How to Unclog Your Ears

You probably know how to unclog your ears under some circumstances, such as driving up a mountain. In some situations, though, you should leave the ear unclogging to a healthcare provider so you don't damage the delicate structures inside your ears.

This article looks at when and how to unclog ears your ears on your own, the symptoms and causes that warrant seeing a professional, and the possible treatments.

When and How to Unclog Your Ears Yourself

When you first notice your ears are clogged, you can try:

• Swallowing
• Chewing gum or eating
• Yawning

You can also:

1. Pinch your nose shut
2. Close your mouth
3. Try to blow out through your nose

If those options don't work, you may need medical attention or self-treatment at home. It all depends on what's clogging your ears.

Changes in Altitude or Atmospheric Pressure

• Causes: When atmospheric pressure changes or you change altitude, the pressure change can cause your ears to clog or "pop." Extreme changes may injure your eardrum or other structures.
• Symptoms: Clogging while you're driving up a steep mountain, taking off in an airplane, or SCUBA diving, called barotrauma. Pressure may be uncomfortable and reduce your hearing.
  
• Treatment: The best ways to prevent this are to swallow, chew gum, or frequently yawn. This opens up your eustachian tube and lets outside air enter the ear, which equalizes the pressure.

If you have allergies or frequently have trouble unclogging your ears during altitude changes, you may want to take your allergy medication or a decongestant ahead of time.

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Eustachian (or auditory) tube dysfunction is an umbrella term for many things that can make your ears feel clogged.

Causes include:

• Excess mucus due to allergies or upper respiratory illnesses (e.g., the cold, flu, COVID-19)
• Inflammation or infection of the sinus passages (sinusitis)
• Damage to the ear's natural cleaning system due to smoking cigarettes
• Fatty deposits around the eustachian tubes due to obesity

The first two problems are especially common in children.

• Symptoms: Runny and/or stuffy nose, facial pressure or pain, sinus headache, excess mucus in your throat, sore throat, cough, bad breath (with an infection), sneezing.
• Treatments: Over-the-counter or prescription antihistamines, decongestants, cold and flu medications, and nasal sprays; steroid nasal sprays may lower inflammation.

Some sinus infections require antibiotics, which must be prescribed by a healthcare provider.

Ear Infections

As with sinus infections, ear infections sometimes go away on their own. Other times, you may need antibiotics. If symptoms are mild, you can try home remedies before seeing a healthcare provider.

• Causes: Viruses, which don't require antibiotics, and bacteria, which may require antibiotics.
• Symptoms: Ear pain, fever, difficulty sleeping; in children, fussiness, irritability, rubbing or tugging at the ear.
• Home Treatment: Cold or hot compress over the infected ear, OTC pain relievers (e.g., Advil, Tylenol), a few drops of hydrogen peroxide (allow it to bubble, then tip your head to drain it out).

If the infection doesn't start getting better in two or three days, see a healthcare provider.

How Healthcare Providers Unclog Your Ears

Sometimes, you need to see a healthcare provider for clogged ears so you don't risk damaging your ears—which can impair your hearing. You can get a good idea of possible causes by paying attention to your other symptoms.

Fluid In the Ear

• Causes: Congestion or inflamed structures can trap liquid in the eustachian tube, which connects your middle ear to the back of your throat, where fluid typically drains.
• Symptoms: May not cause symptoms other than clogging. May cause pain and—eventually—permanent changes to the eardrum and/or hearing loss.
• Treatment: For prolonged cases, your healthcare provider may re-check it every few months. After the six-month mark, they may recommend ventilating tubes to clear it out.

If young children have fluid in the ears for a long time without treatment, it may lead to hearing loss and/or delayed speech.

Excessive Ear Wax

• Causes: Generally has no known cause. Your body may produce too much wax or it may not be able to clear it efficiently.
• Symptoms: If you have a blockage, you may have ear pain, ear infections, a feeling of fullness, ringing, hearing loss, dizziness, itchiness, or cough.
• Treatment: Your healthcare provider may flush your ear with water, scoop out the wax with special tools, or use ear drops that dissolve the wax.

Trying to remove excessive ear wax on your own may push it deeper, which sometimes ruptures the eardrum.

Foreign Objects

• Causes: A foreign object being lodged in the ear canal; this is most common in young children, who may put something in there out of curiosity or because a friend dared them to.
• Symptoms: Pain is common. You may notice a child rubbing their ear and looking uncomfortable. If left in for a long time, the object may cause an infection.
• Treatment: A healthcare provider can remove the object with special tools.

Don't try to remove the object yourself. You may push it in deeper and cause damage.

Summary

For simple causes of clogged ears, you can try swallowing, yawning, chewing, or eating. Decongestants or antihistamines may sometimes help.

Common causes of clogged ears include changes in altitude or atmospheric pressure, eustachian tube dysfunction, ear infections, and fluid, foreign objects, or ear wax blocking the eustachian tube.

Most of the time, these problems are easily diagnosed and treated. Some causes always require medical help (fluid, foreign objects, or ear wax buildup).

Some cases of eustachian tube dysfunction may clear up on their own, while others may need prescription antibiotics. You can likely manage pressure changes on your own.

A Word From Verywell

Much of the time, clogged ears are just an annoyance that you can easily deal with. Keep in mind that if you know how to unclog ears and simple methods don't work, you may need medical help.

If your ears—or your child's ears—are clogged for a long time, it can lead to complications. Get prompt treatment any time it seems like something is physically blocking your ears, if the ear(s) could be infected, or if simple methods of clearing or popping them don't work.