Hi! So I had a CT scan and the Dr called Fri and said I had no fluid in my ears and that I could have Eagle Syndrome since the bone abnormality is there that you have when you have Eagle Syndrome. I had an ear infection mid April and the same symptoms are still happening today. Same pain etc. and I just want this to go away. Pain is so bad. Below are my symptoms, can you review and let me know what you think? I am looking for a new ENT so if anybody has any recommendations for one in the California in the Bay Area please let me know. Thank you!!!
Ear pain in both ears since mid April Same pain & feelings as when had fluid Neck soreness- glands Hard to talk at times-jaw hurts Headache at times In front ear and below ear hurts Air pumped in by Dr hurts Walk with wind & cold hurt really bad all day Air cond in car blow on ear hurts Swallow ears pops a lot Ringing in ears at times not last long Low ring a lot for hours Feels like need to pop Hearing test 6/12 no fluid Hearing test showed conductive hearing loss, unilateral
It is on one side or both? It sounds like you could have ES. The doctor who comes highly recommended close to the Bay area is Dr. Samji in San Jose. There are a few other members on this site who have seen him and had surgery. He was my first out of state choice. I would at least make an appointment with him.
What's ES? Both ears, sometimes worse in one than the other. Today it's really bad in my left and right just hurts a little. Thanks, I will try to get an apt with him! Thank you!
My pleasure tdunc. ES is short for Eagles Syndrome. You probably do have ES.
I have it on both sides too. Ear aches, pressure in ears like they need to pop, jaw pain, headaches in the sinus areas of the face and occipital headaches, sore throat, difficulty swallowing at times, ringing in the ears are just some of my symptoms. My list of symptoms I gave to my surgeon was about 2 pages long. The longer the tusks are in the body the worse the symptoms get. I am right side dominant with ES pain and symptoms.
You are blessed to live near an amazing surgeon. Please keep me posted on your progress. Take care.
Thank you. Are you sensitive to cold air/wind? I don’t have any sinus, back of neck or swallowing issues tho… Dr put me on acid reflux meds to see if that helps since I clear my throat a few times a day. Came after I had a ear infection feels like it did when I had fluid in my ear, I was shocked to hear that I did not have any. Thanks for the help!!
Yes, it sounds like Eagles. The thing about Eagles is that the elongated bone is up in the carotid sheath with a bunch of nerves. So our symptoms have a lot in common, but sometimes one or two of us have some different symptoms like your sensitivity to cold air and wind. That is possible because of the nerves that might be affected.Take BigsBug's advice and check in with Dr. Samji.
Some of us have tooth pain like we need root canals. I did and after surgery, the only time that I have the feeling is if I have turned my neck in the wrong way and I get some ear pain and tooth pain, so now I know it is not a bad tooth. I am waiting to see if my sometimes issues go away or get worse. If they get worse, I will be sending information to Dr. Samji in California or Dr. Cognetti in Philadelphia. They are the rock stars of this site for now. We are hoping for more.
The fact that your doctor recognized that you could have Eagles is a good start. Bravo to him for at least recognizing that you might have that problem. So many are clueless.
The acid reflux meds can help a lot to reduce any inflammation that might be caused by acid reflux thereby reducing swelling near the nerves. Also, be aware that the vagus nerve wanders from the intracranial sheath all the way to the digestive system on the left side and around to the heart on the right side. So it is conceivable that you could have acid reflux from the Eagles putting pressure on the nerve. I had a polyp removed from my stomach before my ES surgery and the acid reflux and pain in my ear went away for several months. When the ear pain came back so did my acid reflux, I think they are connected, my gastro doctor agreed that it could be possible, my ENT not so much. Now after surgery, I find myself needing much less acid reflux medication. There was a time in history that doctors severed a branch of the vagus nerve to resolve bad gastric acid problems which resulted in peptic ulcers. I think it was called a vagotomy.
There are several other nerves in the sheath with the styloid so you can see why so many symptoms can be related to Eagles Syndrome. I hope you read on in our posts. Many of our members have posted lots of articles and pictures about Eagles. The people on this forum probably collectively know more about this problem than most ENT's or any other doctors .
PS Surgery is the only effective treatment. Take your time choose the doctor wisely after reading our posts etc.
Good luck and keep us posted of anything you learn and how you are doing.