there are only a few things that can be done for middle ear effusion (fluid). 1. you can wait it out but after three months you need to see an ent. 2. decongestants nasal corticosteroids etc. have all been used with limited success. sometimes it helps. sometimes it doesn't. antibiotics are not usually helpful since this is more of "plumbing and ventilation" issue. not an infection. 3. an ent may need to surgical drain the fluid (tympanostomy) or suction and place tubes in your ears. i went scuba diving for 6 days in a row last week and got water behind my right eardrum. i kept hoping it would clear up but after 8 days it was as bad as ever and it would only clear momentary if i hung my head upside-down. with my head right side up the water rested against my eardrum and i couldn't hear much through that ear. after reading on the web about the structure of the ear i learned that the eustachian tube connects the ear to the nose and i realized that the water was going to have to exit that tube. now apparently that tube isn't there to drain liquid or it would have done so already; i bet it's just for air to flow through to equalize pressure probably thanks to our aquatic ape ancestors. whatever. it's the key and the only way to get flow though it is to take advantage of it's connection to the nose. i pinched my nose and blew hard until my ears popped. that's the same thing scuba divers do as they descend by the way. apparently i didn't do it often enough because some of that ocean water wound up on the wrong side of my eardrum and the only way it'd get there is if the pressure on the inside of my eardrum was lower than the pressure on the outside (where the ocean was). then i pinched my nose and sucked hard until my ears popped going the other direction. i was moving air in and out of my ears through the eustachian tube. after doing this about 10 times the water was gone and i can once again hear through my right ear. fluid in the ear is most annoying and can be damaging to your ear. i caution you though about the decision to have "tubes" put in the ear drum to drain this fluid. i had tubes in for about 2 years they fell out. i actually had the little tiny plastic rings. they are less tubes than just little rings of plastic. most often the ear drum heals itself after the tubes fall out mine did not. i now have very tiny holes in my ear drums this is a problem. i cannot swim in a lake for fear the water will enter into the ear and this water can carry many nasty little bugs viruses bacteria and so on. many lakes in my area end up at one time or another have to be closed to swimmers due to high bacteria counts e-coli is just one of the many things that can be found in lake water. you do not want this to fester in your ear. depending on the type of tube used scar tissue can be left behind and ear drum will not heal on it's own. so you need another surgery to attempt to have the ear drum heal. the first attempt and it is beyond me why they even do this one the surgeon roughs up the ear drum and then places a thin patch of some kind of material over the hole(s) and hope this will work. this is only 60% effective. but it's your only option. i don't like the odds but that's all i was offered. i did not sneeze nor blow my nose for two months. and i was diligent in this i did not want another surgery i wanted this to work. it did not work at all. so now if i want to pursue it i have to submit to another surgery more anesthesia. risk. and the surgeon doesn't like this one because it's "very tiny surgery" is what i was told. they have to stitch the hole closed and i would imagine it's a big pain in the you know where. so don't just jump into this surgery. especially if you are not having pain. i would try more medications give it some more time try decongestants or antihistamines to dry out the ear(s). another go with antibiotics which i know is a real pain in and of itself. but don't just jump into surgery especially if you want to be able to swim this summer. pools are a better choice because the water is chlorinated but chlorine can damage as well. you will need ear plugs to swim but that's not a 100% guarantee that water will not get into the ear. i was told to use cotton balls covered in vaseline petroleum jelly when bathing or when swimming. this is disgusting and it does not come out of your ear. so you walk around with vaseline in your ears. really think about it. when i was a little girl i had swimmers ear; water behind the ear. i went to the doctor and he told me to drop alcohol in my ear until i heard it 'fill up'. you do this by tilting you head to the opposite side that has the water and slowly drop alcohol in the ear until you hear it 'fill up'. then press a kleenex or clean cloth against that ear to restrict the exit flow of alcohol and slowly tilt your head toward the side that has the water and slowly release the alcohol from the ear. you will hear it chug chugging as it exits and the last bit of flow should feel warm; that is the trapped water. i have used this technique for years when swimming or anytime i think i have water behind my ear. it works beautifully. i have had this for a month and apart from a nasal steroid spray the doctor says it will go on it's own accord. i have tried holding my nose and blowing hard into your cheeks but you just have to keep trying. try drinking laying down as well. it's a miserable complaint.
how to get fluid behind the eardrum to drain. i have been to the doctors several times and on several antibiotics and i have no pain in my ear but i cant hear from the fluid built up. what can i do