For each of us, one of the most important, vital and, no matter how strange it may seem, irreplaceable sense organs are the ears. Thanks to them, from childhood we begin to hear the voice of our mother, speaking affectionately to us and reading fairy tales; getting acquainted with music - classical, modern; communicate with friends or colleagues.

Therefore, for those who have independently become acquainted with the horror of ear pain, such impressions will remain for a long time. for a long time. This can be so unbearable that the sufferer rushes to the hospital without waiting for advice from family.

We hear - we don’t hear

A completely different situation unfolds if suddenly, “on tiptoe,” deafness creeps up. It seems that not everything is as bad as it might seem at first glance: due to the fact that ear congestion has begun without pain, the quality of hearing decreases, but precisely because of the lack pain everything that happens is ignored for quite a long time.

And yet, any attack without pain can bring a lot of incomprehensible and unpleasant sensations. There is no need to panic and become hysterical. First, you should try to understand the reasons that led to the fact that your ear was simply blocked.

In order not to waste your nerves and time going to the doctor, a frequently used method that uses enough a large number of people, to eliminate ear congestion without pain, is self-medication. It is not contraindicated. And yet, in order for the effectiveness of the chosen treatment option to reach 100%, it is necessary to find out what preceded the onset of deafness.

Our ears, our ears

Mother Nature has identified a sufficient number of reasons for ear congestion to begin without pain. Experts divide them into natural and physiological factors.

Natural, that is, physical, reasons include:

Getting into the cavity while swimming or diving;

Pressure changes (in airplanes, elevators, on attractions).

Water in ears

Such difficulties can be dealt with at home. In the first case, in order to remove unnecessary fluid from the ear, it is enough to just jump on one leg (if water has penetrated into right ear- then on right leg and vice versa). If desired result is not achieved, you can use warming up: lie on a heating pad on the side of the stuffy ear (the ear should be on the heating pad) for a quarter of an hour, no more.

Up down

If your ears are blocked after an airplane, what should you do in such a situation? Those who soared in the air on snow-white liners clearly remember that at the moment when the iron bird soars up or, on the contrary, descends, its ears become very blocked. The same sensations appear after riding in elevators or walking in the mountains. Not everyone likes it, but this is how Nature itself intended it. There is nothing wrong with this situation. By spending just a couple of minutes, you can return everything to its place. You just need to open your mouth slightly and independently massage the area between the ear cartilage and the temple. Or you can just swallow a little or just yawn deeply. Such actions distribute pressure and relieve congestion. So, if your ears are blocked after a plane, you won’t ask what to do anymore, this question will no longer be so pressing.

Physiological factors of ear congestion

Unfortunately, much more serious situations arise. It happens that at times as a consequence of a cold, which is accompanied by a runny nose. Mucus from the nose enters the ear canal and contributes to the inflammatory process. The result is hearing loss. In this case, experts do not recommend taking any action on your own. It is more correct to come to an appointment with an otolaryngologist, who can perform a routine examination, but can also prescribe special functional tests.

Based on what was the root cause of sudden hearing loss or even complete deafness, the doctor will be able to professionally select necessary option everyone possible methods cure.

Human ears are quite fragile organs. If help is provided to them at the wrong time or to an insufficient extent, complications can be very serious and treatment can be lengthy.

Our enemies are sulfur plugs

In cases where the ear is periodically blocked, but there is no pain, the person does not have a cold, does not ride in an elevator, does not fly on an airplane, does not climb mountains, then most likely the hearing is reduced due to the presence of And they can occur if the ear canal is narrow from birth or the “owner” does not properly care for his ears. The ear glands will secrete wax, which can accumulate in the ears, reducing hearing.

You can “fight” traffic jams without resorting to the services of doctors, and at home. One way is to place a few drops of hydrogen peroxide into the affected ear. Second home method- accept hot shower, having first dropped two or three drops of warm oil or glycerin into the ear. The cork is very easy to remove using regular cotton wool. But this must be done carefully.

