Can menopause cause blocked ears?
Can menopause cause blocked ears?
Changes in female hormones are known to affect your inner ears, which are critical to your sense of balance. Some women report changes in balance, sinuses, and hearing before menstruation. It’s possible that hormonal changes during menopause may also affect your ears.
Can hormones cause eustachian tube dysfunction?
Elevated levels of estrogen can cause swelling around the Eustachian tube, which interferes with middle ear function. This may, in some still undefined way, impact inner ear function and cause balance and/or hearing symptoms.
What does inner ear pressure feel like?
a feeling of fullness in the ear. muffled hearing. partial hearing loss that becomes worse with time. ringing in the ears, or tinnitus.
Does menopause cause ear ringing?
It’s possible that your hearing may change, or you may develop tinnitus (ringing in the ears) as you approach menopause. Why? Drops in estrogen can trigger symptoms like hot flashes. Estrogen, a hormone, plays a role throughout the body—in your muscles and bones, heart and brain as well as reproductive system.
Is tinnitus a side effect of menopause?
The onset of tinnitus in women seems to be particularly related to periods of hormone variability. It can be triggered by PMS, perimenopause, menopause and pregnancy. Menopausal symptoms such as sweating, hot flashes and mood changes may correlate with tinnitus.
How do you treat inner ear barotrauma?
Treatment
- Chewing gum, sucking on a lozenge, swallowing, or yawning. Using the mouth helps to open up the eustachian tube.
- Taking an over-the-counter (OTC) nasal decongestant, antihistamine, or both.
- Stopping a diving descent at the first sign of ear discomfort to allow time for equalizing.
Can HRT cause ear problems?
Post-menopausal women who receive hormone replacement therapy may risk diminished hearing, suggest the results of a new study. Tests on 64 women over the age of 60 – half of whom were on HRT – showed that those taking HRT had 10 to 30 per cent worse hearing than those not taking HRT.
What are the signs and symptoms of ear barotrauma?
A feeling of pressure in the ear is often a first symptom. Ear pain and hearing loss may occur over time if the pressure difference badly damaged your ear. Some situations that cause ear barotrauma may also damage the lungs and sinuses.
What can I do to treat inner-ear barotrauma?
If you have symptoms of inner-ear barotrauma, do not try to equalize your ears (even if you feel fullness in them, which is likely). This might make things worse. Use a nasal decongestant spray or drops. This might reduce the swelling of the mucous membranes, which may help to open the Eustachian tubes and drain the fluid from the middle ear.
Can scuba diving cause ear barotrauma?
Scuba diving and air travel are common causes of ear barotrauma. This condition occurs when there is also a problem with your eustachian tubes. Symptoms can include ear pain, ringing in the ears, dizziness, ear bleeding, and hearing loss. Symptoms are often short-term (temporary).
Does hearing loss from ear barotrauma ever go away?
Once treated, almost all symptoms will go away. Hearing loss from ear barotrauma is almost always temporary and reversible. Eustachian tube blockage is one of the causes of ear barotrauma. The eustachian tube helps to restore equilibrium during changes in pressure. For example, yawning normally opens the eustachian tube.
