The Ears That Wouldn't Pop: Day Four

[sab]

Okay.

So I work on the 42nd floor and I had this cold last week where my sinuses were all clogged up and anyway, so, Friday, or something, I take the bullet-train elevator up here, and my ears always pop in the elevator, but Friday they didn't pop, they just clogged, and stayed clogged.

I rode the elevator several times more trying to equalize the pressure and get 'em to pop, no dice.

I suppose a slow leak over the weekend brought my ears back to their normal state, but there's been no satisfying "I can hear!" pop, and mostly I still felt like my head was encased in pudding.

Now, of course, it's Monday, and this morning, somewhere shooting past the 35th floor, my ears seized up again, and haven't popped since.

I have yawned.
I have chewed gum. (This just irritates my TMJ)
I have clicked my jaw (for no reason, largely to continue exacerbating my TMJ)
I have held my nose and exhaled. (Resulting in air shooting forth from my eyes, but not my ears.)

Please. Home-based remedies, invasive surgery, voodoo rituals, all welcomed, because DUDE I CAN'T HEAR and it's all foggy up here in my head like I'm wearing a, a, a PUMPKIN or something and anyway I have to get back to work but PLEASE someone help me figure out how to get my ears to pop, PLEASE?

Comments

[lenadances.livejournal.com]

Possibly you need to trigger some sinus drainage. I advise steaming your head. Microwave a bowl of water, put your face over it, put a towel over your head to trap everything. Sometimes it helps.

Beyond that, maybe some sort of over-the-counter congestion-easer? Even if you're not noticably stuffy, it seems that something has backed up into your ears. I think. I have a very vague idea of how everything is hooked together up there.

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

Gargle with warm salt water. Tastes nasty, but will clear out the eustachian tubes, and, POP! goes the eardrums.

some suggestions

[(Anonymous)]

1. Put this on your wish list: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005A9WP/
2. If you can't afford #1, make a bowl lof chicken soup or a mug of tea and try to drink as much of it through your nose as possible (in vapor form only, silly). Slurp the rest as hot as you can stand it. Basically, the more hot vapor in your nose, the better you'll feel.
3. Fisherman's Friend (http://www.fishermansfriend.com/) available in better drugstores. Tastes awful, works wonders.
4. Gargle with good brandy, then swallow. This won't really help much, but you'll feel better for unrelated reasons.

Good luck, kiddo.

SR

[christhetoken.livejournal.com]

If they don't pop by tommorow, see a doctor ASAP. I know what an ear infection feels like, and that is sort of it. Doctor before the blinding pain.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

[(Anonymous)]

What they said above. 1) Doctor. 2) Steam. Long hot showers. Don't bother with an electric vaporizer 'cause all they do is dampen the wallpaper. Long hot showers morning & night. Steam, steam, and more steam. And the same goes for any other phlegm-makers in the house.

[sorlklewis.livejournal.com]

What Anony said. You might also try taking a hot bath and resting your ears under water for a bit. Same idea with the the shower and steam, except then you've got a little bit more pressure on your side.