If your ears are plugged, try swallowing, yawning or chewing sugar-free gum to open your eustachian tubes. If this doesn't work, take a deep breath and try to blow out of your nose gently while pinching your nostrils closed and keeping your mouth shut. If you hear a popping noise, you know you have succeeded.
For most people, blocked ears are a temporary condition that will clear up when the pressure in the ears returns to normal. However, if this doesn't happen a visit to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) professional may be helpful.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to drain fluid from your middle ear at home. Such home remedies include applying a warm compress, inhaling steam, popping your ears, and a technique known as the Valsalva maneuver. Over-the-counter medicines may also help.
If your ears won't pop you might have fluid in your ears. Thickened fluid blocks the auditory tube and prevents the fluid from draining into the back of the throat. Sometimes this is caused by an ear infection.
This can happen for brief periods during air travel, but also due to allergies, sinus or ear infections, or other respiratory viruses (including COVID-19). Sudden onset of muffled hearing in one ear may signal an urgent problem requiring prompt treatment to prevent or reduce possible hearing loss.
Your ears will most likely go back to normal after a couple of days if the blockage is caused by air pressure. You might have to wait for your immune system to kick in if your blockage is due to an ear infection (and, if it's the latter, antibiotics can really help). This may take up to a couple of weeks.
Muffled hearing can occur in one or both ears. When the condition occurs in one ear, it's likely a sign of a single-sided ear infection, a clogged ear or earwax buildup. Muffled hearing due to sinus infections or changes in pressure while flying or changing altitudes typically occurs in both ears.
Causes of Sudden Hearing Loss
If fluid buildup behind the eardrum is not treated in a timely manner, it can eventually cause enough pressure to rupture the membrane. Sudden hearing loss is less often caused by more serious conditions. These can include viruses, tumors and strokes in the inner ear.
To do this, just gently massage the outside of the ear using circular movements. That way, the impaction will soften, which can help the earwax drain more easily. Once you've finished making these circular movements, pull your ear slightly backwards, from the lobe to the top of the auricle.
Ear drops alone will clear a plug of earwax in most cases. Put 2 or 3 drops of ordinary olive oil down the ear 2 or 3 times a day for 2-3 weeks. This softens the wax so that it then runs out of its own accord without harming the ear. You can continue for any length of time, but 3 weeks is usually enough.
Sleep position
Rest with your head on two or more pillows, so your affected ear is higher than the rest of your body. Or if your left ear has an infection, sleep on your right side. Less pressure equals less ear pain. It could be effective, though a few inches may not make a big difference in pressure measurement.
People can often treat ear congestion with home remedies and OTC medications. However, a person may want to speak with a doctor about their ear congestion if: their symptoms persist despite using at-home or OTC treatments. they develop a fever.
Normally, earwax drains from the ears and does not cause problems. Sometimes earwax builds up in the ear canal and hardens. Earwax blockage (also called cerumen impaction) can cause some loss of hearing and pain. When wax is tightly packed, you will need to have your doctor remove it.
If you have earwax buildup, certain ear drops can soften and loosen your earwax for easier removal. There are three types of softening drops for earwax: water-based, non-water-based and oil-based. If you have impacted earwax, a healthcare provider may recommend ear drops containing: Carbamide peroxide.
You can buy over-the-counter eardrops that break up earwax. The water-based ones contain ingredients such as acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, or sodium bicarbonate. Oil-based products lubricate and soften the earwax.
Yes, the heat from a hair dryer may help evaporate water and unclog ears. You may keep your blow dryer to its lowest setting and hold it about a foot away from your ear and move it in a back-and-forth motion. However, it may not be a safe option to try.
Sometimes, but the answer depends on the root cause of your clogged ear. Typically, ear pressure should go away after your cold, allergy flare-up, or sinus infection symptoms subside.
By swallowing water or another drink your ears will pop, equalizing the pressure. A more intense method to pop your ears by swallowing is to pinch your nose closed. This creates a vacuum in your nose that helps your Eustachian tubes open. Chewing gum during pressure changes is also a common way to pop your ears.
If the feeling of fullness in your ear is persistent, you should see a healthcare provider, especially when it is accompanied by other symptoms such as: Ear pain. Dizziness. Loss of balance.