Clogged Ears

[samoan]

Hi all,

I was Diagnosed with an Acoustic Neuroma  later year and had surgery to have it removed in June of Last year (2015). The Post Surgical experience was pretty awful. I had my Surgery done at UCSF and they were great until after the surgery. When I was in the hospital despite having issues walking, going to the bathroom, or breathing (due to throat swelling) they wanted to discharge me every day. This went on for a week. After that every symptom I had was "unrelated to my surgery" this ranged from a cough that was resistant, swallowing trouble, extreme weight loss, and may other complications. Most of them went away after a few months, however, 4 months after my surgery I got a bad case of vertigo when I looked at the ground and felt light headed. The next day I was in the ER because I was vomiting due to motion sickness and dizziness. I recovered only to find my ears were clogged. Shortly after that I lost almost all of my hearing in my left ear (the surgery was on my right and left me deaf in that ear). So I went to the surgeons and they said it was unrelated and probably a virus and I should see an ENT. Long story short I did and saw another specialist at Stanford and it was indeed a rare side effect of the surgery. They gave me high steroids for 2 months and I went on a low sodium diet for 3 months. This fixed the hearing issue and I got my hearing back to 98%. However, since then I have had issues where I can hear mostly fine but my ears are clogged all the time. The sensation comes and goes through the day but not one day goes by without that plus Tinnitus which is driving me crazy.

Has anyone else had issues with clogged ears sensation and found a cure? I thought it might be allergies but that wasn't the case, they tested for general allergies and found none.

[Blw]

You would need a good neurotologist that works in a clinic with all the instruments that they use for testing. They do some crazy tests--flush warm water in your ear, follow eye movements when they jerk your head, etc. However, your symptoms may be consistent with Meniers disease. In fact, the low sodium (and a dieuretic) are standard treatments for it.

[samoan]

Hi thanks for the response, I will look into that, The vertigo only lasted 2 days started kinda weak and then got worse and then went away. Now it is just fullness feeling in my ear. I will reach out to the specialist I am seeing and ask him what he suggests.

[Blw]

Mayo clinic diagnosis flow chart. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menieres-disease/basics/tests-diagnosis/con-20028251

[Sheba]

I have that feeling on the side where AN was removed - the fullness comes and goes.

I've been googling but not finding any great info. 

I think it is somehow related to a reflex involving this muscle,
like the reflex is not working correctly anymore due to nerve damage:

Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome

Tonic tensor tympani syndrome is a condition where the tensor tympani muscle abnormally contracts and reduces movement of the bones attached to the eardrum. Normally this muscle contracts to limit movement when sound is too loud. The contraction of the muscle and pulling on the eardrum causes the ear fullness sensation that is typically felt in tonic tensor tympani syndrome.