Hello all,
I recently have had the annoying symptom of ear fullness pop up in my left ear, so of course, now I am concerned that it may be meniere’s related (I tend to worry about that). I do, however, know that this is a common symptom of MAV. So can you tell me how your ear fullness feels like? Mine feels like it is plugged up with mucus or something. It is worse after I eat, and best in the morning right after I wake up. I can hear it settling when I get up and around. When I talk or click my teeth it sounds echo-y, like I am underwater. But other noises I can hear fine. It has caused a headache on the left side of my head for a few days.
My ear usually just hurts like hell when it’s full.
The only way i can describe it is my ear feels bloated. I have more distortion in my hearing and it honestly makes me feel a bit more sluggish over all,
When I get the feeling of fullness, it is like a dull ache just behind and below the affected ear. I wouldn’t call it “pain” so much as discomfort and it feels like there is an accumulation of fluid in the area. Sometimes I get the fullness with hearing loss, sometine I have fullness and no hearing loss, and yet other times I have no fullness at all but fluctuating hearing loss.
hey amy,
i’m always hyperaware of all the little things happening in my good ear. despite all my efforts not to, i’m always worried about going bilateral. the one symptom that i’ve never had in my meniere’s ear is fullness. however in my good ear, i very often have a lot of pain. it gets worse with any colds, weather changes, or changes in elevation. i have talked to my doc about it and he really believes this pain is from tmj. he says that pain can radiate in different directions around your ear. i’m not sure that’s true in my case but my dentist does say i have tmj.
another thing to consider is eustachian tube dysfunction. i really think that’s my main problem. it can cause pain, discomfort, and make noises sound weird. a few times when i’ve been sure i must have an ear infection because of the pain, my family doc or my e.n.t. has looked and said that my eardrum was retracted. if i’m not mistaken, generally a sign of e.t.d.
also, just to throw out there to consider…i once asked my audiologist about this weird pain. she said that due to the amount of hearing loss and balance function loss in my meniere’s ear that i am very dependent on my good ear. so much so that i would be extra sensitive to any changes.
i don’t know if any of this helps you but maybe you can look up some of these things and see if it matches your symptoms. hope you get some relief soon!
Amy it feels so unconfortable… Like a ballon is being blown up inside my ear & there is no more room to expand, swollen inside, sound gets muffled, ringing increases, the entire side of my head feels crapy.
Thank you so much for all of your answers. It is gone for now, and I hope that it stays gone. I think that in reality, it may be difficult to tell one kind of ear fullness from another. They all may feel sinilar to some extent. I am sorry that some of you feel so uncomfortable with this symptom. Here’s to symptom free days ahead!!