Southern Arizona is a beautiful place to live. We enjoy the perfect weather in the winter, beautiful sunsets, and even have fewer flying insects (ugh – mosquitoes!) than most places in the United States. Looking around, it is obvious we don’t have nearly as much vegetation and flowers as you would find in other regions. However, even with fewer trees and plant life than other places in the country, for many residents of the area, it seems normal to develop allergies to whatever vegetation we do have!
Allergies in the Tucson Area
In the 20 years I’ve lived in Arizona, I can’t count how many times people have told me that they never had allergies until they moved to the Tucson area. In fact, even I have experienced this phenomena as I noticed increased sniffling and allergies after living in the area for about 10 year. As audiologists, we do not treat allergies, but we often see how allergies affect hearing for many of our patients.
The Role of the Eustachian Tube
Between our middle ear (behind the eardrum) and our throat is a special connection called our Eustachian tube. This tube opens and closes every time we swallow. Some people can even hear this happen with some “crackling” sounds with each swallow. Most people don’t think about this connection until they fly in an airplane or drive down a mountain and feel the need to “pop” their ears. The “popping” that happens is actually the Eustachian tube doing its job.
How the Eustachian Tube Equalizes Pressure
The purpose of the Eustachian tube is to equalize the pressure on both sides of the eardrum (inside and outside). Imagine stretching part of a balloon smoothly over the top of a glass jar. When the balloon is first placed on the jar, it is easy to press on the balloon to make it move back and forth as a drum would move. Now, let’s imagine that a candle is placed in the glass jar before covering it. Once the candle is covered with the balloon, the fire would go out, and the air pressure within the jar would become lower than the pressure outside the jar. This would then cause the balloon to be pulled into the jar and make the balloon more rigid. As it pulls in, the movement of the balloon is restricted, and it no longer moves as freely.
What Happens When the Eustachian Tube Fails
This is very similar to what happens to our eardrum when our Eustachian tube is not functioning (not opening) properly. Due to body processes, the air pressure within our middle ear becomes lower than the air pressure outside of our middle ear, pulling our eardrum in. Typically, our Eustachian tube opens as we swallow to allow air pressure to equalize behind the eardrum before this becomes disturbing or problematic. However, if it is not functioning properly, the eardrum will continue to be drawn in more. As it pulls in, the eardrum becomes more rigid. With poorer eardrum mobility, sounds entering our ear do not flow as freely as they would otherwise, creating a temporary hearing loss and, in turn, the sensation that our ears are “plugged” and need to “pop.”
Allergies and the Eustachian Tube
If you have allergies, you have likely experienced this phenomenon. Allergies often cause an inflammation and/or increased mucus production not only in your nasal passages, but also in your Eustachian tube. As this happens, your ear starts to feel like it is “plugged.” You try to yawn or swallow (to open up that Eustachian tube). Eventually, most people are able to get their ears to “pop” open, causing that relief of pressure. But sometimes it can persist.
When Ear Pressure Becomes a Problem
If it persists, what was at first just a discomfort can become painful and can also lead to the build-up of fluid in the middle ear. If left unchecked, it can eventually lead to a middle ear infection. In most cases, any hearing loss caused by middle ear issues will recover once the issue clears up. However, the longer the issue persists and the worse the infection gets, the greater the chance of a more permanent hearing loss.
What You Can Do
If you have allergies with fluctuating hearing and/or ear pain, it is important to be evaluated for allergies and possible treatment in order to reduce the hearing issues and protect yourself from ear infections. Doing so can help stave off permanent hearing issues.
Audiologists in Tucson, AZ
If you have been treated for your allergies and ear infections and your ears still feel plugged, we recommend follow-up at Oro Valley Audiology to be evaluated and, if needed, treated for hearing loss.
Oro Valley Audiology connects you to expert audiologists providing hearing tests in Tucson, AZ.
Please call our office at (520) 825-4770 to schedule your appointment.
