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Have you noticed that your hearing has deteriorated? Do you feel your ear is blocked? Your hearing problem may be due to an excessive build-up of earwax in your ear canal, although a blocked ear can also be a more serious cause. There is no need to visit an ENT specialist.
A clogged earmakes your hearing worse, you may also feel unpleasant pressure and even pain. When you have a blocked ear, do not delay the visit to the ENT specialist - a quickcauseof the ailment will help you avoid complications. And remember - do not peck your ear with cotton buds, it will only make things worse.
Ear clogged with earwax
The secretion accumulating in the ears is natural and under normal conditions it should not be removed as the ear cleans itself without external help. It is a mixture of substances secreted by the sebaceous and wax glands and fragments of the exfoliated epidermis lining the ear canal. The color of wax (earwax) ranges from light honey to brown, and the consistency ranges from sticky to moist to dry. Its appearance is an individual matter and most likely it results from our genes. The problem with earwax begins when an excess of mucus builds up in the ear canals and plugs form, causing hearing loss and sometimes even deafness.
In such cases, it is often enough to rinse the ear professionally by an ENT specialist with water at a temperature of approx. 37oC. An excellent softening agent for earwax plugs is a 5% aqueous solution of sodium carbohydrate (available at a pharmacy without a prescription). It is usually given as ear drops. In some people it is enough to use only the drops, rinsing the ear is then not needed. However, you should not perform this procedure yourself, because it can damage the eardrum.
If too much earwax is removed from the ears, the body will produce more and faster amounts of it, which will disrupt the natural level of its deposition. It may then come to a situation that in order to get rid of earwax from your ears, you will have to visit an ENT doctor all the time.
If it turns out that the doctor cannot remove the excess earwax during rinsing, he will do it with special tools. It's a completely painless procedure, so don't worry.
Often the cause of a clogged ear and overproduction by the bodyearwax can be kept in dusty rooms. If you work in such conditions, use protective headphones or earplugs.
Runny nose, clogged ear, Eustachian tube inflammation
You may feel blocked ears when you have a severe runny nose, because the swelling of the nasal mucosa can spread to the ear canals, the so-called Eustachian tubes that connect the ears to the nose.
As a result, these wires close. If the runny nose is repeated frequently, if left untreated, the eustachian tube may become permanently obstructed or even become inflamed. Fluid builds up in the ear, followed by a thick discharge, which gives it a feeling of being full and clogged. This situation requires the help of an ENT specialist. Sometimes nasal drops help to reduce the swelling of the mucosa. Occasionally, however, surgery may be necessary. It involves cutting the eardrum and removing the fluid from the ear.
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