Why do my ears sometimes feel stuffy?

When the ears feel stuffy, people will feel that their hearing is abnormal. When they speak, it seems that the sound is in their ears. They may also have uncomfortable feelings such as a foreign object blocking the ears and tinnitus. Most people will be able to relieve the problem quickly on their own, but if it is caused by foreign matter or lesions in the ear structure, the stuffy ears will be difficult to eliminate and may cause more other symptoms.

Causes of ear congestion

Our ears are divided into three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. Abnormality in any part can cause ear stuffiness. Some common causes of ear congestion include:

For the external ear, generally speaking, any lesions that can cause blockage of the external auditory canal can cause a stuffy feeling in the ear, such as earwax blockage, especially when earwax completely blocks the external auditory canal; furuncle in the external auditory canal, which can block the external auditory canal when the furuncle is large; foreign matter in the external auditory canal, children like to stuff erasers, mung beans, plastic beads, etc. into the external auditory canal when playing, and adults often have insects flying into the external auditory canal in summer; finally, some tumors of the external auditory canal, such as the common external auditory canal papilloma.

For the middle ear, the main cause of ear congestion is Eustachian tube disease. The tympanic cavity of the middle ear is like a small cubic box, and the eardrum is on the side close to the external auditory canal. Only when the pressure in the eardrum is equal to the external atmospheric pressure, that is, the pressure on the inside and outside of the eardrum is equal, can the sound be best transmitted to the inner ear for people to hear. To achieve this, the ear and nose are connected by a tube called the Eustachian tube. This tube opens when you swallow or yawn, and the pressure in the tympanic cavity is maintained at one atmosphere when air enters the ear from the nose. If you have a cold or other condition, the mucous membrane at the opening on the nasal side of the Eustachian tube will swell and the tube will not be able to open, so the tympanic cavity will become an airtight cavity. Over time, the air inside will be absorbed by the mucous membrane, and the tympanic cavity will become a negative pressure, causing stuffiness in the ears.

Common diseases that cause Eustachian tube dysfunction include: acute rhinitis, which is the common cold. At this time, the nasal mucosa becomes congested and swollen, causing the Eustachian tube pharyngeal opening to be narrowed; chronic rhinitis, allergic rhinitis and nasal polyps, severe nasal septum deviation, etc. can also cause the Eustachian tube pharyngeal opening to be narrowed and blocked; adenoids hypertrophy. Adenoids are lymphoid tissue located in the nasopharynx. They are often larger in children. As they age, the adenoids gradually shrink. Sometimes excessive adenoids hypertrophy can block the Eustachian tube opening; congenital cleft palate deformity. People with cleft palate have difficulty opening the Eustachian tube pharyngeal opening due to abnormal function of the levator veli palatine and tensor veli palatine muscles; nasopharyngeal tumors. Benign nasopharyngeal tumors are mainly nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, and malignant tumors are mainly nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

A relatively rare situation is inner ear disease, which is mainly caused by membranous labyrinth lesions. The most important inner ear lesion that causes ear stuffiness is Meniere's disease. The main symptoms of this disease are ear stuffiness, tinnitus, paroxysmal vertigo and fluctuating hearing loss.

Treatment for stuffy ears

If the ear stuffiness occurs, it should be dealt with and treated promptly. If the Eustachian tube function is abnormal, secretory otitis media may occur over time. Some primary causes of ear stuffiness, such as external auditory canal papilloma, nasal polyps, etc., should be treated surgically in a timely manner. If it is nasopharyngeal cancer, it should be treated even more promptly to avoid worsening of the disease.