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.