Ear Problems (Including hearing) Archives

ear

Dear Dr. Stoll,
I am really hoping you can help me. I have been plagued with an ear problem for over 12 years. The first time it occured I was 30 years old and 6 months pregnant. There are often many different stages. I have had it with all 3 of my pregnancies, all 3 years apart to different degrees. I have also had it it between a few times. It can be years apart. I have been to my family dr., my baby dr. and after the second pregnancy while nursing, I saw 2 ear, nose, and eye speciallists. My hearing was tested and was fine. They could see nothing looking into my ears. Symptoms: Plugging in the head, ususally only in the right ear, although it has happened in the other ear once or twice, ear aches, a hollow feeling in my head, very high pitch ringing, and the most annoying of all is a reverberation of all sounds in my head. Peoples voices echo inside my head and my own voice can also do so. The bout I am having now has carried on for over a month. Usually it lasts about a week. This is getting very depressing. Hope you can help
Sincerely, Connie Lapier

Follow Ups:

• Re: ear Nutmeg 01:43:04 4/07/02 (0)
• Re: ear (Plagiocephaly?) Archive. Walt Stoll 07:53:54 4/06/02 (0)
• Re: ear Carol B. 00:08:21 4/06/02 (0)

In Reply to: ear posted by Connie Lapier on April 05, 2002 at 11:09:12:

Connie, I had this same problem a couple years ago. I took over-the-counter Sudafed, which decongested the middle ear and relieved the symptoms. If you take it for a week or so according to package directions, taper off the dose so that you don't experience "rebound" congestion.

In my case, the fluid in the middle ear kept returning, and after six months of this I asked my doctor if he would prescribe steroids to reduce the inflammation. The pharmacy carries Prednisone packaged in a dosage, where you get a high dose the first day, then a reduction in the dosage amount for each day of the rest of the week.

You need to take the daily dose all at once each morning, or it can interfere with sleep. Take with food, it's hard on your stomach. By the third day, my ear was clear. By the sixth day the med bothered my stomach so much that I didn't take the last day's dose of 1 mg.

In Reply to: ear posted by Connie Lapier on April 05, 2002 at 11:09:12:

Hi, Connie.

Sounds like a typical case of plagiocephaly to me.

See the archives about Cranial Osteopathy as to how to find the closest Cranial Osteopath---the only professional with the skills to diagnose and treat this condition.

It even explains why the prednisone may have helped Carol B. Prednisone is a universal antiinflammatory and chronic inflammation is intimately related to plagiocephaly.

See the glossary for any unfamiliar terms and let us know how you do.

Walt

In Reply to: ear posted by Connie Lapier on April 05, 2002 at 11:09:12:

Connie,

You are not alone! I've had almost the same symptoms as you have, except instead of the ringing, I've heard whooshing sounds. That echo chamber stuff with noises and voices, especially your own, is enough to drive anyone nuts, so I definitely sympathize with you! Mine has gotten quite a bit better in the last couple of years, but it's not entirely gone. Most of the time now I just have a full feeling in my head and my ears crackle every time I swallow. The ear crackling has been going on for 20+ years. I wish I could say I was used to it.

I just read some of the archives on plagiocephaly. I never knew this problem had a name!! It makes sense that it is related to TMJ problems and jammed cranial bones and that physical and emotional stress can contribute greatly to it. I did have major TMJ problems (following a car accident) about the same time of the onset of my ear problems. The bracing and stress I experienced at the time were pretty awful.

The reason I found the archives so fascinating is that I did have some temporary relief from the ear crackling following my second cranial manipulation treatment. It lasted only a few hours, but it was wonderful. I suspect there is an allergy component to my symptoms, but I haven't identified the culprit yet. The archives are full of posts from Dr. Stoll telling about dairy allergy being a primary cause of ear symptoms, but my first trial elimination of dairy and subsequent reintroduction were inconclusive. I believe I will try eliminating dairy again and also try to work in some more cranial maniuplation treatments to see if that doesn't help to relieve the fullness. It's been several years since I had those treatments. Now I wonder if the whooshing sound I used to hear in my ears during the bad spells was the movement/blockage of the cranial sacral fluid not getting where it was supposed to go. The practitioner who did my cranial manipulation also did several treatments of cranial-sacral therapy. I think I'm ready for more of that too.

I hope you find the answers and help you need in the archives and can put these horrible episoded behind you.

Nutmeg