Q: I am a 27 years old man and I got fever and cold while travelling abroad. I took Crocin for 2 days, and then I had pain and a ringing sound in the ears. I took painkillers; now the pain is gone, but the ringing sound is still there in my left ear and it is always blocked. The chemist gave me ear calm acetic acid, which is of no use. Also, I get pain when I cough sometimes. Please advise.

A:Most probably you have barotrauma (damage due to flying). This can be of two types, fluid in ear and damage to drum or round window membrane. This can be confirmed by audiogram - pure tone and impedance. Treatment of above two is different, if membrane is ruptured it may require repair, if fluid, decongestants and Valsalva’s procedure is prescribed. Some times patients may injure eardrum trying to clear the canal by themselves, and this may cause a fungal infection. Such cases may in addition require eardrops one of, which is acetic acid eardrop. Flying with cold is more likely to cause fluid in the middle ear and this may have to be drained.