.

Sharon
 
You could try the allergist ~ my difficult child was producing so much mucous that it drained to his ears, infected and they pussed constantly. No runny nose, no fever, no cough ~ just pus draining from his ears. 3 sets of tubes by 2 yrs old and 65 rounds of antibiotics (by 3 1/2 yrs old) later he tested positive for allergies (things you can't escape: trees, grass, mold, weeds, dust, cats & dogs).

Good Luck and hopefully there's something someone can do to help.
 

nvts

Active Member
My mother in law was having that type of problem, nothing with her nose or ears, her doctor told her to get (and I'm probably spelling this wrong) a netti pot. It's this thing that you use in the shower that lets you "snark" water into your sinuses - EVERYTHING drained. She now goes weeks and weeks without problems. Seems everything in your sinus are so intertwined, that one usually affects the other.

Hope he's feeling better!

Beth
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I have the same thing with negative pressure in my ears. They tested it on the machine and told me the same thing. Not much I can do. I get the same popping and pain.
 

crazymama30

Active Member
totoro mentioned a netti pot one time, you could try pm'ing her. I think she is moving now though. I have seen them, my grandfather bought one off TV or the internet, not sure which. He never used it, thought it would somehow help him breathe?? I think he is desperate.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
I think you can get a neti pot at some pharmacies (no rx needed) -- it looks like a funky teapot. It's supposed to be very effective for cleaning out the sinuses and even preventing infections by keeping them clear.

Sometimes you can have sinus drainage (post nasal) and not really be aware of it (especially if you're a kid, I think). Did the Allegra-D help at all? If it did, I'd try giving that to him for a few weeks and then see how long he can go before he has the "fullness" feeling again in his ears. He could have mild seasonal allergies that need periodic treatment to prevent him from having that feeling again.

The decongestant will help keep the tissues from closing up the eustachian tubes so that air pressure can equalize easier.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I like the idea of a netti pot. Also, the act of plugging his nose and blowing is probably a good idea ... didn't the dr suggest something like that, that may have a long term effect? I mean if you can do PT for a muscle, can't you do some kind of inner ear exercise?

I would suggest that he may have other allergies that you are unaware of and that the ear issue is just an outward sign. Have you done an elimination diet?

Best of luck. Poor kid.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Well, we've had a lot of experience with allergists. I for one, never had allergies until after we moved into our new house and had lived here for several years. Now for the first time in my life I get awful symptoms several times a year. There are trees here that I never lived around before.

Apparently, if you are exposed to something new that you are allergic to it can take two to three years for the histamines to affect you.

Are there any new trees or bushes around, or did you move into a new house in the past several years? There are times when my nose is not what you would call congested, but my ears plug up.

I used to get swimmer's ear so badly that they would drain. It's terribly painful. I hope that he will begin to feel better soon.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Netipots or Sinusrinse bottles are very helpful. I do the sinusrinse because my doctor gave them to us free. You can mix salt and baking soda 3:1 and use 1/8 tsp in 8 oz water to equal one of those expensive little packets.

The advice I got in my teens was to drink 1 gallon of water every day. It seems to loosen things, help flush them, and really WORKS. It can be any non-caffeine liquid, even soup counts. Maybe that will help.

I am sorry he is in pain.

HUGS!
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Is he exposed to 2nd hand smoke?? That was the root cause of some family allergies. DDD
 

skeeter

New Member
I could write you a book on allergies - but won't. You've already gotten some good advice above.

Just remember there is a "correct" way to take antihistimines to have them be most effective and that is BEFORE the allergic symptoms occur. You want to have a level of them in your body before the cells start to produce histimine - which leads to the allergic symptoms, instead of trying to fight the symptoms after they are occurring.

I would second the idea of seeing an allergist, however. While I do pretty well on antihisitimes (at least I did until they stopped making Drixoral this year!), my kids were on allergy shots for many, many years instead of having them take the drugs. And allergies do change over time, and puberty can also effect them.

Also - not all allergies are of the "runny nose" type. My oldest is allergic to cow's milk, and this has manifested itself over the years as hives, eczema, nausea and vomiting, hyperactivity, and subcutaneous acne.
 
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