If the ear is blocked, what to do? Video
Diseases of the ear are considered by doctors to be one of the most unpleasant. After all, lumbago, mortgages, etc. deliver a lot of painful and unpleasant minutes to a person. Those who have been diagnosed with otitis media do not need to explain that ear pain is simply unbearable. When the ear is blocked, it certainly doesn’t force you to take a lot of drugs to numb the pain. But this feeling is not pleasant. It is impossible to ignore, as sometimes it can serve as a symptom of rather unpleasant diseases.
When their ears are blocked, most people begin to self-medicate, which, of course, is not a good idea and often leads to rather dire consequences. Naturally, you need to see a doctor first.
Why does ear congestion occur?
The feeling of congestion in the ears occurs for several reasons.
In the list:
- pressure drops
- accumulated water in the ear canal
- the formation of sulfur plugs in the ear canal
- SARS
In any case, it is necessary to clearly identify the cause of the problem. After all, you can eliminate a symptom only by getting rid of what causes it.
So, for example, if you took a high-speed elevator or are sitting in an airplane seat at the time of landing, ear popping is inevitable. You can correct the situation and get rid of unpleasant sensations by swallowing saliva a couple of times. After 2-3 minutes, you will be able to hear well again.
If you swam in a pool or any other body of water, water could have entered your ear with a high degree of probability, which caused a feeling of congestion. In this situation, your main task is to remove the water. This can be done with an ear stick.
Doctors advise caution when using cotton swabs to cleanse the ears. There is a great risk of injury to the membrane. Alternatively, you can simply tilt your head to your shoulder and shake it a little.
Improper hygiene also often leads to the appearance of a feeling that the ear is blocked. So, if sulfur has accumulated in the ear canal, a plug will form. The reason for the excessive concentration of sulfur in the ear can be both the lack of a procedure for cleaning the ears, and excessive love to dig into them with sticks, hairpins, etc. In response to irritation, the glands begin to produce more secretions, the plug becomes denser and increases in size.
SARS is also quite often the cause of ear congestion. Especially if it is accompanied by a long runny nose. The outflow of mucus in the nasopharynx is slowed down, as a result, air cannot circulate normally between the ears and her. This leads to the appearance of a feeling of congestion.
If the runny nose does not go away for too long and becomes bacterial, there is a good chance that ear congestion will turn into otitis media.
In the first two cases, ear congestion is a temporary and one-time symptom that appears depending on external circumstances; you don’t really need to do anything with it. If the feeling of congestion appeared as a result of the formation of a sulfur plug, be sure to consult a doctor. Only a professional ENT doctor will be able to remove sulfur plugs correctly and painlessly. After the procedure, the discomfort will go away almost instantly.
Often on the Internet you can find a recommendation and even a description of the procedure for self-removal of sulfur plug. However, doctors do not even recommend thinking about it: the risk of injuring the membrane is quite high.
If your ears are blocked from a cold, take care of your nose first. Flush the nasal passages several times a day with saline or a ready-made drug from the pharmacy and drip vasoconstrictor drops. The course of such treatment is usually about 7 days.
You can also help yourself to reduce the unpleasant pain sensations that form when the ear is blocked with the help of special gymnastics.
Extend the lower jaw forward and begin to make circular movements, observing the trajectory: up-front-down-back. Try to develop the maximum possible amplitude. At the same time, do not be too zealous, because can easily twist the jaw. And this is a completely different treatment. The appearance of characteristic clicks inside the head will indicate to you the correctness of the exercise.
The effectiveness of this gymnastics is due to the fact that as a result of the movements, the fluid accumulated in the ear canal will pass into the nasopharynx. The ducts are released and the ear is restored to function.
There are a number of things to consider if you experience ear congestion. First of all, you should not warm your ears. After all, you do not know for sure what caused such a symptom. Also, you don’t know what processes are going on in your ears. And heating can easily lead to the development of purulent otitis media.
Treatments for blocked ears
Secondly, exclude mechanical impact on the ear. There is no need to go into it, trying to pick out this congestion from there. It is very, very simple to pierce the membrane.
Dropping peroxide and other similar drugs into your ears without a doctor’s permission is also not worth it. If fluid has accumulated in your ear, you are unlikely to get rid of it by adding a little more.
If a child complains of a congestion in the ear, in no case do not use any self-medication. Immediately you need to get together and go for a consultation with a specialist. Remember that in children, all ear diseases develop almost instantly.
Also interesting to read: fluid retention in the body