Hearing - Eustachian Tube incident

OK, there have been several times in my life where I had a bad cold with a lot of sinus congestion and ended up not being able to hear much out of my right ear. It's like I have an earplug in that ear. 

Apparently, this is a result of my Eustachian Tube being blocked.

In the past I have coincidentally gone on a trip involving a flight or a drive into the mountains which ended up fixing the issue. This might sound like quite the coincidence but I have had this problem go on for several weeks each time it happened before. 

This time, there was no trips planned. I did the usual googling of all the possible treatments. I was massaging below my ear, trying to force air into my sinuses, sipping water while holding my nose, chewing gum, and so on.

Nothing worked. 

I eventually decided I would try a nasal decongestant. I really don't like them but I did try this eventually and it worked. At the end of the third day (today) the problem cleared up. 

Drixoral Nasal Congestion Spray is the product I bought. Wow, so many warnings. I heeded them. I somehow survived the use of this product and by today (the end of the third day) I was good. I can hear again, the pressure is gone, etc. 

Tips:

• use as directed
• keep a glass of water handy while you are inhaling this stuff as it will run down the back of your throat and it tastes horrible
• keep a box of Kleenex handy, you'll need it for a few minutes after you use this as your nose will run like crazy

 

I am mostly putting this here so I'll remember what product I used next time but I hope this helps someone.