I have had several problem with clogged ears this summer. I was given some antibiotics and some other meds. It now sounds like this might be an allergy? I am seeing an allergiest next week to find out more. Has anybody else had this problem?

Hi. Yes, I've had the same problem. It started out as a bad cold (that lasted 2 weeks). I thought that was gone and then I began having nausea, aching waves in my neck and chest and a wiped-out feeling overall. It was awful. These symptoms lasted for about 4 months. A friend of mine had the same thing. His doctor said he had a viral infection. I had suspected mine was a bacterial infection so my doctor gave me an antibiotic. While on the antibiotic, my ears filled up with liquid.

I saw two more doctors. They both pretty much said the same thing: They suspected allergies, although the first doctor suspected a viral infection. The second doctor saw no sign of viral or bacterial infection and she said the liquid in my ears was clear and sterile. The first doctor gave me a strong decongestant and that did clear out my ears to a degree, but not completely. The second doctor gave me Allegra-D and Nasonex spray. That helped some but after 2 months my ears still have liquid in them. The second doctor said it could take at least 3-4 weeks for them to unblock. She didn't really know when they would unblock. And she said there was no infection in them.

Some days I have lots of crackling sounds (meaning they're clearer) and other days they're pretty blocked up and I don't feel nearly as well on those days. They can vary from one moment to the next.

From my research on the web, some people live with liquid in their ears for weeks, months and even years. I didn't know that allergies could cause one to have liquid in their ears, but they can. In fact, I have a family member who I recently found out has a similar problem with allergies and liquid in her ears. She had the tubes in her ears (I don't want anything like that) but then she had them removed (they grew out) and she just lives with it now.

I hope my ears clear up soon, as well as yours. I'm on the West Coast in the States so I'm hoping that when our rainy season starts that my ears will clear up, because as you know, it's very irritating and annoying, isn't it?! Take care.


[This message has been edited by mschumacher (edited 09-23-2002).]