Aa
Ears clicking, more mess
Hi guys,
I have had this problem for over a year now and no one knows what it is. Every time I swallow (that is not an exageration) my ears pop (more like 2-3 "clicks"). I also have slight dizziness,sometimes I see light flashes and it seems like decrease in cognition/memory. I don't know what is going on. I had a mri about a year ago when it started and all the doctors said was I had rhinitus. I went to the ENT (who by the way made me wait for 2.5 hours and then saw me for 2 minutes at 5:30 before he was leaving for the mountains). He said he didn't see anything and it would go away sometime. It has been over a year now. My mental status is what concerns me the most. This is driving me crazy. Sometimes I just don't feel like myself. I know that is hard to ***** but it just feels like I am drunk or high when I am not either. I am no doctor but have had pre-med classes. I have been trying to figure it out on my own and have come up with inner ear (also went to neurologist who even when she pricked me and I said I did not feel anything said nothing-besides have a mri or emg), neurological problem due to constant neck/back pain, even dental problems due to a slight overbite. Does anyone have a clue as to what this could be???? I am currently taking zyrtek just to rule out allergies/sinus.
I have had this problem for over a year now and no one knows what it is. Every time I swallow (that is not an exageration) my ears pop (more like 2-3 "clicks"). I also have slight dizziness,sometimes I see light flashes and it seems like decrease in cognition/memory. I don't know what is going on. I had a mri about a year ago when it started and all the doctors said was I had rhinitus. I went to the ENT (who by the way made me wait for 2.5 hours and then saw me for 2 minutes at 5:30 before he was leaving for the mountains). He said he didn't see anything and it would go away sometime. It has been over a year now. My mental status is what concerns me the most. This is driving me crazy. Sometimes I just don't feel like myself. I know that is hard to ***** but it just feels like I am drunk or high when I am not either. I am no doctor but have had pre-med classes. I have been trying to figure it out on my own and have come up with inner ear (also went to neurologist who even when she pricked me and I said I did not feel anything said nothing-besides have a mri or emg), neurological problem due to constant neck/back pain, even dental problems due to a slight overbite. Does anyone have a clue as to what this could be???? I am currently taking zyrtek just to rule out allergies/sinus.
i have always had my ears click each time i swallow.
i always thought it was normal.
now lately ive been having this horrible smell in my nose that comes from nowhere, and only i can smell it.
is that related?
i always thought it was normal.
now lately ive been having this horrible smell in my nose that comes from nowhere, and only i can smell it.
is that related?
Hi, I have had problems with my ears clicking like you're describing since I was in the 8th grade. I am now 28. I had a ct scan once years ago and they said my eustacian (spelling?) tube was malfunctioning but that's all that was said and nothing done about it. Sometimes they get really clogged up and won't pop when I get a cold. They pop when I swallow or just open my mouth real wide and it's pretty much normal for me now. If you figure out what it is, let me know =)
No I live in NC. This ENT was supposed to be a world renouned specialist. I cannot stand not know what this is any longer. It has been over a year now. I could deal with the clicking but the dumb feeling that I have is driving me crazy (maybe thats the problem eh?). I graduated with a very high GPA from with a medically based therapy degree and now just feel like an idiot most of the time. I have also felt pain in the right side of my neck. I go to a chiro but feel like I have more neck problems now than before. Anyone know how much it is to have exploratory surgery on the ears?
Hi JK01,
Sorry to hear of all your pain and frustration? Do you live in Massachusetts!? I ask because I saw an ENT who did the same thing to me (less the trip to the mountains). Of course I was lucky - he gave me THREE minutes in the office and told me that there was nothing wrong with me. He said that the "swelling" on the right side of my neck was my carotid artery! Well, I've had this artery for about 36 years now, and I don't ever recall it pushing on my pharynx and causing pain and discomfort in my neck before. Eh, but what do I know... I don't get paid the big bucks to tell anyone there's nothing wrong with them. Basically here's my tale of woe...
