Am I Going Deaf?

L., I hope you are feeling better. Sometimes when I've been sick it's impacted my inner ear. Usually it's related to either swollen glands in my neck area or congestion in my sinuses. It eventually goes away, but messes with my balance and hearing. I find Ocean (saline solution, the one without preservatives) to be very helpful to clear my sinuses and ears. If that doesn't help and you still aren't feeling better in the ears, I'd suggest seeing a doctor.

Sounds like an infection somewhere in the eustacian (sp?) tubes - those tubes running from ears to throat & sinuses. Sometime happens with a cold, but it could also be bacterial. If you don't feel better in the next couple of days, see the doc. (Many infections here are viral and will work themselves out; if you don't feel better soon, or feel worse, it's a sign of a bacterial infection that needs meds)

I had this same problem. I went to the dr. and found out that my ears don't drain well and I had wax buildup. After the dr. cleaned my ears out I couldn't believe how loud everything was it was amazing. You may want to get it checked out.

L.,

This happened to me a few years ago too - turnes out I had a huge build up of wax in my ears!! They cleaned it out and I was just fine. Never happened before or since - it was weired - but that's all it was.

Good luck and God Bless -
C.

Same thing happened to me a few years ago. Turns out that I had ear infections. Make an appointment with your doctor soon.

Please get to a doctor now. It could be a simple ear/sinus infection, but in rare cases it could be a nasty infection that can only be dealt with early and can take your hearing in that ear. Happened to my best friend last year - she is now completely deaf in one ear.

At first I thought of excess earwax, but never heard of the going numb thing. If you're feeling something in your throat, it probably has something to do with allergies or some kind if inflamation. I wouldn't worry about it being you going deaf at this point as there are lot's of things that can happen in there. On the off chance that you DO have excess earwax, you can get some of that under control by putting several drops of liquid Colace in each ear, laying on your side for a few minutes each. My pediatrician had me do this with our kids when they were little and very waxy. It's a stool softener, and will soften the wax. After using once a day a couple times, rinse out your ears with warm water. If this whole thing doesn't clear up soon, I would see a Dr. in case you have some kind of infection or other issue going on in there., Good luck!

Hi L. - I'm guessing you have fluid in your ear and possibly an infection. When you have numbness, it's probably because a cold virus is affecting one of your facial nerves that wrap around the ear and is causing inflammation. It's time to see your doc or an ENT to diagnose properly and rule out infection. They will also need to evaluate the extent of the facial nerves that are being affected. If the area behind your ear becomes warm and red or very tender, call your doctor right away - this could be signs of a serious infection.

In the meantime, buy some Mucinex. It will thin the mucous secretions and will help you to clear your ear. You can take up to 2 tabs twice a day. Dont exceed 2400mg/day. Also use Afrin for the next 2-3 days and when you spray it up your nose tilt your head to the side of the affected ear and kind of snort to see if you can get some of it toward your eustachian tube - you might feel it kind of go down your throat but that's okay. (This is exactly what my allergist suggested for me when I had an extremely congested ear)

I hope you feel better soon!

I do not believe you are going deaf! But I do think you need to seek out some medical help. The ear and hearing in general, is a complicated system. Please seek the help of a professional to really diagnos the issure. As an allergy sufferer for most of my life, I have never encountered my ears becoming numb. They often pop, but the numbness in your ears is what could really be an issue. Hope this helps :)

L.,

Get to a doctor as soon as you can get an appointment! You can wait it out, but sounds like you have a ear infection. I had exactly what your describing about 2 weeks ago & i had a bad ear infection in both ears. I felt like I was wearing ear plugs because everything was muted. I couldn't get mine to "pop" either & I kept saying if I could just pop my ears I would feel so much relief. About 2-3 days after starting an antibiotic I finally got some relief & they "popped" - what a great feeling. I hope that you get better soon!

C.

You should go to an ear doctor as soon as possible.

Years ago, I had some very unusual fungal infections in my ears, and they felt sort of like that at first. Regular doctors will NOT recognize them, though, and in fact may recommend treatment that makes them far worse (I learned this the hard way...). If you happen to have the same thing, you definitely need to go to an ear doctor who will be able to recognize what it is, rather than an urgent care place or even a regular physician (although a primary care doc might need to give you a referral to an ENT - ear, nose and throat doctor).

Good luck!!

go to the doctor right away . . . it may be nothing serious as others have said but you can get PERMANENT hearing loss from a cold or infection.

My family has learned this the hard way.

Sounds like an ear infection. Especially if you notice dizziness, see a doctor sooner rather than later.

in addition to what everyone is saying, cut milk and mucus forming foods, add things like grapes, spicy foods like cayenne, and other things that cut mucus. You can put very small crushed garlic in olive oil, or just the juice in olive oil and put it in your ear, that is fantastic for ear infections. Finally there is an herbal formula called Dr. Christopher's ear & nerve, you can get at most herb shops. Hopefully it's just the earwax thing like someone else said, but perhaps you should see a doctor at least to find out what is going on.

I have never had your symptoms. but I know how to pop your ear. you pull down on your ear lobe and then outwards if it need to pop it will. I don't know if this will help you but worth a shot.