Eustachian tubes are small passageways at the back of your throat that open and close in order to balance pressure in the middle ear with air pressure outside your body. When they become blocked or don’t open and close correctly, symptoms such as muffled hearing or fullness in your ears may appear.
1. Swallow
The Eustachian Tubes connect from the back of your throat and nose to your middle ears and help ensure equal air pressure inside and outside your ear. Most of the time they remain closed; opening automatically when swallowing, chewing or yawning. When not functioning correctly people often experience symptoms like their ears being full or popping when trying to swallow or yawn; this occurs due to differences between air pressure on either side of their eardrum which can be very painful.
To alleviate these symptoms, swallowing or yawning are both great exercises to do before traveling on an airplane or ascending or descending a mountain. Also try the Valsalva maneuver by pinching your nostrils closed and blowing to create an abrupt change in pressure that opens Eustachian tubes and relieves that “full ear” feeling.
One way to stimulate the eustachian tube reflex is by chewing gum or sucking on hard candy or mints, or even just chewing slowly while yawning or swallowing – these are all proven effective ways of helping prevent and treat symptoms associated with ETD, and for many patients this simple self-treatment can restore normal ear and sinus functioning.
If you find that eustachian tube dysfunction persists, it may be worth speaking with a Beach Cities ENT doctor about available treatment options. Medication could provide relief and may even help to prevent future attacks.
At the root of most eustachian tube dysfunction lies allergies, colds, or flu. When such conditions appear, it’s essential to treat them immediately to reduce further ear and sinus issues. Treating allergies with over-the-counter nasal sprays for blocked sinuses as well as taking allergy medicines may help. When this occurs it will help breathe easier while sleeping better – both things which will aid eustachian tube function. For persistent problems that do not respond to other treatments your doctor may recommend making an opening in your eardrum and placing a tube into it to keep open; usually reserved for patients who do not respond to other treatments.
2. Yawning
Yawning is one of the body’s ways to ensure oxygen flows to your organs and keeps you feeling awake while relieving inner ear pressure. To “yawn on cue”, simply open your mouth wide while breathing in and out – this may help open your eustachian tubes and equalize pressure between ears.
Eustachian (pronounced YOU-stay-shee-un) tubes connect the middle ear with the back of throat and nose, and are named for Bartolomeo Eustachi, an Italian physician who discovered them in 1661. Their purpose is to drain excess fluids and secretions from the middle ear while ventilating and equalizing air pressure on either side of the eardrum; typically these tubes remain closed, though when swallowing, chewing, or yawning occurs they often open with an audible “click or popping noise accompanied by audible sound and sensation!
Eustachian tubes can become blocked and refuse to unclog on their own, which can be quite irritating and make daily tasks such as breathing more challenging. Common symptoms of dysfunctional eustachian tubes include muffled or full hearing, feeling that ears are plugged up and needing to pop them, as well as experiencing pain, dizziness or tinnitus (ringing in ears).
Antibiotic allergies are one of the primary causes of Eustachian tube dysfunction. Allergies can irritate nasal passages and result in inflammation in Eustachian tubes, preventing them from opening properly to equalize pressure distribution in middle ears resulting in symptoms like the sensation that your ears are full or blocked up.
When your ears feel blocked, it’s essential that you act quickly to pop them. Doing this quickly will allow the clog to clear faster and your ears to return to their original function more rapidly. While swallowing, chewing gum or yawning may work temporarily, for more effective ear popping use a yawn device or practice fake yawn while breathing in and out – this method provides gentler relief than other methods which may require greater strength of willpower to manage.
3. Chewing Gum
The Eustachian Tubes (ETD) are canals running from the back of your nose and throat to your middle ears, helping keep the pressure in your ear equal to that outside your body. When functioning normally, these tubes remain closed but occasionally open momentarily with swallowing, chewing or yawning to equalize pressure in the middle ear and drain any mucus produced by its lining. When they don’t open and equalize properly you may experience pain, fullness in your ears (pressure), ringing in ears (tinnitus), fullness in your ear pressure as well as feeling that your ears are underwater or filled with cotton wool – this condition known as ETD.
Your Eustachian Tube Dilation could be caused by either swelling or blockage of your Eustachian tube. Or it could be the result of colds, allergies, sinusitis, chronic nasal congestion or any activity which narrows its opening or passageway lining – such as frequent flying in airplanes, diving or hiking up hills and mountains which increases air pressure outside your body and causes the opening and closure of Eustachian Tubes in response to changes.
Children are particularly prone to ETD because their eustachian tubes are shorter and straighter, making it easier for germs and mucus to enter the middle ear space. Furthermore, their immune systems have not fully developed yet.
Try the Valsalva maneuver to alleviate symptoms of ETD by pinching your nose and blowing outward, as if blowing on a balloon. This forces ear tubes open while being careful not to do it too forcefully as that may rupture your eardrum. Another solution may be applying topical anesthetic drops like Ibuprofen as an OTC painkiller to your ears for pain relief and to provide temporary numbness and numbing effects that could help the eustachian tubes open on their own. If your symptoms persist beyond two or three weeks, consult your physician for antibiotic treatment to treat the infection that is causing ETD. Although symptoms should resolve themselves on their own eventually, if yours are persistent it’s wise to visit a healthcare professional to learn how best to address its cause.
4. Blowing
The Eustachian Tube connects the middle ear with the back of your throat. Usually it opens when swallowing, chewing, yawning or trying to pop your ears (for instance when blowing air out through your nose). This function helps equalize pressure between each ear and its environment. When the Eustachian Tube becomes blocked by common colds, upper respiratory infections, sinus or nasal problems or allergies it prevents air from entering the middle ear, leading to fluid/mucus build-up within. Tinnitus (ringing in the ears), hearing loss or balance issues may all increase when experiencing air pressure changes due to travel such as flying on an airplane, riding roller coasters or driving at high altitudes. This condition may worsen with changes such as flying an airplane, riding roller coasters or driving at higher altitudes.
Blockage of the eustachian tube for extended periods creates negative pressure in the middle ear space and pushes inward on the ear drum, potentially irritating its canal lining and leading to infections. Over time, this pressure may damage both the eardrum and three small bones within it that transmit sound into the inner ear, leading to what is known as “conductive hearing loss”.
ETD symptoms include muffled hearing, fullness in the ears or ringing in the ears and tinnitus (ringing), with pop or clicking noises coming from within or between ears. Children tend to be more at risk from ETD due to having shorter and straighter Eustachian tubes than adults; other risk factors for ETD include smoking, deviated septums, blocked nasal passages and obesity (fatty deposits around Eustachian tube opening).
As the first step in treating any problem with ears, the Valsalva maneuver may be helpful. Simply pinch your nostrils together, close your mouth tightly and force out air through them as if blowing up a balloon; repeat this maneuver 10 times to help clear away blockages. Over-the-counter medication such as antihistamines can relieve allergy symptoms while acetaminophen reduces pain; for ear issues caused by infections or inflammation a doctor may also prescribe antibiotics or corticosteroids to reduce inflammation or corticosteroids or antibiotics/corticosteroids depending on its cause. If myringotomy surgery – which involves making small incisions within the eardrum to drain fluid out and clear away obstructions – is required – however.
