Other ear acting up, Im afraid...

[tatianne]

For the past couple of days my good ear has been achy and has a full feeling. Its also achy around my cheek area. I called my Neurotologist but the first appt I could get is August 12....Im in a complete panick mode which is probably making the symptoms worse.
My AN ear never felt this achy ever, and it feels full for a few minutes heare and there but this feels more constant.
I cant handle anymore bumps in the road right now....

[FlyersFan68]

August 12th is some time to wait. Maybe they can get you in sooner. Maybe your primary doctor could just check that ear for infection. I had an earache in my good ear a year ago and it was an infection. I can't remember if it involved my other ear. I'm not prone to ear infections not even when I was younger but it did happen and resolved a short time later. The same thing happened to my wife shortly after my experience and hers was much worse even develped tinnnitus. Everything completely resolved with antibiotics. The tinnitus went away too. I remember her saying so this is what your tinnitus is like. Sometimes these things heal on their own but getting it checked is important. I  panicked too because I am very protective of my good ear. Go see your doctor and I hope you get an answer soon.

[tatianne]

thank you for responding.
What did your ear feel like when you had the infection ??
I think I will try to call my primary physician tomorrow, I want to see the ENT because thats always better but I also feel like August 12 is tool long to wait.
I know I have a lot of mucous in the back of my throat (sorry for the details) for the past week or two.
Thanks again

[FlyersFan68]

Hey Tatianne,
  I had mild ear pain that periodically escalated to severe ear pain. Drove me nuts. Had some itchyness too. Your primary care physician can check with an otoscope. It really hurt my ear when he used the otoscope but sure enough it was an infection. Before August 12th maybe you can at least get your ears checked to rule out this possibility. I think that this might just be the case. Keep me posted. Tell your office that you have an ear tumor and hearing loss is of concern. 

[FlyersFan68]

I wanted to add one more thing. You mentioned that this is happening in the AN ear. Fullness, Ear Pain, Tinnitus & Hearing Loss were all symptome I had prior to diagnosis. I remember going to the pharmacy buying ear drops and a suctioning device thinking it was just ear wax. If I knew then what I knew know. The AN presses on the nerves causing all the symptoms I mentioned. If it's not an ear infection then maybe some Ibuprofen might ease the pain a little. Remember that too much Ibuprofen isn't good either. Even though your AN is small (like mine was) they can be troublesome.

[tatianne]

I went to the walk in clinic this morning, apparently I have otitis erxterna, an infection...which causes fullness, achy ear and itchy ear, all my symptoms. Hope the drops solve the problem.
Thanks again flyers fan.

[FlyersFan68]

Thank goodness. sometimes these infections may resolve on their own but in some cases may worsen and can have an affect on the hearing. I'm sure the drops will help but if you don't start seeing improvemnts check back with the clinic. Take Care!

[BB]

I WORRY TOO ABOUT MY NON AN EAR.  I'VE HAD TWO EAR INFECTIONS IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS.  MY AN WAS FOUND MY ACCIDENT, AND I NEVER HAD ANY EAR PAIN AT ALL, JUST ALLERGERY PROBLEMS AND VISUAL PROBLEMS I KEPT THINKING SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH MY VISION. THE PAIN IN MY NON AN EAR FELLS LIKE IT IS JUST A REAL DEEP PAIN WAY DOWN IN MY EAR.  THE DOCTOR GAVE ME ANTI BOTIC'S AND IT CLEARED UP, BUT WITH IN TWO MONTHS IT WAS BACK.  EVERYTHING IS SO COMPLATED.  I TRY NOT TO WORRY AS MUCH, BUT THEN ODD THINGS HAPPEN, AND THEN THE DOUBTS AND FEAR START IN.  I NEVER HAD THE FULLNESS FEELING IN MY EAR THAT EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT, BUT I DO HAVE A LOT OF VISUAL PROBLEMS.  JUST WONDERING ALSO ABOUT THE EAR ACHES ALSO AND RESPONSES.   BB

[tatianne]

almost 24 hours since the drops and my non AN ear is still very blocked, in fact feels worse today..Im going to wait another day or two and if things dont improve I will have to go back to the doctor.
I had my last MRI in January, 6 months ago..left ear was clear...could another AN have developed that fast and be causing symptoms already

