Blocked Ear, Blocked Nose: Six Easy Ways to Feel Better

Have you been suffering from a blocked nose and blocked ear at the same time in Singapore? There is nothing more annoying than the combination of having a persistently blocked nose and blocked ears because it tends to affect your hearing by giving you this muffled hearing sensation as well as difficulty breathing through your nose. At our ENT specialist clinics in Singapore, we see many patients with blocked nose and blocked ear problems to help them feel better.

Sometimes, these blocked ear and blocked nose symptoms may have been the result of having suffered a recent bout of the flu or a bad cold. The increased mucus production during such inflammation of the nose tends to block up the openings of the Eustachian pressure tubes, leading to the blocked ear sensation.

Other risk factors are frequent flying and suffering from nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis). Flying can irritate the pressure tubes, especially during flight landing and you should NEVER fly if you feel like you’re coming down with a cold, the flu or sinus infection because this often leads to difficulties equalising the ear pressures, which in turn may lead to severe ear pain and even rupture of the eardrum. Nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis) should be treated properly with medication first before you decide to embark on a flight.

Sport activities such as scuba-diving and mountain-climbing also require you to have good Eustachian pressure tube function, as there may be rather extreme changes in altitude or underwater pressures, which your Eustachian pressure tubes need to be able to react to properly. Otherwise, the same complications of perforated eardrums, bleeding in your ears, hearing loss and severe ear pain may occur. Some people even experience problems with their ear pressures just by going up or down many floors in a high speed lift!

You may find Dr Annabelle’s other blog entries helpful on ways to manage Eustachian tube issues: Balloon dilation of the Eustachian pressure tube.

Here are Dr Annabelle’s SIX easy ways on how to clear your blocked nose and blocked ears:

1. Trying some steam inhalation, with a few drops of your favourite essential oils such as eucalyptus oil, may help open up your blocked nasal passages, sinuses and Eustachian pressure tubes, in turn hopefully relieving the congestion you feel inside your blocked ears.
2. You can try some gentle manoeuvres to help your throat/palate muscles “pop” open your Eustachian tubes, such as pinching your nose closed and gently blowing out with both nose and mouth closed at the same time. Swallowing repeatedly or yawning widely can also help open up your Eustachian pressure tubes.
3. What about taking antihistamines to help reduce any swollen soft tissue and backdrip of mucus inside your nose? Medications such as Telfast, Clarityn and Zyrtec can alleviate this problem. This in turn can help to open up your Eustachian pressure tubes to relieve the blocked ear sensation.
4. Taking oral decongestants such as phenylephedrine found in Telfast-D, Zyrtec-D (in fact, really any antihistamine ending in the capital D) can work more quickly to dry up the secretions or mucus inside your nose and reduce soft tissue swelling. This in turn may help relax your congested Eustachian pressure tubes to help your blocked ear sensation.
5. Decongestant medications also come in the form of nasal sprays. For example, Afrin, Iliadin and Otrivine, all act as decongestant sprays which enter your nose in aerosol form to shrink the size of the congested swollen tissue inside your nose to help your breathe better. The only important thing to remember about using nasal decongestants is that you should not rely on them for too long, definitely avoid using them for longer than a week! Longterm use of nasal decongestants will lead to a troublesome condition called RHINITIS MEDICAMENTOSA, where rebound nasal congestion and swelling with persistent nasal discharge occurs.
6. Nasal steroid sprays such as Avamys or Nasonex may help to control any allergic reaction inside your nose, again helping to relieve any irritation of your Eustachian pressure tubes and hence your blocked ear problem.

If the above measures still don’t help to relieve your blocked ears and blocked nose problem, then it’s time to see your friendly ENT specialist in Singapore for a proper check-up!

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