 [ Symptoms ] both my ears are blocked but i do not have a cold or chest congestion  i try to remove the blockage by fake yawning   but no result [ Disease ] both of these terms refer to the bones of the spine the spine is made up of 24 vertebrae not including the sacrum and coccyx each vertebra is smooth and rounded on the front facing side and has bony protrusions on the back facing side when you run your hand down someone is back you feel those protrusions each vertebra has a large hole in the center through which the spinal cord passes each vertebra also has smaller holes called foramina through the sides which allow the roots of larger nerves to branch off from the spinal cord and extend into the rest of the body foraminal stenosis refers to a narrowing of these smaller holes or channels in the sides of the vertebrae often foraminal stenosis is caused by arthritis or bone spurs that basically clog up the channels and put pressure on the nerve roots remember those bony protrusions i referred to earlier those things help link the vertebrae together each of them has two joints called facets that allow you to bend forward and backward facet arthropathy refers to an arthritis of these facet joints bilateral simply means arthritis affects the facet joints on both sides of each vertebra i hope this helps