Eustachian Tubes: Anatomy, Function & Related Disorders

What conditions affect my eustachian tubes?

The most common issue is eustachian tube dysfunction, which may develop if your eustachian tubes swell. This can happen if you have:

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These conditions may cause the following symptoms:

• A feeling of fullness in your ears.
• Muffled sounds or distorted hearing.
• Popping or clicking sensations.
• Ear pain on one or both sides that may feel like an ear infection.
• Ringing in your ears (tinnitus).
• Balance problems.
• Dizziness.
• Vertigo.
• A &#;tickling&#; sensation in your ears.

These symptoms may go away on their own. But you should contact a healthcare provider if you have symptoms that last for more than two weeks.

How are eustachian tube conditions diagnosed?

A healthcare provider will examine your eardrum for disease or damage. They may ask you to do a Valsalva maneuver, or to follow these steps to open your clogged eustachian tubes:

• Close your mouth.
• Pinch your nostrils closed.
• Breathe out as hard as you can.

They may do tests to see if your eustachian tubes open and close normally. Your eustachian tubes should only open when you do things like yawn, chew or swallow.

What home remedies open clogged eustachian tubes?

Eustachian tube massage is one home remedy. To do this, you:

1. Use your finger to find a bony bump behind your ear lobe.
2. Slide your finger down until you feel a groove between your earlobe and jaw.
3. Using firm, steady pressure, trace the groove all the way down your neck to the collarbone.
4. Repeat this process three times on each side of your head, three times a day.

Other home remedies are:

Chewing gum.

• Clearing clogged nasal passages with saline spray.
• Taking antihistamines or decongestants.
• Yawning.
• Swallowing.
• Valsalva maneuver.

If home remedies don&#;t work, your provider may refer you to an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist or ENT) for more tests and treatment. Procedures to treat your eustachian tubes include:

• Tympanostomy (ear tubes): Your surgeon places ear tubes into your eardrums and does a myringotomy.
• Eustachian tuboplasty (eustachian tube balloon dilation): This treatment involves expanding your eustachian tubes with a balloon.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Your ears aren&#;t always the reason why you have symptoms like ringing or fullness in your ears. Sometimes, your eustachian tubes are to blame. Your eustachian tubes help keep your middle ear healthy. Allergies, colds or infections can affect your eustachian tube and how they function.

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Most of the time, eustachian tube issues go away on their own or by using home remedies like chewing gum or yawning. But you should schedule a visit with a healthcare provider if your symptoms last more than two weeks.

Condition Basics

What are blocked eustachian tubes?

The eustachian (say "you-STAY-shee-un") tubes connect the middle ears to the back of the throat. The tubes help the ears drain fluid. They also keep air pressure in the ears at the right level.

When you swallow or yawn, the tubes open briefly to let air in to make the pressure in the middle ears equal to the pressure outside of the ears. Sometimes fluid or negative pressure gets stuck in the middle ear. The pressure outside the ear gets too high. This blockage causes ear pain and sometimes trouble hearing.

What causes them?

Swelling from a cold, allergies, or a sinus infection can keep the eustachian tubes from opening. This leads to pressure changes. Fluid may collect in the middle ear. The pressure and fluid can cause pain. You also can have ear pain from changes in pressure while you are flying in an airplane, driving up or down mountains, or scuba diving. Fluid in the ear can lead to an infection (acute otitis media). Young children have a high risk of ear infections, because their eustachian tubes are shorter and more easily blocked than the tubes in older children and adults.

What are the symptoms?

Blocked eustachian tubes can cause several symptoms. For example, your ears may hurt or feel full. You may have ringing or popping noises in your ears. Or you may have hearing problems or feel a little dizzy.

How are they diagnosed?

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms. Your doctor will look in your ears. The doctor also may check how well you hear.

How are blocked eustachian tubes treated?

Blocked eustachian tubes often get better on their own. For adults, decongestants that you take by mouth or spray into your nose may be helpful. If you have allergies, the doctor may prescribe a steroid medicine that you spray into your nose. Follow the instructions carefully.

If you have an ear infection, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics. Take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.

In some cases, people need surgery for a blocked eustachian tube. The doctor makes a small cut in the eardrum to drain fluid and to make the pressure the same inside and outside the ear. Sometimes the doctor will put a small tube in the eardrum. The tube usually will fall out over time.

How can you prevent them?

If you have allergies, talk to your doctor about how to treat them so your sinuses stay clear and your eustachian tubes stay open. When you're in an airplane, you can chew gum, yawn, or drink liquids during takeoff and landing. Try the exercise where you gently blow while holding your nose shut.

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