Bad ear infection problem

[cbj5259]

So about three weeks ago the rug rat brings home some nasty bug from daycare...spreads through the house and we all get sick. Starts as an upper respiratory issue with me and after a few days I feel my left ear closing up and some dull pain and pressure. I call the doctor and they prescribe a z-pac for me (allergic to amoxicyllin, which was the antibiotic of choice). The z-pac knocks the issue out of my chest but the ear gets worse. No pain, just the feeling of fullness and can't hear at all and a terrible ringing sound starts. This goes on for another week and I go back to the doc. Doc prescribes 40mg of prednisone daily for 5 days as well as round the clock sudafed. So now I'm done that and still no relief. The doc says my eustachian (sp?) tube is clogged and it "will take some time". In the mean time, I've been suffering with some dizzyness and nausea as result of my equilibrium being off. I've had to call out of work because of it the past 3 days. So, my question is does anyone have a suggestion or some type of home remedy to help aid the clearing of of a blocked e-tube? This is making me nuts now going on 3 weeks.

I'm going to call the family doctor back tomorrow and see if I can get a referral to an ENT specialist.

 

[Kevins89notch]

No clue, but I know how you feel. I had an ear infection about a year ago. Day 1 I wished for death. Day 2 I could move/walk but any turning of the head was pre planned and slow. Day 3 was a little better, and so on until I was fine after a week. Sorry I'm no help in terms of medication. I just overdid some generic anti-motion sickness pills(no clue if they helped or not).

 

[RDJ]

my daughter had ear infections a LOT when she was little. they gave her keyflex because she was allergic to the "cillin" typs drugs. but you are def. on the right track with going to see an ENT doc. I am surprised they have not referred you to one yet.

 

[Booky]

I had a lot of ear problems when I was younger.

Laying my head on a heating pad always helped.

Good luck, earaches are very painful.

 

[lpheaven]

I had a lot of ear problems when I was younger.

Laying my head on a heating pad always helped.

Good luck, earaches are very painful.

Yes heating pad and ear down on the pillow when you sleep. Vertigo sucks - 3 weeks is way too long. Get to a ENT dude. If its still infected its inflamation down deep inner ear kinda shit. If anything lingers more than 2 weeks thats specific, go to a specialist. Feel better man

 

[kevinatfms]

I get them quite a bit due to wax build up. I suggest cleaning them at least twice a week with peroxide and the doctor recommended cleaning tool(little o-ring hook tool). You can get a box of the little "tools" at any pharmacy for under $5 for a pack of 25-30.

Tilt your head, drop in a teaspoon of peroxide and let it sit. Let it fizzle for a minute or two then dump what you can into the sink. From there use the tool to get the excess that is left. If done correctly you will have much better sound differentiation.

Hope this can help. An ENT can actually do this for you and get rid of the blockage if its bad enough to cause day to day issues. I dont remember how much it cost but it was covered under my HSA account so its considered a medical procedure.

Good luck!

 

[BrunotheBoxer]

I had so much wax in my ear from years of wearing earplugs to sleep. This bad habit started in college from noisy roommates. The wax they sucked out of my ear looked like a shit that belonged in a toilet and shouldn't have come from a human ear. As a result I got vertigo like you that lasted months. Only time healed it but if I were you I'd go to an ear specialist.

 

[Ramairgt1]

So about three weeks ago the rug rat brings home some nasty bug from daycare...spreads through the house and we all get sick. Starts as an upper respiratory issue with me and after a few days I feel my left ear closing up and some dull pain and pressure. I call the doctor and they prescribe a z-pac for me (allergic to amoxicyllin, which was the antibiotic of choice). The z-pac knocks the issue out of my chest but the ear gets worse. No pain, just the feeling of fullness and can't hear at all and a terrible ringing sound starts. This goes on for another week and I go back to the doc. Doc prescribes 40mg of prednisone daily for 5 days as well as round the clock sudafed. So now I'm done that and still no relief. The doc says my eustachian (sp?) tube is clogged and it "will take some time". In the mean time, I've been suffering with some dizzyness and nausea as result of my equilibrium being off. I've had to call out of work because of it the past 3 days. So, my question is does anyone have a suggestion or some type of home remedy to help aid the clearing of of a blocked e-tube? This is making me nuts now going on 3 weeks.

I'm going to call the family doctor back tomorrow and see if I can get a referral to an ENT specialist.

My wife has the same exact issue. Little man brought home a bug from daycare and she got hit with upper respiratory infection, bad ear infection, and sinus infection. She's had an ear infection for almost 3 weeks and nothing seems to help. She has been on antibiotics and Z-Pac. They helped with everything except for the ear infection. She has been miserable with a ringing ear and she has also been dizzy.
She is scheduled to see an ENT wednesday.

