I have finally been to an ENT about my ear/etc. that has been causing problems since the end of December.
I don’t know if I ever updated that the oral antibiotic reduced the pain and pressure and suffering HUGELY, really I do not want to underplay how much it helped restore me to the land of the living—but it nevertheless felt worrisome that I continued to have aches/twinges in the ear as well as in my cheek/teeth/jaw (SINUS), and have continued to feel like I can’t hear well out of that ear: I often feel as if it needs to pop and/or I’m listening to a seashell, and there are lots of pops/crackles.
I will say that one of the big reliefs about Having Been To an ENT is that I no longer need to fret about whether I should go to an ENT. Another big relief is that now I HAVE an ENT: if something happens again, or if it continues in the present case, I have an ENT to call, instead of having to hurdle the hurdle of finding one.
Something that is not at all a relief: the stories about people who saw an ENT, got an “It’s fine!” diagnosis, and Somehow Knew That Diagnosis Was Wrong, and so they confidently/assertively pushed to see other, better ENTs until they got the Diagnosis That, If Missed, Would Have Resulted in Permanent Hearing Loss!! I don’t want to say I will NEVER be someone who, having consulted a medical expert, will confidently reject that expert’s diagnosis and will continue to consult other medical experts until I get The Real Diagnosis I, Not a Medical Expert, Somehow Sensed was the real diagnosis. Because who knows: I have heard many stories about the transformative effects of menopause! But I will say that at this point, it seems UNLIKELY I will ever be that person. And so, after I anxiously (confidently asserted!) to the ENT that I was afraid I might have something that, if left untreated, would lead to scary hearing loss, and she said no, everything seemed okay, that is where I’m stopping. But with lingering anxious feelings that I should be SOLDIERING ON UNTIL I GET THE SCARY DIAGNOSIS I HAVE SO RICHLY FEARED.
I was pleased, after several commenters mentioned that ear pain could be caused by Something Bad in the throat, that the ENT said that ear pain can be caused by Something Bad in the throat. None of the four doctors I’d seen before (two Urgent Care and two at my usual doctor’s office) seemed to have heard of that, since none of them were interested in my throat. This ENT spent an AWKWARDLY long time feeling my neck/jaw, and also looked in my mouth and under my tongue and in my throat. She had me do various things with my face; I can’t remember all of them, but it was things such as “big smile,” “raise your eyebrows,” etc. Nothing challenging, but the sort of thing that can still feel like pop-quiz-hotshot when it’s rapid-fire and you’re not expecting it and haven’t rehearsed.
She was interested to know if I’d had ear infections / ear tubes as a child, and I knew I’d had ear infections, but I didn’t know about ear tubes. I obviously should have ASKED MY PARENTS AHEAD OF TIME, because it turns out I had ear tubes AT LEAST ONCE, MAYBE TWICE. This makes me feel like sending a follow-up postcard to the ENT.
She had another doctor in the practice do a hearing test while I was there. The results came back “Normal age-related hearing loss.” Which. I mean. How do they know it’s age-related, and not because of the infection? Even if the loss is “normal” “for my age,” what if without the infection I would have had SUPERIOR NO-LOSS hearing for my age?? I asked about that, and the second doctor was a little shruggy; she said, well, they didn’t have a baseline test from me from before the infection, so they can’t know. Okay. But if. Then it seems like. And so. But both doctors seemed to feel like the hearing test was good news. They think I FEEL as if I can’t hear normally, but that I CAN hear normally (for my age). My family and co-workers may wish to give the doctors some notes on that topic, considering how often I have had to have them repeat things the last few weeks.
The ENT said there were a few other things that could be concerning with these symptoms, and that she didn’t see any sign of those things; but that if I wanted her to, she could put a camera up my nose and take a look around to rule those things out just in case. She said it would be uncomfortable, and she thought it would be just as valid to wait and do that later if needed. I said, “YES PLEASE PUT THE CAMERA UP MY NOSE RIGHT NOW.” Not because I was so eager to have an uncomfortable camera up my nose, as I am sure you instinctively realize. But because I knew from experience that if I turned down ANYTHING THE SPECIALIST OFFERED, I would later, in the comfort of my home, be wondering WHY I SAID NO TO WHAT WAS OFFERED, ONCE I HAD DONE THE HARD PART AND MADE THE APPOINTMENT AND GOTTEN MYSELF THERE, AND NOW I WILL HAVE TO MAKE A NEW APPOINTMENT IF I WANT TO GET THAT THING THAT WAS OFFERED WHICH I AM NOW WORRIED I SHOULD HAVE SAID YES TO.
