For the last month or so I've been having trouble with my left ear. The first time I went to the doctor, he had a look, told me I had a hard lump of wax in there and told me it could also be infected. I had to soften the wax with olive oil for a week, take a course of antibiotics and then go and have it syringed. Anyway, during that time, my hearing got worse, so much in fact that as the week went on, I had lost almost all of my hearing in the affected ear. I went back to the doctor and told him that my ear had got worse and I was in a lot of pain. He told me this was normal with a clogged ear. But he checked my other ear and said that was clogged too, but that ear isn't causing me any problems.

Well, I got both ears syringed in the end, but not all of the wax came out of my right ear because I hadn't softened the wax in it.

I thought my ear was cured after I'd had it syringed, but two days after I started getting earache again and could hear fluid in there. You know, like a 'glug glug' sound. I'm so dizzy with it, and the pain is spreading through my cheek, into my gum and down my neck, and my hearing is starting to go again. There is a bit of wax in there again, but it's soft and easy to clean out. So I cleaned out my ear (I didn't use a cotton wool bud) but nope... my ear is ringing, I can't hear out of it properly and I am feeling an intense amount of pain with it. And I'm still hearing fluid. There's also a crazy amount of air in there too, because when I blow my nose I can hear the air crackle and pop. Sometimes it's so loud it scares me.

I've had a cold and chest infection for the last two weeks and am so full of congestion. Maybe it's that? I'm worried though. Has anyone ever had anything like this before? I used to have chronic ear infections as a kid but I can't ever remember them being as bad as this!

I'm going back to the doctor again on Tuesday and am going to try and get to the bottom of this. But I'm not holding my breath :(

- I have horrible ear issues involving wax. I get extensive amounts of it actually to the point sometimes the doctor cleans it out because they can't see my eardrum. When I have a sinus or ear infection, my ears are clogged to the point I can barely hear, so I move my jaw around so they pop. It actually takes hours of popping for them to clear out. I get ringing in my ears a lot, I heard it's an actual medical issue, though I haven't talked to a doctor about it yet. It's spring, sinuses mess up, I usually deal with it in the Winter though.

The ringing sounds like tinnitus to me - it's something my grandma suffered from (not age related btw I've also know 20+ year olds to suffer from it but I dunno they're symptoms were) My grandma used to get dizzy with it, and she suffered from throat affections and sinus problems with them being all connected. I hope you do get it sorted soon though, it doesn't seem like a pleasant medical condition to suffer from (not that most of them are pleasant)

Maybe an inner/middle ear infection? At your next doctor's visit, ask about seeing a ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor). I'm not sure if you need referrals in the UK, which is why I said when you go back to the doctor.

I hope you feel better soon

TBH, after the treatment not working, I would be seeking another doctor. He doesn't sound as half as concerned that he should be that you're losing your hearing, even if it's clogged with earwax.

Very much agreed. If you're able to, it's always a good idea to get a second opinion on something. Especially if the first treatment didn't work.

Yeah, the popping and crackling sound like it could be a bad infection, or something - I personally would just go see another doctor. If you can see an ENT or an ear/sinus specialist, that would be better.

I have tons of problems with my ears, my issue is that during allergy season my sinuses get stuffed and fluid builds up in my ears. My ears hurt most of allergy season, and I have to take Sudafed a lot. I usually end up with an ear infection or two before the year is out. Losing your hearing though, that is something you should get checked out, and since your doc doesn't seem to be doing the trick, I would try someone else :)

Thank you for your concerns and sorry that some of you have ear problems too :( Well, I saw a doctor again and it turns out I've got fluid behind my ear drum and that there's a lot of it. It's pressing against my ear drum and making it hurt. It takes three months to heal but at least I know what's causing it now.

have you had an ear infection before? cause that's what it sounds like to me. the last time I had an ear infection I could not BELIEVE the amount of pain I was experiencing. one day my ear was fine, and the next morning I woke up before an exam and was convinced that someone had hit me in the head with an axe while I was asleep. even my neck hurt. it hurt to talk, it hurt to look at stuff, breathing and chewing were too loud. i just cried for like, three days basically.

not that i'm an expert but i feel like i've known people who had wax issues and they were way more prone to ear infections. but hey if thats the case then hopefully it'll be easier to get rid of!!

I'm sorry to hear about that though like whatever is happening sounds horrible regardless of what the source of it is ): definitely sounds similar to the ear infection tho and I mean like... wow it still blows me away, people always told me ear infections hurt like crazy but I had noooo idea how serious they were. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I just couldn't deal with it. I hope you figure it out soon and get some relief!!! :v

edit whoops i got into typing this and didn't see your response so I probably look silly now

No worries . Shows you care :)

My doctor at first did think I had an ear infection behind the wax and he gave me antibiotics for it. And I've had a bad cold. The fluid had to have come from somewhere. I've got a nasal spray now. It's not guaranteed to work but he said give it a try anyway. Because your ears nose and throat are connected, it might help.

mhm right idk if this is necessarily something good to do right smack in the middle of an ear infection, but maybe a neti pot or some other kind of sinus irrigator would be something good for you? I've used them before and i think they're really helpful, its a really odd sensation to get used to but like it used to help a loooot when I was getting colds all the time and my sinuses were plugged up. that was what caused my ear infections in the first place so I starting using my neti pot a lot and like, I stopped getting stuffy and ear infections, so I guess it helped? haha its good if you're congested anyway tho, provided its not just due to inflammation, cause it just rinses everything out

I'm glad you figured it out but I'm sorry to hear it's going to take a while to clear up. And I agree with . Netti pots are great. I use one because I get really bad post nasal drip and it helps clear it up. It does feel weird at first but you get used to it. Hope you feel better quicker than 3 months though.

- Do you have tubes in your ear?

- Nope.