Two years ago this September, I went to the local ER to have what I thought was a sinus infection treated. I was only experiencing pain and pressure on the right side of my face. I had had a sinus infection before and a two week course of antibios cleared it up immediately. True to form, the ER doc pressed his flashlight to my cheek, pressed on various areas of my sinuses and said, "yeah, you're a little conjested, here's some Benadryl" and sent me on my way. I tried to insist that I believed it was more than congestion (which I've also had before) and that there was more pain involved than with that of congestion or allergies, but he'd hear none of it. I don't like the way Benadryl makes me feel, so I after an attempt at taking one pill, I gave up on the meds. At least I got the doctors note my boss was demanding. Anyway, over the past two years, the infection, I still believe I had, started irritating my teeth on the right side of my face. My teeth became very sensative to heat, cold, and pressure, but at the same time, the gums felt like stone, kinda numb (like the feeling you have when novacain is wearing off). A trip to the dentist for xrays ruled out infection or abcesses in my teeth. My teeth on the right side consistently feel like rocks. As time marched on and I continued to go to different ER's to address major pain like the eventual constant headaches that consumed only the right side of my head, I was always brushed off. The headaches have somewhat subsided since and are a little less frequent, but I progressively started feeling tingling in my scalp in random areas, and they too seems to come and go. I have also had a big red slpotch show up on my right cheek (about the size of a 50 cent piece). This has happened about four times in the past two years... then it goes away within 24 hours. I have experienced a progression of intense jaw pain on the right side of my jaw along with tightness of the jaw muscles. I have developed fluid in both ears (worse in the right) and have experienced dizziness off an on. I have had rumbling in my right ear drum off and on which has progressed to occasional stabbing pains. I also have a stabbing pain in my right eye from time to time that usually subsides within 10 minutes or so. Oddly, I've also experienced what feels like the onset of a sore throat, but within 24 hours, it usually goes away. I have mild fevers here and there and have developed a swollen neck (does not subside) which runs from under my chin on the right side, down to my clavical, which I can feel putting pressure on my throat. In the past three months or so, I have started experiencing stabbing pains in the muscles that run along the left side of my lower jaw to my chin which result in a "bruised" muscle sensation and usually go back to feeling normal after about a week from the onsest. During this whole fiasco, I have run across only 2 doctors (out of about 10 that I have seen) who genuinely seem to care about what's happening to me. They both suggested I have an MRI done to check for tumors. I didn't have health insurance until recently, so I haven't had it done. Now, I have health insurance and I am not sure if I want to go that route because of the controversy over the contrast dye causing NSF. One of the two nice doctors also diagnosed me with an "obvious heart murmer". He asked, "how long have you had that murmer?" I never had a murmer! So, needless to say, I'm becoming a little stressed out over what the lack of a diagnosis is doing to other organs in my body. I am a generally healthy 36 year old woman and I'd like to make it to at least 60 if possible. My faith in the medical community has waned immensely in the past couple of years. Anyone have any opinions about what I'm looking at here? I would like to be tested for mono and strep as I have had both back when I was a teenager. I've read that untreated strep can lead to heart problems... that's where I'm at in my diagnosis.
Sorry to hear of all your pain and frustration? Do you live in Massachusetts!? I ask because I saw an ENT who did the same thing to me (less the trip to the mountains). Of course I was lucky - he gave me THREE minutes in the office and told me that there was nothing wrong with me. He said that the "swelling" on the right side of my neck was my carotid artery! Well, I've had this artery for about 36 years now, and I don't ever recall it pushing on my pharynx and causing pain and discomfort in my neck before. Eh, but what do I know... I don't get paid the big bucks to tell anyone there's nothing wrong with them. Basically here's my tale of woe...
