Somerset et al...
Inner ear issues have been a long bug bear of mine. I have Menieres Disease and there are 1000s if not 10000s of undiagnosed cases out there.
Basically the knowledge of inner conditions and advice on maintenance of the ear is shoddy and ENT places are not up to speed with recent research - a big gap here between science and medicine.
Early stage Menieres sufferers will get tinnitus. This can then progress to dizziness (vertigo), and then more severe bouts in 40s and 50s with a tail off in later life. I'm not saying you have Menieres but it is something to look out for.
What makes this worse is that allergies can set off inner ear issues. The sinus-ear relationship is quite intimate. Sometimes antihistamines get rid of any pressure I feel in the inner ear.
I offer some general advice from the literature and from experience:
- Keep as little water as possible from going into your ear...wear ear plugs in the shower if you have to
- Do you get flaky skin in your outer or middle ear? If so, again, make sure no water gets into your ears and don't pick at the skin...just wipe it out with small dry hand towel.
- Apart from a quick wipe with a small dry towel, don't put anything in your ear, including your finger. Leave the wax be and don't pick it out...you risk infections and inflammation otherwise
- If a GP suggests olive oil or something similar to dislodge the wax, DON'T...you're playing with fire. There is a specialised manoeuvre that can be performed to dislodge wax/dead skin in the ear canals (gentle movements form side to side)...stuffing oil in your ear will be hit and miss.
- Menieres is linked to a build up of fluid in the endolymphatic sac...this is exacerbated by stress, booze, and salt.
- Inner ear problems across time increase death of nerves in the inner ear which will increase tinnitus...I self medicate on SSRIs because some have been shown to regenerate nerve growth in the inner ear (I am not suggesting anyone does that by the way - I did because I f*ck about with this stuff)
I haven't had a Menieres bout or any tinnitus for about 6 years now probably because I also smoke something that is an off the label medication for managing tinnitus and Menieres
These sorts of conditions can really affect quality of life and get people down. I just wished we would get the science and medicine better connected.