A blocked ear might not cause you much pain, but it can be annoying it affects your hearing. Depending on what’s caused the blockage, it may sort itself out on its own. But for things like earwax, you might need to see a hearing expert.
What’s blocking your ear?
Are you sat thinking “my ear feels blocked and I can’t hear properly”? There are a few things that can make your ear feel clogged:
- Air pressure: if you’ve ever been scuba diving, on an aeroplane or at a higher altitude than you’re used to, you might have noticed your ear feeling blocked. This is because your Eustachian tube is responsible for controlling the pressure in your middle ear, but it can struggle to do this properly when the air pressure changes quickly.
- Eustachian tube blockage: At any given time, there will be fluid and mucus flowing from your middle ear, through your Eustachian tube to your throat. This is completely normal. But if there’s too much fluid – because of an ear infection or sinus infection, for example – the tube can become blocked and give your ear that clogged feeling.
- Earwax: a build-up of earwax can also give you the feeling of a clogged ear, usually because it’s hardened and got stuck. Luckily, earwax removal by a trained professional is a safe and comfortable procedure. You can also give yourself a blocked ear by using cotton buds to ‘clean’ your ears – please never do this.
If your ear feels blocked, and you can’t hear properly and you think earwax is blocking your ear, get it checked out
Will a clogged ear go away by itself?
Often, yes. Occasionally though, if your blocked ear is caused by earwax you might need to see a hearing expert to have it treated.
If earwax has caused the blockage, you can have your earwax removed by one of our trained hearing experts. If it’s caused by a blockage in your middle ear such as a cold, your GP will be able to refer you to a specialist ear doctor who will recommend the best course of action.
How do you clear a blocked ear?
If your ear feels blocked because of a change in air pressure, you can do what’s called the Valsalva manoeuvre. To do it, take a deep breath in, pinch your nose, then breathe out gently with your mouth closed. This can help create the pressure you need to feel your ear ‘pop’ or unclog . Make sure you don’t breathe out too hard though, to avoid damaging your eardrum.
If your ear feels clogged because you’ve recently had a cold, allergies, an ear infection or anything else that may have caused a fluid build-up, you can try using steam to clear the blockage. Try sitting in the bathroom for 10-15 minutes with the shower turned up hot. The steam should help loosen the mucus enough for your body to clear the fluid naturally.
When earwax is blocking your ear, you need to have it checked out by a professional. If you try to remove the blockage yourself, you can risk causing more damage to your ear, including impacting the wax making it harder to dislodge.
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