How to Relieve Ear Pressure Pain

Relieving Your Ear Pressure

If you are suffering from ear pressure, most likely you are feeling itchiness and pain and are having trouble hearing. In most cases, this buildup in pressure is caused by fluid or earwax that has caused a blockage in the ear. Earwax, also known medically as cerumen, forms inside the ear to protect the eardrum from
foreign objects and to prevent the ear from infection. In order to relieve this pressure, you may feel the urge to stick something like a cotton swab in your ear. This is the worst thing you can do for your ear and can make the blockage worse.

Things You'll Need

• Hydrogen peroxide At-home ear irrigation kit Wax-dissolving ear drops Prescription ear drops

Instructions

1. Pour hydrogen peroxide into your ear. Hydrogen peroxide is a natural disinfectant that oxygenates and breaks up any harmful fluids or earwax in the ear. Using the spout of the peroxide bottle, gently pour in about a tablespoon full and keep it in your ear for about five minutes. You will hear a bubbling sound in your ear. Pour the peroxide in your ear out into the sink.

2. Place two wax-dissolving ear drops, which you can purchase at your local drugstore or online, in your ear twice a day, or according to the directions on the bottle. Continue using for one week to see if the blockage pain becomes less severe.

3. Purchase an at-home ear irrigation kit either at your local drugstore or online. The irrigation kit comes with a spray bulb and a sterile saline solution. Fill the spray bulb with the solution, place the tip into your ear, and press the bulb to release the solution. Pour the solution out immediately and look for any debris or earwax buildup. Repeat if necessary.

4. Consult a doctor. If you still are feeling ear pressure pain, your doctor can perform a professional ear irrigation, where a large syringe filled with warm water or sterile saline is placed under pressure into the ear and run out into a metal tray. The doctor will continue to irrigate the ear until the blockage has been removed.

5. Take prescription eardrops. After performing an ear irrigation, your doctor will ordinarily prescribe ear drops to keep the buildup of wax or fluid from returning. Take these drops for the duration of your prescription--do not stop taking them early just because you no longer have symptoms.

Tips & Warnings

• At-home ear irrigation kits do not provide as much water pressure as a doctor's irrigation kit.

• If you are experiencing a high fever associated with your ear pressure pain, contact a doctor immediately.

References

• Mayo Clinic: Earwax Blockage
• Mother Nature: Earwax Buildup

Resources

• Walgreens.com: Ear Drops and Wax Removal