Otitis Media Effusion

Otitis Media Effusion (OME) or middle ear fluid is the most common cause of hearing loss in children. It affects approximately 2.2 million children in the United States each year and can result from a blocked or malfunctioning Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the throat. OME can cause discomfort, fullness in the ear, and temporary hearing loss. It is often diagnosed by the presence of fluid behind the tympanic membrane without signs of inflammation or infection. 

Figure 1

A visit to an audiologist yesterday confirmed that this is the problem currently affecting my left ear. For quite a few months now I've noticed the hearing in that ear was diminished and it felt blocked. However, some simple external massage of the eustachian tube seems to have improved the condition and I'm now able to pop my ear drum on the left side, which I couldn't do before. I'm confident that with repeated massage sessions the condition will improve even further.

It's interesting that the audiologist's only suggestion was to visit a GP in order to arrange an appointment to see an ENT specialist. No self help suggestions at all, even though the Internet abounds in them. Another name for OME is "glue ear" and there was a popular procedure for children in the 1980's which involved inserting so-called grommets (little tubes) into the tympanic membrane in order to drain away the fluid (glue).

Disintegrating Teeth

Somewhat disconcertingly, the incisor with the hole in it on the upper right side of my mouth, totally disintegrated during the night. I only realised the loss when I was having a coffee and croissant at a local cafe this morning. Presumably, I swallowed the fragments and fortunately didn't choke to death.

While I still have enough teeth to get by, I can't help but speculate how many more will disintegrate in the coming months or years. Anyway, tomorrow I turn 74.5 years old. On that day, I'll be exactly 27214 days old and I'm beginning to feel very old.

Something Amiss

Figure 1 shows a record of my activity over the past few days generated by a pedometer app:

Figure 1

As can be seen, Thursday marked the day when I overextended myself and I spent the following three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) recovering. I did not go for an intentional walk on any of those days. Today, Monday the 2nd October 2023, I did go for an intentional walk although at a very leisurely path. I even rested for awhile on two park benches.

Despite the slow walk, I found that toward the end of my journey my left arm was becoming quite numb. This is not due to an impending heart attack because I've often noticed this before on my walks but never to such a severe degree. On my return home, I promptly took myself to bed for a couple of hours and just rested, lapsing briefly into a dream state. I'd had a good night's sleep and wouldn't normally have been fatigued after such a walk.

In bed, the joint in the pinkie on my right hand began to pain me for a while. Once I got up, I had some lunch and because I was chewing on the right side, I began to experience a dull ache in the teeth there that fortunately subsided quickly. My teeth and gums have almost returned to normal, which is to say I still have a gaping hole where a molar had been on my left side and a hole in one of the incisors on my right side. SNAFU as one might say.

It seems clear that even mild activity is a little much for my body to bear at the moment. My chest discomfort has returned a week or more ago. I'm coming up to the fifth anniversary of when I first noticed the problem. Getting back to being quickly overcome by fatigue, the issue is whether the normal deterioration caused by age is the culprit or whether some other factor is at work. Much as I dislike any medical scrutiny, it might be wise to have a blood test. We'll see. I'll continue to monitor my condition.