Ear symptoms questions

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone had opinions. Pretty much my only symptom left (and this symptom started in Feb 08 after already treating lyme disease for 10 months at that point) involve my left ear.

My left ear feels clogged pretty much all the time (but I saw two ENT doctors and they said it isn't clogged- just by looking inside). I have pulsatile tinnitus in that ear (hear my heartbeat) and I have sound sensitivity, especially to loud, child voices/talking. I am fine watching tv, being out in public, etc.

I have been off abx now for over 3 months. I am not even sure if this is related to a lyme or coinfection at this point- however, i have no idea what else to consider.

Does anyone have any other ideas? maybe I should get a catscan to see if something else is going on? i really think it is related to my sinuses too. maybe a food allergy?

hmm....

Maureen: Awhile back I had a post about hearing my heartbeat in my ears, what you called pulsatile tinnitis. A few replied that they had hypercoagulation (thick blood), have you ever been told that you have that? Just curious...I never had the ear symptoms before I got sick, so my guess would be its Lyme related.. D

Hi Maureen! I think the allergy "trail" is a good one to check out. Also, for some reason, my friends found out their doctors missed infections in their ear from yeast and fungus. When they treated for these, their symptoms improved. Another thought, a relative of mine had ear trouble for several years and no specialists could figure it out. A friend suggested to him to STOP eating/drinking anything with Nutrasweet (is the chemical name phenylalanine? or phenyketonurics? ), anyway, I guess the artificial sweeteners-----and his trouble went away!!! (He used to drink diet sodas.) Good luck solving this problem. Best wishes. bablymers mom

Hi Maureen,

I also have ear symptoms. I think for me it is sinus/congestion related. The congestion could be from allergies or something fungal. One of my drs recommeded to me a product called XClear from the health food store which contained xylitol (antibaterial) and grapefruit seed extract (anti fungal). It helped a little, but for me it was allergy related. The thing that has been most helpful is using a neti pot / saline rinse daily.

So happy to hear that you are feeling so well and have made so much progress.

Thank you for the responses.

Dowa- I do have hypercoagulation issues. I know when I was pregnant with my son back in 2005 I was on heparin and would have to be on heparin for any future pregnancies.

Kandinsky- I really do think this is a sinus issue. The reason is that at night, the left ear feels a lot more clear because I sleep on my right side. However, after being up for a little bit, it drains right back into it. I have been using the XClear, but it really isn't helping. I haven't tried the netipot. I'll give it a try. I hope you are doing well. are you still on zhang's?

Babylymers mom- it could definitely be allergy related and causing my sinuses to be bothered. I eat tons of cheese, because I love it so much. Going to cut that out to see if it helps- maybe dairy is making me congested. How would you find out if it was yeast or fungus?

Everyone I know, that had yeast or fungus, was diagnosed by a natuopath, nurse practitioner, or doctor, just by looking at their ear and listening to the patient's complaints. However, they had gone to other docs first and those docs did not figure it out! It was in desperation that my friends kept going to other practitioners until they were finally diagnosed and treated!