Apologies for the length of this post, and for possibly posting in the wrong place! There's a lot of history so I thought I'd better give you the facts. I have a pilot’s licence and so am VERY reluctant to see a doctor, for fear of losing my medical.
It all started when I was about 10. Going in the pool on holiday in France I must have picked up an ear infection. At the time I just thought it was blocked, so went into the bathroom and blasted my ear with the shower head. I ended up on antibiotics for the rest of the holiday! A few weeks later it disappeared completely and I can’t even remember which ear it was.
When I was 15 it happened again, this time in the Bay of Naples, snorkelling. It wasn’t so straightforward this time. My parents knew it would be an infection, and it was my left ear. I lost all hearing ability on that side as the swelling closed my ear canal and we had to get a doctor out. I was prescribed antibiotics again and they did absolutely nothing, the pain, unlike before, was unbearable to the point where I was screaming in agony. Every time I swallowed or yawned I had a sensation of acid being poured into my ear, it was excruciating. I was also waking up in the morning with blood on the pillow, every morning without fail. The doctor was called again and she just put the blood down to me sticking my finger in the ear, causing scratches/cuts. I didn’t put anything anywhere near my ear, it was just too painful. My hearing came back and the pain went away a few weeks later, but the blood on the pillow continued for a couple of months I think. I didn’t dare get my ear wet for a good couple of years after that. My parents to this day are convinced I picked up a parasite or something!
Every holiday since I’ve gone in the pool or sea for the first couple of days, then felt the blocked ear sensation and stayed out of water for the remainder of the holiday, again out of fear.
I’m now going on 26 and have always had more wax coming out of that ear than the other one, but haven’t had any problems until about 12 months ago. I started flying at 21, and even that has been trouble free, no matter the altitude.
12 months (ish) ago I noticed that every time I got out of the bath my hearing would go funny, like it was blocked again. There was no pain, so I got into the habit of drying out my ear with tissue (being careful not to rub too hard, I’d twist the tissue, put it in my ear, allow it to soak up any moisture and then remove it). It worked most of the time, but not all the time. If it didn’t work I’d usually go to bed with impaired hearing and wake up fine. When I first noticed that the bath was causing it I began closing my ear with my finger when water was going near it, to prevent any water ingress. I’ve been doing that since. Sometimes when I used the tissue to dry out my ear there was a lot of wax, sometimes there was none.
Over the last couple of weeks it’s gotten worse. I haven’t changed any habits or routine, but now my ear seems to close up at even the slightest sign of moisture, i.e. even walking into the bathroom after my girlfriend has been in the bath. The reaction is almost instant, like a blocked ear sensation. I can take an hour or two to go away. I also noticed that there was some kind of link to blood pressure or something. I’d be fine all day, then when I go to bed it’s sort of like the blood running to my head causes swelling in my ear, and it closes even if I haven’t been anywhere near any moisture. It’s not painful, but it’s frustrating and it’s uncomfortable. I can’t hear my girlfriend sometimes. I’m also finding that it’s taking until lunch time the following day for my hearing to return.
About a week ago I made a fatal mistake. I was convinced it must have been wax, because I wasn’t suffering any pain. I’ve always had narrow ear canals (I’ve never been able to get ear plugs to go in them) and my sister is the same. This time I used a wet cotton bud. It didn’t work and I went to bed deaf in one ear again. The following morning my ear and the left side of my face in general was hurting, which I think must have been down to me messing. It’s nothing like it was in Italy, I’d never felt pain like that before. I daren’t do anything now through for fear of it getting worse, and I have an aircraft booked for Sunday. Any ideas? It also pops when I swallow or yawn, and ever since if I recline slightly or lay down I lose all hearing in my left ear.
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Apologies for the length of this post, and for possibly posting in the wrong place! There's a lot of history so I thought I'd better give you the facts. I have a pilot’s licence and so am VERY reluctant to see a doctor, for fear of losing my medical.
It all started when I was about 10. Going in the pool on holiday in France I must have picked up an ear infection. At the time I just thought it was blocked, so went into the bathroom and blasted my ear with the shower head. I ended up on antibiotics for the rest of the holiday! A few weeks later it disappeared completely and I can’t even remember which ear it was.
When I was 15 it happened again, this time in the Bay of Naples, snorkelling. It wasn’t so straightforward this time. My parents knew it would be an infection, and it was my left ear. I lost all hearing ability on that side as the swelling closed my ear canal and we had to get a doctor out. I was prescribed antibiotics again and they did absolutely nothing, the pain, unlike before, was unbearable to the point where I was screaming in agony. Every time I swallowed or yawned I had a sensation of acid being poured into my ear, it was excruciating. I was also waking up in the morning with blood on the pillow, every morning without fail. The doctor was called again and she just put the blood down to me sticking my finger in the ear, causing scratches/cuts. I didn’t put anything anywhere near my ear, it was just too painful. My hearing came back and the pain went away a few weeks later, but the blood on the pillow continued for a couple of months I think. I didn’t dare get my ear wet for a good couple of years after that. My parents to this day are convinced I picked up a parasite or something!
