Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube for Blocked Ear

Blocked ear is one of the most common presenting symptoms at our ENT specialist clinics in Singapore. Indeed, blocked ear sensation can be very annoying and troublesome for many patients with ENT problems. Some patients report popping and crackling sounds in their ears, usually a sign of their Eustachian pressure tubes trying to clear and open up.

If you suffer from nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis), sinus infections (sinusitis) or have just come down with a recent flu or cold, then your Eustachian tubes may not be working as well to equalise the pressure between the back of the nose and the behind the eardrums. This gives rise to the intermittent blocked ear sensation which may even become a persistent blocked ear symptom after a while. The Eustachian tubes normally stay closed most of the time anyway. Only when you actively swallow, speak or chew, do they open up.

So after medication such as antihistamines and nasal sprays have already been tried without any improvement, some patients go on to have a short daycase procedure performed under sedation to dilate or open up the Eustachian tube. This is done under guidance of a tiny camera to insert a small balloon catheter into the Eustachian tube opening: All of this is done through the nose!

The balloon is usually inflated for 2 minutes and then deflated and safely removed from the nose.

What’s interesting is that a very recent study in an eminent ear journal, Otology Neurotology, has just published longterm results of the Eustachian tube balloon dilation procedure to treat blocked ear. The study done at a top ENT clinic in America showed that the Eustachian tube balloon does seem to help open up the Eustachian pressure tubes to relieve the blocked ear problem, and results continue to be good even in the longterm at 2 years after having the Eustachian tube balloon dilation performed.

For all the many patients attending ENT specialist clinics in Singapore, who suffer from blocked ear and/or blocked nose problems, the Eustachian tube balloon device is a good option to consider, especially when other treatment options have failed to work to relieve the blocked ear. It is a safe and straightforward procedure to help your blocked ear problems due to poor Eustachian tube function in Singapore.

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