Hi

Thanks for writing in.

There are various causes for pounding in ears such as middle ear infection, eustachian tube (the tube connecting the nose and the ear) dysfunction, presence of fluid in the middle ear, arteriovenous malformations, hypertension and glomus tumor.

If the pounding in the ears is similar to that of your own heartbeat, then this could be a vascular or pulsatile tinnitus. Occasionally, when there is reduced blood circulation to the inner ear organs and the nerves, a pounding noise becomes audible.

The bad breath could be due to an infection in the sinuses. Chronic sinus infection will give rise to swelling around the opening of the nasal end of the Eustachian tube leading to blocking of the tube. The constant blocking of this tube prevents clearing of the middle ear secretions and thus causing fullness in the ear and pounding noise. That is the reason; once you try to pop-up your ears it gets blocked immediately.
I would suggest the following:
•     You need to do steam inhalation 2-3 times a day and drink plenty of warm water.
•     Use saline nasal spray for clearing your nasal secretions, a mucolytic agent (such as bromhexine or ambroxol) to reduce the viscosity of the nasal secretions.
•     Avoid smoking and consuming chilled beverages for a few weeks.
•     If the symptoms do not improve soon, please do consult your doctor for a complete evaluation of the ear.

I hope I have addressed your concerns. I will be available for the follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

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