hearing is not overrated
“What? What did you say?”
“I can’t hear you, please say it again a little louder.”
These are the words that have been coming out of my mouth for the last week. I am tired of saying them. I am tired of needing to say them. I am tired of my right ear popping every time I swallow and making crackling, broken speaker noises when I yawn. I am tired of turning my left ear towards people to catch the sounds coming my way instead of being able to face someone straight on. I am tired of being rendered essentially deaf when I curl up on Richard’s shoulder and have my left ear buried in his chest.
I have decided one thing…Hearing is not overrated. Not one bit.
I have been doing some investigating and it seems I am having some Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. The pressure in my inner ear is not balanced with the pressure in my outer ear and so it keeps popping and basically driving me bonkers.
Out there on the internet message boards I am reading of people who have been suffering with this for years. People who have tried hundreds of things to get it to stop and had success with zero of them. People who have seen numerous ENT doctors and been told there is nothing they can do.
I have now decided on a second thing…I can’t live with this (it makes reading out loud a painful, echoing, drive-me-insane experience, not to mention that I can’t hear a thing my soft-spoken husband says to me) and I am not going to give up till I solve this issue.
So, if any of you have experienced the constant popping and crackling in your ears, please tell me how you got rid of it.
The only person I have found on the internet that has successfully gotten rid of it used 3-in-1 machine oil. Anyone know anything about putting machine oil in your ear? It doesn’t sound that wise to me, in fact it sounds outright crazy, but I guess I am open to learning more about it if you have an experience to share.
In the meantime, if I say “What?” to you, please just repeat yourself a little louder and speak to my left ear, it will help us both to get through the conversation much quicker.
I'm Tracy, a mama with big dreams, crazy ideas, loads of laughter, an insatiable desire to learn, and enormous piles of laundry.
Oh dang it Tracy! I’m sorry. Why don’t you give Zach a call. I don’t know how you are going to handle this, but I’m so sorry. I don’t know about 3-in-one oil. That sounds ridiculous!
I don’t know how Zach could help…I already know my hearing isn’t all that great.
So frustrating!
I think I’d try it with olive oil first. :)
Sorry you’re struggling with this! I have damaged hearing, and know how frustrating it is to not hear clearly (or at all, sometimes!)
Has anyone mentioned possible food allergy issues leading to swelling in the Eustachian tubes? If mine swell *at all*, I’ll get an ear infection, and have the popping/crackling/echoes for a week or two…. for me it’s tied to bananas and anything with nitrites; for my mom it’s wheat.
I forgot to mention that I did have an ear infection before this started – first ear infection I’ve ever had in my life. After two days of oregano oil taken by mouth and olive oil, lavender, mullein, eucalyptus, and garlic oil placed in the ear on cotton balls, the pain was 95% gone. Unfortunately the popping is not gone!
I am 10 days out from the ear infection. Do you think the popping will just end on its own within the two week window of time?
I’ve had similar after an ear infection, it usually just clears up after a few weeks. It’s possible that your ear still has some congestion in it, not enough to cause pain but enough to keep it from being able to adjust properly to pressures. You might look into treating ear congestion.
I had trouble with my left ear this summer. It took about a month to completely recover. Drink tons and tons of water and try a face and foot zone.
I really should go get a face zone! Thanks for the reminder!
My momma would love to zone your face :)
Really? I think she is pretty busy with school, isn’t she?
By the way, are you in any way interested in having Blythe and Keziah as violin students?
We didn’t get in with Annalee for this semester and we can’t find anyone else that fits with our schedules, nor our budget. I have been thinking and thinking about it and thought of you!
Tracy,
My cousin with hearing problems has had success using the essential oil of helichrysum. It’s more rare than many of the other oils, and so it’s more expensive, but I understand it can be very effective for hearing problems.
I hope this helps!
Hugs,
Rachel Keppner in AZ
What were her hearing problems and what did she do with the helichrysum? I love helichrysum oil and have it in a blend called Gentle Healer that I try to never be without.
Tracy, she loves you. Call her and see. And yes, I would love to teach your girls. I’m available early morning, between 6-8 am, or between 3:45 and 5 pm on Thurs and Fri. $10 a lesson.
Oh Tracy I am so sorry you are dealing with this! I have had this issue my entire life. Sometimes it is worse than other times but there is always popping and cracking with talking, chewing, swallowing, yawning…. You name it. When I am sick and and have congestion it is a millions times worse…. As it is right now. There has been some research to suggest that overly large atnoids may be to blame. A friend of mine has a son with this issue and they had steel tubes sewn into
his ears an it seems to
have help a ton. I am thinking of doing this, sometimes this issue drives me to breaking point and I just want it to stop. I have had ear problems my entire life and while I am use to it, I really really really want it to go away! Lol I hope yours is just a result of your ear infection and will clear up in due time. :-)
Oh Mandi! I am sorry you have had to deal with this your whole life! It must be terrible!
My ears are still popping and things still sound muffled, but it is MUCH improved.