It was, as advertised, uncomfortable but quick. First there was a bitter-tasting nose spray, to numb things up; she left that to take effect while I sat in lonely anticipation for perhaps 10 minutes, playing Pokémon Go on my phone. I am not sure how long the actual camera-up-the-nose part took, because my perception of time gets extremely warped when I am breathing slowly and carefully as instructed AND IT FEELS AS IF SOMEONE IS MOVING SOMETHING AROUND BEHIND MY FACE WHERE NOTHING BUT MY THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS SHOULD BE. Maybe one minute total? Possibly two minutes? She had me do a few things while she looked, but I can’t remember all of them because I was in a sort of calmly panicked fugue state; I remember at one point she had me say “eeee,” because I remember it felt weird to do that, and my voice sounded weird, POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF THE CAMERA INSIDE THE BACK OF MY FACE. She said everything looked okay, and she could comfortably rule out the Several Scary Things.
The ENT says she suspects I had an ear infection and a sinus infection, and that because I was also fighting off a bad flu/Covid virus, my body was not as quick as might be hoped to respond to the challenge. She seemed unpanicked by the level of pain I’d experienced. She said it can take up to three months for the tubes/tunnels/reservoirs/whatevers to be fully clear and normal again, and that it is normal to still have twinges/aches and a clogged/seashell feeling. She said something about eustachian tubes, and pressure adjustments, and things that can make it feel as if the ear is clogged/compromised even if it’s fine. She said to keep using Flonase, because that can help it clear up. She said to give it another six weeks, and if it is still not normal, I should come on back to see her because there are some more-invasive things she can do.
I do like that I have a “come back if not by” date. This is something I have learned to ask of every specialist, so that when I call I can say “Dr. Ent said that I should come back if….”
Oh dear. I hope the issues clear up soon, but at least you have a path if they don’t.
I wish so much that there were a service industry of People to Accompany You to Doctor’s Appointments. People who have a medical background, and who have perhaps researched Your Particular Issue in advance of your appointment, and who have spoken to you in depth about your specific concerns/fears, and who then Ask All the Questions and Push for More Details and do all the things that I WANT to do in the doctor’s office but can never seem to do when faced with an actual doctor. I would pay good money for that. (Also, I feel like I could confidently be that person for someone else, which makes no sense because I simply cannot do that for myself. Instead I nod and want to appear accommodating and don’t want to inundate the busy doctor with questions. But if I were there with you, for instance, I would have no compunction saying, “But really, WHY is she having SO MUCH PAIN?” and “I get what your tests say, but she CANNOT HEAR as well as she did prior to this issue.”)
Anyway. I’m glad that it doesn’t seem to be anything Serious or Scary. It still sounds deeply frustrating. But having a six-week “wait and see” timeframe is useful, even though six weeks is TOO LONG, SWISTLE.
I loved this so much: “I am not sure how long the actual camera-up-the-nose part took, because my perception of time gets extremely warped when I am breathing slowly and carefully as instructed AND IT FEELS AS IF SOMEONE IS MOVING SOMETHING AROUND BEHIND MY FACE WHERE NOTHING BUT MY THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS SHOULD BE.”
And also this: “I don’t want to say I will NEVER be someone who, having consulted a medical expert, will confidently reject that expert’s diagnosis and will continue to consult other medical experts until I get The Real Diagnosis I, Not a Medical Expert, Somehow Sensed was the real diagnosis. ”
And, even though it seems like it should be part of what I liked about the last bit, I also love this separately: “Because who knows: I have heard many stories about the transformative effects of menopause!”
Hi,
I’m a long time reader, hardly ever comment, and I don’t catch every post.. so I feel weird commenting out of the blue.
BUT I’ve had ear issues (pain, crackling, muffled hearing) and after seeing many doctors over years, somehow or other someone suggested sinus rinse (something like NeilMed (what I used) or netti pot).
I was skeptical but willing to try anything.
After doing the sinus rinse for 2-3 times a day for 1 week, I could start to feel a difference and felt fully better after 2ish weeks.
