Last weekend I woke up feeling like my ear was popped, kind of like when you fly on an airplane or drive up a very tall hill, changing your elevation. I couldn’t really hear very well. When my symptoms didn’t go away after a couple of days, I decided to go to UHS. They told me I had fluid in my ear. I was surprised! I thought I had an earwax buildup or an ear infection, but I was very confused how fluid gets, and stays in ones ear.
After some research, I found out that this buildup of fluid in my ear without any sort of pain or redness is called Otitis media with effusion. What the CDC says about it is that it is caused by some sort of upper respiratory infection, allergy, or an irritant such as cigarette smoke. It says it is supposed to go away on its own. Another way this could happen is that the eustachian tube gets blocked. Because of this fluid builds up in the middle ear and causes blockage making it hard to hear. Many doctors say the fluid should go away on its own, while others believe in surgically inserting tubes into the ear to help drain the fluid.
Although research shows that an upper respiratory infection such as a cold is likely to cause the fluid to buildup in the middle ear, but maybe it is actually reverse causation. It could be possible that the buildup of fluid in the ear causes a cold. If that is true, it there must be something else that causes the build up. Maybe it has something to do with the amount of wax in a persons ear, or maybe a buildup of earwax causes a buildup of fluid, which then causes a cold. Experiments on this are probably done via a case study. Treatment seems like its on a case by case basis because there are many different ways to deal with the buildup of fluid.
Overall, I’m not completely sure how this fluid ended up in my ear, but what I do know is that I would like it to go away
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After reading your post it got me thinking as to why our ears even do pop when we are in the mountains? I found out that the reason they pop is because the air as you get higher up becomes less dense. Pan Field describes this feeling as, “When they open, you feel the pressure release and you hear the change because it’s happening in your ear. This equalization of pressure is the “pop.”” Eventually the pressure in your ear will equalize itself back out.
http://www.pa.msu.edu/sciencet/ask_st/090292.html
A friend of mine just recently suffered with fluid in her ear as well. She said it was extremely painful and the sudden onset of pain like you described was surprising to her. Considering there can be long term affects, especially in children, from prolonged fluid in the ear I think more research should be done in this area. I am also surprised that you and one of my friends experienced it as it is way more likely in children than in adults. Regardless I hope you feel better and that a cause to this mysterious fluid is found.
Here is a link for those who want to know more about how this fluid is discovered and treated:
http://ent.about.com/od/pediatricentdisorders/a/Fluid_in_the_Ears.htm