Blocked ear after a cold + wax

[blockedear]

Apologies posting here for traffic and further apologies I know there are far worse ailments in life…

All of us in the household came down with heavy colds 2 weeks ago and now we all have blocked ears (coincidentally all in the right ear) hearing is muffled, no pain, no discharge. I used olive oil for a few days but no change. Just very very uncomfortable and feel like I’m out of whack and not really ‘with it.’

Went to GP, out of the 3 of us I’m the only one who does have some wax in the right ear (but left ear drum was bulging) so all of us prescribed with antibiotics.

After 3 days of antibiotics we all felt better no muffled feelings anymore only for it to return with a vengeance today and it’s worse than ever!

What do I do? Is this still because of the cold or the wax or both? Do I try to remove the wax or wait until infection is gone? Just not sure how to go about this.

Have tried
Ear massages from YouTube
Holding nose and blowing
Olive oil
Otex
Nasal sprays incl steroid spray
Inhaling steam
Hot water bottles

Help!!!

Ah I had this recently, it was a total nightmare! I just used Otex for a few days and then used cotton buds in my ear for a few days (I know you're not supposed to but it was awful) my ear on that side is still producing really dark wax but my hearing has definitely vastly improved!!

I would go to the pharmacy and ask for decongestants, only the ones containing pseudoephedrine, the ones you can buy on the shelf arent steong enough. I suffer with a lot of ear infections so feel your pain. And please dont shove ear buds down your ear!

@mrstea301 Thanks for your reply, glad you’re feeling better! It is really annoying isn’t it! Trying not to dwell on it too much but it does make me feel a bit panicky.

I wonder if I can use olive oil and otex together? I don’t know what I’m doing tbh…

@Ilikewinter Thank you I used Sudafed liquid version for a day and checked the ingredients it does have that pseudoephedrine in it… perhaps I need to persevere with it

Dunno which Otex you used, but there’s an Otex Extra or Plus or Ultra or something, that fizzes and bubbles deep inside your ear/head, it’s the most amazing sensation, I’m tempted to use it recreationally! You might as well use olive oil as the normal Otex, though.

Have you had covid recently ?
I have just had this and I ended up going to hospital for something else but they sorted it out. The hospital put it down to covid.

Feeling a lot worse today… left ear in a lot of pain and started feeling muffled too. Can’t sleep properly because DC are having the same problems and are up crying throughout the night. No appointments available at GP today.

I have Otex express version and used that again last night along with lots of steam and nasal sprays etc… I’ve never had a blocked ear from a cold last this long before now on day 10.

I would guess that you still have an ear infection that didnt clear up fully with your last round of antibiotics, in which case Otex etc wont do anything to help. Have you tried ibuprofen and paracetamol to try and manage the pain. You can take those with the decongestants (if youre taking those!).