Jeff (Boca Raton, FL) on 08/08/2007

Two weeks ago my cheek blew up badly and eventually a salivary stone 1/8" by 5/16" came out of the duct. I thought the problem was solved but the swelling persisted. It got so bad that the pain eventually drove me to a doctor. He found another stone was in the duct, about 1/8" by 1/8". The larger stone had a point on it which I was able to grab with tweezers and pull out but this one doesn't and I'm still working on it. But I'm able to push it aside and let the gland drain. Although it fills back up, when drained I was amazed to find my hearing improved and my sinus on that side drained and I could breathe freely.

I had always thought there was a reason for the initial swelling but when I mentioned that I read about salivary stones on the internet and asked an oral surgeon if that could be the problem, he actually got mad and said things like "everyone thinks they're an expert because they read it on the internet". I had asked nicely and couldn't believe his response. I had been miserable for weeks and felt like throwing a punch in his direction but I just left the office. My guess is that he lost a bundle when net stocks crashed.

I wanted to leave this message to show how a seemingly unrelated problem can cause sinus and hearing symptoms... I think an infection has been dragging me down for years and although it's not over yet I feel better than I have for a long time since I've gotten most of the infection out. So check for hard lumps in the gland, from what I've read these stones are more common than most believe.