Learning to blow your nose

There are times when the ear gets stuffy when blowing your nose. It's not scary. Most likely, the reason for this is the same sulfur plugs. Most likely, fossilized wax has moved out of place in the ear canal. The ENT doctor will wash them out using a syringe with plain water. If you don’t want to go to the hospital, you can drop Otipax into your ear and rinse your nose. In general, you even need to blow your nose carefully: one nostril is “working”, the second is pinched with your finger.

Pressure and congestion in the ears

While flying on a snow-white airliner, passengers usually get stuffy ears. What reasons contribute to this? At what pressure does it clog your ears? All this happens due to the difference in pressure. During the flight on iron birds, a rather sharp decrease occurs atmospheric pressure, that is, external. And the pressure in the ears does not have time to adapt to this. As a result, a feeling of congestion arises.

And it doesn’t matter at all exactly at what pressure the ears become blocked. The main thing to remember is the recommendations of doctors about performing quick swallowing movements.

After all, the ear, as mentioned above, is a rather complex and neatly organized organ. which “hides” the middle ear from the external meatus, plays the role of barofunction. A certain balance is maintained on both sides of the membrane, due to which the most convenient sound conduction for humans is achieved. When atmospheric pressure decreases, air passes from the middle ear to the nasopharynx. As the pressure increases, the opposite happens.

When barofunction is impaired, the membrane's resistance to injury is significantly reduced, which leads to hearing impairment.

Charging for ears

If there is only congestion in the ears, without pain, doctors may recommend ear exercises, thanks to which the feeling of congestion will go away very quickly.

First you need to push lower jaw about five times. Then you need to make circular movements with your lower jaw.

Just do all this very carefully so as not to get dislocated.

If congestion in the ears occurs in parallel with an increase in temperature, then all procedures performed with the ears must be carried out very carefully and accurately. Advice from ENT doctors in this case: as soon as the patient’s body temperature begins to rise, any manipulations that warm the ears are prohibited.

There is no reason to worry if ear clogs are rare, but if it is part of the system, it would be reasonable to visit a specialist, because the root cause may be hidden in a health condition.

To difficult situations readers have not touched on health issues, you should know and remember: quite often self-medication is the beginning of various kinds of complications. Therefore, if your ear is clogged, it would be extremely wise to seek help from medical professionals in a timely manner.

Thanks to such an exclusive instrument as our ears, it is possible to enjoy an open world of diverse sounds. Therefore, our main task is to carefully take care of them good location so that they are in good and safe condition.

People having problems with cardiovascular system suffer from ear congestion most often. This is due to increased blood pressure, but can also occur for other reasons - a cold, osteochondrosis, taking off or landing an airplane.

The ear is a very complex organ, capable of transmitting and receiving various sounds. They enter the human brain sound vibrations, as a result of which the perception of sounds occurs. Considering hearing aid, it can be noted that it includes several parts:

• external;
• average;
• internal.

The integral parts of the outer ear are the auditory canal and the concha. The auricle is an elastic cartilage completely covered with skin. The lobe is located on its lower part and consists of adipose tissue, which passes from the cartilaginous part.

The auricle is a very sensitive organ and includes:

• tragus (small protruding cartilage on the outer ear);
• antitragus (cartilage opposite the tragus, above the lobe);
• curl (formed using the upper and outer edge of the shell);
• antihelix (bends around the ear canal from below, located parallel to the helix).

The auricle receives and transmits sounds, which is its main function. With its help, sound is transmitted as accurately as possible inner ear, and from there it goes to the brain.

The cartilaginous part of the ear smoothly passes into the bone part. The eardrum is located in the passage; it acts as a barrier and separates the outer and middle ears.

The sounds made around you hit eardrum, thereby setting it in motion. And then the signal is sent to the middle ear.

The middle ear is a tympanic cavity, the volume of which is no more than 1 cubic cm. tympanic cavity there are bones:

• hammer (a small bone that transmits sounds from the membrane to other bones);
• stapes (connects the incus and middle ear);
• incus (bone of the middle ear, located between the stapes and the malleus).

The inner ear is a very complex part. auditory system. Its anatomy is so intricate and interesting that you can hear the expression “membranous labyrinth” addressed to it. With the help of windows - oval and round, the inner ear is connected to the middle ear.

