About ready to gouge out my left ear with an icepick

Linda and I were down in California last weekend, and from the moment we got close to the Bay Area, we both started noticing allergy symptoms from the crappy air quality. This is nothing new, as it has happened to us after every trip down there. But this time is much worse, with the air being particularly bad between the smog and the fires going on.

So here it is a week later, and my left Eustachian tube has been almost completely blocked this entire time. My hearing is all out of whack as a result, and I have constant post nasal drip, a sore throat, a cough, and I have this overwhelming urge to carve out my left ear and scoop out my left Eustachian tube with a spoon!

No, this is not a cold or flu. There is no fever or muscle aches, and the fluid drainage in my head is all directly related to my sinuses on the left side of my head. It's allergies, and I am hoping that someone can offer any advice as to what I can do for some relief.

Any suggestions?

Is your nose plugged up as well? If it is, blow your nose a lot. If that doesn't work, force yourself to yawn a lot. Watching golf if you have to. If all else fails, just talk to your doctor. I'm pretty sure theres something you can take for that

It sounds like it might be a sinus infection? I've had them and they SUCK...some people get them really easily. My dad got them one after another and they just knock you out.

No, my nose is actually fairly clear. Once in a while I get some drainage from there but mostly it's going down the back of my throat.

Martin, I believe you are correct in that it's a sinus infection. Unfortunately, I am still in the 90-day probation at my new job, so I do not have medical coverage for about one more month. I might go grab some sinus spray today, and I already have a neti pot that I have been using, but it doesn't seem to quite work on my Eustachian tube blockage.

I'll pick my mom's brain about ways you can deal with sinus problems. My dad used to get something wrong with is sinuses all the time.

But if just passing through there you get all these problems, what about living there? Christ.

I remember when I had a sinus infection a year ago. Sucked big time.

all the crap flying around in the air on the west coast ... i can just imagine ... yuk!

i was gonna suggest the netti pot ... but your on that.

no medical coverage? ... i thought barak was gonna fix that!?!? oh well, i understand. i dont have any health coverage either ... maybe next year.

in the meantime, if i absolutely need medical attention or a perscription, i'm lucky that there is a clinic here in my town. they provide a great service to the community.

now ... I AM NOT A DOCTOR! i am probably gonna give you horrible medical advice that a doctor would scoff at. this advise i give to you in an ultimate, worst case, no solution available situation. please ... do some research first and be cautious that you are taking correct dosages and/or any possible chemical counteractions.

if you have an infection and need an antibiotic, find what specific antibiotic you need to treat your particular infection and at what dose. then see if you can find that particular antibiotic at a pet store. many pet stores carry treatments for fish bacterial infections that are the same antibiotics that are used on humans ... just not pharmesuetical grade or regulated by the fda. it might not have been made in a controlled sterile environment ... but administered correctly, ittl cure you.

try to find a clinic first. ear infections are very painful and very serious.

EricHaven wrote:

Any suggestions?

Uh, isn't Linda a nurse?

Surely she would have a better idea than some crazy bassists.......

Darkstrike wrote:

Uh, isn't Linda a nurse?

Surely she would have a better idea than some crazy bassists.......

Actually Bill, she's a CNA, which translates into Certified Nurses Assistant.

And MadMike, I will have benefits after my 90 days probation at my new job, which will be in about one month. So my lack of coverage has nothing to do with anything political, but is rather to do with work policy.

It will be one year ago this October 4th that I first moved up here to Washington State, and I think I've become spoiled by the clean air in that time. Growing up in the Bay Area, you get used to the way the air is, but things change once you are removed from it for any extended period of time. So now my resistance to crappy air is down, and I now usually come home from my visits down there with some mild throat irritation. Linda and I think we need to carry oxygen tanks whenever we go down there! Not that this is a serious consideration, but I think you know what we mean.

