Talk:Patulous Eustachian tube

Effecting Hearing

I suffer from PET and I was wondering if having a hearing defect is a normal symptom of PET? I recently tried on a hearing aid in a group of people. Most of them found it uncomfortable but I found it made things "crisper". I then realised that I always have my audio equipment set up so that the Treble is at max, and I sometimes have difficulty understanding people in noisy environments, especially when I cannot see their lips.

So I guess I hear things 'muffled' and this is why the hearing aid made things crisper, and why all my stereo equipment is set with its treble at max. Do other people with PET have this and if so should it go on this page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.173.199.115 (talk) 10:58, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

So... Instead of trying to close your Eustachian tube, you use a hearing aide and turn the treble all the way up? That doesn't sound like "fixing" PET. Anyone else hear of someone trying to cope with PET this way?

Thanks for your input, but we will need some corroborating evidence (ie link to a medical webpage that recommends this) before adding it to the article. We shouldn't post original research. (Hence why my story was moved to the talk page here.) David Bergan 17:24, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

David's personal experience and Jia-Wei-Gui-Pi-Tang

The original author of this article, David Bergan, suffered from PET and puts his vote in favor of the link with fatty tissue. He has suffered from PET since age 20, and has a ridiculously high metabolism - 6'3" tall, 145 pounds, and thin as a rake despite regularly feasting on meals of 20 chicken nuggets or Double Quarter Pounders.

“ As stated in the article, I have suffered from PET since I was 20 years old. I wake up with it about once a week. It never hit me mid-day, so if I don't wake up with it, I won't have it at all that day. Without treatment, the PET would go away on its own between noon and 6PM. One year ago I researched this out and found the name of my condition as well as some resources. Since there is no official "cure" to PET I ordered some Jia-Wei-Gui-Pi-Tang (powedered form - you mix it with hot water to make a tea) after stumbling upon the Japanese study and decided to give it a try. It doesn't taste great at first, but you get used to it (and even kind of like it) after a while. But it surely is not addicting, since it is about the last thing I WANT to drink. Anyway, in my situation, it works 100% of the time. I started by taking the tea 3 times a day, the same way the people did in the study. During that time, I noticed that my short-term memory was greatly reduced. After a few weeks I quit with the regular dosage of Jia-Wei-Gui-Pi-Tang (my short-term memory came back), and instead only grabbed for it on the days when I would wake up with PET. (You don't notice the taste so much when you have morning breath...) With this method I have noticed that it closes my tubes 100% of the time and usually within 30-60 minutes. I always used the dosage recommended on the packaging - heat up a coffee cup full of water and then stir in 1 teaspoon of the powdered herbs. I never experimented with either larger or smaller doses. ”

Update from David:

“ In the spring of 2005 I fought off mono. Probably as a result of the disease, the following summer my metabolism slowed and I gained a lot of weight. As mentioned above, I averaged 145 lbs. before mono, my lowest point during mono was 135 lbs, and by August I was at a healthy (for my height) 180 lbs. Since gaining weight I have not ever had a reoccurrence of PET... suggesting that the fat tissue/weight loss theory is accurate. ”

Moved from article:

I moved these comments from the article page. There is probably some relevant information here, but it needs to be in an encyclopedic style, meaning it's verifiable, and is not original research. David: Good on you for putting so much work in - the next step is to start moving the article more towards . --Singkong2005 14:00, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Jia-Wei-Gui-Pi-Tang

I too suffer from PET which I have constantly, only holding nose and sniffing hard will close the tube for a few seconds! I was wondering where David gets Jia-Wei-Gui-Pi-Tang from as I would like to try it but cannot find it here in the UK! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bmoyni (talk • contribs) 13:51, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

I haven't had PET for awhile now, but 3-4 years ago I would order Jai-Wei-Gui-Pi-Tang from http://www.treasureofeast.com/. Hope that helps. Kind regards, David Bergan 17:26, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately they can't ship to the UK. I have tried the Chinese herbal shops in the UK but they have never heard of it! Thanks anyway!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.129.210.61 (talk) 08:22, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Usage of "you"

This article reads too informally - it constantly refers to the reader:

"If you have access to an audiologist (hearing scientist) they should be able to diagnose the condition with little difficulty." "You may find that lying down or bending over closes the tube and eliminates the problem."

It's inconsistent in that it refers to "the patient" elsewhere but then refers to "you" everywhere else. I think for an encyclopedic article, it should refer to "the patient" and use this referencing consistently. I would make the change myself but this would require a lot of editing and I didn't want to make a mess.

Any thoughts?