Then I backed down to doing it once daily because boiling the water and waiting for it to cool was super cumbersome. Eventually when it felt better I stopped doing it and the ear pain came back, but cleared up when I start doing sinus rinse again. Right now I’ve been having ear pain for the past couple of weeks and know I need to start doing sinus rinse again. It’s one of those things where it’s pretty easy and helps a ton, but something slows me down from getting started back up.
Some systems come with a filter so you don’t have to do the whole boiling water and waiting for it to cool.
I don’t know how much any of that makes sense but kids are jumping on me, so I just have to post comment now.
Mostly this is just to say- have you tried regular sinus rinse? It can’t hurt (as long as you use the saline pouches! Don’t try it with plain water- that will burn) and it might help :)
I use Hydrasense nasal spray to clear out my sinuses. It’s quicker than NeilMed and, for me, has been just as effective.
Swistle, I’ve had hearing problems after sinus infections linger for several weeks, but they have eventually gone away. Hoping it’s the same for you.
I even bought a kit, but the instructions said not to use it if you have an ear infection, and I DID have an ear infection, so I tucked it away in a cupboard. Maybe I will get it out and try it. The water boiling/cooling does seem like a hurdle, but if it helps…
You can also buy a gallon of purified water, if boiling it is the hurdle for you that it is for me.
Hi! I’m an audiologist and just wanted to hop on to say that age related hearing loss and hearing loss due to issues in the middle ear (including Eustachian tube issues) present very differently, so that is why they surmised that your hearing levels are consistent with aging. I’m happy to answer any other questions you have!
Oh, I LOVE when this sort of thing happens!! WHO would have guessed we had an audiologist RIGHT HERE, IN OUR MIDST! And what a reassuring and helpful comment.
Fellow audiologist here to agree with April – even though you might not be 100% back to YOUR normal, the fact that they don’t see a difference between your left and right ears (and how the loss presented) is a very good sign. Still frustrating, but it sounds like they did a thorough job of ruling out All The Big Scary Things.
TWO AUDIOLOGISTS IN OUR MIDST! I cannot adequately express how pleasing this is, and how comforting.
I had Covid last July and had similar symptoms (but without the infection) and it took a few months for it to fully clear up. It was just in the left ear and it was muffled and crackling for long enough I almost made an ENT appt but then it just started getting better.
I have non-age-related genetic hearing loss they found in my late 40s. Your ENT would definitely tell you if your hearing loss was anything other than mild or out of the ordinary! Mine was pretty surprised by my audiology report and made it clear it was not caused by age or environment.
First, this post is so well-written, in peak Swistle fashion, and I loved reading it even though it made me empathetically uncomfortable in many areas. Second, I so agree with every single thought here. Third, I have a headache every January and part of February, and I keep wondering if I should try to do something about it, and when it’s happening I am in too much pain and too exhausted to think of doing anything, let alone doing anything, and then when it’s better I forget how bad it was and continue doing nothing. You just prompted me to think that maybe I should get a referral to an ENT. So also thank-you for that.
About the pushing for a diagnosis v trusting the doctor conversation… I have a screwy immune system and have spent a fair amount of time with doctors who may or may not have answers for me. There are three scenarios (1) the doctor who sees the cause and tells me what to do (2) the doctor that does a thorough investigation but ends up telling me they don’t have an answer but also don’t see anything scary and so just wait and watch and (3) the doctor who does a cursory exam, doesn’t see an immediate cause and dismisses me. The first two scenarios I accept their professional opinion. Scenario 3 requires me to advocate for myself and insist on a thorough investigation.
This is a great distinction. Maybe there’s a level of trust-your-gut-ness to it. We’ve probably unfortunately all been dismissed by doctors who DGAF, and that’s when you should track down a doctor who does.
I love this post, and the comments. Hoping it all clears up for you
My Dad went to the ENT and found out he had calcified sinuses. Which sounds (and apparently is) not fun at all. Anyways, he had surgery and it’s now under control.
I am glad to read this. I was one of the people who commented on throat pain and ever since I have been quietly fretting that I had that wrong and that perhaps you had a Big Thing that I had discouraged you from investigating. I am pleased there is an ENT.
PS – not crazy making fretting, just 2am musing. Also, I knew I wasn’t wrong because I felt it in my throat/ear but I still worried quietly. Sigh.