Snap, crackle, cough. Can ear problems make you cough?

I had a friend who use to get several sinus infections a year and she had to see a doctor every time for antibiotics. I've only had one sinus infection in my life and when I went to see the doc, he said that they wont go away by themself, just like any other infection, so I'm afraid it looks like you'll need to take a trip to the docs for antibiotics, Boomer :-(

As far as the coughing question goes. I think that is caused by the infection.

Do you have earaches as well?

Ya know there's a reason that we go to ENT specialists and there is a fundamental truth to the kids song ... the ear bone's connected to the ...

ear nose throat

something goes funky with one, it's good odds that something will happen to at least one of the other two

lots of possibilities
- the infection from your sinuses has also gone into your throat
- the drainage of gunk from your sinuses is irritating your throat - and it is nasty, irritating gunk
...

have you looked at medlineplus.org? lots of helpful information tucked in there

have you been to the doctor about your sinus infection?

i didn't go last year, or at least not soon enough, and really mucked things up for myself - got yelled at by the doctor for trying to cover up sinus infection symptoms myself - i'm not allowed to mess with decongestants anymore

Sinus infections can spread to the ear. I don't know if the ear is triggering the cough, but there could be a connection. A week is long enough that you should have seen improvement. Since that does not seem to be the case I would suggest you visit your doctor.

Yes, A sinus infection can and will spread to the ear causing ear infections as well and it will not go away on it's own. If you've had this infection for a week, then you must be getting much worse and if you don't get antibiotics ASAP, you will end up in a lot of pain, along with the infection spreading.

Oh crud.

Usually I do go to the doc right away when I know its a sinus infection but I just haven't had the chance this time.

The nasal thing seemed to be getting much better but then the ear thing started and the cough thing started and after two nights I'm getting nutty from lack of sleep.

And now no one shows up to tell me that putting a statuette of St. Jude atop the swing set will cure it...

<sigh>

I suppose I'll call the doc in the AM.

<sigh>

Thank you all for your good advice!

Coughing? Absolutely! The right kind of tickle on the ear drum will do it for me, and it's totally uncontrollable.

Have you tried nyquill for the nighttime cough? It works for me. I don't usually try to supress a cough, but this one doesn't seem at all related to clearing out the lungs, so whatever works. This kind of cough usually responds to codine, too.

Hope you're better soon, Boomer.

(((Hugs)))

That's really interesting about the ear irritation = coughing connection. Never heard that one.

What happens with me is that I get postnasal drip, and it bothers me, and I cough to dislodge (pleasant, eh?). Then after a while the coughing irritates my throat and becomes its own thing.

Oh, and a statuette of St. Jude atop the swing set absolutely will cure it.

Just add a trip to the doctor.

And time.

(Sort of a stone soup dealie.)

Kind of like a cold will go away in seven days, but only a week if you see a doctor?

Perhaps you could take a different medication? I find that I can go all day with no meds if I medicate at night. I've been having recurring sinus infection (self-diagnosed) for quite some time. Unfortunately, when I medicate for a stuffy nose (with sinus pain) at night, I have to take the all-out nyquil because I get jittery on decongestants alone.

I have tried the Nyquil cough but it hasn't had any effect on this. But you're right, Roger, it doesn't seem like a lung thing at all. It feels like there is something stuck in my throat and the only thing I can connect it to is the ear stuffiness.

I've been thinking about you, soz, as my hearing has been cruddy out of my right ear for the last couple of days. It has really made caring for Mo so much more complicated. I have never realized how much I rely on my hearing when it comes to him -- and keeping him out of trouble. Honestly and truly, I don't know how you do it. You amaze me.

I too am totally twitchy on decongestants - and antihistimines -- I call them metha-antihistimines. They really make me miserable but without them the last couple of days I would have sounded like I was dying. Before I try switching my OTC stuff I think I'll stick St. Jude up and call my doctor.

And, thanks Montana. The stupid thing is that I don't feel sick, just tired.

To sleep, perchance to dream.....

Maybe we'll get hamburger to post the pix of the scar tissue that developed from untreated/under-treated sinus infections for both him and mrs. hamburger. No. It's too ugly.

Self-treating sinus infections can be quite problematic in the long run. A colleague's wife just had to have surgery to her sinuses to remove scar tissue. She was having difficulty breathing and hearing. The scar tissue in mrs. hamburger's ears resulting from the spread of untreated sinus infections to her ears has significantly impacted her hearing. I should know better than to do what I did last year. I think I've finally learned my lesson.

Yikes!

Okay. I'm calling first thing tomorrow!

I hope your doctor is nicer than mine was.
I got in serious doodoo with her.
I deserved it, but still ... I was already feeling like dirt. Tired, fussy, couldn't hear properly.

Of course she then had to give me a super pill to whack the infection and I ended up thinking people were speaking Punjabi to me, and I developed a Jamaican accent for about 24 hours. Seriously. It's still the talk of my work group.

Every time I clean my ears, I cough. I have friends who love the whole Q-tip thing, but it drives me bonkers.


Oh, yeah. Go to the doc. Ear infections if left untreated can cause serious hearing problems.

You're welcome Boomer. I'm glad you're going to see the doc and you'll be a-ok in no time.

Beth
That sounds terrible. It's amazing what a small infection can turn into.

Cold, sinus infection, hearing loss? Thanks ehBeth. I'll see about getting that looked at. I lost most of mine in a series of minor colds, or whatever, in 1992.

A lot of people seem to underestimate sinus infections and not give them the serious attention that they deserve.

Boomer, definitely get yourself to the doc. Any infection is nothing to mess around with on our own. Several years ago, a friend of my daughters lost his younger brother to an untreated sinus infection. By the time the young lad of 14 claimed he was really beyond miserable, it was too late. The sinus infection had literally spread into his brain and even being in the hospital there was nothing they could do to save him.

Anytime nasal discharge or post nasal drip that gets coughed up turns brown or greenish, you have an infection on your hands. My daughter gets about 2 per year. She is just finishing her dose of antibiotics for her latest one. I was irritated at her for waiting so long as this time as there was even blood mixed in with the awful browns and greens.

Don't mess around with your health or you life that way, please!

Actually I just did a bunch of research and found that a large percentage of the time greenish mucus is an URI (Upper Respiratory Infection, I think), not a sinus infection.

But complete agreement on getting it checked out.

sozlet is insisting on writing something ** for me. She took dictation letter by letter on everything before the asterisks before getting bored.

For the using hearing thing, oh yeah. A hearing friend was trying to convince me that I should have another kid when sozlet was maybe 18 months old or so. I mentioned how difficult it is to not be able to "keep an ear on things", and she was dismissive. She said she didn't rely on her hearing much. Oh, really? I took her through her day -- so, does she ever go to the bathroom by herself? Yes? How does she know that her kid isn't falling down the stairs that moment? Ah. Does she cook at all? How does she know what her kid's up to while she's paying attention to chopping? Etc., etc. Took a while, but she got it.