Clogged nose/deviated septum/ related to ear problems??

[Jes3monkey]

I am 16 years old. I have noticed that for the past few years I have been breathing through only one nostril at a time and the other one is clogged.  This alternates from time to time.  I have also noticed a clicking noise in the ear on the side that the nose is clogged.  This also alternates sides.  I have noticed that my nose is slightly crooked and this was confirmed when an ENT told me that I have a deviated septum on the right side, but he just told me to use an antihistamine nasal spray and an allergy pill: Clarasil D. These medicines have had little effect. I also hear noises in my ears when I swallow.  I hear a click/snap kind of noise, sometimes only in one ear and sometimes in both, when I swallow.  I also hear this noise when I yawn. I also hear a high-pitched ringing in my right ear when I yawn.  This ringing noise in my right ear never goes away, but it gets worse when I become more congested.  I think it never goes away because I can never really breathe out of both nostrils.  For the past two years, I have at times heard a crackling noise when I hear loud music, say something a bit loud, when someone else shouts something, when I am at a party with loud music, when I practice my clarinet or saxophone, etc.  This noise only occurs when I am having difficulty breathing out of both nostrils, which is almost all the time.  On very rare days, I can breathe fine for a while and then I do not hear the clicking noises in my ears when swallowing, or the crackling noise when listening to loud noises.  Actually I only hear a crackling noise in my left ear during a loud sound.  In my right ear I will sometimes hear a thump after I hear a noise.  This thump can sometimes be heard just from clicking my mouse repeatedly in the same rhythm, but usually requires a louder noise.  Recently everything has worsened.  I recently had sinusitis which involved a lot of pain around my nose, in my cheeks, in my throat, and in my right ear.  The pain did not go away without antibiotics. That was about a week ago.  During that time, the ringing in my right ear was much louder and I was hearing two different high-pitched sounds.  The antihistamine and allergy pill have had little effect and I have been taking them for a long time. I notice that if I pull down on the middle of my ear, near the whole, and let go I hear a whooshing sound.  This is true for both ears. My ears feel full and itchy at times.  When I push down on the place near my ear whole I hear a sound like rice-crispies cereal popping in milk.  This sound goes away after about 5 seconds.  Lately I have been tasting a weird taste in my mouth and at times a swallow a lot of mucus. I can feel it going down my throat.  Sometimes, recently, all of a sudden, a whole lot of, sometimes thick sometimes liquidy, mucus will just come pouring out of my nose.  I often feel like there is pressure on my nose and I cannot breathe out of one side at a time, and although that nostril is dry inside I feel that there is a lot of mucus trying to push into my nose, but it can't get in.  I also can hear this when I try to blow my nose, but nothing will come out of the clogged side! My question is this: What is the cause of these symptoms and is the nose causing the ear problems?

[srwilliams444]

Hi!

I also have pretty much the exact same problem.  I've gone to the ENT and they have suggested using AYR jelly and/or a saline spray to try and help. I haven't tried it yet, but I wanted to let you know in case it works for you. The ENT also mentioned that it could be a result of living in a desert (Colorado for me).

[Jes3monkey]

I have tried many saline sprays, a neti pot, many different nasal steroid sprays, and also Alkolol wash. They have either no effect, or in the case of the neti pot and saline sprays, actually irritate my sinuses more afterwards to the point that they swell up on both sides sometimes.

[Jes3monkey]

Do you have a deviated septum? If the ENT does not know, then ask your ENT to do a scan, as it is not usually apparent externally. I believe part of the problem in my case is the following: There is something called the "nasal cycle", in which approximately every 2-4 hours your nostrils alternate being partially congested (left nostril 4 hours, then right, and so on). For me, having swollen turbinates from the nasal cycle is worsened by having less space in my nose to breathe, due to deviation of the septum, which is why I get the nasal pressure and complete congestion that alternates sides. Other than surgery to correct this, nasal sprays/saline could help, but for me they do nothing.

[Jes3monkey]

Lying down on my side opposite the congested nostril, does open it up after a considerable amount of time, exercise also seems to help temporarily, and taking pseudoephedrine used to help, but not so much anymore. In all cases, the reason it helps is due to blood flow being diverted elsewhere.

[srwilliams444]

I do have a deviated septum (found out today lol) and also have the alternating working nostril. ENT said that Sudafed will dry out the nose after a while

[Jes3monkey]

Wow. So it is 2018 now. I am now 26 years old. Same issues. They never went away, and if anything, have gotten worse. I did have a nasal septoplasty with turbinate reduction done in 2008 to correct the deviated septum, however I experienced no relief from this, and have not had the crackling issues in my ears go away at all. What is more, I went to an ENT just weeks ago in 2018, had a CT scan of the sinuses done, and the ENT tells me that the result is that I have a deviated septum, AGAIN, and will need a repeat surgery for that and to shave down the turbinates. This is ridiculous. I cannot have a septoplasty every 10 years, and furthermore, it accomplished nothing and relieved none of my symptoms the first time! I feel like these forums are pretty useless as well. Has anyone ever gotten relief from crackling/whooshing in their ears, which worsens with talking and with loud noises? I also have a ton of clear mucus and my nose is very stuffed in the mornings. All of the symptoms I am having are the same as in my first post, except I have some tinnitus now on occasion.  Anyway, I thought I would update the results of having a septoplasty to attempt to correct my issues.
TLDR: 10 years later, all symptoms the same or worse, Septoplasty w/ turbinate reduction was useless! Deviated septum returned on its own...

[Jes3monkey]

I should have also added that I had allergy testing done for the 13 most common allergens in California, and I was not found to be allergic to any of them. I have not yet had any food allergy testing done, and I still feel that some allergen definitely is playing a role in this. Hopefully I can have more allergy testing done, and I will post my results here when I do.

[TiffanyRosas]

I have the same symptoms as u. Did u ever find out y this was happening to u? Im experiencing everything that u said u had,plus even more. I know its been a while since u posted this but im desperate to find a solution for myself. Please help