[Windsong]

Hi Tatianne,

I too have had ear fullness and ear pain, sometimes itchiness in my non An ear. In fact a couple of days ago it was acting up again. I use ciprodex drops successfully for that (it's a combo of dexamethasone and ciprodex). Sometimes regular gps aren't aware of this treatment....My neurotologist gave me an ongoing presc for that as it is safe... It pretty much begins to feel better after the first  3 drops. I usually don't have to use it more than once or twice. Is that what you were given? (I hope it's not gentamycin or something like that as it can be ototoxic along with some others and we Aners who have lost some or all hearing in the An ear need to be careful with the other....)

Sometimes fluid build up can happen behind the eardrum. I used to have this problem a lot and needed tubes. Sometimes, too, the drum didn't bulge much at all, so it wasn't always noticeable to a non oto doc.... if you continue to have a problem with yours, I'd say call your ent back and let them know what's happening.

Good luck,
windsong

[tatianne]

the gp gave me cortisporin otic drops, I think they are an antibiotic and steroid combined together, does that make sense ??
I managed to get my ENT appointment moved up to July 30th, next Monday.
It doesnt always feel pressure, it seems to come and go over the day. It also feels sensitive at the same time. I have a lot of fluid in the back of my throat when i wake up most mornings. I dont know, I pray that its not another AN developing.
I dont have tinnitus or hearing loss, just pressure or blocked type feeling and sometimes and itchy, sensitive type feeling.
thanks for responding Windsong, at least I know there is someone who experiences this and doesnt have a second AN as the reason for it. I will let you know what happens.
Anyone else with these symptoms in the non AN ear ??

[matti]

Tatianne, I experience it quite often and also use the the antibiotic/steriod drops. It takes a few days to clear up and whatever you do, don't use a q-tip swab to help relieve the itch, it will make it worse. I am not sure what brings this on, but I have it 3 times a year in my non AN ear.

Hugs,
Cheryl

[Windsong]

Tatiane,

Please call your doctor and  request a safer drop for your ear... the one you have contains neomycin which is an aminoglycoside antibiotic in the same family as gentamicin and streptomycin etc. and neomycin is known to be toxic to the the inner ear .....(as is gentamycin).....

I'm including a site with a respected Dr. Hains who mentions neomycin and the inner ear toxicity... there's plenty of sites out there.... my own neurotologist wrote a book on ototoxicity with a doc from Texas... it is wise for all of us especially us Aners who already have hearing problems in the An ear to be vigilant about what we take/use for our other ear....
again, there are other drops which we can use safely... the one i have is ciprodex ( a combination of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and the steroid dexamethasone).....

(also  as a by the by only, i beliieve the one you were given is a sulfa containing concoction and some folks could be allergic to sulfa)

in any case, I have read quite a bit about ototoxicity over the years, found all sorts of things, including some "dialogues" with some top ENTS around ( and was pleased that two of my ENTS of the last 15 years are right there and up on this sort of stuff) and  the background talks about the "mycins" (aminoglycosides) and inner ear toxicity is very interesting... stay away from them, please.....Aners can't mess around with stuff like that, really.....get the ciprodex.....i am fortunate to have a neurotologist who is right up there in this sort of thing....


http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/bilat/ototoxic_drops.htm


all the best, hugs,
windsong
PS:
there are many abstracts out there about the mycins.... here's another fast find.. (but go into pubmed and do a search....)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17266591&ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

and

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=11802005&ordinalpos=22&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

and this one particularly for you....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=11802005&ordinalpos=22&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

this last one mentions cortisporin as being known to be more toxic than even gentamycin......

[matti]

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I also use ciprodex for this condition and it works great for me.

Windsong, thank you for posting the link, very interesting.

Cheryl

[Windsong]

HI Cheryl,

I've added some more links while i search for some of the dialogues I read  about this isssue  tooo...
glad you are using a safe drop!! having an intact eardrum helps too 

http://www.entjournal.com/htmlDocs/article_4_0308.html

two of my docs are in this dialogue lol... Dr. Rutka is my current neurotologist and dr. hawke was my ent (rutka and roland wrote the book on ototoxicity)

all the best,
windsong