Any tips to get my ears to pop?

[Allthegoodusernamesareused]

Posting here for traffic... I flew home from holiday midweek with a horrible head cold, and despite my best efforts, both my ears are really blocked and my hearing very badly affected.

Any tips to get them to pop? I have some pretty important meetings at work on Monday, I don't want to have to rely on my lip reading skills!

If you are blocked and congested, they might not pop! Sinus decongestant tabs such as pseudoephedrine can help drain excess fluid.

-Blow up a balloon or air bed
-Pinch your nose, and tilt/stretch your neck down to 1 shoulder, then gently try blowing air out- this can help stretch the eustachian tube and might help the opposite side to equalise.

See a pharmacist - do not try to do anything on your own. I had a horrible head cold over a year ago, and afterwards I had a similar problem thinking my ears were blocked. They weren't. I had something called barotrauma from the head cold (it's that temporary "blocked" feeling you get in an airplane) but far worse. Long story short, first two doctors missed it, and it is now permanant in one ear. If the pharmacist can't help, I'd suggest someone who knows about ears - which is not every GP, as I found to my cost.

There is a product called an otovent which is promoted in airports for eustachian tube dysfunction and NHS for glue ear.

I’d watch the YouTube video before buying one and you may struggle to inflate it if you have nasal congestion too but certainly worth a look at.

I also had this last time I flew. We live on top a hill (the change in altitude is quite a bit) and I knew from before that driving a certain road home would make my ears pop. I drove that road home everyday and they popped open little by little.

I got an Otovent when I had blocked eustacian tubes and it worked really quickly , within a day after having blocked ears for weeks.

Do an exaggerated yawn. Open your mouth really wide.

Try a sinus rinse if you have one of those bottles, they really help to reduce swelling and that might help clear things enough. Hot compresses over your ears might also pro ide a bit of relief.

@Allthegoodusernamesareused how did your ears go in the end?