Anderson Reporter

A doctor affiliated with the Indianapolis Sinus Center is reminding people that ear pressure can be debilitating.

Dr. Nicholas Hollenkamp told the Anderson Reporter that eustachian tube dysfunction is really ear pressure in a nutshell. Eustachian tubes are small tubes that run between the part of the ear behind the eardrum called “middle ears” and upper throat, healthline said. They equalize ear pressure and drain fluid from the middle ear.

“(Eustachian tube dysfunction) is where the eustachian tubes are not ventilating the middle ear as well as it should,” Hollenkamp said. “(Patients) get a lot of ear pressure and discomfort. It waxes and wanes and comes and goes and then a little bit of nasal congestion will seem to exacerbate it. It just really bothers them quite a bit, and when it gets worse, they have fluid behind the ears and bigger problems.”

Gold medalist Winter Olympian Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain nearly lost her bid in defending her gold in the Women’s Skeleton (sliding sport) during the 2018 Winter Olympics near Pyeongchang, South Korea, when a sinus problem appeared. 

Yarnold's sinus issues were caused by an inner ear issue, according to Wikipedia.

Yarnold, a 2014 gold medal winner in the skeleton, was in first place after setting a course record in the opening heat of the 2018 event, but went to third place in the halfway point of the contest, The Sun said. She said she was having problems with her sinuses and had struggled to breathe. However, she overcame her problem to win the gold in the end.

“In terms of fetal development, your middle ear is the sinus," Hollenkamp said. "It's a modified sinus that separates during fetal development, and the eustachian tube is the connecting piece." “Anything that affects your sinuses can affect your middle ear via that mechanism. Treating the sinuses definitely tends to help the ears.”

Balloons used for the sinuplasty (endoscopic nasal surgery) can be used to perform eustachian tube dilations, which help open up a eustachian tube to allow it to ventilate better, Hollenkamp said.

Indianapolis Sinus Center’s Sinus Quiz may be taken online. The center also has a website.