Brief Answer:

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Detailed Answer:

Hello,

It is not uncommon for ears to feel plugged up during and for some time after an upper respiratory infection.

What happens is that drainage from the sinuses goes down the back of the throat, which connected to the middle ears by the eustachian tubes.

This creates pressure changes in the ears and sometimes clear fluid goes up into the middle ear.

This is sometimes visible when the doctor looks in the ear - you can see clear bubbles or a fluid level behind the eardrum. Sometimes the eardrum will look a bit red from this too.

If there is pus behind the eardrum, then it is an ear infection (which, again, usually starts with fluid from the throat in the small space of the middle ear - more common in children).

The eardrum usually looks sucked in (retracted) in this problem (rather than bulging as it does with an infection).

Because the eardrum can't vibrate as normal because of negative pressure from the vacuum created from fluid going down the throat or because of fluid behind it, hearing is muffled, or you feel plugged up. Sometimes there is also a crackling or fluid sound.

Often one ear is more affected than the other and usually goes with which side of the throat you felt more drainage/irritation (but not always).

There is no specific treatment or one that is shown to work best.

Usually, it's recommended to start with decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine. This is generally safer than systemic corticosteroids.

If there is still some drainage, adding a nasal steroid spray may be helpful. But if you go to an ENT, they may Rx stronger meds, such as oral (systemic) steroids.

So, what the ENT doctor prescribed is not out of the ordinary, if what you are dealing with is serious otitis or eustachian tube dysfunction.

But you can try the decongestant and nasal steroids first and see if it helps.

Typically, the problem resolves on its own with time, but it can take weeks.

Hope I have answered your query.

Take care

Regards,
Dr Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh, General & Family Physician

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