How Chiropractic Care Can Help Treat Congested Ears

If you’ve ever experienced stuffy, clogged, congested or blocked ears, you’ll know how irritating and often painful it can be.

Children are especially prone to experiencing stuffy ears, owing to their smaller ear canals, but the condition can affect anyone at any age.

Read on to learn more about this common condition, what causes it and, most importantly, how chiropractic care can help provide long-lasting relief.

You might already be aware that our ears don’t sit in isolation on the sides of our heads. They’re connected to our throat and sinuses by something called the eustachian tubes. These tubes work to drain fluid from the ears down the back of our throats.

For example, when we get sick with a common cold or the flu, it’s not unusual to experience the sensations of stuffy ears. This is because the eustachian tubes become blocked due to inflammation, and our ears struggle to drain fluid appropriately.

There are several other conditions that can cause stuffy ears, and not all of them are related to illness in this way:

• Seasonal or chronic allergies
• Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
• Common cold, the flu and sinus inflammation or infections
• Swimming, where water becomes clogged in the ear canal.
• Changes in atmospheric pressure
• Other injuries to the inner ear

Aside from your ears feeling blocked and irritated, stuffy ears can bring about many other symptoms, depending on the cause and how long they have been blocked or congested.

These symptoms may include:

• Chronic earache, ear discomfort and pain.
• Dizziness or a sense of feeling unbalanced/unable to maintain balance.
• Sinus pain around the nose or back of the throat.
• Pain or tingling across the face and neck.
• Difficulty with hearing.
• A tinny sound or ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
• Pressure in the ears, nose and across the face or neck.
• Swollen lymph nodes.

As mentioned, the eustachian tubes provide fluid drainage from the ears. When these tubes become blocked, the ears become stuffy.

What’s also good to know is that the eustachian tubes are connected to the spinal column and rely on vertebrae function. With chiropractic care, we can focus on realigning the associated vertebrae to reduce swelling and support drainage of the backed-up fluid.

This spinal adjustment helps relieve the pressure, pain and discomfort felt in your ears.

There are three other vital treatments you might be offered within chiropractic care for stuffy ears:

1. The Muncie Technique

This treatment is used when stuffy ears are caused by sinus infections or allergies. Your chiropractor will use manual therapy around the sinuses and inside the mouth to promote drainage.

2. