I've had blocked eustachian tubes since I was a child. Several doctors have said it was a genetic issue and my son suffered the same early on in his life. He grew out of it, I, unfortunately, did not. I've had probably a dozen+ surgeries on my right ear because of it.
First - Get the tubes, get the fluid out, and get some of your hearing back. Left untreated, you can form a cholesteatoma (benign cyst) right behind your eardrum that will eventually leak enzymes that start to erode the inner ear and ear canal. It takes quite a while for this to form, but why risk it? You'll know when you start getting bloody-waxy drainage out of your ear. You'll then undergo a mastoidectomy where they'll drill a hole in your skull, behind your ear, to get to the cyst and remove it. I had one form and the surgery was about 7 hours. Sounds like fun right? Yeah, get the tube put in. You will lose some low-frequency hearing (aka bass) temporarily but once the tube falls out, and the eardrum stabilizes, you should be back to new.
Second - Decongestants can help. If you are congested, either due to cold or allergies, it can cause the problem you're having. See if you can be congestion-free for a few days and if that helps. Most OTC options are pretty good these days.
Third - Do NOT do any of that candle wax crap. Absolutely useless. I would also caution against home remedies. Sure, not every ENT is the best ever, but I've been to several specialists over the years and any of the home remedy or OTC treatments have always been frowned upon. Mainly because adding an unknown to an already unstable condition can alter and or block treatment and not only NOT fix the problem, but make it worse.
Fourth - Keep your ear dry. Shower/faucet water is usually clean enough that it won't bother one way or the other. Lake/sea/pond water on the other hand, keep it out if you can. If you do get some in your ear, a few drops of alcohol in the ear canal will usually kill any bacteria in the water as well as cause the water to dry out. Don't do this regularly though as it will dry the air canal to a point where you'll get something similar to dry skin in the canal which can lead to dead cells gathering around the eardrum and/or uncomfortable itching.
If you're unsure, get a second opinion with another ENT. Never a bad choice and may provide you piece of mind. I wouldn't be too worried about the tubes though. Quick operation, not a lot of pain and they remedy themselves usually.