Two years ago this September, I went to the local ER to have what I thought was a sinus infection treated. I was only experiencing pain and pressure on the right side of my face. I had had a sinus infection before and a two week course of antibios cleared it up immediately. True to form, the ER doc pressed his flashlight to my cheek, pressed on various areas of my sinuses and said, "yeah, you're a little conjested, here's some Benadryl" and sent me on my way. I tried to insist that I believed it was more than congestion (which I've also had before) and that there was more pain involved than with that of congestion or allergies, but he'd hear none of it. I don't like the way Benadryl makes me feel, so I after an attempt at taking one pill, I gave up on the meds. At least I got the doctors note my boss was demanding. Anyway, over the past two years, the infection, I still believe I had, started irritating my teeth on the right side of my face. My teeth became very sensative to heat, cold, and pressure, but at the same time, the gums felt like stone, kinda numb (like the feeling you have when novacain is wearing off). A trip to the dentist for xrays ruled out infection or abcesses in my teeth. My teeth on the right side consistently feel like rocks. As time marched on and I continued to go to different ER's to address major pain like the eventual constant headaches that consumed only the right side of my head, I was always brushed off. The headaches have somewhat subsided since and are a little less frequent, but I progressively started feeling tingling in my scalp in random areas, and they too seems to come and go. I have also had a big red slpotch show up on my right cheek (about the size of a 50 cent piece). This has happened about four times in the past two years... then it goes away within 24 hours. I have experienced a progression of intense jaw pain on the right side of my jaw along with tightness of the jaw muscles. I have developed fluid in both ears (worse in the right) and have experienced dizziness off an on. I have had rumbling in my right ear drum off and on which has progressed to occasional stabbing pains. I also have a stabbing pain in my right eye from time to time that usually subsides within 10 minutes or so. Oddly, I've also experienced what feels like the onset of a sore throat, but within 24 hours, it usually goes away. I have mild fevers here and there and have developed a swollen neck (does not subside) which runs from under my chin on the right side, down to my clavical, which I can feel putting pressure on my throat. In the past three months or so, I have started experiencing stabbing pains in the muscles that run along the left side of my lower jaw to my chin which result in a "bruised" muscle sensation and usually go back to feeling normal after about a week from the onsest. During this whole fiasco, I have run across only 2 doctors (out of about 10 that I have seen) who genuinely seem to care about what's happening to me. They both suggested I have an MRI done to check for tumors. I didn't have health insurance until recently, so I haven't had it done. Now, I have health insurance and I am not sure if I want to go that route because of the controversy over the contrast dye causing NSF. One of the two nice doctors also diagnosed me with an "obvious heart murmer". He asked, "how long have you had that murmer?" I never had a murmer! So, needless to say, I'm becoming a little stressed out over what the lack of a diagnosis is doing to other organs in my body. I am a generally healthy 36 year old woman and I'd like to make it to at least 60 if possible. My faith in the medical community has waned immensely in the past couple of years. Anyone have any opinions about what I'm looking at here? I would like to be tested for mono and strep as I have had both back when I was a teenager. I've read that untreated strep can lead to heart problems... that's where I'm at in my diagnosis.
I don't know what the ear clicking is, but it sounds like you have not gotten a proper evaluation from an ENT. I would go in that direction.
(When I saw a family practice doctor who was in a big hurry--informed me and the nurse that the earwax cleanout better not take too long, because he had to leave at such and such a time, and when it took too long he himself took over the squirting extremely vigorously--he didn't bother checking my hearing despite my complaining of a plugged ear, and he missed a severe sensorineural hearing loss that should have been treated immediately. I hate docs in a hurry!!)
Anxiety CAN cause some of the things you describe--dizziness, unusual feelings, memory/cognition problems. Anxiety could be secondary to your worry about the ear problem, and I would think anyone contemplating being a doctor would be anxious as anything! What a horrible profession to be in these days (with all the pressures from all sides). If you are considering it, you ARE crazy! :)
Good luck and I hope you find the answers.
Nancy T.
(When I saw a family practice doctor who was in a big hurry--informed me and the nurse that the earwax cleanout better not take too long, because he had to leave at such and such a time, and when it took too long he himself took over the squirting extremely vigorously--he didn't bother checking my hearing despite my complaining of a plugged ear, and he missed a severe sensorineural hearing loss that should have been treated immediately. I hate docs in a hurry!!)
Anxiety CAN cause some of the things you describe--dizziness, unusual feelings, memory/cognition problems. Anxiety could be secondary to your worry about the ear problem, and I would think anyone contemplating being a doctor would be anxious as anything! What a horrible profession to be in these days (with all the pressures from all sides). If you are considering it, you ARE crazy! :)
Good luck and I hope you find the answers.
Nancy T.
Calm down
Im not a dr but hopefully you will get answer soon. First you need to post this on the Dr Forum section...a Dr should give you a reply.
In my opinion I say you need to find a new Doctor. This doesnt sound normal.
A good ENT Dr. will find the cause and relieve your worries.
It will be ok. MRI came out good and that my friend is a good thing.
Feel better yet?
Im not a dr but hopefully you will get answer soon. First you need to post this on the Dr Forum section...a Dr should give you a reply.
In my opinion I say you need to find a new Doctor. This doesnt sound normal.
A good ENT Dr. will find the cause and relieve your worries.
It will be ok. MRI came out good and that my friend is a good thing.
Feel better yet?
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