Plugged ears - Causes and Symptoms

Definition

The feeling of having your ears plugged is well known to those who go to the mountains (by car or cable car), practice diving or take a plane. This occurs due to changes in altitude that lead to rapid changes in pressure (barotrauma).

The sensation of having clogged ears, however, can also derive from the effective obstruction of the external auditory canal by earwax, residues of cotton buds, insects or other foreign bodies.

In other cases, the "closed" ears represent the symptom of various pathologies, including middle ear infection, temporomandibular joint disorders and cholesteatomas.

The plugged ears are also part of the symptoms of Ménière's syndrome (characterized by recurrent attacks of vertigo, tinnitus and hypoacusis) and of otosclerosis, a degenerative disease that involves a progressive hearing loss.