Ongoing Ear Problems Since Starting CPAP

This may be useful:

viewtopic/t59817/Ear-Problems-after-CPA ... ml#p561430

Just a note: placing tubes, like they do for children, isn't a solution. For one thing, tubes are placed THROUGH the eardrum. In addition, they are a temporary fix - they fall out after a few years. The goal for the child is to reduce the problem until their grow larger and the problem magically goes away. For an adult, they are done growing.

I have wonky eustachian tubes and have had all of my life. As a child I had many, many ear infections and several surgeries. Fewer as an adult. Last winter however I went through a terrible period with my ears. It took many months to resolve. Blocked eustachian tubes can make throwing off an infection problematic, especially if fluid builds up behind the ear drum. Blocked eustachian tubes can create an environment that's conducive to infections of the middle/inner ear.

In my experience, cpap has had no impact on my esutachian tubes, or perhaps been a slight help: a little pressure may help keep them open in normal times. I don't think that this therapy had any effect during my troubles last winter.

My doctor counseled patience, which was hard to hear (no pun intended). In the end, this was the best strategy. My blocked eustachian tubes eventually opened and allowed fluid behind my ear drums to drain. Again, it took months.

it may be that you're going through one of these tough periods. did you have a cold/flu as onset to your ear infections?

p.s. I'm unfamiliar with 'sensorineural hearing loss". It sounds like it might be related to nerve pathways. i can't see how cpap could cause or make worse this sort of hearing loss, unless somehow the cochlea was involved--but that has nothing to do with eustachian tubes. I can't see how pressure from cpap could effect the cochlea; again, certainly not nerve pathways.

I'm sure that you've notices that if you plug your nose and mouth and 'blow' pressure, it can pop your eustachian tubes and perhaps improve your hearing for a while? this happens for me.

I'm just sort of throwing things out there.

I was thinking of other issues that could be affecting you.
Go to advanced search and go to topics only, type Vertigo, lots of information there.
Best to you.

hegel wrote:p.s. I'm unfamiliar with 'sensorineural hearing loss". It sounds like it might be related to nerve pathways. i can't see how cpap could cause or make worse this sort of hearing loss, unless somehow the cochlea was involved--but that has nothing to do with eustachian tubes. I can't see how pressure from cpap could effect the cochlea; again, certainly not nerve pathways.

SNHL is caused by damage to the hair cells in the cochlea, and is most often associated with exposure to loud noises. SSNHL (sudden sensorineural hearing loss) is SNHL with a sudden onset and is usually caused by infection infiltrating the inner ear and causing inflammation that damages the hair cells, though there are other causes such as tumors that have to be ruled out through testing. In my case, the hearing loss occurred suddenly with the onset of an acute ear infection, did not improve when the ear cleared, and was confirmed by bone conduction not to be conductive in nature (that is to say, it was not the result of fluid in the ear or damage to the bones of the middle ear, etc.). In other words, the infection damaged by cochlea.

This is not to say that CPAP pressure itself directly caused the hearing loss—I never claimed that. But for someone who has lost hearing due to infection, recurring infections over the course of more than twelve months are a cause of concern. And since I have not had issues with Eustachian tube dysfunction prior to starting PAP treatment, it is reasonable to worry (but by no means certain, as I readily admit) that PAP may be at least partly responsible for the issue.

I'm sure that you've notices that if you plug your nose and mouth and 'blow' pressure, it can pop your eustachian tubes and perhaps improve your hearing for a while? this happens for me.

I am familiar with the Valsalva maneuver and have used it to some effect with ordinary congestion, but when I am suffering from an acute infection it is completely ineffective. Sometimes it helps to clear the ear after several days of treatment.

Pugsy: I increased my EPR to 2 and have so far seen a decrease in AHI, particularly in central apneas. It's too early to say whether this will have any effect on my ears of course, but at least it has not compromised and may have improved my PAP therapy. It's strange having less pressure to exhale against, though; even that 1 cm H20 difference is noticeable.

Hi Latinist,

I have no experience with what you're asking about - tubes etc - but I will say that I began CPAP a week ago and even just using it sporadically, my ears are stuffed. I have a history of really bad earaches since childhood and then two eardrum perorations, one in my 30s and one in my 40s. These issues have gotten markedly better as I reach my 50s now but I want to keep it that way.

I'm not using my machine much because the expiration pressure is difficult and my instincts are telling me to get a biLevel machine with EPR (the "FLEX" on machine does very little if anything that I can feel).

So I have a request in to my doctor today to discuss this. For now I am using nasal fluticasone which worked almost 100% to clear up my last infection before it started, from the inside, rather than nasty pills that have in the past "pushed" any congestion through my eardrums. Taking the fluticasone on a regular basis though is not an option, so I'll have to treat the root cause of the issue.

Best wishes in resolving yours too.

And since I have not had issues with Eustachian tube dysfunction prior to starting PAP treatment, it is reasonable to worry (but by no means certain, as I readily admit) that PAP may be at least partly responsible for the issue.

Certainly a valid concern. Let us know if you find good information about this.