The user above me hit on something at the end of the post, with the running...
I have had blocked eustachian tubes for a while now, and I have smoked up until recently. I also used to blow my nose (with quite a bit of force) until I started to realize what I was doing to myself. I have had a problem with "stones" coming from my tonsils and eustachian tubes, and recently learned that the problem also extended to my sinuses. (My troubles all date back to my one and only massive sinus infection)
Our (human) nasal passages and throat/eustachian tubes empty themselves using the venturi effect, like a carbuerator. They were never meant to be highly pressurized (no hard nose blowing). I have been told all my life to not "suck back" my mucous, but I have recently learned that it is the natural way for my body to cleanse the nose and throat area. As I draw air past the sinuses and eustachian tubes, the material inside of them is drawn out into the major passageways where the airflow is, using the venturi effect.
When I started doing this, I could feel large pieces of solid matter being sucked out of my sinus cavities into my nasal passages, and I could also feel the same occurring for my eustachian tubes in my throat. I could feel the debris as it came out of my nasal passages and eustachian tubes and went down my throat. It also left a slightly offensive taste in most cases.
I found that running and
focusing on keeping the air flowing across the openings to my eustachian tubes would almost always cause large amounts of this matter to be flushed. After running I could feel significant liquid drainage from my eustachan tubes. After a while, I got to the point that my ears would tingle from the air flowing past the tubes, and I knew I was definitely on the right track.
I have sworn off nose blowing almost entirely. I have also sworn off anything that stops "runny nose." Why would I want to shut down a part of my immune system? That sounds stupid. In fact, the runny nose that my girlfriends cat gives me has actually helped relieve my ear pains once, while I was "sucking back" the mucous.
Chugging water also has a similar effect on the throat, I've found. I get a large quantity of water and drink, filling out my whole throat and continuously chug the water until I cannot continue any more and this usually also provides a similar type of relief on the eustachian tubes. It makes sense, considering the water is as good or better than air at providing the venturi effect.
I have only quit smoking for a few months, but figuring out how my sinuses and eustachian tubes work has massively expedited my recovery from years of ENT problems. So far, aerobic exercise like
running and large mass of water while focusing on drawing past the eustachian tubes are the two largest tools I have found to eliminating my blockage problem.
I think, though, that the very root of my problem is an infection that creates these blockages. I get a feeling that this infection moves about my ENT area. If I have not fully recovered after a year of being cigarette free, I will probably try some antibiotics to help me out.
Who would have thought my interest in high performance engines would lead me to a (very simple) solution for my ENT problem.
