n THE SPA health
back to CONTENTS Have you ever experienced that you suddenly have a ‘clogged feeling’ in your ear? Sometimes the ‘clog’ comes by itself or after a common cold, other times when driving up a hill or when your airplane is landing. This plugged feeling can be slightly painful or reduce your hearing, and sometimes you also hear a high or a low pitched sound (tinnitus). WORDS DR. BEATE ABRAHAM-NILSEN
DO YOU HAVE A FEELING OF PRESSURE IN
YOUR EAR? T
his plugged sensation in the ear is what we call Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), and it normally goes away rapidly, but the problem arises when it doesn’t, and it remains with you for weeks, months or even years.
blocked or fails to open properly due to inflammation or obstruction. This plugged feeling occurs as air cannot get into the middle ear and the air pressure becomes unequal. As a result the middle ear becomes destabilised and if left untreated, in more severe cases, can cause permanent hearing damage.
WHAT IS THE EUSTACHIAN TUBE DYSFUNCTION (ETD)?
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE ETD AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
It is a condition affecting up to 5 per cent of the adult population. It occurs when the Eustachian tube becomes
Before we explain the causes that can lead to ETD, you need to know some basics about the ear. The ear consists
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of three parts; the outer, middle and the inner ear. The outer ear conducts the sound and when the sound vibrates the eardrum, this again sends vibrations to three small bones in the middle ear (malleus, incus and stapes). These three bones form a bridge from the tympanic membrane to the oval window. The sound then arrives to the inner ear. The Eustachian tubes are small tubes that run between your middle ears and the upper throat. They are responsible for equalising ear pressure and draining fluid from the middle ear. Among
