Tips for hearing loss due to a cold

Everyone should be familiar with the disease of cold, and there are many types. Basically, you may catch a cold all year round. Although colds are not very serious, they have a great impact on normal life, especially the sensory disorders that occur after a cold, which are particularly obvious. Hearing problems caused by a cold are a typical example. So, what are some tips for hearing loss when you have a cold? Let’s take a look below.

Causes of blocked nose and ears due to cold

The ear is divided into three parts: inner, middle and outer. The middle ear is connected to the nasopharynx through the Eustachian tube. The Eustachian tube is the only channel for the middle ear to communicate with the outside world through the nasopharynx. Under normal circumstances, the air pressure inside and outside the middle ear is basically equal and consistent with the atmospheric pressure. Under physiological conditions, the air in the middle ear will be continuously absorbed by the middle ear mucosa, but the intermittent opening of the Eustachian tube will allow fresh air to continuously enter the middle ear, thus maintaining the pressure balance inside and outside the middle ear.

However, when you have a cold, your Eustachian tube may be blocked due to a blocked nose, which will cause the air in the middle ear to be absorbed without being replenished accordingly, forming negative pressure and causing a stuffy feeling in the ears.

What to do if you have a stuffy nose and blocked ears due to a cold

In this case, there is no need to do anything with the ears. You can treat the cold first and treat the nasal congestion at the same time to avoid curing the cold but causing rhinitis, which will aggravate the condition. The symptoms of nasal congestion can be relieved by nasal medication, chewing onions, applying hot compresses to the nose, etc.

(Related recommendations: Tips for nasal congestion)

How to clear blocked ears when you have a cold and have a stuffy nose

1. Press your palms on your ears, pressing and releasing;

2. Or take a deep breath, pinch your nose, close your mouth, puff out your cheeks and blow air until you hear a "puff" sound in your ears. These two methods can massage the eardrum or blow air into the middle ear, changing the pressure inside and outside the middle ear to keep the ear unobstructed.

3. Chewing gum and swallowing and yawning can also help open the Eustachian tube and relieve ear stuffiness.

Cold, stuffy nose and blocked ears should be treated promptly

If the above methods cannot help the ears ventilate, you need to go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible. Because the ear stuffiness continues, due to the continuous negative pressure, the veins in the middle ear mucosa dilate, the permeability increases, and serum leaks out and accumulates in the middle ear, leading to secretory otitis media.