amszephyr

I had bilateral tubes put in back in late September 2012 for chronic (3+ years) ETD that became unbearable. I, too, suffered all manner of odd after effects in terms of blocking/pressure/muffled/low sounds for weeks and on top of that I suffered from a chronic infection in one side that only cleared up after 3 months of treatment and numerous round of antibiotics, antibiotic drops, suctioning out my ears at the ENT department, etc. All great fun!

However, when I spoke to my GP about the possibility of having them removed, she urged patience and said that if the eardrum healed back over so soon, I'd be back to square one re. all the symptoms of ETD.

Since I have immense faith in and respect my doctor's judgement, I heeded her advice and, while I have since endured a nasty infection in the other ear (yet more antibiotics/drops/suctioning at the hospital) I am happy with my decision since now I am effectively symptom free (bar the odd click in one ear - but compared to the pain/pressure, etc. of pre-tube life, it is nothing). Of course, it'll be interesting, when the tubes do drop out naturally, to see whether my eustachian tubes have been aerated for long enough to ease the ETD permanently: my GP tells me I may be a candidate for larger bore, long-term tubes if problems return.

Having read of others who felt they couldn't endure the post-op odd effects and quite rapidly opted for removal, I thought I'd offer an alternative viewpoint to the problem of post-op issues. Being patient, enduring the odd and disconcerting side effects and allowing the body to adapt to the new tubes can take quit a considerable amount of time - but in the end, for me, it means the tube surgery has achieved its desired aim.