Yes. A sinus infection can cause fluid to be trapped in the ear behind the eardrum. Bacteria and viruses can grow and can cause an ear infection. It's especially important to get to the doctor if you're feeling pain or pressure in the ear.
However, when your sinuses are blocked, this can hinder the passage of air through the Eustachian tube. It's why you might find it hard to hear when you have a cold. Often, this can also result in a feeling of pain, pressure, or fullness in your ear space.
There is another possibility that you may suffer from both sinus and ear infections at the same time. Therefore, you should visit the doctor as soon as possible.
Your symptoms will usually pass within two or three weeks (acute sinusitis) and you can look after yourself at home. If the condition is severe, gets worse, or doesn't improve (chronic sinusitis), you may need additional treatment from your GP or a hospital specialist.
Antibiotics are not needed for many sinus infections. Most sinus infections usually get better on their own without antibiotics. When antibiotics aren't needed, they won't help you, and their side effects could still cause harm. Side effects can range from mild reactions, like a rash, to more serious health problems.
When sinus congestion leads to a blocked eustachian tube, fluid can accumulate in the middle ear and cause it to become inflamed. Similarly, if you have a bacterial sinus infection that spreads into your eustachian tubes, it can cause a middle ear infection, which leads to swelling and more fluid buildup.
If the condition lasts longer than ten days, or there is a worsening of symptoms after five to seven days, the sinusitis is more likely caused by bacteria than a virus.
There may be discomfort, pus-like ear discharge or a sensation of subdued hearing. Fluid accumulation can also cause ear or throat pain. But in the case of a sinus infection, there is a feeling of fullness and pressure in the ears.
If you're experiencing nasal drip with thick yellow-green mucus, you likely have a sinus infection, not an ear infection. Ditto with a cough, bad breath and reduced ability to smell. However, signs such as sharp stabbing pains in your ear canal, earaches and muffled hearing point to ear infections.
Using your index fingers, start gently massaging on the side of your head near your ears in an up and down motion. Slowly work your way down to the earlobes. Repeat one to two times.
Symptoms of ear infections usually improve within the first couple of days, and most infections clear up on their own within one to two weeks without any medication or treatment. If your symptoms don't improve on their own, your physician will advise you on which treatments for pain from an ear infection.
This can cause inflammation of the nasal passages and mucus buildup, which can also affect the Eustachian tube, resulting in ear pressure. OTC antihistamines or corticosteroid nasal sprays can help relieve your allergy symptoms.
Untreated sinusitis allows bacteria and other harmful pathogens to enter the bloodstream and travel all throughout the body, leading to the following potentially life-threatening conditions. Meningitis develops when infection targets the brain or spinal fluid. It requires immediate medical attention.
An “acute” sinus infection lasts anywhere from ten days up to eight weeks. A “chronic” infection lasts even longer. It is ongoing — it may seem like it's improving, and then it comes right back as bad as it was at first. Chronic sinus infections may drag on for months at a time.
If you have acute sinusitis, your symptoms likely will go away within a week to 10 days, but some people have symptoms that last up to four weeks. Chronic sinusitis symptoms last 12 weeks or more. Acute sinusitis (sinus infection) can clog your nose with mucus, make your face hurt and make you feel exhausted.
A cold, allergies, or a sinus infection can block the tubes in your middle ear. When fluid builds up and gets infected, your doctor will call it otitis media. This is the most common cause of ear pain. If your doctor thinks the cause is a bacteria, she may prescribe antibiotics.
Your sinuses and ears are connected inside your head. So sinus congestion and stuffiness can affect the pressure in your ears. Treating sinus congestion may help.
But when your sinuses become inflamed, the mucus gets thick and sticky, so it can't flow through the tiny openings, called ostia, that lead to the nose. Fluid builds up in the sinuses, causing pressure and pain, and just like that, you've got sinusitis.
Infection of the bones in your face. You may have pain and your face may feel tender. Infection in or around your brain. You may get a bad headache, stiff neck, high temperature or be sick (vomit).
Getting plenty of rest and staying hydrated are also essential as the body recovers. If people have symptoms of a sinus infection for longer than 7–10 days or any severe symptoms, they can see their doctor for further treatment.