Blocked ears: causes, how to unblock them and when to see a doctor

The most common causes are earwax and a Eustachian tube that is not working properly. The NHS lists symptoms of earwax build-up as hearing loss, earache or a feeling that your ears are blocked, ringing or buzzing (tinnitus) and vertigo. MyHealth Devon explains that the Eustachian tube connects the middle ear with the back of the throat and keeps the air pressure equal on both sides of the eardrum.

When the tube is not working it can cause a feeling of fullness or blockage, popping or crackling sounds, muffled hearing, ringing in the ears and an abnormal sound of your own voice. The NHS says glue ear, where the middle ear fills with fluid, causes temporary hearing loss, and that ear infections can cause a feeling of pressure or fullness inside the ear.

For earwax, the NHS says to lie on your side with the affected ear facing up, put 2 to 3 drops of olive or almond oil in the ear (not almond oil if you are allergic to almonds), stay on your side for 5 to 10 minutes, and repeat 3 to 4 times a day for 3 to 5 days. Over about 2 weeks lumps of earwax should fall out and symptoms improve. A pharmacist can suggest medicines to dissolve earwax. Do not use drops if you have a hole in your eardrum.

The NHS says there is no evidence that ear candles or ear vacuums get rid of earwax. If your GP surgery offers it, they may flush the wax out with water (electronic ear irrigation), suck it out (microsuction) or scrape it out with a very small device. These are usually painless, and not all surgeries offer them; you may be referred elsewhere or need to pay privately.

MyHealth Devon says that if the blockage is linked to a cold or viral illness it normally gets better by itself when the infection goes away. Simple actions can help open the tube: chewing gum, swallowing, sucking on a sweet or yawning. It also lists the Valsalva manoeuvre (take a deep breath, pinch your nose, close your mouth and gently pop your ears, without being forceful), steam inhalations, saline nasal rinses, and over-the-counter nasal steroid sprays, antihistamine tablets or a short course of nasal decongestants for up to seven days.

For flights, it suggests single-use pressure-buffering earplugs, chewing gum or a sweet, and a nasal decongestant half an hour before flying. It warns not to go diving with blocked Eustachian tubes because of a significant risk of perforating the eardrum.

The NHS says that with oil drops lumps of earwax should fall out over about 2 weeks, and that a pharmacist's earwax-dissolving treatment should work after about a week. It says to see a nurse at your GP surgery if symptoms have not cleared after 5 days, or if your ear is badly blocked and you cannot hear anything. For glue ear, the NHS says it usually clears up within 3 months. For ear infections, most clear up within 3 days, sometimes up to a week.

MyHealth Devon says to consult your GP if symptoms from a blocked Eustachian tube have lasted more than 12 weeks and have not responded to the measures above.

The NHS says to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have sudden hearing loss in one or both ears, your hearing has been getting worse over the last few days or weeks, or you have hearing loss along with other symptoms such as earache or discharge from the ear. It says it might not be anything serious but may need to be treated quickly.

For ear infection, the NHS lists feeling generally unwell, a very high temperature, swelling around the ear, fluid coming out of the ear, a change in hearing or new hearing loss, being sick, feeling dizzy or a severe sore throat as reasons to seek urgent advice. MyHealth Devon says to consult your GP for repeated or long-lasting ear discharge or infection or significant pain.

The NHS says glue ear is much more common in children and that if it lasts a long time it can affect speech development and progress at school. It lists signs of a hearing problem such as speaking loudly, asking people to repeat themselves, asking for the TV to be turned up and finding it hard to concentrate. A GP can usually tell if it is glue ear by looking in the ear.

The NHS says glue ear is not always treated because it often clears on its own within 3 months, and children may be monitored for up to a year. A GP may suggest autoinflation (blowing up a special balloon through one nostril at a time), usually not for children under 3. Hospital referral may be considered if learning and development are affected, and treatments include temporary hearing aids or grommets.

The NHS says you cannot prevent earwax, which protects your ears from dirt and germs, but regularly using ear drops or olive or almond oil will help soften earwax so it falls out and should stop your ears getting blocked. It advises never pushing cotton buds into the ear.

The NHS also lists conditions that make earwax build-up more likely, including narrow or damaged ear canals, lots of hair in the ear canals, a skin condition affecting the scalp or around the ear, and inflammation of the ear canal such as swimmer's ear.

On the NHS, a pharmacist is the first port of call for earwax, followed by a nurse at your GP surgery. Not all surgeries remove earwax, so you may be referred to another local NHS service or choose to pay privately for microsuction or irrigation. Persistent blockage or hearing loss is assessed through the GP and, if needed, audiology or an ENT clinic.