Baltimore City Wire

A treatment that has been working well for inflammation of the sinuses has now been been expanded to help patients with blocked eustachian tubes as well.

"It's literally the same technology that we use to dilate the openings of the sinus," Dr. Jamie Oberman of Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Baltimore City Wire. "It's just angled differently to address the anatomy of the opening to the eustachian tubes all through the nose."

Blocked eustachian tubes can cause hearing loss, recurrent sinus infections and all the pain and discomfort that come with those conditions, Oberman explained.

"It's all the same lining and paranasal sinuses," he said. "The nose and the nasal pharynx all become inflamed and become, over time, dysfunctional or hypoventilated, so that you're prone to infections and symptoms."

Allergies can also play a part in inflammation of the sinuses.

"Not everybody who has inflammation has allergies, but you should always exclude that because, if you do, it's easy to treat," Oberman said. "And that's typically treated medically with antihistamines, but also conventional allergy immunotherapy, which  includes subcutaneous injections on a weekly or monthly basis with an allergist, which is a little inconvenient for patients' lifestyles"

In balloon dilation, a catheter with a tiny balloon attached to it is inserted into the sinus opening, or eustachian tube opening, and slowly inflated to open the blocked passageway. It is then deflated and removed. These are minimally invasive outpatient procedures with quick recovery times, usually just a day or two.

Nasal inflammation is very common, a condition that affects an estimated 37 million people in the U.S. each year and can be caused by something as simple as the common cold, according to the American Sinus Institute.  A deviated septum or a shift in the nasal cavity can also cause agitation of the nose.

There are four different types of nasal inflammation: acute, sub-acute, chronic and recurrent, according to the American Sinus Institute.

Acute nasal inflammation begins very suddenly and features pain that does not go away after 10 to 14 days. The acute type typically lasts four weeks or less. Sub-acute nasal inflammation lasts four to eight weeks.  Chronic nasal inflammation lasts eight weeks or longer. Recurrent nasal inflammation consists of several repeated attacks over the course of a year.

Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers offers a free online quiz that allows you to evaluate your symptoms.