Ear & Face Fullness, going on two miserable years

I am a 24 year old healthy(well, I WAS..) female.

The symptoms I have are ear fullness, face fullness(all on right side), muscle tension in face & neck, and headaches. Currently the worst problems and the ones that have not ever subsided are the fullness in my ear and face- it  eels as though my face is swollen(and some people notice a difference/puffiness in my face), and has gotten to the point where it feels like there is pressure behind my eye and my face is drooping-- while everyone tells me they don't see it, it is pretty scary! My ear feels like it hasn't been able to pop since this all began. The headaches have been bad at times, but not so bad recently- I stopped taking my birth control pill which I think may have been contributing to them, but would also mean that it is possible the headaches are not related the ear and face fullness.
In the past two years I have explored all avenues I can think of-from - ENT Docs( been to four), 2 TMJ specialists(one of which is a orafacial pain specialist)- who is confident that while I have similar symptoms of TMJ, I do not have a disorder/TMJ. , 2 physical therapists, 2 neurologists, allergist.
Basically, most of my docs are stumped and it's beginning to feel pretty hopeless.
I saw my neurologist today and she decided to put me on LYRICA. she is some way believes that the face and ear may be related to a migraine problem....although my headaches have decreased A LOT... i get a bad one maybe one every few weeks..

I am beyond frustrated and this has seriously taken over a lot of my life, I am back in grad school and am super worried my symptoms will get worse..

Also- I came down with EBV/mono almost two years ago. that is when I first noticed the sensation of ear fullness..

If anyone has any guidance or similar symptoms I would love to hear from them..

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

The facial swelling could be due to sinusitis. Inflammation in the nose and sinuses can cause inflammation around the Eustachian tube, which is the tube that runs from the back of the nose to the middle ear and is responsible for draining the middle ear of fluid.  If there is Eustachian tube dysfunction from nose or sinus inflammation, fluid can remain in the middle ear which can lead to ear fullness and headaches. Please have yourself evaluated to rule out this condition.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[rbr315]

Hi there,
Thanks so much for responding.  I had a catscan of my sinuses last year to rule out sinusitis. The eustachian tube was my first thought as well, but they seem to think it's not the problem(I've been to 4 ENT's). Are there other things  that could be pressing on the eustachian tube?
Thanks again for your response, I really appreciate it!