Goldenseal/blocked ears help

[tractorboy]

Hi there,
I have a problem with blocked ears which ive had for for about 18 months now.
I cant pop them by yawning or holding nose and blowing.
I have seen ENT specialists but they dont seem to help so ive been trying cures of the internet.
Ive pretty much tried everthing including Neti pot, a device called ear docter, otovent(blowing a balloon up through you nose) and various herbal remedys all to no avail.
I then heard about goldenseal so i thought id give it a go, it felt like it was working but then i started getting bad palpations(was interacting with my blood pressure medicine) so i cant take it.
Was just wondering if anyone on hear knows of anything else i could try?

Any help much appreciated
Jason

[CarolineN]

Hi Jason - Welcome to healthy Pages!

Having blocked ears is a real nuisance - and people can't see you have a problem! There are a couple of things you can try to see if it helps your situation.

Firstly I'd help your immune system with a good wholefood diet - that is avoiding white flour/bread, sugar, fizzydrinks and eating foods in their most natural form - and then add to that a quality multivitamin/multimineral (not a cheapo from the chemist but something from a good healthfood shop). Then I'd take vitamin C 1000mg 2-3 times per day - you can get this from the supermarket with 15mg zinc in it, as tablets in a tube to make up into a drink. Both vitamin C and zinc are essential for immune function and much more besides (we are often short of zinc in this country). Then I'd try Cat's Claw (Una de gato) which is antimicrobial and an immune-booster. To my knowledge none of these will cause problems with your blood pressure medicine. Some quality probiotics will also support immune function, as 80% of your immune system is in your gut and it functions much better with the right bacteria being there - modern living and antibiotics tend to knock out 'good' bacteria allowing more toxic bacteria to flourish. Eat oily fish 2-3 times a week (ocean salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring and fresh tuna) to up your intake of omega-3 oils which help reduce inflammation.

Secondly I'd try eliminating altogether all dairy produce - in fact doing this before immune boosting may do the trick. So often upper respiratory tract infections - including those in the sinuses and eustachian tube are affected by intolerance to dairy products - this includes milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, whey and whey products, and casein - you need to read labels - as it is hidden in all sorts of processed foods. In its place you can try milks made of rice, almond, oats, quinoa, hemp, etc (probably better to avoid soya).

Failing this you need to have a full assessment by a qualified nutritional therapist who will look at your whole health history, diet, lifestyle and family health problems and help sort out what is causing the problem and what to do to sort it out if at all possible.

See how it goes and let us know how you get on.

[Finalshine]

You can also try ear candling, there's a link describing it to the right of this page

[tractorboy]

Hi,
Thanks for your advice Caroline and Finalshine.

Very helpful.

I have ordered some Vitamin C and zinc and some catsclaw, and am looking into ear candling.

Got to be worth a go, this is driving me nuts!

Thanks again

Jason

[MaxineJ]

You need to find exactly what is causing the blockage. Is it ear wax or trapped catarrh. Two very different things. One can be treated by dropping olive oil drops into the ear, the other is much more difficult as the blockage lies on the other side of the ear drum, so putting drops in your ear will do nothing! In which case you may need to look at your diet and what may be causing this problem. Some people are prone to catarrh and during heavy sneezing or blowing this can get forced into the ear canals. Saline water dripped through the nose is one common answer (don't forget to tilt your head back)