Ears clogged from a cold

[jessmarimba]

Anyone have any tips for relieving clogged ears? Or at least the pain from them? Pharmacist suggested Sudafed (the real stuff) but I might just be too impatient - no effect yet. I'm ready to dig my ears out with a spork.

It's only been 4 days since I got sick, so any doctor worth his salt isn't going to prescribe antibiotics yet.

Man, I was hoping I would outgrow this someday.

[PamNY]

Try tilting your head from side to side, or jutting your lower jaw out. Both those tricks help (a little) with clearing ears when diving, or on a plane. Might or might not help with a cold.

I've gotten some relief from decongestant nasal sprays. I know there are arguments against using those. Good luck. I absolutely hate clogged ears,

[OakLeaf]

I get some relief from lying on my side with moist heat on my head behind my ear.

That's a miserable feeling. Hope it clears out soon.

[marni]

also try breathing in some steam. Put your face over a bowl of very hot water and drape a towel over your head, breath deeply for about 5 minutes- a bit of vicks vapo rub in the water helps as well. This will oopen your sinuses and allow for drainage. Try putting a bit of heat, heating pad set on low or one of those flax seed things you microwave on a towel on your sore ear when you are lying down- with your sore ear on the up side.

Aren't ear aches miserable? but it all about getting those sinuses to drain and relieve the pressure.

[malkin]

With a cold, it is the middle ear that gets clogged and it has to clear through your Eustachian tube which is basically closed. Sometimes it helps to yawn and stretch the back of your throat or chew gum to try to move the opening of the E. tube a little bit.

Of course that is in addition to keeping up with your fluids and breathing steam and your favorite cold remedies. If you have inflammation in the back/sides of your throat, cool drinks can help too, because if the tissue s all swollen up, it is harder for the Eustatian tube to do its job.

Decongestants are often recommended, and I guess they are helpful sometimes, but not so much for me.

[jessmarimba]

Thanks all. I've been taking Sudafed, which helped everything else but not the ears. I can get them to pop temporarily but the left one just doensn't want to stay clear! Everything else seems to be getting better so I hope it's just taking its sweet time to clear up

[withm]

I once had that problem that lasted for weeks, if not months. The Dr. diagnosed "dysfunctional eustachian tubes" and recommended Sudafed until it went away. I probably took the Sudafed 12 or 24 hr tablets and Advil to reduce any swelling or inflamation for a couple weeks and tapered off. It did go away eventually but it was annoying to say the least.