Eustachian tube dysfunction tinnitus - tips?

[Anonybrit]

Hey guys I posted recently freaking out about sudden onset high pitch tinnitus to which the GP could find not cause.

I sought out an ENT who saw immediately I have allergic rhinitis and lots of mucous behind the right ear drum that he says is almost certainly the cause. When ear popping he could even see mucous squishing out around the drum.

I don't really notice any hearing loss and my audiogram was normal but he said that possible given that this isn't as a result of an infection but rather long term build up of mucous probably moved around by a recent flight into the middle ear. I have been feeling more and more bunged up nasally/sinusy the last few days.

Anyway reading about these issues I see that they are 1) common 2) should resolve but 3) sometimes take a loooong time to do so.

I just wanted to see if anyone has any useful dos or donts for clearing out these ears.

I don't mind if it takes time, I just don't want to have this ringing forever, it's horrible.

Right now I have had 3 days of Prednisolone, doing regular ear popping manually, and using Vicks but I think I need to do some proper long steam sessions.

There seems a lot of debate on using antihistamines, and I wonder if any devices are helpful?

Finally, any realistic time frame on how long it takes to get rid of the ringing in particular?

[budgie1979]

I have horrible ears--have had since I was little--that are prone to infection and fluid build up. So, I've been diagnosed with eustachian tube dysfunction in the past, and had my own bout with tinnitus. There really isn't a whole lot they can do about it, and in general they just tell you to "get over it and learn to ignore it." Which is really tough when you have anxiety. When I had tinnitus, I was recommended to take guafenisin (Mucinex here in the US) and prescribed a nasal allergy spray to help clear up the fluid. I don't think the medications really helped, as the tinnitus persisted long enough for me to go through the whole diagnostic process with ENT referral, hearing test and MRI (all of which were completely normal). It eventually did go away, probably lasted about 3-4 months total. The best advice I have is to keep yourself busy and keep your mind occupied--you'll notice it less if you are focused on other things. The worst times for me were when I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep. A white noise machine or app for your phone, or just listening to soothing music might be helpful at those times.