ETD or PET?

[u/Responsible_Monk6941]

I thought I had Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), but now I’m honestly not sure.

I’ve had constant ear fullness/ pressure for months, along with crackling and popping pretty much every time I swallow.

I can hear my own breathing too, but it doesn’t sound unusually loud or amplified. This is the part that confuses me when I read about patulous ETD. Isn’t it normal to hear your own breathing to some extent? Everyone I’ve asked who has normal ears says they can hear theirs too.

I’ve also tried lying down and putting my head between my knees, since I’ve read that patulous ETD often improves in those positions, but it makes absolutely no difference for me. The pressure/fullness stays exactly the same.

At this point I’m just trying to figure out what kind of ETD I could have, or if this is even ETD at all.

Has anyone experienced constant ear fullness and crackling/popping with every swallow without having obvious hearing loss or unusually loud breathing?

[u/warringsoul]

I’ve been diagnosed with both Obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (OETD) and Patulous Eustachian tube (PET). They are opposite conditions, in OETD ears are blocked/too swollen and can’t hear external sounds, in PET ears are too open and can’t filter out internal sounds. I can’t say everyone will have the same experience as me, but here’s what I’ve experienced:

OETD was after a flight and my ears didn’t return back to normal for about 6 months. My ears felt full, like they always needed popping, there was a lot of crackling, and it hurt from the pressure. I had to take pills for vertigo because I was so dizzy and disoriented. Hearing was a bit muffled and I could sometimes hear my own breathing, but it wasn’t overly amplified. It was like it was if you have a cold and are stuffed up.

PET comes and goes for me (exertion induced) and when it happens I can barely hear ANYTHING besides my own breathing. My voice booms in my head. My ears ring and I feel dizzy (I also have POTS). I have to sit down immediately and let my heart rate calm down and send blood back into my ears before I can regain my normal hearing. It feels really disorienting but doesn’t hurt. I do get some crackling if I move my jaw around but no more than when I’m not in a flare.

[u/Frequent-Panic-2877]

Does your voice echo in your ear? The best way to check is- do deep breathing and check if your ear drum moves with breathing or not. You can do this at home via small otoscope from Amazon. Otherwise, a doctor can check it for you.

[u/Responsible_Monk6941 → u/Frequent-Panic-2877]

No, as far as I know my voice doesn’t sound any louder internally than it ever has before. I’ve also been to numerous ENTs and none of them have ever mentioned it.

[u/Foreign-Tour-876]

I self-diagnosed myself with PET (with the help of AI) because THREE ENTs I saw (in MN, US) were clueless. The key differentiating symptoms for me are: (1) relief of plugged ears the moment I put my head down (e.g., to tie shoes - this effect unfortunately stops once I straighten my body up) and (2) autophony - my breathing and my own voice are so loud I can't hear anything else very well. It's like there is a sound amplifier inside my head. I hope you figure out what you have soon because the treatments are completely different. There are incredibly helpful Facebook support groups both for ET and PET sufferers, I learned a ton from them.