Hi. I know this subject has been spoken about before and I was one of the people asking for advice! I am now 14 months post stroke and right from the beginning have had this feeling of a band round my head and blocked ears. I have no ear wax and now wear hearing aids. I can hear well with the aids but still have this blocked head tight band feeling. My GP doesn’t know the andwer. I haven’t got pain so no good prescribing pain killers. We have gone through my medication but none of the possible side effects match any of my symptoms.
It probably sounds a minor problem but I am just so tired of it. Its very strange when you can hear what people are saying but you still feel deaf as though you have a helmet or goldfish bowl on hour head!!! Has anyone experienced this and found an answer? Thanks for reading
Hi Apple, for me it was more like the feeling of wearing a tight hat. It’s very faint now, but when I think of it I can feel a hint of it still there. The hearing aids did help me with the blocked ears feeling and don’t have that anymore but I still tend to lose my hearing towards the end of the day. Have you been referred to ENT about this or neurology; sometimes you really have to exaggerate you symptoms to get anything done or investigated thoroughly. In saying all that, I never found out anything so just assumed it was still an effect of the stroke and takes a few years to ease off…which it is gradually 
Hi @Apple my funny head feeling is more a feeling of wooziness than having a feeling of a band around my head. I do get some weird sensations in my head though which i’m thinking ate stroke related as that’s when they started.
I agree with @EmeraldEyes about trying to get an ENT referral. You have to push though as i was referred 12 months ago & they initially rejected the referral but my GP went back to them & they are now going to see me (once i reach the top of the waiting list).
Could it be anxiety related? Does it fluctuate based on activity / anxiety levels? If you haven’t already maybe monitor for a ciuple of weeks & then take that evidence to your GP. Is it worth asking for an MRI? One of my friends had a similar blocked head feeling & they did one for her when she was supplied with her hearing aids.
I hope it starts to ease soon.
Best wishes
Ann xx
@EmeraldEyes @Mrs5K
I read your comments about ENT appointments several times and been confused by them.
Why are you suggesting an ENT person would have insight into stroke challenges?
I’m missing something 
and if your insight is a good one I want to take advantage of it
Ciao
Simon
Sorry to hear about your muzzyheadedness.
I think you are implying you have it since the stroke? I’ve had a feeling that I described a spaceiness in the last month - I’m 3 years past.
No idea whether they are the same or different I think one of our challenges is that there is no vocabulary with which we can name the different afflictions that we have & so get the support we need. It’s also possible that there isn’t a known package of support that can help us.
Are you able to identify things that make you feel better? Or worse? Does it vary over time? By time of day?
I’m afraid I don’t have any positive suggestions to help you or I at the moment
I think I sharing we have the best chance of hitting on an accidental discovery -
@SimonInEdinburgh i’ve suggested ENT as they can deal with dizziness, balance, hearing issues etc. I got nowhere with my stroke consultant re my dizziness, wooziness etc so spoje with my GP who referred me to ENT. I had a telephone call with them & they said it was likely stroke related but still wanted to check me over…this is the appointment i’m waiting for.
It might not be appropriate for everyone but it might be worth an ask?
@Mrs5K
Ok I’ve got your reasoning - because you are describing something with a potential balance challenge and one of the components of balance is the inner ear as a component of the vestibular system the conclusion is ENT specialist.
I definitely agree with you that “can’t hurt”
I think balance issues post stroke can be failure to correctly process the signals received from the sense organs. the sense organs include the eyes, The inner ear, the proprioception senses …
There are a lot of references if you search for “brain networks involved in balance” so while we may all have had different physical areas damaged brain networks span many different physical areas- hence we may have over lapping/similar balance challenges without having the same physical damaged locations .
Just 2¢ cents worth.
And at the time these symptoms were an issue for me, my doctor automatically referred me to both to cover all bases and knowing neurology would take longer…which it did.
While I have not been referred to ENT, very many, perhaps even most people who have had stroke are referred to ENT for swallowing, hearing, vestibular, breathing issues, ringing ears… plenty more reasons. I went straight to vestibular retraining once I was able, after Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapies. ENT can also help with vertigo and balance issues.