Your body usually balances the air pressure on both sides of your eardrum. When the pressure changes between the middle ear and the outside, you will feel like your ears are plugged. If there’s a lot of pressure change, it might even hurt.
In some cases, the air in your middle ear can have trouble adjusting to the pressure. This can happen when you are diving in water or flying in an airplane. It could even happen when you drive up or down a steep mountain.
Your middle ear usually adjusts to the pressure difference eventually. When it does, you will feel your ears pop. Sometimes you may need to help equalize the pressure by yawning or swallowing.
Certain medical conditions may impact your ability to pop your ears. When this happens, you may need to see a healthcare provider.
This article discusses why your ears may feel plugged and the best ways to pop your ears fast. It also explains some of the conditions that can make it hard to pop your ears and relieve the pressure.
What Causes the Feeling of Plugged Ears?
If your ears won’t pop, you’ll be stuck with a full or plugged feeling in your ears. Pressure in your ears that won’t go away can be caused by several things.
The eustachian tubes connect each middle ear to the upper part of your throat. They are also called auditory tubes. The popping sensation you feel happens when air moves from the upper part of your throat and nose through the eustachian tube into your middle ear.
Any medical condition that affects your eustachian tubes can prevent you from being able to pop your ears easily.
Effective Ways to Pop Your Ears
If you’ve tried everything and your ears won’t pop, take a look at this list. There might be a few ideas for unclogging your ears that you hadn’t thought of, such as:
Swallowing Yawning Chewing gum Sucking on hard candy Using decongestants like Afrin (oxymetazoline) or Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) before traveling Applying a warm compress to your ear
If those steps don’t make your ears pop, there are also some other strategies you can try:
Valsalva maneuver: Inhale. Pinch your nose closed. Keeping lips closed, try to blow out forcefully, as if you are blowing up a balloon. Bear down as if you are having a bowel movement. This increases pressure in the sinuses and middle ears, helping them pop. Toynbee maneuver: Keep your mouth closed, pinch your nose shut, and swallow. This increases pressure in the nose, throat, and inner ears, helping ears pop.
If you are traveling with an infant or toddler, try giving them a bottle, pacifier, or drink.
Why Your Ears Won’t Pop
If you feel pressure, pain, or your ears feel plugged, but they won’t pop, you may have an ear disorder. Disorders that affect the function of your auditory tube can cause this problem.
Fluid in the Ear
If your ears won’t pop you might have fluid in your ears. Thickened fluid blocks the auditory tube and prevents the fluid from draining into the back of the throat. Sometimes this is caused by an ear infection.
This condition has a few different names, including:
Serous otitis media Glue ear Otitis media with effusion
The adenoids are patches of tissue located high in your throat. When they become enlarged, they may block the auditory tubes, causing fluid to get trapped in the ear. This can also happen when the tissues in your nasal passages become swollen.
If the auditory tube is blocked by surrounding tissue, the tissue may have to be removed.
Frequent issues with fluid in the ear can be treated with a surgical procedure to insert artificial ear tubes. They let the ear drain and equalize pressure.
If you have ear tubes, your ears will not pop. This is because the tube will automatically equalize pressure.
Excessive Earwax
Ears that won’t pop can also be caused by having a buildup of earwax. Too much earwax can also impair the function of your auditory tube. There are a few ways that your healthcare provider can remove the earwax. It can usually be done in their office.
Wax can be removed with special ear drops that dissolve the wax. It can also be flushed out with water. The healthcare provider can also use a special instrument called a cerumen spoon to remove the wax.
Congestion
If your ears won’t pop and you’ve had a cold recently, you might have mucus in your ears. Too much mucus can make it hard to maintain pressure in the middle ear space. If you have allergies, try taking a decongestant before boarding an airplane or going on a road trip to a higher elevation.
A heavy earwax blockage should be removed by an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT).
Cold viruses also cause congestion, but if this symptom lasts longer than about three weeks, see a healthcare provider. Your congestion may be caused by allergies or another condition.
Patulous Eustachian Tube
Sometimes, having ears that won’t pop no matter what you try is a sign that there’s something wrong with your ear tubes.
Patulous eustachian tube is a disorder in which the tube is always open. It is an uncommon condition. Symptoms include:
The sensation of plugged ears Tinnitus, a ringing sound in the ear Autophony, when your voice seems abnormally loud to you Hearing your own breathing
If you have patulous eustachian tube, keeping hydrated is crucial. Be sure to drink enough fluids throughout the day and consider using a humidifier at night.
Treatment for patulous eustachian tube includes non-invasive methods and surgery. Nasal sprays including saline, antihistamines, decongestants, or corticosteroids may be recommended. However, medicated nasal sprays can sometimes make it worse.
Ear tubes are effective about half the time. Other treatments include cauterizing the eustachian tube, injection of cartilage-fillers, and manipulating the muscles around the eustachian tube.
Other Causes
When you’ve tried everything to get your ears to pop and have not been successful, you might need to see a provider to find out if you have a problem with your ears. Some other conditions that can cause problems with your auditory tube include:
Sinusitis, an infection of your nasal passages Nasal polyps, which are growths in your nasal passages Enlarged turbinates. Turbinates are structures in your nasal passages that help warm and humidify the air you breathe in. Tonsillitis, an inflammation of the tonsils
Usually, an ENT practitioner will be able to help treat or manage any of the above problems. Your ENT may prescribe medications. In some cases, ear surgery may be required.
These conditions may make it uncomfortable or painful to travel. See a healthcare provider ahead of time so you can resolve these problems before you go.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
If at-home treatments to get your ears to pop don’t work in a day or two, or if your symptoms worsen, you may have a sinus or ear infection. These symptoms warrant a call to your healthcare provider or a trip to a walk-in clinic:
Severe headache or facial painPain and congestion that worsens after improving Fever that lasts longer than 72 hours
Summary
If your ears won’t pop, it can lead to a lot of discomfort. The sensation of having clogged ears happens when your body can’t equalize the pressure in your ears because your eustachian (auditory) tubes are blocked. Some of the best ways to pop your ears are yawning, swallowing, or chewing. Taking decongestants may also help make your ears pop fast.
Blood or fluid draining from the earAn intense earache followed by a pop and sudden relief of painDifficulty hearing
There are a number of conditions that can cause a blocked feeling in your ears, including fluid in the ear, excess earwax, and congestion. Some problems like sinusitis and tonsillitis may require treatment by a healthcare provider.
A Word From Verywell
If you’ve tried everything and your ears won’t pop, you might be dealing with an underlying condition that needs to be diagnosed and treated by a healthcare provider.
Ear problems that affect the ability to equalize pressure can be bothersome or even painful. They may get in the way of your enjoyment of activities like traveling by plane and scuba diving. Sometimes you won’t know you have a problem until you are already participating in the activity.
If your ears do not pop and you feel like they are clogged or you are experiencing significant ear pain, see a healthcare provider. You should also see a healthcare provider at once if you have symptoms of a ruptured eardrum.
Take a decongestant 30 minutes to an hour before travelingUse ear plugsChew gum or repeatedly yawn as the plane takes off and lands
Other signs of a ruptured ear drum include difficulty hearing in that ear and blood or fluid draining from the ear.
