Ear Feels Clogged? Here’s why and what you can do to unclog it
Many a times you might have felt as though your ears were clogged or a similar suffocating sensation. There are several reasons why your ears can feel clogged. Let’s look into the most common causes:
1. Higher altitude
In most cases, the sensation of clogged ears disappears after some time. It can be caused due to the sudden variation of the altitude. You might have experienced it when you ascend a mountain or when your flight takes off. The Eustachian tube plays a pivotal role in balancing or equalizing the pressure in your ear. When at higher altitudes, it may not be capable of equalizing the pressure. Thus, you feel that your ears are clogged.
2. The buildup of earwax
Another common cause of a clogged ear is the build-up of ear-wax. Earwax plays a crucial role in protecting your eardrum from any serious injuries or ear infections. It also cleanses your ear and keeps it healthy. But the excessive build-up of earwax can be a problem. Over time, this excessive ear wax build-up solidifies and attains a hard shape. This lump of ear wax might block your ear canal, leading to your ear feeling clogged.
Other symptoms that accompany this include earaches, dizziness, and a ringing sensation in your ear. The best way to prevent this is to regularly clean your ear. Regularly doesn’t mean on a day to day basis, but at least once in a month. The common tool used is an earbud, but using earbuds can actually worsen the situation.
How to Clean your Ears Regularly at Home
When you insert something smaller than the ear canal to clean your ears, there are high chances that you might accidentally push a certain amount of ear wax back into the ear canal. Let me introduce you to the two most commonly used methods to clean your ears:
1. Smoothening the ear wax
Smoothening the ear wax can be done at home as well. This method involves pouring some drops of hydrogen peroxide onto your ears. Your head should be tilted and the solution should be poured using a dropper along the side of your ear canals. After a while, tilt your head to the opposite side. You can see the ear wax along with the hydrogen peroxide solution flowing out your ears. This method might seem quite simple and safe, but there are certain risks associated with it.
If the drops are not poured at an angle or are poured directly onto your eardrum, it can cause the perforation of the eardrum and gradually cause hearing problems. Also, if you don’t clean the ears properly after the process, the remains of the hydrogen peroxide solution can cause ear infection.
2. Scraping the wax out
Another method to clean your ears is by scraping the ear wax out of your ear using a suitable device. Spade by Axel Glade is an innovative device that can effectively scrape out the ear wax without damaging your ear canals.
The device has an in-built camera at its tip and you can easily view what’s happening inside your ears on your smartphone. The device employs silicon tips to scrape the ear wax out, so it doesn’t cause any damage to your ear canals.