You know the feeling. Your nose is running, your throat is scratchy, and suddenly your ears feel like they’re stuffed with cotton. Sounds are muffled, your own voice sounds oddly loud (hello, autophony), and you might even feel a little dizzy.
It’s not about earwax. Blame the .
Those could signal a middle ear infection (otitis media) or fluid buildup that needs treatment. stuffy ears from cold
These manual methods can help physically open the Eustachian tubes to equalize pressure:
In the meantime, turn down the TV volume (you don’t need it that loud, I promise) and be kind to yourself. You’re getting better. You know the feeling
Pop. Squeak. For a glorious half-second, a needle of sharp, clear sound pierced through—he could hear the hum of the refrigerator!—before the internal pressure slammed the door shut again. Arthur spent the afternoon tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, convinced that gravity might eventually coax the stubborn fluid out. He felt like a human spirit level. When his wife asked what he wanted for dinner, her voice sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a very deep well in a neighboring county. "Soup!" he shouted, his own voice vibrating so loudly inside his head that it made his teeth ache. "You don't have to yell, Artie," she sighed, her voice a muffled ghost. He just nodded solemnly, adjusted his wool hat—which he was convinced kept his ears from floating away—and went back to waiting for the day his head would finally stop feeling like a submarine under a miles-deep ocean of mucus. Do you want some
Have your own trick for unclogging cold ears? Share it in the comments—we’d love to hear it. It’s not about earwax
The result? Pressure builds up behind your eardrum. That pressure is what makes everything sound like you’re underwater.