Patulous Eustachian tube
I am pretty sure I have a patulous eustachian tube
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patulous_Eustachian_tube.
When I exercise my right ear feels clogged. It has been happening more frequently and it is very annoying. Apparently it happens because the eustachian tube is left open when it should be closed. It happens to people who drink caffeine, exercise a lot, and have low body fat. That pretty much describes me exactly. Anyone else have this problem?
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I've had over the years "bouts" of weird clogged kind of feelings in my ear (usually the rt.). Also notice it will kind of "pop", not at all painfully, when running sometimes. I don't do caffeine, and can't say for sure, but I do think this correlates with getting more lean...ie..weight loss.
The most noticeable this has ever been was last year right before IMFL. In fact I was starting to freak out because I thought I was coming down with an ear infection, the "clogged" feeling was so strong. Of course that never materialized, and I raced with that somewhat annoying "clogged feeling. And sure enough, I'm little over two weeks from IMFL this year, and I'm starting to get the same thing!!
Also noteworthy, is the fact that both last year and this year, I drop a few pounds in the last 2-3 weeks before the race....so that correlates with the info in the link. I tell you what though....NO way my man card will let me do estrogen drops to treat it
I have always thought it was related to swimming because I often run after swimming. Today for the first time it happened while cycling and I haven't swam in several days and that is what got me googling.