Some people suffer with problems equalising their ears. In some, this is a regular occurrence, but in others, it only happens during flights or diving. This results in symptoms such as pain, pressure, popping of the ears or muffled hearing. If intranasal steroids and simple measures have not improved these symptoms, a balloon eustachian tuboplasty may be recommended. This is a minimally-invasive procedure involving stretching the opening of the Eustachian tube, carried out through the nose using endoscopes. There is little recovery time with this and generally patients can return to normal activities the following day. An alternative option for people with ETD is the insertion of a
grommet
. This involves making a cut in the ear drum and inserting a tube to help ventilate the ears, bypassing the Eustachian tube problem. It is thus a considered a more invasive approach.
