You’re in your bedroom one night, about to go to bed when you have a sudden need to blow your nose. Unbeknownst to you at the time, this seemingly innocent action would trigger a series of events that you would find almost impossible to forget. When you blow your nose, your eardrums are exposed to negative pressure — i.e., a vacuum. This causes the Eustachian tubes on both sides of your head to open up and equalize the pressure between your eardrums and inner ear (which is at atmospheric pressure). These tubes are usually closed unless there is an imbalance between pressure on either side of them — as in our case here — due to nasal congestion. Does this article take a look at why does my ear hurt when I blow my nose?
Why Does My Ear Hurt When I Blow My Nose?
Most of us have had a sore or itchy ear, and some of us have had an ear infection. Ear infections are bacterial infections that can occur in the inner ear, the middle ear, or the outer ear. The bacteria enter through the eustachian tube (the tube connecting the back of your throat to your middle ear). This is usually a result of a viral infection, which causes your throat and nose to be infected. When you blow your nose, mucus can become trapped in the Eustachian tubes. This mucus can then infect the inner parts of your ears.
How To Stop Ear Ache When Blowing Nose?
- Go to the doctor. If you don’t, your earache might not go away and you could end up experiencing complications like hearing loss or tinnitus.
- Reduce the negative pressure in your nose by using a humidifier (like a Neti pot). This will help to open up the Eustachian tubes and equalize pressure between your eardrums and inner ear.
- Use a decongestant nasal spray (like Flonase) to reduce congestion in your nose, thereby reducing the negative pressure in your nose and opening up the Eustachian tubes once again.
- If all else fails: go ahead and blow your nose! Yes, it hurts more than we would like it to, but this is part of our body’s natural process for dealing with temporary Eustachian tube dysfunction that can occur from time to time as we age, or due to some other reason. And if it does get better after blowing your nose for a few days straight, then you know what steps worked for you!
- Sometimes, it helps to pop your ears. This can help to relieve the pain and reduce the negative pressure in your ears. Just make sure not to pop them too hard or too long, as this could lead to hearing loss in some cases.
- If you are experiencing a lot of ear pain after blowing your nose, it could be a sign that you have an ear infection in your inner ear (eardrum). You should go see a doctor about this.
- If you are experiencing a lot of ear pain after blowing your nose, it could also be due to nasal congestion from allergies or sinusitis — which is definitely something that you should go see a doctor about!
- If you are experiencing a lot of ear pain after blowing your nose, it could also be due to an inner-ear infection called otitis media (middle-ear infection). You should go see a doctor about this!
- Finally, if you are experiencing a lot of ear pain after blowing your nose, it could also be due to damage to the Eustachian tubes (due to long-term exposure to loud noise) or due to a condition called “deviated septum” (where the Eustachian tubes are positioned abnormally). You should go see a doctor about this!
- If you’re using a neti pot and it seems like there is still air trapped in your Eustachian tubes after using it, then you should probably use an additional humidifier (like the Neti Pot Humidifier) in order to help open up the Eustachian tubes and equalize pressure between your eardrums and inner ear.
- If you have heard of people putting rice in their ears when they have an earache, then you should know that this is not recommended as doing so can cause an ear infection in some cases. Instead, try using warm water with some drops of essential oil such as lavender or tea tree oil mixed in it for 5-10 minutes before blowing your nose again. This will help loosen up any stuck air trapped inside your Eustachian tubes and equalize pressure between your eardrums and inner ear once again!
- If you have heard of people putting rice in their ears when they have an earache, then you should know that this is not recommended as doing so can cause an ear infection in some cases. Instead, try using warm water with some drops of essential oil such as lavender or tea tree oil mixed in it for 5-10 minutes before blowing your nose again. This will help loosen up any stuck air trapped inside your Eustachian tubes and equalize pressure between your eardrums and inner ear once again!
What Are The Dangers Of Ear Ache After Blowing Nose?
- If you have a cold or the flu, it may be difficult to blow your nose. You may experience more pain in your ear after blowing your nose, and you may develop a sore throat and fever.
- If you have a cold or the flu and are taking antibiotics, it is very possible that you will develop ear discomfort after blowing your nose as well as an ear infection. The bacteria that cause these infections can also lead to more severe symptoms such as hearing loss (if left untreated) or even death in some cases (especially if there is an underlying condition that prevents proper treatment).
- Blowing your nose can actually injure the eardrum if you are not careful. This can lead to hearing loss over time, especially if it’s done frequently enough.
- Blowing your nose too often can also cause damage to the eardrum, which could result in hearing loss over time as well (if left untreated).
- Blowing your nose too hard may compress the Eustachian tube, causing pressure on the eardrum and inner ear space — resulting in pain and inflammation of the inside of the ears — which could result in hearing loss over time (if left untreated).
Conclusion
Earache after blowing the nose is a common condition that affects about 50% of adults and usually goes away within a few hours. The dangers of an earache after blowing the nose are very low in most cases. However, if you experience severe earache after blowing your nose, or if the pain persists for more than a few hours, you should see a doctor. If you experience mild earache after blowing your nose, you can take a few steps to relieve the pain. You can also follow these tips to avoid future earaches.
