Hufty - I last had an X-ray at the dentist last August. I asked if I had TMD, and he responded 'no'. However, I remain open-minded and intend to get a second opinion. My physio doesn't want to say 100% because she's not a specialist, but she thinks my TM joint isn't equal from side-to-side; but she made it clear that she's a 'general physio' and not someone who specialises in TMD issues.
Do you have any links that go into detail regarding fitting a catheter? I can't seem to find any info beyond a one-paragraph summary. Does it involve a general anaesthetic? What are the risks? How often can you have it done?
There must be a risk with catheters, otherwise every man and his dog with ET issues would be queuing up to get their ETs drained, wouldn't they? It seems like an ideal treatment to me; you get a blockage, you drain it. If you have another blockage 12 months down the line, you get it drained again... It seems too good to be true; there must be a drawback somewhere...
I don't get random headaches. I get them if I've been stressed (morning after a heated argument), or if I've strained my eyes the night before (I sometimes get this after a session looking for road name signs in poorly-lit areas). Aside from these scenarios, headaches aren't too big a worry. I get one if I have to spend a day in front of a PC (rare, but necessary once in a while).
I think Jock's onto something regarding speaking to the diving clinic linked to earlier. From what I can gather, divers put exponentially more strain on their ETs than frequent flyers.
I will admit that stress could well be a factor in my ET problems. The first time I had a serious glue ear as an adult was back in '93 (aged 22), when I was living in rented accommodation and undergoing massive turmoil in my personal life. Running my own company and doing ten different jobs doesn't help.