You’re on day two. Your right ear is still totally blocked. You haven’t been able to hear anything on that side since yesterday morning. You’re left feeling off balance as your left ear does double duty to pick up the slack. You thought it might up after a good night’s sleep, but that’s not happening. So, how long will your blocked ear last?
It probably won’t be a huge shock to learn that the number one variable in projecting the duration of your clogged ear will be the cause of the obstruction. Some blockages subside on their own and rather quickly at that; others could linger and require medical intervention.
As a rule of thumb, though, if your blockage persists for any longer than one week, you may want to get some help.
When Does a Clogged Ear Become a Concern?
You will most likely begin to think about the reason for your blockage after around two days. Maybe you’ll think about your activities from the past two or three days: for example, did you somehow get water in your ear?
What about your state of health? Do have any symptoms of an ear infection? If that’s the scenario, you might want to make an appointment.
Those questions are really just the tip of the iceberg. A clogged ear could have multiple possible causes:
- Allergies: Some pollen allergies can spark the body’s immune system reaction, which will then produces fluid and swelling.
- Irreversible hearing impairment: A blocked ear and some types of irreversible hearing loss can feel surprisingly similar. If your “clogged ear” is lasting longer than it should, you need to get it examined.
- Earwax Build-up: If earwax becomes compacted or is not thoroughly draining it can result in blockages..
- Growths: Certain kinds of growths, lumps, and bulges can result in a blocked feeling in your ears (and even impact your hearing).
- Sinus infection: Because your sinuses, ears and throat are all connected, a sinus infection can produce excess fluids to become stuck in your ears (causing a clog).
- Air pressure changes: If the pressure in the air changes suddenly, your eustachian tube can fail to compensate which can temporarily cause blockage.
- Water stuck in the eustachian tube or ear canal: The tiny areas in the ear are surprisingly efficient at capturing water and sweat. (If you often sweat profusely, this can definitely end up temporarily clogging your ears).
- Ear Infection: Your ear can ultimately become blocked by fluid accumulation or inflammation from an ear infection.
How to Bring Your Ears Back to Normal as Fast as Possible
So, if air pressure is the cause, your ears will usually get back to normal within a day or two. If an ear infection is to blame for your clogged ears, you might have to wait until your body gets rid of the virus or bacteria at work (you may need an antibiotic to get faster relief). And that could take as much as a week or two. Sinus infections sometimes last even longer.
Some patience will be required before your ears get back to normal (though that might feel counterintuitive), and your expectations should be, well, variable.
Not doing anything to aggravate the situation is the first and most important step. When you first start to feel like your ears are plugged, it may be tempting to attempt to use cotton swabs to clear them out. All sorts of issues, from ear infections to loss of hearing, can be caused by cotton swabs so this can be an extremely dangerous approach. If you use a cotton swab, you’re probably going to make things worse.
It’s Possible That Your “Blockage” is Hearing Loss
So you may be getting a bit antsy if a couple of days pass and you still have no idea what could be the cause of your blockage. A few days is normally enough time for your body to clear up any blockage. But it might be, as a general rule of thumb, a prudent decision to come see us if your blockage lasts for more than a week.
Early indications of hearing loss can also feel like clogged ears. And you don’t want to neglect hearing loss because, as you’ve probably read in our other posts, it can result in a whole range of other health issues.
Doing no additional damage first will give your body a chance to mend and clean that blockage away naturally. But when that fails, intervention might be necessary. How long that takes will vary depending on the root cause of your blocked ears.