What Causes Muffled Hearing? If your ear feels clogged and muffled, you may have a Middle Ear Infection, also known as Otitis Media. You may even see fluid visibly draining from the ear, and it will probably also be sensitive to touch. In more severe cases, it can cause nausea and vomit.
If your ears are plugged, try swallowing, yawning or chewing sugar-free gum to open your eustachian tubes. If this doesn't work, take a deep breath and try to blow out of your nose gently while pinching your nostrils closed and keeping your mouth shut. If you hear a popping noise, you know you have succeeded.
In many cases, a muffled ear will go away on its own. This is especially true for conditions like airplane ear, or sickness-related hearing loss. Even certain ear infections will resolve themselves if given time, but there are some instances where you should not wait to seek medical treatment.
Temporary Muffled Hearing. “A common cause of temporary muffled hearing is a blockage in the middle ear, typically due to fluid buildup from a cold, an ear infection or allergies,” says Dr. Sarow.
This can happen for brief periods during air travel, but also due to allergies, sinus or ear infections, or other respiratory viruses (including COVID-19). Sudden onset of muffled hearing in one ear may signal an urgent problem requiring prompt treatment to prevent or reduce possible hearing loss.
Why can't I hear out of one ear? A loss of hearing in one ear can occur at any point during anyone's lifetime. This could be a result of a medical condition, an infection, a ruptured ear drum, inner ear blockage, or other underlying issues. A loss of hearing in one ear can occur suddenly or gradually over time.
Sinus or ear infections, allergies and other respiratory viruses — all of which can cause swelling and fluid in the ear — are common causes of Eustachian tube dysfunction.
To do this, just gently massage the outside of the ear using circular movements. That way, the impaction will soften, which can help the earwax drain more easily. Once you've finished making these circular movements, pull your ear slightly backwards, from the lobe to the top of the auricle.
The most common cause of a blocked eustachian tube is a stuffy nose, such as from a head cold or sinus infection. When the nose is stuffed or clogged, it can prevent the eustachian tubes from draining or filling with air properly. A buildup of earwax is also a common cause of a blocked or obstructed eustachian tube.
In most cases, you should see a sinus doctor for your ear pressure if you're dealing with any of the following symptoms: Persistent pain. No improvement in your symptoms after at-home treatments. Hearing loss.
Ear stroke is also known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss. In as short as three days, the patients will suddenly lose part or all of their hearing ability. Meanwhile, they may experience sudden dizziness, tinnitus and earache.
Allergies, head colds, pregnancy, and air pressure are some common reasons it may feel like your ears are full. Typically, plugged ears settle after a few days. Decongestants and nasal sprays are the best treatment for plugged ears that allergies and head colds cause.
Soften and loosen the earwax with warm mineral oil. You also can try hydrogen peroxide mixed with an equal amount of room temperature water. Place 2 drops of the fluid, warmed to body temperature, in the ear two times a day for up to 5 days.
A person who has ear pressure should see a doctor if they experience any of the following: persistent pain. no improvement in symptoms despite home treatment. hearing loss.
Two of the most common are swelling or a build up of mucus from something like a cold or allergies. Ongoing blocked ears will need treatment. For most people, blocked ears are a temporary condition that will clear up when the pressure in the ears returns to normal.
If your ears often feel like they need to be popped, you might have an underlying health condition called Eustachian tube dysfunction. This happens because your tubes can't equalize pressure well. It can make your ears feel full constantly.
An individual with ear fullness has a sensation of blockage in the ear. This can make hearing sound muffled or a person may experience crackling or popping noises in the ear. Ear congestion may last only a few seconds or up to a few days.
Sometime a sinus congestion (resulting from illnesses, sinus infections, and allergies) can cause the eustachian tubes to block, leading to fluid buildup in the middle ear and inflammation. Further, a bacterial sinus infection can spread to the middle ear causing swelling, fluid buildup, and infection.
There are a number of signs and symptoms that can indicate a ruptured eardrum. They include some of the following: a sudden increase or decrease in pain, bloody discharge from the ear with pus, hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo or a spinning sensation, and nausea and vomiting from the vertigo.
Symptoms of earwax build-up
hearing loss. earache or a feeling that your ears are blocked. ringing or buzzing in your ears (tinnitus) vertigo (feeling dizzy and sick)
Normal wet earwax is usually yellow, brown or orange. Dry earwax is typically gray or white. Earwax in children tends to be lighter in color.