My BasketWhy Does My Ear Feel Clogged And Muffled?
If you’ve developed a clogged feeling in one or both of your ears that’s muffling and distorting sounds or making it difficult to hear your surroundings, you may be wondering why it’s happening and if it’s a sign of something more serious - especially if it seems out of the blue.
Muffled hearing normally occurs because sound waves, which are the natural process by which we detect sound, are having trouble passing through your inner ear. There are many possible reasons why this may be happening, so today we’ll delve a little deeper into why this may be happening to you so you can treat it effectively and help prevent it from happening again in the future.
Symptoms Of Clogged And Muffled Ears
Muffled hearing can sound and feel like cotton balls in your ear, and you may have a sensation that’s similar to the pressure you feel while flying on an aeroplane, right before you unblock your ears. You may notice it in one or both ears, and it may happen suddenly or develop gradually over time. If you have clogged or muffled ears, you might find it difficult to detect where a sound is coming from, be unable to hear others clearly, especially in crowded or noisy environments, or have trouble tuning out background noises.
Understanding Clogged And Muffled Ears: How Do We Hear Sounds?
To make sense of what can cause our ears to feel blocked and muffled, we must first understand a little about the complex process involved for our body to hear sounds:
- First, sound waves enter our outer ear and travel through a narrow passageway called the ear canal, which leads to our eardrum.
- When these sound waves hit the eardrum, they set it in motion. The eardrum is a paper-thin membrane that vibrates when sound waves hit it, in a similar way to a drum.
- The eardrum sends these vibrations to three tiny bones in the middle ear, which move as well.
- The movements from these bones transmit the sound waves into the inner ear and into the cochlea, a snail shell-shaped organ, which is filled with a fluid that also moves in response to the vibrations.
- These fluid movements and vibrations are then transformed into electrical impulses by cells known as hair cells, which then travel along the auditory nerve to our brain.
- Finally, our brain processes and decodes these signals and turns them into meaningful sounds, like speech, music, or a dog barking.
What Can Cause A Clogged And Muffled Ear?
There are many possible causes of a blocked ear, and the most common ones include:
1. Excessive Earwax
A common culprit for muffled hearing is excessive ear wax, known as cerumen. Normally, earwax is the body’s way of protecting the ear, working to trap dirt and other pollutants, lubricate the ear, and clean the ear canal, eventually naturally falling out on its own. However, sometimes ear wax can build up in the ear canal and cause a blockage, and dry up and harden over time, creating an impaction. Impacted earwax can prevent sound waves from travelling to your inner ear, and muffle your hearing.
To prevent it from happening, avoid using items like cotton buds or bobby pins to try to clean your ears or remove excess earwax. Not only could you accidentally puncture your eardrum or push the earwax deeper into the canal, but removing this natural protective lubricant can lead to the development of dry, itchy ears.
When Should I Seek Care?
If you’re concerned or feel like your ears are blocked with a lot of earwax, visit your hearing care professional. They can assess your hearing and determine whether or not your ears need ear wax removed safely with specialised tools and equipment.
2. Foreign Objects
Sometimes, foreign objects can enter and get stuck in the ear, blocking the ear canal and contributing to hearing loss of muffled sounds. Children may insert a small toy or piece of food into their ear, but it can happen to adults too - sometimes a small insect can fly into the ear while at the beach, exercising, or when working, and sometimes a piece of cotton from a cotton bud may fall off and get stuck in your ear.
When Should I Seek Care?
If you think your child may have inserted something into their ear, or you think there may be a foreign object in your own ear, don’t try to remove the object yourself. Make an appointment with a hearing care professional who can look inside your ear and remove objects safely with custom tools to prevent further damage.
3. Middle Ear Infection
People who develop a middle ear infection may feel a clogged sensation in their ear, as the infection can cause fluid to build up behind the eardrum, preventing sounds from travelling to the inner ear. This infection can be very painful and can progress into further problems if not dealt with promptly.
When Should I Seek Care?
