Causes and treatments of pressure in ear - Dr. Anita Krishnan

Ear pressure can be caused by either by blockage to the external ear as in a wax or a outer ear infection or due to blockage of the ear tube or the eustachian tube. The eustachian tube is a muscular tube which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose or the nasopharynx. Everytime we swallow, the nasopharyngeal end or the nose end of the eustachian tube opens and closes to adjust the middle ear pressure. If there is any cause which obstructs the eustachian tube or cause blockage, we end up with ear pressure. The most common causes are the common cold. When you have a common cold, the nasal end gets blocked, and you have a kind of vaccum sensation in the ear. This is called as a eustachian tube catarrh in medical terms. The other situation when you feel this is in a situation of a barotrauma where you are taking a very turbulent flight and the flight is falling into an air pocket, you suddenly feel that your ears are completely blocked. Just like it happens in scuba diving, if you don’t equalize the pressure properly you get a blockage of the ear because all the air in the middle ear is sucked out and the middle ear, you know becomes a negative pressure chamber. Now one simple exercise to try to release this ear blockage is to pinch your nose and to swallow your saliva. It can open the ear tube. If that isn’t working you have to pinch your nose and blow air into the ear, just like this demonstration. Pinch and blow. This could help in opening of the ear tube. Now this is not to be attempted if you are having a severe cold because if you try to do this when you have a severe cold, you could end with creating fluid in the ear and a ear infection.