The connection between your ears, nose, and throat
Your ears, nose, and throat are all closely connected to each other. If you get a cold, very often your nose is blocked and you get sore ears. And if you get a sore throat, you very often have ear pain. This is because the ear, nose, and throat are all connected by channels, and when one's affected, the others can be affected as well.
Common ENT problems during perimenopause and menopause
Here are a few of the common problems and symptoms you can experience:
1. Sinus congestion and other sinus problems
Common sinus problems would be things like sinus pain, which can occur as the sides of your nose, at the top of the nose and across the top of the head. You may find you're getting chronic congestion in the sinuses that just won't clear. You could be getting a lot of pressure and pain from this congestion. If all this area is infected, very often, this can also affect your sense of smell.
2. Dry throat and voice changes
You may find you're getting a really dry throat. It always gets a bit scratchy. You might find that your voice breaks more often. You might find that your vocal cords are being affected. And especially for those of you who sing, you may find that you're not hitting some of the notes you used to be able to reach.
3. Hearing changes & ringing in ears
You may find that your hearing is changing. You might find you're getting ringing in your ears, either all the time or coming and going. You may find you have a temporary loss of hearing. All of a sudden, you've got a blocked ear. You may find that you're becoming increasingly sensitive to sounds as well.
4. Increased infections
You may be experiencing increased infections generally. So, you're getting more infections, more sore throats, more earache, or you're getting more sinus problems and you're getting them more frequently too.
5. Altered mucous production
You could experience altered mucus production. You may find your mucus is a lot thicker. It's gathering at the back of your throat, and you can't shift it. It may be something called postnasal drip, which means you can continually feel the drip of mucus at the back of your throat. You may find you have dryness - your nose can get a lot drier and a lot more irritated.
What causes ENT symptoms to increase during perimenopause and menopause?
So, what are the main causes? Here are some common causes of ear, nose, and throat problems during perimenopause and menopause:
Hormonal changes
We know that oestrogen helps to maintain the moisture and elasticity of mucous membranes, and that can be anywhere in the body, so it's not just the vagina that can be affected. It can be the ears, it can be the nose, and it can be the throat as well.
All of the mucus production in these areas can decrease, which is going to mean that these mucous membranes are going to get drier. They're going to get inflamed more easily. They're going to be irritated and infected much more easily as well, and that means you can be much more vulnerable to sinus problems, colds, flu, and other ear, nose, and throat infections.
Progesterone also has a slight influence on the mucous membranes. It helps to retain fluid balance and mucus production in the sinuses and the ears.
Immune system is impacted
You may find too that your immune function is affected, which makes you much more vulnerable to all sorts of other infections. Drier membranes in the throat make it more vulnerable, and it’s an outpost of the immune system, protecting you against viruses and bacteria.
Another factor that could impact your immunity is your age. Unfortunately, the older you get, the more likely you are to get these particular issues, as well as falling oestrogen. Poor sleep, fatigue and stress all impact immune function as well. So sometimes, it can be a combination of all these sorts of sinus, ear, nose, and throat issues, and lowered immunity as well, making you much more vulnerable to absolutely everything.
Self-care tips to help you manage ENT problems during perimenopause and menopause
There are lots of simple things you can do to help ease ear, throat and nose problems. Here are a few simple self-care strategies I recommend:
Drink plenty of water: It’s important to keep yourself hydrated. Remember, these are mucous membranes, and they depend on you being hydrated enough for them to maintain their mucous levels and to stay moist, reducing dryness in the throat and nasal passages.
Try a humidifier: Adding moisture to indoor air can alleviate dryness in the nasal passages and throat. Especially during the winter time, if you've got central heating on or the windows are shut, the air can get very, very dry, and that can affect you as well, so a humidifier can sometimes be a really good idea.
Use a nasal spray: Nasal sprays can help to maintain and support the mucous membranes in the nasal passages. We have two nasal sprays that can be helpful - Sinuforce Nasal Spray for blocked noses and Pollinosan Allergy Nasal Spray. So, either of those can be used for sinus issues.
Herbal help: There is a herb called Plantago and it is a really good one for the ear, nose, and throat. It's anti-inflammatory, it's antibacterial, and it actually helps control mucus production.
So, if you're not producing enough mucus, it can help to produce more, and if you're producing too much, especially with a postnasal drip, then it can help to ease those symptoms.
Plantago is also really good for decreasing blocked ears and sinuses, so it's a lovely, all-around ear, nose, and throat herb.
Reduce irritating foods: Believe it or not, things like caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol, high-salt and sugar foods can all impact sinus problems, and especially dairy. Dairy is known to be mucus-forming, so if you're having any kind of mucus issue, then cutting out dairy products for maybe a month or two can often speed up the whole healing process.
Reduce your exposure to external irritants: Limit your exposure to things that can irritate you too, so this would be things like perfume. Also, a really bad one that a lot of people don't realise is these sprays and fragrances that you have in your home. Some of them are chock-full of chemicals, and if you're breathing these in all the time, they're going to irritate all of these areas continually, so be really careful. If you want to use nice scents in your home, then make sure that you go for completely natural ones. I would recommend these little ones that you can get, either battery-operated ones or candle-operated ones, where you put just pure essential oils in them. These are going to be much better for you generally.
If these symptoms have come on quite suddenly, this may be because you have had new carpets, new furniture, new bedding, or you've redecorated your house, because these can release a whole raft of chemicals that can start to irritate these sensitive areas.
Even washing powder can be an issue. If you change your washing powder and suddenly find that you're getting a lot more irritated, it could be something as simple as that.
Eat anti-inflammatory food: That's things like omega-3, oily fish. If you're vegetarian or vegan, go for flaxseed oil. Eat loads of antioxidant-rich foods, so that's fruits and vegetables.
Get regular checkups: It's so important as you get to perimenopause and menopause. Get regular eye checks because falling oestrogen can affect eyesight. Get your ears tested, especially if you start to get ear problems like tinnitus or your hearing tends to come and go. And if you're in the UK, then the likes of Boots and Specsavers do free hearing tests, so it's well worth it just to rule things out if you're having
these little issues.
When should you contact your doctor?
If you're having any of these problems, and you've tried these self-help tips, including checking that nothing in your environment is causing a problem, then just get everything checked out by your doctor to make sure there's nothing else going on in the background.
Hope you found this one helpful. It seems to be becoming much more common. I'm getting more queries about this, especially during the winter months. So, if you have any issues like this, what did you do to help yourself? Do you have any tips? Was there something you used that really worked well? Please share. You know I love reading all your stories.
Until next time, take care and have a lovely week.
You may also find these topics helpful:
Can menopause cause sinus problems?
Does menopause affect your ears?
