Quote Originally Posted by bfalls
I'm curious about your hearing correction. The only way putting tubes in your eardrums would help your hearing is if there was an difference in pressures between the inner and outer ear. This is pretty common in young children where the eustachian(sp) tube isn't developed to equalize the pressure. The pressure causes fluids to be drawn from the surrounding tissues. It's the tightness of the eardrum which causes initial hearing problems. If left untreated the eardrum stretches losing its flexibility causing permanent hearing loss.

The tubes are inserted to equalize the pressure and also allow drainage so the eardrum doesn't spontaneously puncture. My daughter actually had to have an eardrum punctured twice before tubes could be inserted. Voluntary puncturing allows the puncture to happen along the edge which heals better than a spontaneous puncture somewhere in the middle. How do the tubes help in your situation?
Bingo! My hearing was helped exactly how you described.

The whole "tube in your ear thing" has come a long way in the last 20 or 30 years. My eustachian tubes are not functioning properly leading to fluid buildup behind the eardrum. I had previously suffered from ear infections an had a pretty bad one a number of years ago. I was told by the doctor at the time that I had permanent loss in my right ear. Turns out that he was wrong.

Tubes are thought of generally as a childhood issue, but according to my current doctor, they are becoming more frequent in adults. It appears to be a much different procedure for adults with no anesthesia being used. Despite what they tell you, it hurts really bad to have it done. Well the insicion and insertion don't hurt so much, its the vacuuming out of all the junk behind your eardrum that hurts like an SOB. While outcomes differ from person to person, my hearing is almost 100%. I hear better than my wife now, which drives her nuts. She went from constantly demanding that I turn things down to demanding that I turn things up. I heard 20khz for the first time, granted it was at 95db.

The tubes will fall out on their own, with the hole healing on its own. The idea is that the function of eustachian tube will return to normal through the process. If it doesn't, then I have to weigh the option of another round of tubes or a more radical/invasive approach.

At this point, I can't imagine going back to the way I was.