eyunghans
08-30-2006, 03:38 PM
Hi All-
I've been having some trouble with my right ear for the past 1 year or so, and every doctor I go to seems to think its just simple tinnitus, but I think there is something more suspect.
As a background, I had many ear infections as a child and a result had tubes in my ears. I used to be a pack a day smoker (I'm 27 currently) but I've since reduced that down to nearly zero, maybe smoking one to two a week, if at all. I'm highly irregular at this point as I'm trying to quit for good.
If I smoke maybe one or two cigarettes in a day's time my right ear will begin with a mild itch and then turn to a dull light pain that persists for about 2 days before clearing up completely on its own. This is the symptom that I don't understand... I have no other pain, but I can feel it up in my ear canal.
All the while my right ear constantly feels more 'open' then the other... If I am driving down a road I can almost feel the wind vibrations in my ear. Sometimes if I'm talking I can hear a buzzing effect in my ear with every syllable I speak. If I'm exposed to loud noises of any type, especially when I'm a bit drunk it seems, my ear begins to have this static noise sound that is come and go, almost like a radio tuned to static. I understand that would be tinnitus, but I don't have any of the normal ringing in ears constantly or anything else that usually defines tinnitus... :confused:
I am beginning to think that I may have an 'always open' patulous eustachian tube in my right ear which allowing the smoke to travel up my ear canal and annoying the inside of the ear. Is this possible? It seems like everyone else has a sense of 'fullness' in their ear as opposed to me, which seems to feel like its just completely open 24x7.
Has anyone heard of these symptoms? The itchiness and dull pain are what bother me the most about this, as this symptom seems to be absent from most places I've looked for information. I've made an appointment with a ENT, but I've got a two week wait before my appointment.
Any help would be much appreciated...
eyunghans
I've been having some trouble with my right ear for the past 1 year or so, and every doctor I go to seems to think its just simple tinnitus, but I think there is something more suspect.
As a background, I had many ear infections as a child and a result had tubes in my ears. I used to be a pack a day smoker (I'm 27 currently) but I've since reduced that down to nearly zero, maybe smoking one to two a week, if at all. I'm highly irregular at this point as I'm trying to quit for good.
If I smoke maybe one or two cigarettes in a day's time my right ear will begin with a mild itch and then turn to a dull light pain that persists for about 2 days before clearing up completely on its own. This is the symptom that I don't understand... I have no other pain, but I can feel it up in my ear canal.
All the while my right ear constantly feels more 'open' then the other... If I am driving down a road I can almost feel the wind vibrations in my ear. Sometimes if I'm talking I can hear a buzzing effect in my ear with every syllable I speak. If I'm exposed to loud noises of any type, especially when I'm a bit drunk it seems, my ear begins to have this static noise sound that is come and go, almost like a radio tuned to static. I understand that would be tinnitus, but I don't have any of the normal ringing in ears constantly or anything else that usually defines tinnitus... :confused:
I am beginning to think that I may have an 'always open' patulous eustachian tube in my right ear which allowing the smoke to travel up my ear canal and annoying the inside of the ear. Is this possible? It seems like everyone else has a sense of 'fullness' in their ear as opposed to me, which seems to feel like its just completely open 24x7.
Has anyone heard of these symptoms? The itchiness and dull pain are what bother me the most about this, as this symptom seems to be absent from most places I've looked for information. I've made an appointment with a ENT, but I've got a two week wait before my appointment.
Any help would be much appreciated...
eyunghans