Going to ENT next week...What to expect?

[WorriedOne84]

After battling ear and sinus trouble for 4-5 months I'm finally going to an ENT next week.  I've taken antibiotics 4 times, used Nasonex and also Astelin, and took a Medrol Dosepak.  Still, my ears -- mainly my right one bothers me.  On the side of my face (right side), ear/jaw area, it hurts when I yawn, smile, and sometimes just swallowing causes discomfort.  Also, I'll sometimes get sharper twinges of pain in my left ear.  Both ears make popping sounds everytime I swallow.  Also I am congested most of the time and have some slight facial pain from time to time.  For the last couple days I've been getting sinus headaches.

A couple times when I went to the doctor I was told I had fluid behind my ears (no infection), another time that I had an ear infection, and also had a sinus infection.  I've been to my primary care physicain several times over this the past few months.  Anyway, I finally decided to go to an ENT as this is obviously not going to go away on it's own.

So, as I've never been to an ENT before, I was hoping someone could tell me what to expect.  What is the doctor likely to do on a first visit?  Would he be likely to order any tests and if so, what ones?  Anyone have any clue what could be going on with my ears/sinuses?  Thanks!

[WorriedOne84]

Thanks for your response.  I have a ton of anxiety over going to the doctor.  And given that I've never been to an ENT before, I have no clue really what to expect.  Since I made the appointment last week I get nervous to the point I almost make myself nauseous just thinking about it.  Yeah, I'm a big baby.  Part of the reason I'm nervous is I'm afraid they'll find nothing wrong and just think I'm crazy.  It worries me that since I'm already of medication for anxiety (Lexapro) that they won't take my complaints seriously.  I'm also concerned that I may, unintentionally overstate my symptoms or, on the flip side, not communicate them well enough.  It's really exhausing to be me, trust me.  So, if anyone has any further details on what to expect, it would be greatly appeciated.  I'm the type of person that wants to know every detail of everything before I do something.

[friggy]

One of the things an ENT may recommend is a CT scan, which is the best way to see what's going on in the sinuses and your ears.  Your infection may be in your Eustachian tubes, and there's not a good treatment for that, but if you get rid of the infection in your sinuses the Eustachians usually clear up on their own.

If you want to know why antibiotics sometimes don't work, the information is the following journal.  However, at this time, I do NOT recommend that you do a sinus flush until you have visited the ENT and do everything that he or she recommends.

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/2322

Good luck