Ear that won't "pop"--what to do?

[6packofun]

Dd has had this issue for almost 2 weeks.  We've tried many tricks off the internet to pop that pressure in her ear, but it's still there.  Once, she thought it was better and then it came back!  She's having real trouble hearing customers at work.  Does this warrant a trip to the doctor?  if so, what will they do?

[Garga]

My friend recently got an infection in her ear/sinuses. She said her ear felt like it needed to pop and she couldn't hear a thing out of it (and was very dizzy.). She had to go to an ENT and have it drained. She might need tubes put in there as well.

 

So, it could be some sort of infection and/or fluid build up. After 2 weeks, I'd be concerned and would go to the doctor if it was me.

[JenneinCA]

Sudafed and antihistamines. I have had this issue before and that is the only thing that helped.

[Ailaena]

 

 

I had this problem once and it was wax. So. Much. Wax. I went to the doctor and they flushed it, and told me to use hydrogen peroxide in a syringe and flush with hot water (in the shower so it doesn't get messy) next time it happened.

[EmilyGF]

Yes, it could be wax. Try drops of olive oil in ear (or buy the product from a pharmacy). 

 

I remember my kindergarten teacher discussing this with us one time. Funny what one remembers from school.

 

If you've tried everything and it isn't better, do see a doctor.

 

Emily

[cintinative]

My youngest gets really bad build ups of wax in his ears but it doesn't feel like it needs to pop--it's just that his hearing starts to suffer.  The quickest way to deal with it is to get the ear irrigated at the doctor. Then they can also check for an infection. Barring that, use the earwax softening drops they sell at the grocery/drugstore but for my son these take a few days to soften up the wax so it will come out so you have to be patient.

[Guest]

Ditto the ear wax removal.

[goldberry]

If she was sick at all, a trip to the doctor for steroids may be the only thing that gets rid of it.  I had my ear closed up for six weeks once.  It was awful.  Three days of steroids and it was gone.  (That was after two rounds of antibiotics that didn't work.)

[Garga]

If it's wax you can take care of that at home. Here's what we do for my son every month or two:

 

Hydrogen peroxide.

Hot water in a bowl.

Cotton ball

 

I put a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide in one of those plastic measuring cups that cup with cough syrup.

Then, I put the cup in the bowl of hot water (microwave, 30 seconds.) I let the hot water warm up the hydrogen peroxide in the cup to about room/body temperature.

 

My son lies on my bed on his side, with his ipad at the ready. I pour the hydrogen peroxide in his ear. It crackles and tickles. He sets the timer on the ipad for 15 minutes and plays.

 

When the timer goes off, he puts a cotton ball over the ear and flips to his other side. Out comes the wax.

 

We don't use a syringe because that freaks him out.

 

Then, we move to the other side.

 

If it's a bad build up, we do it all over again either the same day or another day. Note: it's 30 minutes for both ears, so if we do it again, we need a full hour.

 

It would probably be better if we used a syringe to really swish things around, but he's 10 and won't have anything to do with syringes in his ears!

 

The nurse at the doctor's office told us to do this when his ear was being cleaned there one day. She said, "You don't have to come here and pay us to do this. Just do it at home."

[Garga]

ETA: We didn't do the drops they sell at the stores for ear wax because I got nervous reading the reviews. For some people, those drops make the wax worse and people had some misery after using the drops. Now, for all I know, people have trouble with the hydrogen peroxide too, but since there weren't reviews on Amazon for hydrogen peroxide in the ears ( :) ), I felt ok about the hydrogen peroxide.

[bettyandbob]

I don't use a syringe, unless that is what you are calling an ear bulb. I got that under that name at a local drug store it looks like the thing the hospital gives you to suck mucus out of your baby's nose. I use a mixture of half and half hot water and peroxide and flush it into the ear over the sink. I do this about once a month because I am prone to outer ear (swimmers ear) infections if I don't. Before I did this with rehularity I would have to use debrox softening drops a few days before flushing the ears.

 

I think you should get your dd to the doctor, since this is a problem you haven't had before and aren't able to tell if it is wax (outer) or a sinus (inner) issue.

[VaKim]

My DD had this problem and it turned out to be her braces had changed her bite such that it stopped up her ear canal. When the orthodontist changed her rubber bands, her bite fixed itself and her ears opened back up.