Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center can help patients suffering from eustachian tube dysfunction. | Adobe Stock
Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center can help patients suffering from eustachian tube dysfunction. | Adobe Stock
You may think it's your sinuses that are causing pain, but it could actually be your eustachian tubes, according to Dr. Daniel Mongiardo of the Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center.
Eustachian tubes are between the middle ears and the upper throat. They equalize ear pressure and drain fluid from the middle ear behind the eardrum. The eustachian tubes are usually closed, except for when you chew, swallow or yawn. When the tubes are blocked, pain, difficulty hearing and a feeling of fullness in the ears can result.
"The pressure on the inside of the eardrum and the outside of the eardrum should be equal," Mongiardo told East Louisville News. "So the eardrum should basically float in the air. So when sound hits it, it moves freely. If the pressure is negative pressure on the inside of the eardrum, because of eustachian tube dysfunction, then it sucks in the eardrum just a little bit and you'll feel that sensation. And sometimes people will describe it as talking in a barrel. And it really is very uncomfortable."
The eustachian tube is "very similar to the opening to the sinus, which is very, very narrow and very small," Mongiardo said. Allergies can sometimes cause eustachian tube discomfort, he added. Pain in the eustachian tube is called eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). ETD is a relatively common condition.
A common solution, in addition to treating the allergies, is to insert ear tubes if eustachian tubes are blocked. Now doctors can provide relief with a newer procedure that is also used to open blocked sinuses.
"Now what we're able to do is, very simply, balloon dilatation of the eustachian tube, where a balloon goes into the eustachian tube, it blows up, stretches and opens up the eustachian tube and the balloon comes out," Mongiardo explained. " It's not permanent, but it does last for up to a couple of years. And again, we do that in the office."
If you think you could benefit from a visit to Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, please visit his website.
Dr. Daniel Mongiardo Sleep & Sinus Center has an online sinus quiz for those who want to evaluate their symptoms.
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