[Click! Health] If Your Ears Feel Blocked and Voices Sound Echoed... "Suspect Eustachian Tube Dysfunction"

If you experience symptoms such as ear fullness and hearing your own voice echoing, you should suspect Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.

[Image courtesy of Pixabay]

According to Korea University Anam Hospital on the 19th, the Eustachian tube, also called the auditory tube, is an organ that connects the nose and ear, functioning like a water pipe that equalizes the pressure between the external environment and the middle ear. It briefly opens and closes when swallowing saliva or yawning to balance the pressure between the middle ear and the outside. Normally, the Eustachian tube remains closed and opens or closes as needed, but when it is always open, this condition is called 'Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.'

The main symptom of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction is autophony, where your own voice or breathing sounds echo loudly in your ear. You may also feel ear fullness as if your ear is underwater and experience a sensation of hearing loss. Due to these symptoms, it is sometimes mistaken for sudden sensorineural hearing loss or Meniere's disease, which are conditions that cause hearing loss.

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction can also occur with rapid weight loss. Since the Eustachian tube is formed by muscles, these muscles shrink when body weight decreases, causing the tube to remain open. If the weight loss is not due to dieting, examinations are necessary to find other diseases causing the rapid weight loss. Additionally, diseases that cause muscle atrophy, such as cerebrovascular diseases, motor neuron diseases, and multiple sclerosis, can also induce Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. There are also research findings suggesting a connection with hormonal changes such as pregnancy.

Symptoms of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction may occur temporarily and improve naturally, but they can also persist chronically and cause various discomforts. Therefore, if symptoms last for more than one month, you should visit a hospital and receive a medical examination.

Professor Park Ui-hyun of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Korea University Anam Hospital said, "Eustachian Tube Dysfunction can be easily treated with nasal sprays that have anticholinergic effects, and if symptoms persist, treatment can be done through procedures such as ventilation tube insertion or surgery to inject fillers, fat, or cartilage into the open tube." He advised, "Since diseases causing rapid weight loss or muscle atrophy may accompany this condition, if symptoms persist, you should promptly visit a hospital."

Professor Park Eui-hyun, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Korea University Anam Hospital. [Photo by Korea University Anam Hospital]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.