I'm just getting over a cold, and my ears feel plugged. What causes this? Is there any remedy for plugged ears?

Answer From Laura J. Orvidas, M.D.

With plugged ears, your eustachian tubes — which run between your middle ear and the back of your nose — become blocked. You may experience a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ears. You may also have ear pain, dizziness and muffled hearing. As swelling from the cold subsides, the blockage usually resolves.

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.

Other options for clearing plugged ears include:

  • Nasal decongestants, but for no more than a few days
  • Topical nasal steroids, especially in people with allergies
  • Ventilation tubes, in severe cases, to drain fluid and relieve pressure

Call your health care provider if your symptoms are severe or last more than two weeks.

With

Laura J. Orvidas, M.D.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

April 24, 2024 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Antibiotics: Are you misusing them?
  2. Breastfeeding and medications
  3. Cold and flu viruses: How long can they live outside the body?
  4. Cold or allergy: Which is it?
  5. Cold remedies
  6. Cold symptoms: Does drinking milk increase phlegm?
  7. Common cold
  8. COVID-19: How can I protect myself?
  9. Cough
  10. Vitamin C and mood
  11. Exercise and illness
  12. Fatigue
  13. Hand-washing tips
  14. Headache
  15. Honey: An effective cough remedy?
  16. Humidifiers
  17. Nasal Cleaning
  18. Nasal congestion
  19. Neti pot: Can it clear my nose?
  20. Runny nose
  21. Symptom Checker
  22. Vicks VapoRub: An effective nasal decongestant?
  23. Warm-mist versus cool-mist humidifier: Which is better for a cold?
  24. Watery eyes
  25. When to Take Your Child to the E.D.
  26. Do zinc supplements shorten colds?