Over the last few months I have been having issues with my left ear. Basically, it 'plugs up' kind of like when you experience an abrupt altitude change. It only seems to happen when I do long workouts (3+ hours) and it doesn't happen every time. If any of you read my race report for IMBoulder 70.3, it happened again right after getting off the bike and going into the run.
It usually lasts a few hours at most. I find lying on my back and elevating my legs/feet seems to alleviate the problem. The other strange thing is it is always my left ear - never my right ear.
I did some online searches and turns out it is not common but does happen to some endurance athletes. Just to make sure, I went to the Dr. yesterday to see if it was something I should be worried about. Although my Dr. is not an expert in these things, he checked everything out and said I was fine. He said it was probably an issue with the eustachian tube getting inflamed or just not draining properly. If it really bothers me I could take a Claritin or something like it but that may have other affects on my body...
Just wondering if anyone has ever heard of this or even experienced it?
DT
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