For several years now I have been bothered by my Eustachian tubes opening and staying open from minutes to up to several hours. This is very annoying. I can hear my breathing from the inside of the mouth, loudly hear myself talk from the inside of the mouth, and have trouble modulating my voice. And my already compromised hearing gets worse during these episodes.
For a teacher this is a real problem. In the middle of class, the damn tubes pop open, stay open and all hell breaks loose. Can’t hear my students, can hear myself talking and lower my voice to compensate, and then the students can’t hear me talking. A real mess.
It happens when I take a hike, or walk on the treadmill, too. Exercise induced. Caffeine induced. Weight loss induced. And at last a name: Semi-patulous Eustachian Tube. SPET. None of the problems get better knowing the name of the beast, but the tolerance gets better. Thousands of others also suffer, mostly without knowing what is wrong.
Ah, but the treatment. Some surgical, some chemical and best of all this: Reduce caffeine, reduce or cease exercise and gain weight. So, no coffee, no exercise and no diets. My cardiologist would agree with me that the second and third are non-starters, so I’ll go for the first. OMG, what will I do without my morning coffee? Hear better, that’s what.
Image found at: http://www.eustachian-tube.net/EUSTACHIAN-TUBE.html
For a teacher this is a real problem. In the middle of class, the damn tubes pop open, stay open and all hell breaks loose. Can’t hear my students, can hear myself talking and lower my voice to compensate, and then the students can’t hear me talking. A real mess.
It happens when I take a hike, or walk on the treadmill, too. Exercise induced. Caffeine induced. Weight loss induced. And at last a name: Semi-patulous Eustachian Tube. SPET. None of the problems get better knowing the name of the beast, but the tolerance gets better. Thousands of others also suffer, mostly without knowing what is wrong.
Ah, but the treatment. Some surgical, some chemical and best of all this: Reduce caffeine, reduce or cease exercise and gain weight. So, no coffee, no exercise and no diets. My cardiologist would agree with me that the second and third are non-starters, so I’ll go for the first. OMG, what will I do without my morning coffee? Hear better, that’s what.
Image found at: http://www.eustachian-tube.net/EUSTACHIAN-TUBE.html
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