Posts by Raymond Kelly20

Look, if you’re out there hunting for a decent private eye doctor in Washington, D.C., let me save you some serious grief and just say stay far away from Dr. Vukas and his clinic on Broadway

Seriously, for the insane amount of cash you'll blow on a private visit there, you won't even get half of what you actually need, let alone the high-quality care you're paying for!

crimsonbear66 said:Hey everyone!

Just checking back in to give you an update... I went to the dentist for some X-rays to see if my teeth had anything to do with all this, but everything looks fine. No inflammation or granulomas to speak of.

Things have definitely taken a turn for the worse lately. Both ears feel completely plugged, my head is pounding, and I've got this cough (mostly in the mornings). My nose is either running constantly or totally blocked, and I just feel wiped out and exhausted... 😢

I haven't had a fever at all, nor have I had one since this whole thing started.

What should I ask when I see my doctor on Monday? What should I push for so I can get this sorted out quickly?

Any advice would be appreciated...

Is it okay to bring up the ear swab again? 😢

To me, this sounds like you might be dealing with a sinus infection.

How’s your balance been holding up?

crimsonbear66 said:Fair enough, but like I said, I know better than to poke around in my ear and I haven't had issues until now.
A granuloma? (A granuloma is a pathological process where bone tissue is replaced by soft tissue full of blood vessels and immune cells. It's how the body fights irritation from a root canal. It can spread over time and cause bone damage, so you shouldn't ignore it.) I looked that up, but I don't fully get it...

I'm going to get that molar fixed as soon as possible, regardless of this whole situation.

No one did a swab; I clearly either woke the doctor up or interrupted their lunch... luckily they didn't kick me out... But I have a question, where could that blood have come from? That's what's really bothering me. Since the "external exam" showed everything inside the ear was clear, where did that bleeding actually come from and why?

Thanks for the help and the time!

Man, I don't get how they wouldn't have done an ear swab if you're actually having symptoms.
Viruses and bacteria both love to cause this kind of stuff.
You could always hit up your primary care doctor and get a referral for an ear swab, just to see what the lab results say. They showed me all sorts of things once; I think it costs about $50 maybe like $120 or something.
The way I ended up getting a swab was by seeing a specialist first. He gave me a full rundown, looked everything over, and then used a vacuum/suction tool to clear my ears out—using air, not water, which is key. Then he told me I really needed swabs. He was actually pretty decent about it, though; he suggested I go back to my regular doctor and handle it through insurance since doing it through him would cost two or three times more.
So I got the swab, got the results, and the report was a mess. I went back to my GP with the results, and she immediately tried to push some antibiotic on me, even though my specialist specifically said, "don't take anything orally," and that ear issues should be treated locally/directly in the ear.
Naturally, I went back to my specialist after that. He gave me some ear drops. I haven't gone back for a follow-up yet because work has been insane and I haven't had a second to breathe, and I really should have cleared this up before the holidays, but my ears feel fine now.
You mentioned it was just a little dried blood, right? So it’s not constant. If you had actual bleeding in your head, I'm pretty sure that blood would be constantly draining out of your ear. But hey, I'm no doctor, so it could be anything.

A granuloma is an inflammatory process, and it basically pumps toxins into your system. In a worst-case scenario, it can lead to heart valve issues. Sometimes you can actually see it or feel it.
It can also trigger all kinds of infections once it flares up. Dental areas are super sensitive, but I doubt a tooth issue alone would make your ear bleed.
Anyway, if you've got the cash, just go see a private specialist.

Plus, you aren't considering the most obvious possibility.
Maybe you just had a tiny pimple in your ear canal that popped.
Back when I was a teenager, my ears were acting up all the time.
Hormones spiking, body reacting, stuff like that.
You never know.
Anything can happen in the ear canal.
I know it sounds stupid, but it's totally possible.

Look, I’m telling you, stay away from getting water in your ear at all costs.
Maybe just a tiny bit, but only on the outer shell if there's some wax sitting out there.
Water is basically a breeding ground for everything bad.
That corner could be the culprit—it needs to get cleared out.
It might even be some kind of granuloma that's started acting up and affecting everything else.
Did they not even bother to swab it out?

Hey
listen
I didn't go through anything exactly like yours, but I had this constant feeling like one or both ears were just totally plugged up
turned out to be an infection in both ears
did any of those doctors tell you to stay far away from water? Like, seriously, never let water get in there because it just helps the bacteria multiply, especially if you've got some tiny scratch inside
you can get those little cuts just by using Q-tips or even just digging around with your finger
don't do it—no fingers, no swabs, nothing
in my case, the infection hit my eardrum and it actually started bleeding
it's such a shame because that earwax stuff is basically nature's way of protecting us from getting sick, but people just don't seem to get it
if you want, I can give you the info for a solid private ENT specialist in Chicago I've used before
they really helped me out
any idea if they actually did a swab of both ears while you were at the hospital?

P.S. You mentioned tightness on one side of your face... how are your teeth and gums doing? That could easily be the source of the trouble too