The membranous labyrinth includes:

• cochlea (section of the membranous labyrinth, responsible for hearing in the inner ear);
• vestibule (expanded part between the cochlea and bone canals);
• semicircular canals (form a bony labyrinth inside the ear).

No less complex and very important system is a hearing aid that performs essential functions in the body.

Following the rules of hygiene is a mandatory procedure for a person; it will protect against hearing loss and various diseases. Therefore, you should not treat this carelessly.

For more information about how the ear works, watch the video:

Causes of ear congestion

Do not forget that at the slightest suspicion of a plug or detection of discharge from the ears, you should act immediately, rather than wait. Symptoms will increase gradually, leading to hearing loss.

Symptoms of stuffy ears

Usually painful sensations does not occur during congestion, there is only a feeling of discomfort and tingling in the ears. The patient feels heaviness in his head, begins to perceive his voice differently, and hears sounds around him muffled. Ringing, noise, discomfort when talking and the sensation of fluid transfusion in the ears are not painful, but they cause a lot of inconvenience. But the presence of pain depends on the cause of the plug. If it is hidden in otitis, then pain is inevitable, intensifies with the onset of night, and in addition to it, the patient’s body temperature may rise. During swallowing, congestion may subside or, on the contrary, may arise.

It happens that two ears are blocked at once, and not one. First of all, this indicates that the patient has acute bilateral otitis media. Hearing loss does not occur with this disease unless the disease has progressed to another level - purulent otitis media, in which the tissue of the middle ear is destroyed. The disease mainly occurs in children under three years of age and very often has consequences in the form of speech disorders.

First aid for stuffy ears: folk remedies

If you know that congestion is not dangerous and is not caused by a disease, but it does not go away within a few minutes, then you can proceed to treatment traditional methods. If a traffic jam is bothering you, there are several options for eliminating it, but remember, never reach it with objects:

When using all these methods, remember that the human ear is a very complex organ and if attempts to relieve congestion fail, the help of a specialist will often be required.

Traditional medicine against ear congestion

• Pour crushed anise seed with rosehip oil, leave for three weeks, shake periodically. Place 2-3 drops in the ear before bedtime;
• after the transferred purulent inflammation, there is often congestion. Use propolis. It needs to be thoroughly crushed (about 30 g) and filled with 70% alcohol (100 ml). Place the tincture in a warm, dark place for a week, shaking occasionally. After time, strain. Dip gauze into the resulting liquid and insert it into the ear every day. Treatment should be carried out for two weeks;
• if congestion occurs after otitis, then it is treated onions. Its juice must be mixed with water, proportions 4 to 1. The solution should be dripped into the ears in the morning and evening, 2 drops each. You can also make porridge from onions, wrap them in cotton wool and put them in your ear.

Remember, often the causes of congestion lie in poor hygiene, which you should always remember. Diseases respiratory tract also lead to this problem, so timely prevention will not hurt.

Temper yourself, abstain from alcohol and cigarettes - and the risk of ear disease will be significantly reduced.

In contact with

With easy or severe congestion Every person has encountered this problem at least once. In this condition, hearing deteriorates, extraneous sounds are observed in the ears and the sound of one’s own voice is distorted. Swallowing movements will help quickly get rid of ear congestion. In most cases, you just need to swallow your saliva a couple of times and the discomfort goes away. But sometimes this method of eliminating the problem does not work, which indicates some kind of disease.

Causes of congestion

Severely stuffy ears due to colds, runny nose and acute otitis media. But there are a number of other diseases that can lead to such an unpleasant symptom. Ear congestion can be caused by:

• Sinusitis.
• Deviated nasal septum.
• Eustachite.
• Rhinitis of allergic nature.
• Foreign body in the nasopharynx and ears.
• Sulfur plug.
• Water getting into ears.
• Side effect after using certain medications.
• Sudden pressure drop. What happens when diving under water and when flying on an airplane.

Congestion may be accompanied by ringing and buzzing in the ears, nasal voice and dizziness. If congestion is accompanied by severe pain, especially at night, then we are most likely talking about otitis media. In this case, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible, who will prescribe treatment.

If ear congestion occurs for a long time or is accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms, you need to see an otolaryngologist!