 

[cbj5259]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am waiting to hear back from my family doc to get a referral. Someone else suggested rinsing my sinuses with the neti-pot thing so I'm giving that a shot today too. The biggest issue for me is work. They basically won't let me come back until the vertigo issue is resolved (I'm a police officer) and I understand that it is a safety issue. It just sucks. Hopefully I can get into the ENT pronto and get some relief. Will let you know what the (hopefully positive and quick) result is.

 

[low03tb]

Neti-pot is good, but make sure you do it correctly. If you tilt your head too much, blow too hard when done, etc...these things can contribute to worsening the ear issue. I use a neti-pot almost daily. I have HORRIBLE allergies (chronis sinusitis) and have all my life. Doesn't help I live in OKC, which is just about the worst place to live for allergies in the country. One time I had such a bad infection that my maxillary sinuses under my eyes were bruising! The stuff that I was blowing out was literally highlighter yellow. I couldn't even touch my face or ears it hurt so bad.


Have you tried taking something like Dramamine or an RX for vertigo?

 

[cbj5259]

Neti-pot is good, but make sure you do it correctly. If you tilt your head too much, blow too hard when done, etc...these things can contribute to worsening the ear issue. I use a neti-pot almost daily. I have HORRIBLE allergies (chronis sinusitis) and have all my life. Doesn't help I live in OKC, which is just about the worst place to live for allergies in the country. One time I had such a bad infection that my maxillary sinuses under my eyes were bruising! The stuff that I was blowing out was literally highlighter yellow. I couldn't even touch my face or ears it hurt so bad.


Have you tried taking something like Dramamine or an RX for vertigo?

No, but that's a good idea. I am seeing the doc in an hour and will ask. I just want to make sure its ok to take with sudafed and mucinex and such.

 

[cbj5259]

Doc said the dramamine is ok, but it may make me drowsy. He basically told me that I have to get to the ENT and they will most likely end up putting a tube in behind my eardrum and drain the fluid. He did tell me he was surprised that it has not ruptured because he said he could "see" (not sure how) a lot of fluid and puss behind the eardrum.
Unfortunately the ENT can't see me until July 2nd!! Called a few others and they are worse. So in the meantime I'm out on short term disability.

 

[balls]

i've been dealing with my ears not draining for a couple of years now. got to the point last november that i had to have tubes put in. this helped instantly, but ended up being wasted money. reason being the doc told me that the tubes would remain in the ear drum for 8-12 months, they stayed in place for 3 months. ears backed up a few weeks after they fell out.

op, are you a smoker? i was for 13 years, and the doc had mentioned that quitting will help during a follow up appointment, so thats what i did. I quit smoking April 3rd, and within a week and a half my ears had cleared up. no issues since.

what i always did before to temporarily drain my ears was to almost pinch my nose shut, and blow air out of my nose until my ears "popped".

good luck, it's not a pleasant thing to have to deal with.

 

[allister]

I've had ear problems all my life, I was actually just at the ENT yesterday. My ear has been ringing nonstop the last month and over the last year I've noticed a decrease in hearing, no rhyme or reason. In the past my problems were blamed on a crooked e-tube as well as a deviated septum (which second/third opinions proved I did not have a deviated septum) and seasonal allergies.

Anyways, something that has strangely worked in the past for releasing pressure from my ears, coconut oil. I put it in my coffee one day and I think the heat from the coffee and the combined lubrication effects from the coconut oil had something to do with it. It could have been completely ironic, but I say it's worth a try. You have to blend the coconut oil into your coffee, not just stir it. About 2 tsp. for a 16oz cup. It taste awesome and coconut oil has a ton of health benefits and I swear it helps with pressure in my ear. Might loosen that e-tube up for ya. Good luck!!

 

[allister]

On my google studies of trying to figure out what was going on with the ringing in my ear, I also read a cure was someone completely eliminated all salt from diet. So if you eat a lot of high-sodium foods, maybe try avoiding that for a couple weeks too to see if that helps any

 

[BrunotheBoxer]

OP do what I did when the ENT told me he couldn't see me for two weeks I basically just went there on my lunch break and told him how much suffering I was in and they fit me in within the hour. It's worth a shot.

Edit

I could post the pics of the wax they removed from my ear if you guys want to see it but it is definitely not safe while you are eating.

 

[4u 2 nv]

Can you ask the doctor about a megadose. Its azithromycin but just a much heavier dose than a Z pak. I am allergix to the "cyllins" also and have gone this route.