Ear problems. Help?

[crap pilot]

I was flying last week at FL85 with a bit of a runny nose which developed into a cold a day or two later. After the flight my left ear wouldnt "pop" and is giving me problems still and so am looking for some advice.
When i swallow i can hear a clicking sound and my hearing sounds muffled untill i swallow again. There is no pain but it is very annoying and would like to get this sorted out as soon as possible. I had a check up with my doctor who tells me that there is no perforation or visable damage to the ear drum.
Does anybody know what is/has caused this and what i can do to make it go away? would it be ok for me to fly?
Any help would be great.
Thanks.

[FlyingCroc]

Ears

Hi Crap pilot. Do not worry, everything will be ok, but don't fly before the ear clears up. There is air trapped, you have do wait until the infection disappears and the pressure is equlized. I hope you received some medicine. Good luck

[Seat1APlease]

Yes it sounds as if the Eustachian tube is blocked. It is often as a result of a cold or ear infection. It allows air to pass from the throat to the middle ear to balance the pressure. Some times yawning,swallowing or holding the nose and gently blowing will temporarily clear it. If it is a cold then it should clear after a few days, if an ear infection then antibiotics may be needed. Presumably your doctor saw no signs of infection so it's just a case of giving it time. Flying with blocked tubes can be painful and if you have problems such as decompression then you can easily damage the ear, so it's probably best to stay at FL00 for the time being.

[gingernut]

It sounds like the drainage tube between your throat and inner ear has become blocked, causing air to become trapped in the chamber of the inner ear.

Increasing altitude results in lower pressure outside the chamber, with resultant expansion of air within. (A bit like those selophane wrappers around those crappy rolls you serve.)

As flying croc states, the good new is, that the problem usually sorts itself out, but don't fly until it does resolve. (Usually 2-3 weeks.) Avoid sudafed.

[Bert Stiles]

Ginge,

I know you're just being helpful, but though air may be trapped - it won't be in the inner ear. Middle perhaps.

BS.

[gingernut]

Cheers Bert, I stand corrected

[monkeyboy]

crap pilot, I was just about to write a posting on this very subject myself as I'm having the same problem, so thanks for saving me the time.

Following on from crap pilot's condition, I am just about to come to the end of a week's course of antibiotics to clear up a sore throat/blocked ears problem after a cold and thankfully the sore throat has gone but one ear is still muffled and my question relating to my problem is:

With this trapped air in the middle ear, won't it help to get airbourne so as to coax the air out of the ear? HP to LP? No amount of holding the nose and blowing is helping me.

Fortunately for me, I'm on groundschool for the next 4 weeks so I have got time to repair but I've got some jumpseats coming up and I'm getting slightly anxious that my ears haven't popped yet.

Can it really take 4-6 weeks for your ears to heal properly?

When I visited my non-AME quack last week he told me that there was evidence of bloodshot on the ear drums plus some bending in of the ear drums caused by the pressure diff.

I'm also interested to hear if anybody cured their problem by going back up to see if the trapped air could be coaxed out.

Cheers

MB

[Dr747]

You are lucky guys!!!Dr is in the house!!!
yes holding your nose while trying to blow and hence an increase in pressure may help it...
Just a small tip try taking some steam,( Add some menthol cryatals, available from the chemist, before taking steam). it will help to soften the mucus and makes it more likely to resolve the problem with increase pressure blowing nose method...
It is a very common problem especially associated with the blocked sinus problems...
best of luck!!!