Linda and I went to Walgreen's today for some antihistamine/sinus medication. I took one about an hour ago, and now I have about 3/4 of my hearing back in my left ear. It's not perfect, but it's an improvement!

i understand you companies policy eric ... its s.o.p. at most companies. they dont want to sign you on for benefits untill there sure you'll work out. that and they dont hafta pay for it during that time.

i was referring to my heal care. my company is a small company with a payroll of 2. what health insurance companies ask for health coverage from companies like ours is criminal ... just because we're a small community business and not a big huge monopolizing mecca of an industry means that we have to pay more than twice as much for health insurance? for less coverage? who's letting these companies get away with this???

(politicians - insurance companies make huge donations to politicians election campaigns. whos gonna rock that boat?)

any how ... was just making a suggestion because YOUR SICK NOW. thats awesome that you'll have coverage 2 weeks from now. was just trying to help you keep from doing some irrepairable dammage to your sinuses or hearing before you got the coverage.

glad you got some relief from the decongestants.

Thanks, Bro. This morning I awoke to find my left ear still nowhere near as blocked as it has been, but I am also starting to feel the fatigue from my body fighting this thing. So this morning consisted of one more Wal-fed tablet, another round with the neti pot, and sipping some Traditional Medicines Throat Coat tea. Still have the cough from the crap running from my sinuses that is causing throat irritation, but at least it isn't in my lungs. Man, I really hope this thing manages to resolve itself a little more by tomorrow, because I would hate to have to work like this.

And I totally feel you on your own healthcare issues, MadMike. It is absolutely criminal that in 2009, and in the most powerful nation on Earth, that there is still a significant portion of the population going without healthcare, education, decent housing, and employment. There is simply no excuse for it!

I was reading an article this morning in one of our local papers about a group of folks going to visit Cuba now that travel restrictions have been lifted. Now I know what some you are going to say: "communism! Fidel is evil! Oppression of the masses!" Well, I hate to tell you this, but Cuba is an example of a country where healthcare, education, and housing....are you sitting down?.... are free. Their unemployment rate? 1.6%. Their literacy rate? Over 99%. Percentage of people that vote in general elections? Over 95% (and by-the-way, party affiliations aren't listed on voting rosters, which means that when someone is voted for, it's because the people doing the voting actually liked their platform, regardless of and totally oblivious to which party they are with). They have 243 hospitals (which is incredible for a country that only measures 1,000 miles by 100 miles), and they have one doctor for every 155 people.

Now I am not suggesting that what Cuba has is perfect, nor that we should leave the U.S.A. What I am saying is that why is it that a piss-poor nation such as Cuba seems to have no trouble taking care of it's people, whereas the single greatest power can't seem to do so?

I'll tell you why. It's because of some fat-cat sonsofbitches sitting on their huge, pimply arses that are bleeding the people dry to line their own pockets! Period!

OK....sorry for the rant....obviously my head is bothering me.

glad over the counter and home / herbal remedies have offered you some relief. ear aches are no joke. i missed a week from work and had to go to an emergency room without health insurance a few years back; the pain was overwhelming. the doc told me if i waited any longer i cudda permanently dammaged my hearing. that was very expensive!

amy had an ear infection a few years back that dammaged her hearing in one year ... her hearing has just started comming back recently.

scary stuff.

this is why i offered such a rediculous suggestion. i'de been in a position like that before and taking paragon x worked for me ... i really wouldnt recommend anyone doing that unless they absolutely had to. it made me sick in different ways for about 3 weeks ... but it cured the infection.

yes ... cubans would have been able to get the antibiotics.

i still cant travel there as a tourist ... but i would really love to go there. because of a cut off regime there, their society is still living in a moment that seems frozen in time. yes, some could view castro and communizim as a bad thing, but they wouldnt have this unique culture they live in or health care and employment like eric was saying in a democracy like usa's. our freedoms are a great thing but ... tyrany has flourished. tyrany has flourished there in different ways.

people still driving desotos around .... i gotta see that!