Patulous eustachian tube

[james e]

SSD since my surgery in March 2010. I began having hearing issues in my good ear about a year ago.  I can hear myself talking inside my head louder than I can hear myself through my good ear. Hearing has become more difficult. My ENT believes I have a patulous eustachian tube. The eustachian tube runs into the back of your  throat and is supposed to be closed most of the time. He believes mine stays open all the time.

Sound waves are hitting both sides of my ear because the tube is open, but they are out of phase so I am hearing the same sound twice, but at different times. I watched a video on youtube and it is best described as having a metal bucket over your head and talking out loud to yourself.

On Dec 10 the ENT is going to insert a needle through my nose, into my eustachisan tube and fill it with a fluid to block the back side of my ear. He said we will have a conversation for a few minutes to see if my hearing from my outer ear is any better. If it is, that would confirm his diagnosis.

I will keep you updated.

James

[james e]

Just returned home from my appointment. The ENT made 4 injections into my eustachian tube. Not any fun. It sounded the same after the injections. I can still hear myself talking inside my head. He made one more injection and there was no difference. I do not have a patulous eustachian tube.

So, after having 6" long needles pushed from my nose into the back of my head, I asked, where do we go from here? He is not sure yet. Probably going to consult with some other ENTs.

I am going in Dec 17 for an audiology exam. He will examine the outcome and maybe come up with a plan...hopefully.

For you newbies here, this ENT did not do my translab surgery, but he was trained by the doctor that did my surgery. He was certified to do AN surgeries, but he told me if you do not do that surgery everyday, you cannot maintain the skill to do it. So make sure when you pick a doctor to do your surgery, get one that does it all the time.

I will keep you up dated following my next appointment.