How to relieve congestion

There are several ways to quickly remove ear congestion. All methods of solving the problem are aimed at relieving excess pressure in the ears.

Swallowing saliva

To relieve mild ear congestion, just swallow saliva. With such movements, the muscles that are connected to the auditory tubes begin to work. At the moment of swallowing saliva, a click is heard, after which the congestion immediately goes away.

In this case, sucking on a lollipop will also help. At the same time, saliva is actively released, the person swallows it.

To prevent problems in your child younger age when flying on an airplane, at the time of takeoff and landing, he is given a pacifier or bottle. The baby periodically swallows saliva, so excess pressure in the ears is relieved.

Need to yawn

You can yawn to relieve ear congestion. With such movements, the muscles that control the auditory tubes are activated even more. Just yawn a few times and the problem will disappear.

It is worth considering that few people manage to yawn on purpose. You can imitate a yawn, but the effect of such movements is slightly lower.

The nature of yawning is not fully defined, but it is interesting that if someone nearby yawns, other people are likely to follow this action too.

Gum

At active movements jaws also quickly eliminate the problem. To do this they actively chew chewing gum for 10-15 minutes. When the ear canal opens, a person hears a characteristic click.

You don't have to chew gum, you can take a carrot or an apple. If you don’t have these products on hand, it is recommended to imitate biting and chewing an apple.

Exhale with your nose closed

You can get rid of congestion by trying to exhale with your nose closed. To do this, inhale deeply, then pinch your nostrils, close your mouth and try to exhale in this position. If a click occurs, it means that the procedure was carried out correctly and the problem has been resolved.

It is worth considering that this method does not always help. If after 2-3 attempts there is no improvement, you need to try other ways to deal with the unpleasant symptom.

This method can be used when taking off and landing an aircraft, in which case sharp drop the person does not feel pressure.

Nasal rinsing

You can fix the problem by rinsing your nose. Washing should be done using a special teapot. They pour it into saline solution, bow your head over the sink and pour the liquid into the nostril, which is at the top. At correct implementation During the procedure, fluid flows freely from the nostril, which is lower.

After rinsing, blow your nose. In this case, you first need to blow your nose through one nostril, and then the other. It is unacceptable to blow both nostrils at the same time, this can lead to otitis media.

To prevent ear diseases in children, they need to be taught how to blow their nose correctly from an early age.

Steam inhalations

If hearing problems are caused by a runny nose, then first you need to normalize nasal breathing. To do this, vasoconstrictor drops are dripped into the nose to relieve swelling. You can use such medications for no more than 5 days, otherwise the mucous membrane becomes thinner and all the symptoms become more pronounced.

Help cure a runny nose steam inhalations. To do this, use heated soda solution or chamomile decoction. Sage has a good anti-inflammatory effect and can also be used for inhalation.

Hearing problems completely disappear after nasal breathing normalizes.

How to treat ear congestion

If the problem cannot be resolved using the above methods, you should see an otolaryngologist; perhaps the cause of this phenomenon lies in some kind of disease or cerumen plug. Various medications may be included in the treatment regimen:

1. If ear congestion is caused by the accumulation of wax, then it is necessary to remove the wax plug. To do this, hydrogen peroxide is instilled into the ear, and after an hour, the ear is rinsed with a stream of water. If the plug is old, then you need to drip peroxide into your ears for a couple of days in a row, and then just wash out the softened plug.
2. Otipax for severe ear congestion is dripped if signs of otitis are observed. This medicinal product has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. It is worth remembering that Otipax should not be dripped into the ears if there is a suspicion of a perforated eardrum.
3. If there is congestion, you can drop Naphthyzin into the ear. Just 2-3 drops medicine enough to solve the problem. Vasoconstrictor drops relieve swelling and inflammation, due to which excess pressure in the hearing organs disappears.
4. Help relieve ear pain antihistamines. You can take Loratadine, Suprastin or new generation drugs - Claritin, Zodak and Citrine.
5. If the ear is not only blocked, but also hurts, then you can take a painkiller - Analgin or Ibuprofen.

We must not forget that medications must be prescribed by a doctor. If it is not yet possible to see a doctor, you can take a painkiller and drip your nose with vasoconstrictor drops.