Every holiday since I’ve gone in the pool or sea for the first couple of days, then felt the blocked ear sensation and stayed out of water for the remainder of the holiday, again out of fear.
I’m now going on 26 and have always had more wax coming out of that ear than the other one, but haven’t had any problems until about 12 months ago. I started flying at 21, and even that has been trouble free, no matter the altitude.
12 months (ish) ago I noticed that every time I got out of the bath my hearing would go funny, like it was blocked again. There was no pain, so I got into the habit of drying out my ear with tissue (being careful not to rub too hard, I’d twist the tissue, put it in my ear, allow it to soak up any moisture and then remove it). It worked most of the time, but not all the time. If it didn’t work I’d usually go to bed with impaired hearing and wake up fine. When I first noticed that the bath was causing it I began closing my ear with my finger when water was going near it, to prevent any water ingress. I’ve been doing that since. Sometimes when I used the tissue to dry out my ear there was a lot of wax, sometimes there was none.
Over the last couple of weeks it’s gotten worse. I haven’t changed any habits or routine, but now my ear seems to close up at even the slightest sign of moisture, i.e. even walking into the bathroom after my girlfriend has been in the bath. The reaction is almost instant, like a blocked ear sensation. I can take an hour or two to go away. I also noticed that there was some kind of link to blood pressure or something. I’d be fine all day, then when I go to bed it’s sort of like the blood running to my head causes swelling in my ear, and it closes even if I haven’t been anywhere near any moisture. It’s not painful, but it’s frustrating and it’s uncomfortable. I can’t hear my girlfriend sometimes. I’m also finding that it’s taking until lunch time the following day for my hearing to return.
About a week ago I made a fatal mistake. I was convinced it must have been wax, because I wasn’t suffering any pain. I’ve always had narrow ear canals (I’ve never been able to get ear plugs to go in them) and my sister is the same. This time I used a wet cotton bud. It didn’t work and I went to bed deaf in one ear again. The following morning my ear and the left side of my face in general was hurting, which I think must have been down to me messing. It’s nothing like it was in Italy, I’d never felt pain like that before. I daren’t do anything now through for fear of it getting worse, and I have an aircraft booked for Sunday. Any ideas? It also pops when I swallow or yawn, and ever since if I recline slightly or lay down I lose all hearing in my left ear.
Thanks for taking the time to read!
OK . yu should never EVER use cotton buds in your ear. You do need to get medical advice as someone needs to look into your ear and see what it wrong. If it affcets your pilots licence because what ever is wrong means you are not safe to fly them I am afraid safety needs to precedence over eeo and desire.
But you really MUST go and see your doctor
. Sorry I know that is not what you wanted to hear but the chances are it is something very simple, that can be sorted out and won't have any effect on your licence at all.
My grown up son (who should know better) used a cotton bud to clean his ear about 18 months ago.. He was a bit too vigorous. He edned up with blood coming out of his ear but it was easily treated, cleared up by itself with ear drops to prevent infection but much to his dissappointment he could not go swimming for a week - and as we were on holiday in a 5* resort with a pool and spa he was a little annoyed .
Hi - and Welcome to HealthyPages.
Unfortunately the only person who can tell you what is causing you the ear problems is a doctor or even an ENT specialist. Then once you know what part of the ear is affected something can be done about it. Trouble is, if you leave it (and you have done that already) it doesn't go away.
There is a possibility of something lodged in your ear, of a fungal infection, a bacterial infection, damage to the eardrum, middle ear infection, blockage of the eustachian tube, etc., etc. Each problem is treated differently. Quite probably it is something that can be sorted/treated simply. I suggest you take a printed copy of what you have just written to hand to the doctor, to save omitting any important information.
Once we know what the actual problem is then maybe some ideas may be forthcoming to help you.
Look forward to hearing the doctor's comments.
My husband got reoccurring ear infections since he was a kid. Something that worked for him is using earplugs when he went in the water (including showering) and just always making sure his ears were dry. Not a single ear infection since!
I do recommend you go see a doctor. You probably have an infection that has never truly healed and you need to get that taken care of.
Good luck!
Are you based in the UK? Do you hold a NPPL, PPL or a CPL? Regardless of your current license status, you really should ask advice from a CAA registered medical examiner - or at the very least, ask your GP to refer you to an ENT consultant for a full examination.