Eustachian tubes "sticking" open after hard workout (Read 7575 times)

    have you tried chewing gum? or trying yawning? or taking a deep breath hold your nose and attempt to blow the air out your ears?
    Haven't tried chewing gum, but if you saw me when this happens, you'd think I hadn't slept for a week. No amount of mandible articulation seems to do the trick. Thanks, though. Smile jhorner: Nice to know that I'm not the only person that this happens to and it isn't some sign that my head is gonna blow up or anything. Thanks. ...as far as most of the rest of this thread, well, I guess NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!
    Brandon
      Oh, I know. Getting through my talk was likely worse than trying to climb Lundsford Hill with a Patulous Eustachian Tube while tring to harvest cerumen.
      Actually, I would have loved to listen to your mandible articulation on mining unstructured medical data. And it's not hard to sit and listen to anyone talk; all you have to do is think about running, which is second only to actually running. I often ponder why I think about running... and then I ponder running... and then I run... and the day is done.
      zoom-zoom


      rectumdamnnearkilledem

        Brandon, is it possible you have some sort of inner ear infection? I get a bit of this sensation from time-to-time, but it usually accompanies an inner ear issue (and nasty vertigo).

        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

             ~ Sarah Kay

          I don't think so Kirsten. At least, I don't have any other symptoms of inner ear infection. It's not a common occurrence, maybe only happens once every two weeks or so (only occasionally more often), and it is always after a very hard workout. After reading the stuff Trent and Tremont posted at the beginning, I'm thinking I have other minor Eustachian tube issues as I very regularly yawn to make my head feel more open. It's not bothersome in daily life, so I probably just won't worry about it any more unless something gets worse. Thanks.
          Brandon
          Trent


          Good Bad & The Monkey

            If you do have an ET dysfunction and fluid is building up, that puts you at risk for ear infections. You may want to try some decongestants and humidified air for a while to see if that helps.
            obsessor


              dang-it trent, you beat me to it. This happens to me on most of my hard training runs (but I don't notice it during races.... hmmmm....) I figured I was normal, it did not seem to worsen, I did not bleed or pass out, and only occasioally had the intensity up to a state that caused dizzyness, but that was maybe just the intensity. It never seemed to cause any real harm, so I did not worry about it. So, I cooldown, because cooldown jogs are important, right? 3-5 miles, usually. Then I grab a bite to eat, drink, take a long hot shower (no, I am not interested on any real or anecdotal evidence about ice baths, I like taking a hot shower.) and sip on some tea if need be. Hot shower seems to fix it. UNfortunately, beer does not seem to help. Wish it did, but no such luck. Nor a good bottle of red wine. But Ouzo seems to (temporarily) relieve almost all symptoms.
                Thanks, Trent. I'll do that. Thanks, too obsessor. I've never tried ouzo, but I've heard that it can relieve all sorts of different symptoms. Wink A hot shower and a little time always works for me too, but I dislike it enough to try preventing it first.
                Brandon
                  Alrighty... I was just researching this further (which I suppose I should have done before starting a thread on a running forum after all...), when I worked my way to this article. I got to it from Wikipedia (<mild> THE source of knowledge on the internet, after all </mild>), which mentioned that the dehydration caused by large doses of caffeine or intense exercise can cause a temporary condition of patulous eustachian tubes, because of the effects on the fatty tissue that surround and help keep the ETs normally closed. Under the section "Etiology", the article aslo states that exercise and TMJ syndrome (among other things) are predisposing factors, both of which apply in my case, as I also have a mild case of TMJ syndrome. Also, the eustachian tube information on wikipedia (I know, I know, see above sarcasm) jives with my personal experience, as I can "contract just these muscles voluntarily, similar to people who can wiggle their ears" [under the section Functions>Pressure Equalization], which I can also do. I experience what the article describes as a "popclickity" sound (a very scientific description, I might add) when doing this, though I can only do the right ear without moving my jaw at all. I can do the left ear with a very slight jaw movement. Incidentally, the right side is the one where the TMJ syndrome is worse. Now, all this said, I realize that wikipedia is far from the final authority in the universe, but in this case, it happense to match my personal experience, though it would seem to directly contradict what Trent said earlier about the eustachian tubes. I'm an engineer, not a doctor, so don't claim any final authority either, but, as I said, my personal experience seems to agree with what is described therein.
                  Brandon
                  Trent


                  Good Bad & The Monkey

                    I think you have made an excellent case for transient PET (associated with your exercise). The article to which you linked is the technical version of the same eMedicine article linked by tremont. So PET it is Smile That said, remember that most ET dysfunction is of the type where the ET gets stuck closed. Good sleuthing there.
                      I think you have made an excellent case for transient PET (associated with your exercise). The article to which you linked is the technical version of the same eMedicine article linked by tremont. So PET it is Smile That said, remember that most ET dysfunction is of the type where the ET gets stuck closed. Good sleuthing there.
                      Thanks, I feel better about the whole thing now, and understood from what you said and the reading on ET in general that stuck closed is definitely the more common and bigger problem.
                      Brandon
                      Lisa3.1


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                        finney


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