What is the feeling of fullness in the ear? Most people describe it as stuffiness or heaviness in the ears. It makes the hearing difficult and disturbs the normal balance of the body. Have you ever asked yourself why do I have a feeling of fullness in the ear?
It might be because something is present in your ears. But this is not always the case. Other underlying causes can make your ears feel heavy. Some of these can be mild but others indicate a serious risk to your health. Let’s discuss each of these one by one!
Why Do I Often Have a Feeling of Fullness in the Ear?
1. Hay Fever
Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, is a common condition associated with the sensation of fullness in the ear. It can be due to pet hair, mites, cigarette smoke, or pollens. The symptoms of this condition are similar to a cold. They include cold, congestion, sore throat, and runny nose. Due to congestion and cold, you might feel pressure in your ears.
2. Congestion of Sinus
Sinuses are air-filled cavities located in our skulls. They protect you against infections and humidify the air you breathe in. In addition, these cavities also produce mucus that traps dirt, dust, and bacteria.
In sinus congestion, this mucus does not drain normally and starts accumulating in the sinus. As a result, you may feel headache, toothache, earache, tenderness around the cheeks, and a sensation of fullness in the ears.
3. Ear Impaction
Ear impaction occurs when the self-cleaning mechanism of ears is disturbed and wax starts collecting in the ears. This wax accumulation blocks the eardrum. This blockage affects your hearing. You might hear muffled voices or ringing sounds in the ear.
Ear pain, itching, odor, and sensation of fullness are also associated with ear wax build-up. It most commonly occurs when we use Q-tips to clean the ears. This pushes wax deeper instead of removing it.
4. Otitis Media
In layman’s language, otitis media is the infection of the middle ear. It occurs due to bacteria or viruses that invade the ear and cause fluid buildup. Other symptoms include pain, redness, swelling, fluid discharge, and sometimes fever.
It may occur after a cold or flu, most frequently in children. Therefore if you hear your child complaining of pressure in their ears, it may be the start of an infection in the ears.
5. Presence of Foreign Body in the Ear
When a foreign body is trapped in the ear, you might feel that the affected ear is heavier than the other one. This foreign body can enter the ear from the air or by inserting any items in the ear to clean the ear wax. Sometimes, insects also crawl into the ear and are trapped by the sticky wax.
Hence, you might discomfort, problems with hearing, and continuous itching in the ears.
6. Swimmer’s Ear
Swimmer’s ear is an infection of the ear canal that is also known as otitis externa. It occurs when there is excess moisture inside the ear. This damp environment serves as a perfect medium for the growth of fungi and bacteria. They immediately invade the ear and cause infection.
In this condition, there is swelling of the skin around the ear, reduced hearing, ear pain, fever, itching, and a sensation of ear blockage.
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7. High Altitude
A change in altitude or sudden increase the air pressure can also be a reason for having a sensation of fullness in the ears. The eustachian tube is a narrow opening in the ear responsible for maintaining the pressure in the ears. High altitude or external pressure blocks this tube making it difficult to equalize the pressure in both ears.
This creates a vacuum in the ear and causes dizziness or sometimes temporary hearing loss.
8. Cholesteatoma
When ear wax and dead skin cells continue to pile up in the ears, they form a cyst. It is usually located in the middle ear. The cyst can form by birth or may be acquired later in life due to repeated middle ear infections.
It not only causes a sensation of fullness in the ear but also leads to dizziness, pain, foul-smelling fluid drainage, reduced facial muscle function, and hearing loss.
9. Acoustic Neuroma
Acoustic neuroma is a rare non-cancerous tumor that forms in the ear. It comes with a sensation of fullness and hearing loss in the affected ear. If the size of the tumor is too large, there might also be involvement of the facial nerves. In addition, tinnitus, loss of balance, and dizziness also indicate the presence of this tumor in the ear.
10. Meniere’s Disease
This disease is more common above the age of 40 and one ear is more affected than the other. In Meniere’s disease, fluid starts building up in the inner ear chambers due to allergies, head injury, migraine, or an abnormal immune response. It comes with vertigo, the feeling of fullness in the ear, dizziness, and tinnitus.
How to Deal with These Problems?
Till now, we have discussed several problems that are commonly associated with the feeling of fullness or heaviness in the ears. These problems mostly require help from a professional but wax build-up can be treated at home using the Bebird Note 5 Pro ear wax removal kit.
This kit includes a compact pen-like device that has built-in LED lights, a camera, and a gyroscope. This gives you live footage of your ear structures when you insert it in. With the help of a camera, you can precisely locate any foreign body or wax chunks. Then, use the tweezer mode to remove them easily from the ears.
The Bebird tool not only serves as a wax removal tool but can also be used for an extensive period for regular ear examination and maintenance of ear health.
Conclusion
Ear fullness can be due to multiple reasons. These include hay fever, allergic reactions, sinusitis, ear infections, or the presence of a foreign body in the ear. It can also be due to a sudden change in altitude that results in the blockage of the eustachian tube.
Other than ear stuffiness, you might also notice pain and discharge from the ears due to these conditions. But, if there is headache, dizziness, and foul-smelling fluid discharge are associated then this indicates a bigger underlying cause. Therefore, get yourself checked immediately by a professional to save yourself from a bigger problem.