Place a cotton ball or towel up to the outside of the ear and tilt your head in the opposite direction. If after a minute or two you do not feel fluid start to drain out of the ear, gently tug on your ear lobe. You may feel a slight popping sensation as the water releases.
If the Eustachian tubes are blocked, fluid in the ear cannot drain normally. If bacteria grow in the middle ear fluid, an effusion can turn into a middle ear infection (acute otitis media). This will usually increase pressure behind the eardrum and cause a lot of pain. The eardrum will become red and bulging.
Elevation (aka sleeping upright)
As long as you're upright enough to allow the ears to drain more successfully, you should notice an improvement in symptoms and be able to sleep much easier.
Ear drainage can occur for several reasons, including an ear infection, a ruptured eardrum, or an ear tube that causes fluid to drain. Ear discharge can sometimes be a sign of something more serious, especially if it occurs after a recent head injury.
Eustachian tube massage
Using firm, steady pressure, slide your finger down until you feel a groove between your ear lobe and jaw. Trace that groove all the way down your neck to your collarbone using the same firm pressure. Repeat this process three times on each side, three times a day.
In most cases, the fluid clears up within a few months without treatment. You may need more tests if the fluid does not clear up after 3 months. For adults, decongestants that you take by mouth or spray into your nose may be helpful.
The middle ear connects to the throat by the eustachian tube. A cold or allergy can irritate this tube or cause it to swell, blocking fluid from draining from the ear. The fluid builds up behind the eardrum allowing the growth of bacteria and viruses that cause infection.
Ménière disease is a disorder caused by fluid buildup in the chambers in the inner ear. It may be caused by several things, including allergies, abnormal immune system response, head injury, migraine headaches, or a viral infection.
Since the eustachian tubes in the infected ears can only drain into the throat, try keeping the infected ear elevated by sleeping on the opposite side of the one infected. This way the tube will be above the throat, and the ear will most certainly drain sooner.
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.
Muffled Hearing in One Ear
When the condition occurs in one ear, it's likely a sign of a single-sided ear infection, a clogged ear or earwax buildup.
Massage is a great technique to reduce the pain from an ear infection. Going to a massage therapy appointment can work to cure your pain, and you can also perform self-massage on to experience immediate relief from ear pain and infection. Massaging your ears allows your eustachian tubes to open up.
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 doctor recommends that you try to remove earwax at home: Soften and loosen the earwax with warm mineral oil. You also can try hydrogen peroxide mixed with an equal amount of room temperature water. Place 2 drops of the fluid, warmed to body temperature, in the ear two times a day for up to 5 days.
Pop Your Ears by Holding Your Nose
Then close your mouth and nostrils with your fingers. Lightly blow out against the pressure. This should make your ears pop. The pressure you're blowing against forces your Eustachian tubes open a little which drains pressure and fluid stuck in your ear.
The eustachian tube (pharyngotympanic tube) connects the middle ear cavity with the nasopharynx. It aerates the middle ear system and clears mucus from the middle ear into the nasopharynx. Opening and closing functions of the eustachian tube are physiologically and pathologically important.
You can do exercises to open up the tubes. This includes swallowing, yawning, or chewing gum. You can help relieve the “full ear” feeling by taking a deep breath, pinching your nostrils closed, and “blowing” with your mouth shut. If you think your baby may have Eustachian tube dysfunction, feed him or her.
Pseudoephedrine is used to relieve nasal or sinus congestion caused by the common cold, sinusitis, and hay fever and other respiratory allergies. It is also used to relieve ear congestion caused by ear inflammation or infection.