How to clear blocked ears due to cold

Many people will have more blood congestion in their brains due to colds and fevers, which may cause stuffy ears and inability to hear external sounds as if the ears were blocked. This situation is caused by increased heat in the brain due to colds and fever, and it cannot be ruled out that it may be related to inflammation, so you need to take anti-inflammatory drugs in time, and the ears will slowly become unblocked as the temperature drops.

The ear is divided into three parts: inner, middle and outer. The middle ear is connected to the nasopharynx through the Eustachian tube.

The Eustachian tube is the only channel for the middle ear to communicate with the outside world through the nasopharynx. Under normal circumstances, the air pressure inside and outside the middle ear is basically equal and consistent with the atmospheric pressure. Under physiological conditions, the air in the middle ear will be continuously absorbed by the middle ear mucosa, but the intermittent opening of the Eustachian tube will allow fresh air to continuously enter the middle ear, thus maintaining the pressure balance inside and outside the middle ear. However, when you have a cold, your Eustachian tube may be blocked due to a blocked nose, which will cause the air in the middle ear to be absorbed without being replenished accordingly, forming negative pressure and causing a stuffy feeling in the ears.

Children are more likely to have blocked Eustachian tubes. This is because their Eustachian tubes are not fully developed compared to adults and are short, flat and straight. Children also have adenoids (close to the Eustachian tubes), especially enlarged adenoids, which are also factors that can easily affect the Eustachian tubes. Therefore, the function of the Eustachian tubes is more easily affected after a cold. Generally speaking, the more severe the nasal congestion caused by a cold, the more likely it is that the ears will feel stuffy; blowing your nose hard after a cold can also cause this situation.

When this happens, you first need to actively treat the cold. Once the cold is cured, the symptoms will generally disappear.

To relieve the symptoms of stuffy ears: press your palms on your ears, pressing and releasing them; or take a deep breath, pinch your nose, close your mouth, puff out your cheeks and blow air, and you will hear a "pop" sound in your ears. These two methods can massage the eardrum or blow air into the middle ear, changing the pressure inside and outside the middle ear and making the ear unobstructed. In addition, chewing gum and swallowing and yawning can also help open the Eustachian tube and relieve ear stuffiness.

If these cannot relieve the stuffy ears, you need to go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible. Because the ear stuffiness continues, due to the continuous negative pressure, the veins in the middle ear mucosa dilate, the permeability increases, and serum leaks out and accumulates in the middle ear, leading to secretory otitis media. The situation is more serious at this time, the ears will feel swollen and painful, and hearing is often affected. Nasal medication and Eustachian tube blowing (a way to open the Eustachian tube) are both conventional treatments. If the condition is serious, tympanic membrane puncture may be performed if necessary. Once otitis media develops, you should avoid blowing your nose forcefully.