DEAR DR. GOTT:
I read your column everyday and enjoy it very much. A while ago you had a letter from a woman who was concerned about the fact that her husband could hear a blood flow noise in his right ear but not the left.
Several years ago I had a bad cold and blew my nose quite hard and often. Following this I developed a blood flow noise in my left ear.
Concerned it was something serious, I made an appointment with my ear-nose-and-throat specialist. After a thorough examination, he told me that my Eustachian tube had been forced open, likely due to my frequent and hard nose blowing. I was told that it may never close back up but I could try deep sea diving which would put pressure on the tube and might close it or I could just learn to live with it. (I used to be a deep sea diver, so this suggestion wasn’t completely outlandish.)
It has been fifteen years since the diagnosis and I still have the problem. I have learned to ignore it but know it is nothing serious. If I have a cold, the sound gets a little louder.
I know this is not always the problem if someone develops blood flowing noise in one or both of their ears, but given the alternatives, this is a much better diagnosis. I still urge everyone to see their physicians because it is the ONLY way to be sure of what is causing the noise.
I hope this helps the woman and her husband and anyone else who may have the problem.
DEAR READER:
This was not an option I had considered. Thank you for writing to inform both me and my readers of this possibility. Keep up the good work.
To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Ear Infections and Disorders”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.
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