Ear, Nose & Throat Community

For the last week and a half-- I have had a swollen boil or cyst in my ear canal, the doctor at the walk-in clinic defined it as a "boil of some kind". She prescribed me seven days worth of Cephalexin to get rid of any infection and the bump in my ear canal, plus she flushed my left ear and checked my eardrum that same day; she told me my eardrum is fine. It took seven days for the bump to go away-- the scab from the boil/cyst/pimple fell out of my ear a day or so ago. I can hear perfectly once again.

However, I have had problems with from what I can best describe as a crunching/crackling noise when I yawn, move my ear and swallow-- sometimes when I talk it feels like my ear wants to clear it self by popping but it doesn't. Sometimes I can yawn and my ear will pop, I can wake up and I won't hear any crunching/crackling sounds until I start to talk and go about my day. That's when it decides to show up. It's more of an annoyance than anything.

I have yet to experience any pain in my left ear. I am going on three-four days since I took my last Cephalexin and this crunching/crackling noise came about once the swelling left. I have scoured the Internet in search for the answers and all I have managed to find was people who are experiencing this and they were told to take Sudafed, Mucinex or Claritin-D. Basically a decongestant-- I spoke with my old Pediatrician from when I was younger and he told me that the fluid/discharge in my ear didn't drain properly and is causing me to experience these sounds so he told me to take Claritin and I'll be fine.

In addition, he also told me to push on my Tragus, I didn't experience any pain so he told me that's a good sign and that it was healing from back when it I experienced the boil/cyst/pimple in my ear that has since gone away.

From what I read on the net, it seems that the fluid is still lurking behind the ear drum-- which causes these crunching/crackling noises, refusing to drain properly and supposedly these decongestants will cause it to drain. Plus, I also read that Pseudoephedrine can dry it out but it won't drain but the Mucinex will allow it to drain out. What is the best course of action?

All help is greatly appreciated.

For the record, when I was experiencing the swelling in my ear canal, I was taking 1000mg's of Ibuprofen every four hours. Not exactly the best idea, but my ear was very sore at the time.

Also I am aware of Tinnitus, I know I have this because long before I had any of these problems. My ears would hum and feel like it was vibrating from inside at times. I haven't experienced any Tinnitus effects in little over a year, give or take a few months, and I'm not experiencing any of this now. Just the crunching/crackling noises.