A feeling like a foreign body is in your ear and you hear everything twice? If you know that, you might be suffering from a gaping tube.
Photo: Istock
- What is the Eustachian tube?
- What if the Eustachian tube is permanently disturbed?
- What causes a gaping tube?
- How is an open tube treated?
Your ear feels weird and you do not hear well? A gaping or open tube could be the problem. Many people suffer from tinnitus, but this noise disturbance in the ear can be just as annoying and debilitating as the constant noise in the ear. But often she remains unrecognized.
If you look at the anatomy of the ear, you can see immediately that it is quite complicated. There is a small tube called the Eustachian tube. This can be influenced by various factors in their function. The result: the hearing is severely impaired.
What is the Eustachian tube?
Photo: Istock
The tube or Eustachian tube is about 3.5 centimeters long in the adult and is a compound in the middle ear that leads from the tympanic tube to the nasopharynx. About them takes place a pressure equalization. So the pressure in the nasopharynx is adjusted to that in the middle ear. If the Eustachian tube is disturbed, this pressure equalization does not take place as usual.
In addition, the Eustachian tubes diverts secretions from the ear. In case of a cold, the Eustachian tube may be narrowed . The pressure compensation is disturbed.
What if the Eustachian tube is permanently disturbed?
One speaks of a gaping or open tube, if a dysfunction of the Eustachian tube exists. The pressure equalization is disturbed because the tube does not close normally. Because usually the tube is closed by the surrounding fat or cartilage tissue and opens only briefly, if different muscles play together.
A typical symptom of an open tube is autophony. That is, your own voice is heard overly loud. Even your own breathing is perceived as loud. Partly also perceived as flapping or rattling. Above all, the autophony can lead to a high level of suffering in those affected.
What causes a gaping tube?
What exactly are the causes of an open or gaping Eustachian tube, so far not fully understood. Hormonal changes, for example, during pregnancy or severe weight loss may be the cause of the open tube. In addition, scars in the nasopharynx can lead to a malfunction of the tube.
How is an open tube treated?
In many patients, the open tube is relatively symptomless, so that treatment is not necessary. In about 7 percent of all patients, complaints occur. In women, for example, stopping the pill can lead to improvement. Attempts to artificially close the tube with collagen or silicone syringes have not been successful for very long.
Short-term relief is also available when you lie down. The rearrangement changes the pressure and the tube closes.
