Question: Recently I had grommets placed in my ears. While the drainage system seems to work, I still suffer a heavy hearing loss, despite Sudafed and ear drops. Is there any solution?
Grommets are tiny tubes that are placed through the ear drum to allow air to pass from the outer ear to the middle ear. The middle ear is connected by the Eustachian tube through the center of the head to the back of the nose. This allows the air pressure in the middle ear to equalize with that in the outside air (popping of the ears) when you change altitude by going up or down a hill or in an aircraft.
If the Eustachian tube becomes blocked by phlegm from the nose, pressure can build up in the middle ear to cause discomfort, or with altitude changes, the phlegm may be forced up the Eustachian tube and into the middle ear where it settles as a thick substance known as ‘glue’ (thus a ‘glue ear’). The glue reduces the vibrations of the eardrum and the tiny bones that transmit sounds across the middle ear to the hearing mechanism in the inner ear, causing varying degrees of deafness.
A grommet is inserted through the eardrum to allow air into the middle ear and the increased air pressure will very gradually push the glue back down the Eustachian tube to the nose, eventually clearing the ear. The grommet will be expelled naturally from the ear drum as it heals after a few months. Not until the grommet is expelled will hearing return to normal. Sudafed reduces the amount of new phlegm being produced in the nose, while ear drops can do many tasks, depending on the type of drop, but many ear drops should be avoided while grommets are in place.
If you are continuing to have problems you should see your GP so that the amount of glue in the middle ear and the position of the grommet can be assessed, and the need for ear drops and further Sudafed determined.

Question: My ears are ringing all the time, and when I get nervous or tense they get worse. How can I help this?
Noises in the ears are a common curse that becomes more common the older you are. Many patients are plagued with such noises to the extent that they are unable to lead a normal lifestyle. The first step in treatment is to be thoroughly examined by your doctor to exclude any disease such as high blood pressure, wax in the ears, or an overactive thyroid gland, which may be responsible for the noise. You should also avoid possible aggravating causes such as coffee, tea and cola drinks.
After this, it is often wise to seek a referral to an ear, nose and throat specialist, or a general physician, for more detailed investigations. Unfortunately, in all too many victims of tinnitus (the technical name for ringing in the ears), no cause can be found, and the next step is to experiment with the many different medications that may relieve your problem. This is very much a matter of trial and error, that must be carried out with the cooperation of your GP, as most of these medications require a prescription, and some may have side effects. None has a better than 30% success rate, but they should be tried in turn to see if any help.
Finally, it is possible to use a hearing-aid type device called a tinnitus masker that produces a constant tone to drown out the noises you hear, or have an operation to deafen the involved ear. When tinnitus is combined with dizziness and deafness, the condition is called Meniere’s disease.