It’s time to make an appointment with your hearing care professional if you have severe ear pain, you notice fluid or discharge coming out of your ear, or your symptoms persist for more than a day. An early diagnosis and treatment is the best action for a smooth recovery. If you think your child or baby has an ear infection, we recommend making an appointment for them straight away, to check their overall ear health and prevent further damage with the appropriate treatment.
4. Swimmer's Ear
People are most at risk of developing swimmer’s ear if they are frequent swimmers or spend a lot of time in warm, humid environments. Swimmer’s ear is an infection that happens when the skin inside the ear canal gets infected. This can happen when water gets trapped inside the ear, which can create a breeding ground for bacteria. This can cause the ear canal to become inflamed and swollen, and grow narrow or blocked. To read more about how to prevent swimmer’s ear, especially in children, read our recent blog here.
When Should I Seek Care?
We recommend making an appointment with your hearing care professional as soon as you notice signs or symptoms of a swimmer’s ear infection, including pain, itching, muffled hearing, and a feeling of blockage and ear pressure, to prevent the infection from travelling or worsening. Some cases of infection can be treated by removing any blockage or debris in the outer ear canal, while others may need targeted treatment of medications to reduce inflammation and infection.
5. Congestion And Sinus Pressure
If you suffer from stuffy nasal passages and sinus pressure, it may also contribute to blocked ears and muffled sounds. Your sinus cavities are hollow spaces located in your bones near the nose and between the eyes, which are beside your ear canals. So, when your sinus cavities are inflamed, your ear canals may also swell. This can close the connection between the middle ear and your throat, and put pressure on your eardrum creating a clogged ear feeling or even pain and hearing loss. This is often caused by allergies or the common cold and is a symptom of viral illnesses such as COVID-19.
When Should I Seek Care?
Fortunately, most blocked and muffled ears triggered by sinus pressure are temporary, and hearing returns to normal once the sinus congestion clears. Even so, if you experience pain or sudden hearing loss due to sinus congestion, contact your hearing care professional - they can determine the cause of your discomfort and prescribe medication to alleviate the pain and swelling.
6. Noise Damage
Hair cells play a vital role in our hearing. We’re born with around 16,000 of them,[1] but they’re very fragile, and can be damaged or even destroyed by loud sounds. Unfortunately, once they’re destroyed they can’t be repaired, and you’ll feel the effects of noise-induced hearing loss. Exposing your hair cells to sudden or loud noise can be compared to flowers in a hurricane that struggle to remain standing. Loud sounds from fireworks, explosions, live concerts, and even at work, can also tear a hole in your eardrum or damage the delicate bones in the middle ear. This may also trigger a sensitivity to sound or ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus. The best way to prevent this is to avoid loud environments and wear protective ear muffs when you’re exposed to loud noises.
When Should I Seek Care?
If you’re experiencing any form of hearing loss, make an appointment with your hearing care professional who can carry out a comprehensive hearing exam to check your hearing, and examine the overall health of your ears. From there they can work with you to find the best treatment to improve your symptoms.
Don’t Delay Treatment: Get Your Ears Checked Today
If one or both of your ears feel blocked or muffled and you’re concerned, it’s time to book an appointment with a qualified hearing care professional who can examine your ears, make an accurate diagnosis, rule out any underlying conditions, and get started on an appropriate treatment plan. Blocked and muffled ears can be caused by a wide range of factors, including conditions such as Meniere's disease, balance disorders, a traumatic brain injury or concussion, certain medications such as antibiotics, loop diuretics, chemotherapy drugs, or even pain relievers like aspirin or ibuprofen. Therefore, getting formally diagnosed can provide peace of mind that you’re on the best track with your treatment.
At our clinics, our experienced hearing care professionals take a full medical history, assess your overall ear health and do a series of tests to try to find the source of the problem, and create a tailored management plan to help you manage your symptoms.
Book an appointment with our friendly team at your local centre here.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/how_does_loud_noise_cause_hearing_loss.html
