Tinnitus occurs when you experience ringing, buzzing, or other sounds that do not exist externally. Tinnitus can occur from the following causes:
Everything You Need to Know About Popping Your Ears
Clogged ears can happen when there are changes in air pressure. Popping your ears is usually safe and may make you more comfortable. Swallowing, sucking on candy, and yawning are some ways to safely pop your ears.
Having clogged ears can be uncomfortable and may muffle your hearing. When this happens, popping your ears may help.
Popping your ears is generally safe. It usually requires little more than moving your mouth muscles. Regardless of the technique you try, it’s important to be gentle. If your symptoms worsen, it’s a good idea to stop trying to clear your ears and consult your doctor.
If you try to unclog your ears with an over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medication, avoid using it for longer than directed on the package. If your symptoms persist, talk with your doctor.
There are several techniques you can try to unclog or pop your ears:
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Swallowing
When you swallow, your muscles automatically work to open your eustachian tube. This tube connects the middle ear to the back of your nose. Opening the eustachian tube allows pressure to equalize in your middle ear, causing the popping feeling.
Chewing gum or sucking on hard candy can also help activate this response.
Yawning
Yawning also helps open the eustachian tube. If you can’t yawn on cue, try a fake yawn. Open your mouth wide while breathing in and out. This may have the same result. Try “yawning” every few minutes until your ear pops.
Valsalva maneuver
Pinch your nostrils closed with your fingers. Try to keep your cheeks neutral or pulled in rather than puffed out. Next, blow air gently through your nostrils. This generates pressure in the back of the nose, which may help open the eustachian tube.
Toynbee maneuver
For this technique, pinch your nostrils closed with your fingers while swallowing. A small 2017 study indicated that the Toynbee maneuver may be less effective than the Valsalva maneuver. However, you may want to try both to determine which method works best for you.
Applying a warm washcloth
Holding a warm washcloth or covered heating pad against your ear may help reduce pain if you have an ear infection. Placing it on your face may also help ease sinus pressure in the case of a sinus infection, a condition that can lead to feelings of fullness in your ears.
Nasal decongestants
Unclogging your nasal passageways can help with clogged ears. If you use an OTC nasal decongestant, it’s best to avoid taking it for more than 3 days in a row. You may want to try the Valsalva or Toynbee maneuver after using a decongestant.
Nasal corticosteroids
There are many OTC nasal steroids you can try. Nasal steroids may help unclog your ears by reducing the amount of inflammation in the nasal passages. This can help air move more freely through both eustachian tubes, equalizing the pressure in your ears.
Nasal steroids may be effective if your ears feel full as a result of a sinus infection. However, research indicates that they may not work for chronically clogged ears caused by eustachian tube dysfunction, also known as blocked eustachian tubes.
Ventilation tubes
In extreme cases, your doctor may recommend this simple surgical technique to ease pain and reduce pressure.
For the procedure, your doctor will likely use local anesthesia to numb the area around your ears. Then, they’ll insert thin ventilation tubes, also known as pressure equalizing tubes or tympanostomy tubes, in one or both of your ears to drain fluid from behind the eardrum.
Healthcare professionals usually perform the procedure in a doctor’s office for adults. They may also perform it in a hospital. Manufacturers design ventilation tubes to fall out on their own. This typically happens after around 1 year.
The eustachian tube supplies air to the middle ear. This helps maintain equal amounts of pressure on both sides of the eardrum.
If there’s a difference in pressure, your eardrum may bulge inward or outward in response. The pressure difference can cause that familiar feeling of fullness in the ear.
Popping your ears involves opening both eustachian tubes to relieve the imbalance of pressure, ending or reducing your discomfort.
The eustachian tubes typically open automatically when you swallow, chew, or yawn. When you do these motions, you’ll often hear a clicking, or popping, noise. Air entering the middle ear through the eustachian tubes in each ear causes the noise.
If the tubes do not open easily, they may have obstructions. Fluid, mucus, or inflammation usually cause them.
Tinnitus occurs when you experience ringing, buzzing, or other sounds that do not exist externally. Tinnitus can occur from the following causes:
- sinus or ear infections
- earwax obstructing the ear canal
- blocked eustachian tubes
- brain tumors
- hearing loss
- thyroid issues
Often, it may not be possible to identify the cause of tinnitus.
You can often still pop your ears if you have tinnitus. But if the cause of tinnitus is blockage of the eustachian tubes, the tubes may be unable to open to pop your ears.
Sometimes your ears may clog and unclog themselves naturally. This usually happens because of changes in the surrounding air pressure.
If you climb to a high altitude — for example, fly on an airplane or drive up a high mountain range — your ears may pop as they adjust to the air pressure around you. Diving underwater also leads to pressure changes that cause your ears to pop.
If your ears don’t pop on their own when you fly on a plane or change elevation, you may be able to clear them by chewing gum or yawning.
Sometimes, instead of your eustachian tubes being blocked and unable to open, they might have trouble closing. This condition, called patulous eustachian tube dysfunction, often makes your voice and breathing sound unusually loud in your ears. It can also cause you to hear crackling or popping sounds.
A buildup of fluid in the middle ear is another condition that can cause the feeling of clogged ears and popping.
In both cases, treating or recovering from the condition may ease your symptoms.
Your ears may clear up on their own, but it’s important to call a doctor if you develop any of the following:
- pus or discharge draining from your ear
- hearing loss
- fever
- ear pain
- ringing in your ears
Your doctor can rule out any underlying conditions that may contribute to clogged ears and other symptoms. The following might cause feelings of ear fullness:
- enlarged adenoids, also known as swollen tissue at the back of the throat
- sinus or ear infection
- allergies
- earwax buildup
- common cold
- temporomandibular joint disorders
A clogged eardrum can sometimes bulge to the bursting point, leading to a perforated eardrum. This may occur from:
- an ear infection
- activities involving rapid pressure changes, such as air travel
- head trauma
A perforated eardrum requires a doctor’s care. This condition typically heals by itself within a few weeks. Some cases may require surgery.
Popping your ears is often safe and effective, as long as you’re gentle. Ear popping usually works within a few tries. If you have a cold or sinus congestion, medication may also be helpful.
Last medically reviewed on May 6, 2022
What to Do When Your Ears Won’t Pop
Kristin Hayes, RN, is a registered nurse specializing in ear, nose, and throat disorders for both adults and children.
Updated on April 04, 2023
Benjamin F. Asher, MD, is a board-certified otolaryngologist. He has a private practice in New York City where he focuses on natural and integrative healing.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
When your ears are blocked, there are several ways to help them pop. Sometimes swallowing, yawning, or chewing gum can help. But how do these techniques help clear your ears?
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.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
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.
If the pressure difference continues and can’t pop your ears, you may experience ear pain. It is also possible for this to lead to barotrauma, which is a ruptured eardrum.
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.
Do not use ear candles or cotton swabs to remove wax. This may push the wax down further.
A heavy earwax blockage should be removed by an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT).
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.
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 pain
- Pain and congestion that worsens after improving
- Fever that lasts longer than 72 hours
When to Seek Emergency Treatment
A ruptured eardrum—a hole or tear in your eardrum—is serious and can cause hearing loss. See a healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms of a ruptured eardrum:
- Blood or fluid draining from the ear
- An intense earache followed by a pop and sudden relief of pain
- Difficulty hearing
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I prevent airplane ear?
- Take a decongestant 30 minutes to an hour before traveling
- Use ear plugs
- Chew gum or repeatedly yawn as the plane takes off and lands
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