West Florida News

• Eustachian tubes are connected to the sinuses.
• Symptoms of eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) include ear pain, hearing difficulties and a feeling of fullness in the ears.
• Treatment options for ETD include antihistamines, decongestants and balloon dilation.

According to Healthline, eustachian tubes are small tubes that run between the middle ears and the upper throat. They are responsible for equalizing ear pressure and draining fluid from the middle ear, the part of the ear behind the eardrum. The eustachian tubes are usually closed, except during chewing, swallowing or yawning.

These passageways are small in size and can get plugged for a variety of reasons. Blocked eustachian tubes can cause pain, hearing difficulties and a feeling of fullness in the ears. Such a phenomenon is referred to as eustachian tube dysfunction. ETD is a relatively common condition. Depending on the cause, it may resolve on its own or through simple at-home treatment measures, such as chewing gum, yawning or using a saline nasal spray. Severe or recurring cases, however, may require a visit to the doctor.

"If you have a lot of sino-nasal disease or allergies, chronic sinusitis, you have a lot of irritation that's draining from the back of your nose that can really upset and irritate the eustachian tube opening," Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told West Florida News. "And when you really upset those openings, they can swell shut and they may not work like they should. Therefore, you're going to have problems with your ear. So a lot of folks who suffer from allergies and sinus disease also have ear problems -- not all, but a lot. So I always investigate the nose when somebody comes in with complaints like that. And seven times out of ten, they do have some kind of kind of nasal condition that we can treat as well.

"There's many options for eustachian tube dysfunction," Blair continued. "There's always medications. First and foremost, we can treat people with steroids if it's a short-term thing, but if it's a long-term problem, we can dilate the eustachian tube with the balloon. This can be done in the office, and it usually takes about three minutes for each side."

One possible treatment for ETD is balloon dilation, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. This procedure is minimally invasive and relatively new, having been approved by the FDA in 2005. A study of 126 children who underwent balloon dilation to treat ETD found that there were no reported complications, and symptoms improved in 80% of patients.

Readers experiencing sinus issues are invited to take a Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz from Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.