Saturday, March 19, 2011

How to open up the blocked ear because of cold?

The tube connecting the ear to nose gets blocked in cold. so, either to avoid this or to open it up again treat your cold. there are some simple things you can do....like...


  1. Chewing gum or inflating a balloon will help to open up the blocked tube connecting ear and nose. The kids will love these activities. There are some toys available in form of a pipe or tube, when you blow them, they produce a sound or some paper work gets unfolded to amuse the child.
  2. Valsalva Maneuver: Close your nose with your finger and try to blow air but keep your mouth closed. The air instead of going outside will go through your Eustachian tube to middle ear and you will like to hear some sound. Warning: do it gently otherwise thin eardrums may rupture also.
  3. Toynebee Maneuver: Again close your nose with your finger and then try to swallow. This is very useful procedure but seldom told.
  4. Contraction of floor of mouth: This is bit difficult but some persons may contract the floor of their mouth to cause opening of Eustachian tube.
  5. Yawning: It is good exercise. Imitate like yawning.
  6. Use some local nasal decongestants drops to open your nose.
  7. Do some jogging, dancing or cycling. You will better with your nose and ears. :-)


12 comments:

  1. Dear Dr. Jain,

    Does keeping ear plugs helps blocking of ear during take off of a flight?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. Except for reducing the noise of the plane, they do not have any role in preventing the Eustachian tube blockade because of pressure difference during ascent or descent of a flight.

      Delete
  2. No, As against commonly believed, keeping ear plugs do not help against blocking of ear. though it can certainly help reducing the noise levels of aircraft.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I having blocked eustachian tubes due to which I can hear a vibration in my right ear and some pain too. I checked with a GP and he said that the eustachian tubes are blocked.

    Please advise

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello,

      Eustachian tube is commonly blocked due to cold, Allergy, infection, air travelling or underwater diving. Take care of your cold or allergic symptoms. You can put decongestant topical nasal drops also. Do all this exercises as mentioned above.

      If still no relief, see Ear, Nose, Throat specialist at earliest.

      Delete
  4. water was entered in my ear 2 days ago,but still my ears are close.i tried these.that was no use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, These methods for opening Eustachian tube are not applicable in your case because your problem is in outer ear. Either wait for water to come spontaneously or visit an ENT doctor. Please do not attempt with earbuds to clean your ear. You may harm yourself.

      Delete
  5. sir i tried to blow air by closing my nostrils and mouth as mentioned above but i did really hard .it ddnt help but i feel i mightbhave ruptured the eardrum ..hw cn i know that i ruptured it or it is ok ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you feel any air coming out of your ear? I would suggest you to visit your Ear, Nose and Throat doctor urgently.

      Delete
  6. I have blocked ear since 8-10 days ...its constantly giving a whistling sound. gp is saying its with the age although he knows I had cold n viral infection...n I m still young ... can u tell me anything I could do ... plz

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, It could be because of blocked nose and tube connecting ear and nose. So do some long breathing exercises and just don't stay lazy around. You can put nose decongestant. Have Chewing gums. Still it does not help, then it is time to see your ENT Physician.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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