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This all started in November of 2014. Just before...
This all started in November of 2014. Just before Thanksgiving I developed an ear infection - mostly in my left ear. I had not had an ear infection since I was 6 years old. Odd I thought seeing as I was 30 and very healthy. I used to be a very sickly child with upper respiratory issues until I had my tonsils and adenoids removed when I was 12. After that procedure I was not sick again - seriously - I have not had a single bout of strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia or anything since then. So, when this ear infection came on I was pretty alarmed. It got so bad that my eardrum ruptured and I went to the ER. I was put on steroids and antibiotics and it cleared up, BUT I had this lingering weird feeling in my ear.
I went to the ENT in December of 2014 to make sure it was healing just fine, which it was, but the doctor was more concerned with my deviated septum. My nose has been broken as long as I can remember. I always had breathing issues when I had tonsils, so when those came out I felt like a new person. A broken nose? That was nothing. The doctor asked me if I had any sinus, allergy, sleep, or headache issues. The answer is no - I do not have seasonal allergies, my nose does not drip when I sleep, I do not have headaches, and I am never sick. He mentioned at that time that the issue with my ear might be related to the broken nose. However my ear healed and I went on with life.
After that time I have had this on and off weird pressure feeling in my left ear. It is like a negative pressure vacuum or something in my head. It doesn't hurt and it does not affect my hearing but it is annoying. I also noticed a few years ago that my ears stopped popping - like when you go up a hill or yawn - they do not pop and I cannot force them to pop. It has always been more bothersome in my left ear than my right by a very large margin. The pressure feeling does wax and wane. It is not noticed at all when I am laying down, but as soon as I get up the feeling returns. It is also not nearly as bad in the spring and summer than it is in the fall and winter. I would guess this is due to changes in atmospheric pressure.
Well all this came to a head in October of 2017. My husband and I flew for vacation. Now, I had flown the previous year and it was not too bad with my ears. This time on the descent it felt like I was getting pricked in the neck with needles until we got to a better altitude. The pain subsided but the pressure would not equalize in my ears. It was like they were full but they weren't. This persistently bothered me when we got back home so I went to the primary care doctor. She thought perhaps I had a bit of an ear infection so she put me on a round of antibiotics. This didn't help. Next, she saw some fluid behind my left ear drum so she put me on steroids to try and dry it up. While I was on the "pack" I felt pretty great, but as soon as I stopped taking them the pressure feeling was back. After that she told me to call the ENT.
I went to the ENT and while at that time there was no fluid in my ears, he said he felt my problem was with my deviated septum. He said my nose was pretty narrow on the inside to begin with and he asked me if I was a mouth breather. I said when I am awake I can breathe through my nose, but when I sleep/lay down with pressure on my face or do anything physical (hike, exercise, etc.) I must breathe though my mouth. He said that I am not moving enough air through my nose. The left side of my nose is almost completely obstructed. I was shocked when he retracted my nostril in the office and shined a light in my nose. He said I want to schedule you for surgery.
His recommendation is to remove the septum internally. Yes, remove it. The doctor explained that the overall structure of the nose is not held by the flimsy cartilage inside the nose. He said he would simply open the musocal lining, remove the bent section of septum, and stitch the mucosa back in place. He also said he might need to do a millimeter turbinate reduction and put tubes in my ears to equalize the pressure. He said this will not cause external bruising because it is not a rhinoplasty, and it will not change the shape of my nose. He said this surgery should only take 20 minutes.
The doctor made it seem like this was a simple surgery with easy recovery. I asked about down time and he said if I did not need to take the RX pain medication I could drive and go back to work in a few days. I will not have any packing or a splint so I plan on taking only 3 days off work then having the weekend. That gives me 5 days. The doctor also said the majority of the pain will be in the tip of my nose and it will hurt to the touch for probably 3 months. I hope the discomfort is not too bad with putting on makeup, but really we do not touch our noses all that often. My follow up with the doctor is a week later; again he said this would be a simple procedure.
I was a bit overwhelmed by this whole thing, especially since my chief complaint is with my ear. When I got home I did some research and I guess this weird ear pressure issue is a "thing" with people who have a deviated septum. It seemed to happen to people in their late 20s-early 30s, always had a deviated septum, had sudden pressure issues with one of their ears, and it was mostly on the same side as the deviation. Apparently, over time the deviation causes dysfunction in the Eustachian tube. I am not even sure I would have noticed this issue as abruptly as I did if it had not been for the ear infection.
