Clogged ears and Q+A

My ears get clogged when my allergies are really bad.  It feels kind of like they are stuffed with cotton and it feels like it muffles sound.  It also can make me feel a bit off balance sometimes.  Since ragweed season started, my ears have felt clogged up all the time.  I recently saw my ENT and when I told him about it he said that considering how constantly congested my nose and sinuses he was surprised my ears haven't also been constantly congested up until now.

So it seems I can add ear congestion to my list of things that are always congested.

I have also been given a more questions to answer, and that's my favorite part of these posts:

Q: I can't imagine sneezing as much as you say you do! Do you tend to basically have to sneeze full-out, or is it more rapid, weaker sneezing for prolonged periods? Either way, I imagine it's exhausting.
A: I get both.  I usually have to sneeze full-out though.  When I get really bad I have much more of those rapid weaker ones that go on and on without me being able to take a breath.  I really hate the rapid ones because of that.  It really is exhausting sneezing so much.  I leaves me worn out and tired much of the time when my allergies are bad.
 
Q: And what kind of precautions do you try to take at home? Do you have air filters, etc??
A:  The basic of course is tissues everywhere, lol.  HEPA filters of course, especially in my bedroom.  I don't keep any plants in my house, not just in case of plant allergies, but also to avoid mold that can grow in soil.  I try to usually keep my mattress and pillows in plastic cases, with sheets and pillowcases over them, but it can be a bit uncomfortable to sleep on.  I think there might be more comfy forms of dustmite coves, but I haven't looked for them yet.  I use blinds, but not curtains.  I don't have much stuff hanging on the walls or nick-knacks because of dust.  I should have wood floors instead of carpets, but I don't have the $ to do anything about that right now.  I should also be cleaning very often, but it bothers my allergies so I tend to put it off too long and of course it makes the cleaning worse.  We remove our shoes at the door so we don't track in more stuff.  We make sure the bathroom dosen't get moldy or mildewy or musty..keep it ventilated and no standing water.  I think that's it.  There might be more but its so routine that I probably don't think about it.

Q:If you were visiting a friend and they said "tell me what I can do to make things better for you while you're visiting", what action or actions would help the most make things more bearable with your allergies?
A: 'let me go home' is the first thing I can think of, lol.  Seriously though, I can't think of anything someone can do that would be super-helpful in the moment.  If I had to come up with something, I'd say to move any flowers, etc out of the room(s) we are in, try not to use anything scented at all, and don't vacuum/dust when I am there (that's best done a bit b4 I show up so that dust and such will settle down).  I would also ask for them to not bless me all the time and to act like nothing is wrong.  The less attention I get about it, the better.  Unless it was a really good friend however, I think I'd feel too embarrassed to really say anything.

Thanks for letting me answer questions, it makes posting easier.  Keep them coming!

Q+A with my ENT

I have been seeing doctors for a long time.  I used to have a regular doc, an ENT, and allergist, a pulmonologist, and a gyn.  I never saw the regular doc much.  The allergist and ENT I would see often.  I also used to see the pulmonologist often for asthma, until we discovered my dairy allergy.  After I stopped dairy my asthma got much better and now as long as I avoid dairy my asthma isn't a problem.  Now I just get kinda wheezy when my allergies are bad.  The gyn I used to see more but nothing helped my cycle without messing me up in other ways so now I only see a gyn rarely for exams.

Now here in NY I am only seeing an ENT and an allergist.  I tend not to ask many questions when I have appointments.  I usually just want them to be over and I am a bit too shy and embarrassed to ask much.  Also, most visits they have students or other docs in to look at me, poke and prod, etc since I seem to be such an interesting case they want to share and that also makes me not be in the mood to ask questions.  This week however at my ENT visit this week, there was no other docs or students and I felt really at ease for some reason so i asked him questions and so I wanted to share a bit of how that went in a Q+A type format.

Q: Why is it that sometimes my allergies affect my nose more and other times my sinuses and how come unless my allergies are bad, my eyes aren't as bothered and same with my ears? 

A: Your nose and sinuses are affected more because for you, once an allergen gets in there it has a hard time getting out, partly because of your excessive congestion and sneezes that aren't very forceful.  Sometimes your sinuses are more sensitive/irritated and sometimes your nose is, and that is what leads to you feeling your allergies more in your nose or your sinuses at any given time.  For your eyes, its easier for the allergens to leave, so its often not as much of a problem.  Eyes and ears tend to get more affected when allergies are worse because nose, sinuses, ears, eyes, etc are all pretty much connected so when the mucus membranes in one area get very irritated, it tends to spread.  One reason why your eyes can tear up so much is that when your allergies are bad the tube leading from your eyes to your nose swells shut and the tears have no where to go.

Q: Why do my allergies last longer than other peoples'? 

A: A few reasons.  One is that your body creates an allergic response with histamines and other chemicals than other patients I have seen, to even a small amount of allergen, and that's also why your reactions are so intense.  Another reason is again the extreme congestion and non-forceful sneezes keeping the allergens in place longer.  Also, the simple physical irritation of the mucus membranes makes them more sensitive to repeated allergens and your gets irritated very easily.

Q: How come I don't cough much and my throat doesn't bother me that much? 

A: Usually, a runny nose tends to run forward out the nose in kids and out the back of the nose in adults.  That's why you see more snotty noses in kids, and in adults its more of a post nasal drip, which also irritates the throat more and causes coughing.  Besides the insides of your nasal passages being smaller in diameter than they should be, they are also closer in shape to a child's structure so most of the mucus comes out the front and not the back.

Q: How can my nose sometimes make so much snot?

A: The main way all mucus membranes respond to an allergen is by swelling, leaking fluid, and irritation (and yea I (Kate) understand that...I have had allergic reaction on other mucus membranes too, which is a hassle!).  A major reason you nose seems to make so much snot is just the fact that most of it comes out the front of your nose instead of going down the back.  When I look in your nose, it is hard to make out much because everything inside is so swollen and when mucus membranes are swollen up against each other it tends to cause more mucus production.  Your nose does build up some mucus, which is why when you bend forward it comes out faster.  The front areas of your nostrils are often filled up with mucus, which is why we need to clean out that area before we can look into your nose.  Your mucus membranes are often creating mucus at a very fast rate. 

I also asked him why the front areas of my nostrils were always filled up with mucus and he told me since I am not able to blow my nose and I don't squeeze or pinch my nose (cause that would send me into sneezing fits), the mucus that builds up there tends to stay there more than it otherwise would.

Those were my main questions.  I think I might have asked one or 2 more.  If I remember then I will post them.