Maryland State Wire

Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers is committed to providing relief to patients suffering from eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) through a procedure known as eustachian tube balloon dilation.

Eustachian tubes are small tubes that run between the middle ears and the upper throat. They are responsible for equalizing ear pressure and draining fluid from the middle ear, the part behind the eardrum. The eustachian tubes are usually closed except for when people chew, swallow or yawn. These passageways can get plugged for a number of reasons. Blocked eustachian tubes can cause pain, hearing difficulties and a feeling of fullness in the ears, according to Healthline.

“Before the current technology that we utilize to address the dysfunction itself, which is the inherent problem we already had, [all we] could do was offer some medical management, which was never really effective,” Dr. Jamie Oberman of Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Maryland State Wire. “It's literally the same technology that we use... to dilate the openings of the sinus, the paranasal sinuses. It's just angled differently to address the anatomy of the opening to the eustachian tubes all through the nose.”

Oberman said the procedure is performed in the clinic under topical, local anesthesia and works by “changing the histology from an inflammatory process back to (essentially) what you were born with, when it was functioning.”

ETD is relatively common and occurs when the passageways become blocked. The condition may go away on its own with simple at-home treatment, while more severe cases may need to be treated by a doctor.

If you think you could benefit from a visit with a doctor at Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers, take their online sinus quiz.