A few days after my appointment to schedule the surgery the doctor had me go in for a tympanometry test to get a baseline and make sure that the issue was not actually with my ear drum or ear bones. My ears are perfect; I have normal hearing in both ears. This means that the Eustachian tube is likely the culprit. I was not able to speak with the doctor after this test, but I am wondering now since there is nothing wrong with my ear drum if he will still want to put the tubes in. I mean kids get the tubes all the time, but I wonder if it will be necessary.
I went to the ENT in December of 2014 to make sure it was healing just fine, which it was, but the doctor was more concerned with my deviated septum. My nose has been broken as long as I can remember. I always had breathing issues when I had tonsils, so when those came out I felt like a new person. A broken nose? That was nothing. The doctor asked me if I had any sinus, allergy, sleep, or headache issues. The answer is no - I do not have seasonal allergies, my nose does not drip when I sleep, I do not have headaches, and I am never sick. He mentioned at that time that the issue with my ear might be related to the broken nose. However my ear healed and I went on with life.
After that time I have had this on and off weird pressure feeling in my left ear. It is like a negative pressure vacuum or something in my head. It doesn't hurt and it does not affect my hearing but it is annoying. I also noticed a few years ago that my ears stopped popping - like when you go up a hill or yawn - they do not pop and I cannot force them to pop. It has always been more bothersome in my left ear than my right by a very large margin. The pressure feeling does wax and wane. It is not noticed at all when I am laying down, but as soon as I get up the feeling returns. It is also not nearly as bad in the spring and summer than it is in the fall and winter. I would guess this is due to changes in atmospheric pressure.
Well all this came to a head in October of 2017. My husband and I flew for vacation. Now, I had flown the previous year and it was not too bad with my ears. This time on the descent it felt like I was getting pricked in the neck with needles until we got to a better altitude. The pain subsided but the pressure would not equalize in my ears. It was like they were full but they weren't. This persistently bothered me when we got back home so I went to the primary care doctor. She thought perhaps I had a bit of an ear infection so she put me on a round of antibiotics. This didn't help. Next, she saw some fluid behind my left ear drum so she put me on steroids to try and dry it up. While I was on the "pack" I felt pretty great, but as soon as I stopped taking them the pressure feeling was back. After that she told me to call the ENT.
I went to the ENT and while at that time there was no fluid in my ears, he said he felt my problem was with my deviated septum. He said my nose was pretty narrow on the inside to begin with and he asked me if I was a mouth breather. I said when I am awake I can breathe through my nose, but when I sleep/lay down with pressure on my face or do anything physical (hike, exercise, etc.) I must breathe though my mouth. He said that I am not moving enough air through my nose. The left side of my nose is almost completely obstructed. I was shocked when he retracted my nostril in the office and shined a light in my nose. He said I want to schedule you for surgery.
His recommendation is to remove the septum internally. Yes, remove it. The doctor explained that the overall structure of the nose is not held by the flimsy cartilage inside the nose. He said he would simply open the musocal lining, remove the bent section of septum, and stitch the mucosa back in place. He also said he might need to do a millimeter turbinate reduction and put tubes in my ears to equalize the pressure. He said this will not cause external bruising because it is not a rhinoplasty, and it will not change the shape of my nose. He said this surgery should only take 20 minutes.
The doctor made it seem like this was a simple surgery with easy recovery. I asked about down time and he said if I did not need to take the RX pain medication I could drive and go back to work in a few days. I will not have any packing or a splint so I plan on taking only 3 days off work then having the weekend. That gives me 5 days. The doctor also said the majority of the pain will be in the tip of my nose and it will hurt to the touch for probably 3 months. I hope the discomfort is not too bad with putting on makeup, but really we do not touch our noses all that often. My follow up with the doctor is a week later; again he said this would be a simple procedure.
I was a bit overwhelmed by this whole thing, especially since my chief complaint is with my ear. When I got home I did some research and I guess this weird ear pressure issue is a "thing" with people who have a deviated septum. It seemed to happen to people in their late 20s-early 30s, always had a deviated septum, had sudden pressure issues with one of their ears, and it was mostly on the same side as the deviation. Apparently, over time the deviation causes dysfunction in the Eustachian tube. I am not even sure I would have noticed this issue as abruptly as I did if it had not been for the ear infection.
A few days after my appointment to schedule the surgery the doctor had me go in for a tympanometry test to get a baseline and make sure that the issue was not actually with my ear drum or ear bones. My ears are perfect; I have normal hearing in both ears. This means that the Eustachian tube is likely the culprit. I was not able to speak with the doctor after this test, but I am wondering now since there is nothing wrong with my ear drum if he will still want to put the tubes in. I mean kids get the tubes all the time, but I wonder if it will be necessary.
Provider Review
Dr. Paul Warrick