Ear popping is a normal function. Our ears react to imbalances in air pressure and pop to ensure the tympanic membrane, or eardrum, works properly, with equal pressure between the middle and outer ear. What if you feel that your ears aren’t popping and you’ve tried everything?
If you’ve found that your ears feel like they need to pop and all the usual remedies, from chewing a sweet to drinking, yawning, stretching your jaw, or holding your breath, aren’t working, there could be something else at play.
Our advice is to pop into your closest Regain Hearing clinic, with varied appointment days and times available to pick from through our website. We’ll examine your ear gently, identify any issues or reasons for the pressure imbalance, and offer professional advice about the fastest way to fix the problem.
Fixing Ears That Won’t Pop: In a Nutshell
- Our ears usually pop when there is a sudden change in pressure, whether on a flight, travelling up or down a steep hill, or going through a tunnel at speed.
- The sensation of needing to pop your ears happens because there is a difference in pressure within areas of your ear. A pop occurs when the pocket of air inside the middle ear equalises with that outside.
- If you continually want to pop your ears but can’t, this could be a blockage or damage to the eustachian tubes or a sinus congestion issue that creates excess fluid and leads to air pressure inside your ears.
“If your ear won’t pop despite trying common remedies like swallowing, yawning, or the Valsalva manoeuvre, it could be due to a stubborn blockage in the Eustachian tube,” says Dr. Lindsay Fletcher, Company Director & Consultant Audiologist at Regain Hearing.
“If your ear won’t pop despite trying common remedies like swallowing, yawning, or the Valsalva manoeuvre, it could be due to a stubborn blockage in the Eustachian tube,” says Dr. “In such cases, methods like steam inhalation, using a decongestant, or even a specialised ear-popping technique called the Toynbee manoeuvre can help. However, if the issue persists for more than a few days or is accompanied by pain, it’s best to see a healthcare professional to rule out infections or more serious conditions.”
Why Do My Ears Feel Like They Need to Pop?
Ear popping isn’t usually a concern and shouldn’t cause discomfort, although if you have sensitive ears, the sudden change in air pressure when a plane takes off or lands might cause a sharp and potentially unpleasant accumulation of pressure before your ears pop.
This function is all managed by the eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear with the back of your nose. It is responsible for pressure equalisation and opening when you swallow, blow your nose, or yawn—which is why these actions can prompt your ears to pop.
If your ears pop without any change in altitude or outside air pressure or feel like they need to pop all the time with no obvious cause, the most common reason is eustachian tube dysfunction. This sounds complex but is normally a side effect of an allergy or cold that impacts the way air travels through your ears.
Helping Your Ears to Pop Safely
We’ve outlined the usual ways we encourage our ears to pop. For most of us, this happens naturally or takes little effort – simply repeating an action that activates the eustachian tube like swallowing, sucking a sweet, drinking water or chewing gum.
In other scenarios, you could feel the urge to pop your ears because of an allergy, sinus infection, cold or condition like enlarged adenoids, which block your eustachian tube and impact the normal air pressure balance.
Alternative Ways to Encourage Your Ears to Pop
Assuming those steps haven’t worked, you might try:
- The Valsalva manoeuvre: This involves breathing in deeply, closing your mouth, and pinching your nose. Gently blowing out through your nose might help pop your ears, but you should stop right away if you feel any soreness in your ears because this could indicate too much pressure on your eardrum.
- Another similar tried and tested technique is the Toynbee manoeuvre: You follow the same steps but swallow without letting the air escape. If that doesn’t work, the Frenzel manoeuvre works similarly, pinching your nose and making a clicking noise with your tongue.
- If you have a cold and sinus congestion that is associated with the sensation of needing to pop your ears, you can also try taking decongestants or having a hot, steamy bath or shower.
As we’ve mentioned, regular issues with ear pressure are often linked to the eustachian tube. However, this is also common if you spend a lot of time in dry environments and is something flight attendants deal with regularly, so taking antihistamines to avoid sinus congestion might be a good preventative.
How to Ensure You Attempt to Pop Your Ears Safely
Any efforts to pop your ears that feel forceful or cause any discomfort could mean you are at risk of bursting your eardrum. You should stop immediately and speak with an audiology professional to determine the underlying cause.
Most methods of ear popping are safe, but if you force too much air through and have irritation or damage to the eardrum, it is more likely to be vulnerable to further injury.
Likewise, if the eustachian tube is fully blocked and you try to force the air to equalise, this can put a huge amount of pressure on the eardrum, which results in a painful and unpleasant rupture.
When to Contact An Audiologist About Ears That Won’t Pop
There is no bad time to have your ears and hearing checked. If you often feel like your ears need to pop but won’t or have ongoing issues with pressure imbalances, it’s well worth having a hearing assessment to determine the best steps.
During your visit, we’ll have a look for any contributing factors and identify why the issue keeps recurring, including:
- Ear infections or issues with your sinuses
- Build-ups of earwax or blockages
- Conditions like glue ear – when you have a fluid buildup in the middle ear
If your symptoms are more pronounced, you can’t pop your ears, and you are also having difficulty hearing, feel like sounds are distorted, have persistent pain, or see any kind of discharge from your ears, it’s important to seek medical attention as quickly as you can since this makes it more likely that your eardrum has already burst or been damaged.
In most cases, ear popping isn’t a serious issue, and it’s never something to worry about unnecessarily.
However, taking action to have your ears assessed and any underlying causes treated should ensure you have immediate relief and understand how best to react if the sensation returns in the future.
