You’re on day two. There’s still complete blockage in your right ear. The last time you were able to hear anything in that direction was yesterday morning. You’re left feeling off balance as your left ear works overtime to pick up the slack. You thought it might up after a good night’s sleep, but that’s not happening. So will your clogged ear clear up soon?
Precisely how long your blockage will persist depends, not unexpectedly, on what the cause of the blockage is. You may need to seek out medical attention if your blockage is not the kind that clears itself up quickly.
You shouldn’t allow your blockage to linger for longer than a week, as a rule of thumb, without having it examined.
When Does a Clogged Ear Become a Worry?
You will most likely begin to think about the cause of your blockage after around two days. You’ll most likely begin to think about your activities over the last couple of days: for example, did you get water in your ear somehow?
What about your state of health? Are you suffering from the kind of discomfort and pain (or fever) that could be related to an ear infection? If that’s the scenario, you may want to schedule an appointment.
This line of questioning is merely a beginning. There are plenty of potential causes for a blocked ear:
- Irreversible hearing impairment: A clogged ear and some types of permanent hearing loss can feel remarkably similar. If your “clogged ear” is lasting longer than it should, you need to get it checked out.
- Growths: Your ears can have growths, bulges, and lumps which can even block your ears.
- Allergies: Fluid production and swelling can develop when the body’s immune system goes to work – in response to an allergic reaction.
- Water stuck in the eustachian tube or ear canal: Water and sweat can become trapped in the little areas of your ear with alarming ease. (If you often sweat profusely, this can definitely end up temporarily blocking your ears).
- Changes in air pressure: If the pressure in the air changes all of a sudden, your eustachian tube can fail to adjust which can temporarily cause blockage.
- Earwax accumulation: Earwax can lead to blockages if it’s not thoroughly draining or if it becomes compacted, hardening in place.
- Sinus infection: Because your sinuses, throat, and ears are all connected, a sinus infection can cause excess fluids to become lodged in your ears (causing a clog).
- Ear Infection: An ear infection can bring about inflammation and fluid buildup that eventually obstructs your ears.
How to Get Your Ears Back to Normal as Fast as Possible
So, if air pressure is the cause, your ears will normally go back to normal within a day or two. You might have to wait for your immune system to kick in if your blockage is caused by an ear infection (you might need an antibiotic to get faster relief). And that might take as much as a week or two. You might have to wait even longer than that if you have a sinus infection.
Getting your ears back to normal as quickly as possible, then, will often involve a bit of patience (counterintuitive though it might be), and you should be able to adjust your expectations according to your actual circumstances.
Not doing anything to exacerbate the situation is the first and most important step. When you first begin to feel like your ears are plugged, it might be tempting to attempt to use cotton swabs to clear them out. This can be a particularly hazardous strategy (cotton swabs have been the cause of all sorts of issues and difficulties, from infection to hearing loss). You will most likely worsen the situation if you use cotton swabs.
It’s Possible That Your “Blockage” is Hearing Loss
So you may be getting a little antsy if a couple of days pass and you still have no clue what could be causing your blockage. In nearly all instances, your blockage will clear itself up after a few days. But the basic rule of thumb is that if things persist for more than a week or so, it may be a wise decision to come see us.
Early indications of hearing loss can also feel like blocked ears. And as you probably understand from our other posts, neglected hearing loss can result in other health concerns, particularly over time.
Being careful not to worsen the issue will normally allow the body to take care of the situation on its own. But when that fails, intervention may be required. How long that takes will vary depending on the underlying cause of your blocked ears.
