UPDATE: Oh my goodness. Last week was a very challenging wee..

UPDATE: Oh my goodness. Last week was a very challenging week for me as my right ear started to act up. 😭 I think I mentioned it to you all but a little over a week ago I noticed that my right ear started to have trouble popping as well. It wasn't nearly as bad as my left ear though so I tried to not focus on it. At my ENT appointment as expected my left ear failed the pressure test but the right ear failed the test as well. My doctor told me that it's very rare for someone to have this problem to the degree at which I've had it. He said that he sees people daily who have this test and it's only about once every siix months to a y ear that someone comes in with it as bad as me. So I decided to schedule the first surgery procedure. In addition to that I also made an appointment with another doctor at the House for a second opinion as well as another appointment with another doctor in San Diego for a consultation in regards to the balloon dilation procedure. It was a very defeating week. I had just spent the last 11 we eks dealing with all of these issues with no relief or cure in sight and then my right ear having difficulties. I felt like giving up. Fortunately my Chiari Malformation has been manageable the past 2 we eks. Although the most recent round of ste roid medication didn't help my ear it did seem to help my headaches as my doctor said it would. Not having daily headaches these past couple of weeks has certainly been a relief. But I've still dealt with occasional dizziness related to the issues with my ears. I would say that last week was probably my most difficult and defeating week of all of the weeks over the last almost twe lve we eks. With no relief and no cure I was beginning to think that this may actually last forever. Once it gets to be past thr ee mon ths from everything I've read there really isn't much that can be done and many people will live like this for mo nths and even y ears. I watched so many stories of people who lived this way for fi ve to te n y ears and I just felt so completely discouraged. Well... a couple of days ago I was driving high in a mountain and the pressure got as bad as it had been over the past thr ee mo nths. I had to stop driving and took my nasal spray and my Afrin spray and I also did some lymphatic drainage massaging and pressed on some pressure points. I also tried to yawn and open and close my jaw several times. I still wasn't able to pop my ear and as I started to drive again the pressure felt like it was increasing more and more and more. I was very worried about my ear rup turing and then suddenly I heard a noise. It sounded and felt like something was draining. I was able to hear slightly better but my hearing was still muffled and it felt like there was still water/liquid in my ear. I kept trying to pop my ear without luck so I decided to keep moving my jaw trying to stretch the muscles of my Eustachian tube. Then about ten minutes later I heard another sound of fluid draining and pressure relief and my hearing was much better. I tried to not get too excited as I wasn't sure it was fully fixed. But after nearly tw elve we eks of being unable to pop my left ear, waking up with a completely pressured ear every single morning, and not being able to equalize the pressure in my left ear, I suddenly was able to pop my ear again!!! Over the past couple of days I've continued to pop them over and over as instructed to get them back to normal and so I am happy to say that my left ear is finally working again!! The annoying thing is that now my right ear won't pop! However because there isn't fluid stuck in that ear it's not anywhere near as bad as it was for my left ear over the past thr ee mo nths. I believe what happened is after I healed from getting sick fluid got stuck in the Eustachian tube. It was unable to drain and that's why I felt the sensation of having water in my ear. My doctor said that when fluid gets stuck in the tube it creates an imbalance of pressure and the inability to regulate pressure within the middle ear. So after trying nasal steroid and sprays, a few rounds of heavy steroid medications, excessive exercise, and pretty much everything that was recommended to me and more, I finally have relief! As I mentioned my right ear is now not able to pop but I really am not too concerned since it seems to be able to equalize the pressure on it's own. So I'm extremely happy and blessed about this but also had a new unexpected health concern appear and am really hoping it will be okay. It's just so frustrating that it seems to be one thing after the next over the past 3 mo nths. Now that my ear is better I was planning to go to the neurologist for my Chiari Malformation but I think I will be waiting because now my doctor wants to refer me to another specialist for the situation that just arose. Ugh I just want to go back to my normal life of being healthy and well! Next month is my Birthday month and I wish for good health and to go back to my normal daily life without medical scares/problems. The past thr ee mo nths have been extremely challenging and I've spent so, so much money having multiple doctors appointments each week, all sorts of tests, MRIs, etc and I really just wanted to celebrate my ear being better and feeling much better! So I am disappointed that I have yet another scare and now need to be referred to a specialist to make sure this situation is okay. So yeah I'm obviously very happy and excited about my ear. I'm extremely grateful that it healed on it's own just before hitting we ek tw elve. But I'm also so incredibly annoyed that I now have to be referred to a specialist for something else! Hopefully June (my birthday month) will symbolize turning a new leaf and celebrating good health. This is certainly the first time in my life I've dealt with ongoing medical stuff like this and I'm really, really hoping that I'm at the end of the it and can just celebrate being healthy and well. Now that my left ear is finally better I am going to do my best to get back to work and life as I certainly feel much, much better. Here's to hoping that the new thing that came up will turn out to be nothing more than a little scare so that I can celebrate being done with an incredibly terrible th ree mo nths!