#eustachian tubes

[sideblog-sillies]

Why in the world do we have a tube in our throat that connects to our ear??? Those shouldn't be connected??? But they are???

[transpsyche]

somehow I don’t think sleeping is supposed to make you so in pain that it makes you feel nauseous, yet here we are

[rubyvroom]

whatever is the opposite of advice

the number one advice for flying in an airplane when you have a sinus infection is don't. but who cancels an airplane flight because of a cold? like, who in Regular Human Being Land can cancel their non-refundable flight, extend their travel plans and add extra hotel days for that? Instead I followed the numbers two, three, four, etc advice for flying in an airplane with a sinus infection and now my head is cemented shut and everything sounds underwater, but at least my eardrums didn't burst. in summary:

don't fly with a cold, your eardrums could explode

when you do fly with a cold because you are a real person in the world, you're going to take lots of decongestants an hour before takeoff

purchase Earplanes. Do they work? who knows? they are magical artifacts. maybe they work in a dumbo's feather kind of way, but whatever works. purchase them.

nose spray. the kind that makes your brain hurt. use right before takeoff

put the earplanes in your ears. are they in right? how do you tell? push them in more.

gum. chew it

wiggle your jaw from side to side like a dumbass

reverse chewing motion - open your jaw abruptly. this looks bizarre. you look bizarre. keep doing it constantly.

This should all be making your ears pop. it should feel better after they pop. If it doesn't, do it again.

drink lots of water. maybe try pinching your nose shut while you drink water. That didn't work? drink more water.

do my ears hurt because my eardrums are are exploding, or because I'm chewing gum while wearing weird earplugs so that everything grinds together, or it is my mask pulling on my ears in the same goddamn spot as always that is rubbed raw? Take everything off to check.

Okay, pain got better. Now put it back on, dummy, why did you do that? You probably messed yourself up taking everything off.

repeat x 100 until landng

next flight : do entire cycle again, more miserable this time

So I guess the real advice is, don't get sick when traveling, and when your mom is being cagey about not feeling well you need to get away from her before you catch her cold that she didn't tell you about before you spend the last few days of your christmas vacation in bed miserable, goddammit

[artikals]

I'm the opposite of gatekeeping. You WILL get invested in my interests. You WILL listen.

[the-spoonie-life]

Right that update i promised you all, this might be a long one.

First off me and my partner moved into a house, we’re renting but it’s nice and we’ve got the dog. Yeah that’s a thing I’ve got a dog, he’s adorable and cuddles up with me when he knows I’m not doing so good.

Second off I got a lot of complications following a cervical punch biopsy where one of the nerves got nicked and am still dealing with the nerve pain from it 4 months on.

Following on from that I’ve been getting super dizzy and turns out I’ve got Eustachian tube dysfunction (it’s all the pain and symptoms of an ear infection without the infection) which is actually super painful but now I’ve got an answer.

Hopefully I’ll be back to “normal” in a couple of weeks.

Sending lots of spoons

Anastasia

[anartificialsatellite]

Trepanation is sounding pretty good right about now. Not for any self-harm reasons, I just am really congested and I feel like I could pop a hole in there and let some of the goop out, you know?

[sindirimba]

just blew my nose and instantly muffled the hearing in my left ear and made myself intensely dizzy. literally why are these things connected. evolution what are you doing.

[robinyourcreator]

i drank water that was too cold and now my inner ear itches.

[clatterbane]

Prompted by it coming up that have been listening to a lot more voice audio recordings lately: yes, that is mostly working now! Headphones seem to be enough to get around the worst of the auditory processing weirdness, if I do pay extra attention to listening.

The situation is enough better overall that I am actually enjoying listening to podcasts and audio books.

Obviously, the accumulated eardrum scarring, etc. is not going anywhere. But, since the base problem accidentally got fixed? There at least isn't more damage happening. And it's amazing how much better you can hear when you're not going around with at least one ear constantly blocked up to some extent. Who'da thunk it? 😵‍💫

The lack of dizziness and periodically staggering around like a drunk has been kinda nice too, of course. Even a lot of the tinnitus has quieted down. But, those aren't as directly connected to being able to follow a podcast.

[spooky-circuits]

Man I sure do love having ears that refuse to drain fluid properly

[lighterium]

Autism and tinnitus is not the start of the year combo i wanted

[dnpfix]

Dan--man who loves to act like he knows all the words--calling his eustachian tubes "etruschian canals" is truly next level funny.

Etruschian is not a real word. Closest would be the Etruscan civilization which existed in ancient Italy?

No wonder phil didn't know what he meant. It was a made up word.

[sweetfirebird]

so it turns out some of my mopiness is my body fighting off another infection

(I've gotten ear infections since I was a kid. I apparently have weirdly shaped ear tubes. They were weirder shaped when I was young in fact, there was surgery so I could hear. But anyway, I have the ear dysfunction and you would think I'd notice when the situation starts to happen but no, I do not. I just think it's my sinuses every time. ... which to be fair sometimes it is also that.)

ANYWAY.

brains are bodies and bodies are brains

[hydaelynsanswers]

having my first of four certifying at-depth open water dives tomorrow. been having trouble equalizing my ears the past two pool sessions. this quote, with increasing urgency, is continually playing in my brain:

[lady-harrowhark]

i'm so annoyed with my brain lately, just everything is taking way longer than it should to get done and i keep completely losing my grip on time. and i know part of it is that i switched meds a few months ago and i don't think this kind works as well. and also i've been having to do a lot of work at night after they've worn off, but i can't take it later because i'm also trying to get back in a better sleep routine (go ahead and laugh here, it's funny) because i know that's not helping. i just want to be able to sit down and write a report and not have it take three hours!!!!!!!!!

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

Unsolicited invitation to imagine a rainbow. In the perfect moment when the rainstorm has passed over and beyond where you are, the sun shines from the west and refracts in the retreating rain. The starlight scatters and bends, creating an arc across the sky. The air is comfortably warm and easy to breathe. I hope that things get better for you soon.

Thank you. It's been a rough year thus far, and I need good things to happen.