Hearing problems may be caused by a foreign body in ear canal. If a child complains that his ear is blocked, it is worth checking to see if there is a bead, small part from a toy or an insect in it.

Traditional methods

Hearing problems can be eliminated folk remedies. But it's worth remembering that folk recipes Do not use if you suspect a perforated eardrum:

• Squeeze the juice out of horseradish root, mix it in half with water and drop 1 drop of solution into sore ear for the night. You can use garlic instead of horseradish.
• Soak a cotton swab in camphor oil and place it in the ear for two hours.
• Add a little water to a teaspoon of honey, moisten a gauze turunda in the resulting solution and insert it into the ear for an hour.
• A tablespoon of crushed propolis is poured into 50 ml of vodka. Leave for a week, shaking occasionally, then filter and use for ear drops.
• Common geranium will help restore hearing. Pluck a leaf from the plant, wash it and knead it with your fingers. Roll the leaf into a tube and insert it into the ear canal; keep the geranium for at least an hour.
• Heat almond oil and drop it into the ear canal. To eliminate the problem, just drop 2 drops.

If you are allergic to bee products, they cannot be used for treatment in any form!

Ear congestion is often accompanied by lumbago and severe pain. This condition indicates otitis media and requires immediate treatment. In addition, the ears can become blocked due to a sudden change in atmospheric pressure, when it gets into the ear canal. foreign objects and with sulfur plugs. Hearing deterioration is often observed with colds, which are accompanied by severe nasal congestion.

Many people encounter such a nuisance as ear or ear congestion. This feeling is familiar to many of us. It may not last at all and go away on its own. Or it may be a sign of a very serious illness, which will not go away on its own, and will have to be treated for quite a long time.

Causes of stuffy ears

The reasons for this condition are different, there are quite a lot of them, and they can arise completely unexpectedly - even after a banal sneeze. There are also quite a lot of reasons that cause such an unpleasant phenomenon. Therefore, in order to cope with such a problem, it is necessary, first of all, to remember what our ear consists of.

Why are my ears clogged?

Ear structure

Human ear consists of outer, middle and internal parts. Between auricle with ear canal and the so-called middle ear contains the eardrum. The middle ear is connected to the pharynx by eustachian tube. This is where the air pressure equalizes. Therefore, if you have a cold and suffer from a runny nose or inflammation of the ear (otitis), then inflammation and swelling of the mucous membranes occurs and the Eustachian tube is blocked. This is why you feel stuffy in your ear. We will consider further the reasons for the occurrence of such a complex pathology.

Causes of congestion

The first common cause is otitis media and its complications. The second is inflammation of the Eustachian tube. In addition, there are others, including the presence of sulfur plugs, penetration of foreign objects, water or even insects, runny nose (rhinitis), or by-effect after taking certain medications.

Important!!!

As a rule, ear congestion manifests itself in a number of ways: accompanying symptoms: decreased hearing, ringing in the ears, dizziness and even increased body temperature. The person may experience discomfort and pain.

So, if you feel pain that intensifies at night, you have a fever, and your ear is running, then most likely you will be diagnosed with otitis media. In addition, you may need additional examination. Which? The ENT doctor will decide.

Sulfur plugs

If you have sulfur plugs, doctors will rinse you with hydrogen peroxide or a solution baking soda. In addition, you will have to use ear drops, for example, A-cerumen. If traffic jams appear systematically, it is necessary to regularly visit an otolaryngologist, at least two to three times a year. The foreign body will be removed with special medical instruments. Don't even try to do this yourself. Only a specialist will be able to remove a foreign object from the ear canal without consequences, just like an insect that has entered the ear. To do this, they will instill warm oil, for example, Vaseline, into you with a regular syringe, and remove the uninvited guest.

Viruses and bacteria

Viruses and bacteria can cause ear inflammation, and therefore congestion. Antibacterial agents will help in this case. ear drops, which only a doctor can correctly select. Warming up in such cases is not only not recommended, but quite often it is simply contraindicated and can simply cause harm and cause even greater inflammation. You will have to use drops that contain an antibiotic. Among them are “Normax”, “Candibiotic”, “Otipax”, which have not only an anti-inflammatory but also an analgesic effect.

