Health problems that people encounter frequently in daily life and that seriously affect their quality of life may occur. One of these situations can occur in one or both ears; It is a complaint of ear congestion that accompanies various ear-related complaints such as hearing loss, muffled hearing, tinnitus.
What is Ear Congestion?
Ear congestion; It is the development of hearing loss due to problems in the transmission of sound waves coming from the outside to the hearing organ in the inner ear due to various health problems developing in any of the anatomical regions of the ear. When ear congestion develops in the patient; He/she experiences hearing loss in the ear where the complaint is experienced, depending on the degree of this loss, he/she can hear more muffled sounds and feel tinnitus.
In healthy people, the ear consists of three main anatomical regions. These regions can be summarized as follows:
- External ear: Consists of the auricle, the ear canal and the eardrum at the end of this pathway. The auricle collects the sound waves in the external environment and transmits them to the eardrum through the ear canal. The sound wave received by the eardrum is transmitted to the oval window to be transferred to the inner ear through the ear ossicles. The Eustachian tube allows the air pressure in the middle ear cavity to be adjusted through its connection with the nasal passage. It consists of utricle and saccule organs. The sound wave is transferred from the oval window to the fluid-filled labyrinth channels, and from there to the hair cells in the organ of Corti, creating a nerve impulse. Nerve stimulation; It is transmitted to the brain through the auditory nerve and hearing occurs.
Conduction type hearing loss, which is the other type of hearing loss, If a, disruptions in the processes until the sound wave is transmitted to the hearing organ are guilty. If these deficiencies are corrected, the sound wave can reach the organ of corti and hearing can be restored. The complaint of ear occlusion also arises because of the conductive hearing loss.
What Causes Ear Occlusion?
For conductive hearing loss, organic or functional defects of the anatomical structures in the outer ear or middle ear are required. should happen often. From blockages (plug) caused by earwax in the ear canal; Ear congestion may occur due to various mechanisms, from middle ear inflammation to the filling of the middle ear cavity with fluid. Some of the reasons leading to ear congestion are:
- Problems related to the auricle: In cases such as edema development as a result of anatomical deformations, tumors or inflammation of the auricle, ear congestion may be experienced in diseases where the transmission of the sound wave to the ear canal is prevented.
- Ear congestion Problems related to the ear canal: With the development of the plug, which is the most common cause of ear congestion, ear congestion can develop as a result of various traumas, bone structures, infections, foreign bodies or tumors. There may be a complaint of ear congestion in cases such as perforation or loss of flexibility due to various reasons.
- Problems related to the middle ear: Inflammation of the middle ear cavity due to various microorganisms; Filling with fluid due to problems in the Eustachian tube, nasal or nasal cavity, such as the development of ear congestion in the flu (serous otitis); Ear congestion may occur due to problems such as deformation of the ear ossicles.
Which Symptoms May Occur in Ear Congestion?
In the presence of the above reasons, the patient may experience ear congestion. Various symptoms such as congestion and pain may accompany the condition. Symptoms may be limited to one ear or may occur in both ears. Accordingly, the following symptoms can be seen in ear congestion:
- Loss of hearing
- Tinnitus
- Humming
- Ear pain
- Horrified hearing
- Loss of balance
- Heaviness in the ear
- The need to speak loudly
How Is Ear Congestion Treated?
Ear congestion Since the causes can be caused by a wide variety of health problems, the underlying cause of ear congestion must be correctly diagnosed in order to make a correct and effective treatment. In this direction, the patient's disease history is questioned in detail by a specialist physician, and ear anatomy is evaluated by performing a detailed physical examination. If deemed necessary, additional imaging methods can be used.
In the light of all these examinations, the following ear congestion treatment methods can be planned for the detected problem:
- The most common cause of ear congestion is plug developed due to earwax. In this case, which is also known as earwax congestion, the blockage can be opened by dissolving and liquefying the plug with various drug treatments. If the plug is hardened or does not respond to drug treatment, it can be manually removed by the physician through various interventional methods of ear blocking.
- If ear congestion has occurred due to edema due to infections in the auricle and ear canal; Effective local antibiotic drops and anti-inflammatory drugs can be prescribed to these areas.
- Surgical treatment may be considered in the obstructions of the same regions due to anatomical structures and tumors.
- Surgical treatment is often used in deformations of the eardrum. is the preferred method. However, since damage to the eardrum or deterioration in its structure is usually not completely eliminated, conductive hearing loss may not be completely cured. In addition, as a result of perforation in the eardrum, long-term antibiotic treatment may be needed because this area is frequently infected. When some middle ear infections result in intense fluid accumulation in the area, aeration of the middle ear cavity and evacuation of the fluid can be made by inserting a tube into the eardrum. Anti-inflammatory drugs given in the form of anti-inflammatory drugs can be used.
How to Open Ear Congestion Due to Plug?
One of the most curious subjects among the public, "ear due to earwax" How to clear the blockage? or “How to clear ear congestion?” are answers to your questions. Earwax is a defense mechanism secreted by the body to protect the ear canal, which is frequently exposed to the external environment under physiological conditions, from various microorganisms and foreign bodies. The earwax formed is naturally removed from the body by the movements of the facial and jaw muscles during speech and chewing processes in healthy people. Earwax is secreted more than normal due to factors such as As a result, the amount of earwax that should normally be disposed of can be exceeded, and blockages in the ear canal may occur. Over time, these dirt can harden and become organized under the influence of microorganisms and other chemicals. As a result of their infection, they can cause inflammation of the external ear canal, causing edema in the surrounding tissues and progression of ear congestion. Especially, ear drops with high boric acid content cause the plug to melt and liquefy rapidly by disrupting its chemical structure. This facilitates the removal of earwax from the body. Plugs that cannot be removed despite these treatments can be removed by the physician using various interventional instruments with the help of special microscopes. It is removed from the body as a result of annular removal.
In case of ear congestion in children and pregnancy, the approach is the same as in other patients. Applied drug treatments or interventional methods do not have any side effects. In this way, ear congestion can be easily treated in pregnant women and children. You can use the contact form on our website to reach us.
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