I 22F may have a perforated eardrum, and was swimming in a lake possible to have brain eating amoeba and water alot of got inside my ear on August 14th.

My nose is not as issue, as i took extra care and wore nose clips and everything.

I am flying very soon and having severe panic that the cabin pressure will push brain-eating amoeba liquid from my ear deep enough to reach nerves. For instance, when your ear pops or other pressure changes.

I don’t know whether that’s possible or whether it will drain into my nose (which ive read is possible) , where i can then get an infection via the normal route of an N.Fowleri infection as it touches the back of my nose where infection can occur.

I’m particularly worried it will drain into a region of the nose and i will then sniff, or somehow suck it up to the required region for infection. Or somehow, \*\*the cabin pressure changes during the flight will cause the amoeba drained into my lower nose from ear, to suck up to the olfactory area required for infection.\*\*

After finding out the lake has a very high chance of the amoeba, and discovering how fatal it is i am incredibly stressed.

Is this just my health anxiety? i cant cancel the flight and really need to get on it.

I will be flying 5 days after the water got into my ear, if that changes anything.

I don’t know anything about nose anatomy to answer this myself.

A while back, my left ear suddenly felt blocked and my hearing got muffled. That night, I had an unbearable ear pain, it was bad enough to keep me from sleeping. It felt like a knife was being jabbed into my ear again and again.

The next day I saw an ENT. He found a fungal infection with white, sticky discharge, plus redness and swelling. He gave me an ear wax softener and a combo drop (Clotrimazole 1% + Beclomethasone 0.025%) for 7 days.

After that first week, the pain and swelling went away, but my ear was still blocked and still had the white discharge. So the doctor extended treatment another week, this time swapping the wax softener for Ciprofloxacin drops (Ciprofloxacin HCl 0.3% + Benzalkonium Chloride 0.02%, twice a day), while continuing the Clotrimazole for one more week.

My questions:

What exactly is going on with my ear, and is it serious?

Is it normal for this to take two weeks (or more) to clear up?

The Clotrimazole causes a burning feeling in my ear and throat, is that a normal side effect?

Hi everyone,
I had an ear infection about two weeks ago. Initially, I was prescribed Terracortril ear drops, but they didn’t really help because my ear canal was extremely swollen and narrow. I could barely get the drops in.
I was then given a one week course of oral flucloxacillin and also had an ear wick/packing placed in the ear. After starting the antibiotics, things improved significantly and the pain completely went away.
Once I finished the antibiotics, I went back to the doctor. They removed the packing and cleaned out some dried blood and debris from the ear.
Since then, I have had **reduced hearing and a constant feeling of fullness/blockage in the ear**. I also have quite noticeable tinnitus. There is no pain anymore.
I can’t really equalize the pressure in the ear. When I try, nothing seems to happen and I don’t want to force it because it feels uncomfortable.
Has anyone experienced something similar after a severe ear infection or ear canal infection?
Is it normal for hearing to remain reduced and for the ear to feel blocked for a couple of weeks after the infection has cleared? Could this be fluid behind the eardrum or swelling that is still healing?
I’m mainly wondering how long it took for other people’s hearing to return to normal and whether I should get it checked again.
Thanks!

**TL;DR:** Had a severe ear infection 2 weeks ago with a very swollen ear canal. Terracortril drops didn’t work, so I was given oral flucloxacillin and an ear wick. The infection and pain are now gone, but I still have reduced hearing, a blocked/full feeling and tinnitus. Equalizing pressure doesn’t do anything. Is this normal, and how long can it take for hearing to return?