Important!!!

A feeling of congestion, accompanied by dizziness and noise, headache and can occur with an increase or, conversely, a decrease in blood pressure. In this case, it is enough to bring the pressure back to normal and the symptoms will go away.

Water or foreign body

If water gets into your ear while swimming. First of all, you should tilt your head so that the affected ear is on the bottom, and jump on one leg. You can lie down with your stuffy ear down. In this case, they can come to the rescue cotton buds. But the accumulated liquid should be removed very, very carefully and without haste.

Consequence of a runny nose

Often, ear congestion is a consequence of a common runny nose. In this case, you can use antihistamines and drops that constrict blood vessels, for example, Vibrocil, Galazolin, Rhinozalin, Sanorin or others.

"Gymnastics" for the ears

To restore hearing, you can use a kind of “gymnastics”. You just need to inflate air balloons. You will feel a pop and the discomfort will disappear. Or you can use another method. Take a thin straw and blow air through it. These simple ways are actually quite effective.

If your doctor does not mind, you can introduce traditional medicine to the treatment. Camphor oil. Camphor oil is good for treating ear problems. It is enough to soak a cotton pad with warm oil and insert it into the ear. Or take propolis, fill it with vodka and leave for at least a week in a closed dark glass bottle. Insert a swab moistened with this solution into your ear for one hour a day.

Advice

If ear congestion is a complication after a cold, then juice from horseradish root can help you. To do this, the juice is diluted with water in equal proportions (one to one) and instilled into the ear canal, one drop at a time. At night, you can insert a swab with honey or a well-washed and rolled geranium leaf into your ear.

Herbal healers

Periwinkle and hawthorn. Traditional medicine advises taking one tablespoon thirty minutes before meals of a decoction of hawthorn and periwinkle. To do this, you need to take one tablespoon of hawthorn and one teaspoon of periwinkle. Pour boiling water over the composition and hold in a water bath for twenty minutes. Insist. Raspberry roots. Many people love raspberries. But for ear problems, you will need, first of all, its roots. Take the washed roots and chop finely. Then pour two tablespoons with one liter of boiling water, cover, and wrap thoroughly for twelve hours. Take the resulting solution several times during the day, but for at least three weeks.

Conclusion:

As you can see, there are many ways to relieve ear congestion. We reviewed the most popular and effective ones. Which one to choose - only you can decide. But at the same time, it is important to remember that in any case, self-medication is simply unacceptable, because the problem is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Therefore, be sure to go for a consultation with an ENT doctor, try to avoid drafts and hypothermia, promptly treat acute respiratory infections, otitis media, rhinitis, and fight sulfur plugs. Thus, following the doctor’s recommendations and taking on board the advice traditional medicine, you will help yourself, your family and friends and cope without problems with such a problem as ear congestion.

Stuffed ear: what to do?

The human ear is very important organ feelings. It helps you enjoy music, perceive speech and sounds environment, which allows you to adequately assess the situation in each specific case. The ear picks up sound vibrations, converts them into an electrical signal (nerve impulse), and then conducts them to the auditory zone of the cerebral cortex, where it is analyzed in detail.

Congestion in the ears is an unpleasant sensation. It occurs most often when pathological changes in the ear canal or in the canal connecting the tympanic cavity with the nasopharynx (Eustachian tube).

Causes of congestion

There are factors that contribute to the development of ear congestion. In most cases, they “accompany” each other. The main ones are listed below:

• acute form of otitis media;
• acute inflammatory process in the Eustachian tube;
• the presence of sulfur plugs;
• foreign bodies in the ear (eg insects);
• rhinitis;
• getting water into your ears (during swimming, diving, etc.);
• deviated nasal septum;
• long-term use of certain groups of pharmacological drugs;
• swelling auditory tube(for example, when landing or taking off an airplane, during deep dives).

Symptoms

Ear congestion manifests itself as a significant decrease in hearing (after the act of swallowing, decreased hearing is observed in one ear). The patient also complains of noise and distinct ringing in the ears, discomfort from the sound of his voice, and dizziness.

