Bi pap and ears

[Schmidhogan]

Just in the last couple of weeks I've had trouble with my ears after I've used my bipap for an hour or so. My ears seem to shut like there's water or wax in them. Feels and I hear like I'm in a bottle or under water. Clearing my ears with a pinched nose doesn't seem to help. Generally clears if I'm off the bipap for an hour. Never heard of this problem. Any thoughts from you fellow bipap users? Alex

 

[vzandt]

My pals has the same problem...but not because of bipap. It started before that. He said to tell you to try allergy medication. For some reason or other they have helped that problem.

 

[Schmidhogan]

Should have thought of antihistamines. Thank you.

 

[lgelb]

Check humidification, pressure settings/PS. If you're using a nasal mask, are you actually breathing through your nose, if you're using a FF mask, are you breathing through your mouth? They are designed that way. But yes, allergy meds can help. There is a fast melt version of loratadine (generic for Claritin) for those w/ difficulty swallowing pills (a liquid too, but since for kids a larger dose is required). You might also try a nasal spray to equal pressure if it's sinuses. I wouldn't pinch both nostrils at the same time in ALS since that could precipitate laryngospasm among other things.

 

[gooseberry]

You will also want to play around with your head positioning a bit. Sometimes you can end up with a belly full of air or a lot of pressure in your ears depending on how your head and neck are positioned. Our pulmonologist told us to try straightening out our head/neck if ears were a problem but not too much if the air in stomach is a problem. I have a cpap and bad allergies so I have this same issue. Antihistamines can help but I get too dry with them so I just am careful about my neck/head angle.