Pain often appears in the form of a slight tingling sensation, and sometimes slight hyperthermia is observed. Ear congestion with otitis media manifests itself severe pain, which occur in the ear at night and are accompanied by high fever.

Diagnostics

If ear congestion occurs, then correct setting diagnosis, you must visit an otolaryngologist. To do this, in some cases, an examination by a specialist is sufficient. If necessary, special functional tests are prescribed, including tympanometry and audiogram.

How to treat ear congestion?

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to determine which part of the ear is affected. To do this, the doctor examines the ear, eardrum, and determines the area of ​​localization of the pathological process. If this is not enough, a threshold is carried out pure-tone audiometry. Then the cause of the congestion is determined.

One of the most “harmless” causes of ear congestion is the presence of wax plugs in the ear canal. If it is detected, the doctor will remove it and prescribe ear drops that eliminate wax plugs without mechanical impact (for example, A-cerumen). If you are prone to frequent traffic jams, it is recommended to be examined by a specialist once every 3-4 months.

Many people, when congestion appears in the ear, are sure that the reason for this is sulfur plug. And having made this diagnosis, they do not rush to see a doctor. However, it is worth noting that this sign is a manifestation of poor blood flow in the ear vessels with sensorineural hearing loss. This pathology is rapidly progressive. And with untimely therapeutic intervention it leads to the development of deafness.

If ear congestion occurs during air travel due to changes in atmospheric pressure, then special assistance usually not required. To eliminate this unpleasant sensation It is enough to swallow or clean the nasal passages well (blow your nose or drop drops).

If your ear becomes blocked after liquid gets into it, you just need to carefully clean it using cotton swabs.

Ear congestion is one of the symptoms of temporomandibular joint dysfunction. In this case, consultation with an osteopath is necessary.

Twisted nasal septum very often causes congestion. To eliminate this problem, they resort to surgical intervention. Septoplasty is performed, as a result of which the shape of the nasal septum is corrected and congestion is removed.

At inflammatory processes In the middle ear, the functioning of the auditory ossicles is impaired. This leads to the feeling that the ear is blocked. For this pathology, ear drops are prescribed in combination with heating with a blue lamp.

If the skin in the external auditory canal becomes inflamed, local heat exposure can only worsen the process. Effectively carrying out photodynamic therapy, which will have a fungicidal and bactericidal effect on the damaged area.

Why do my ears get stuffy when I have a cold?

The first signs of the coming autumn are not only bad weather, but also cough, hyperthermia and runny nose. In this case, a cold is often accompanied by congestion in the ears. Why is this happening?

To answer this question, let's delve a little deeper into anatomy. In humans, there are two openings in the nasopharynx, through which it is “connected” with the tympanic cavity of the middle ear (right and left ear). It is through these channels that the movement of air occurs, which enters the tympanic cavity in portions during swallowing or chewing.

Normally, with normal functioning auditory tube, a pressure equal to atmospheric pressure is created in the tympanic cavity. If for some reason obstacles are created for the passage of air and the tympanic cavity decreases, the person feels stuffiness in the ear/ears.

The mucous membrane of the nasal cavity swells as a result of inflammation, while pathological process also affects the mucous membrane of the auditory tube, leading to its swelling. This creates an obstacle to the flow of air into the tympanic cavity.

In addition, when you have a cold, it is difficult for a person to breathe through your nose. And every time he tries to do this, negative pressure arises in the nasopharynx and inside the middle ear. And this manifests itself in a feeling of ear congestion.

Therefore, in order to remove congestion during a cold, it is necessary first of all to restore nasal breathing.

Treatment of ear congestion due to colds

If your cold is accompanied by ear congestion, use the following recommendations:

1. Prepare a sinus rinse solution. To do this, dissolve one teaspoon of salt in 200 ml. boiled water, cooled to room temperature. You can purchase ready-made solutions with sea salt at the pharmacy.
2. After cleansing the nasal passages, instill vasoconstrictor drops (for example, Naphthyzin).
3. Chewing gum or a deep yawn can help relieve congestion temporarily.

Attention!!! To relieve ear congestion, do not use boric alcohol without a doctor's recommendation.

If the above methods do not help, and ear congestion does not disappear, self-medication is unacceptable. You should contact a specialist for help.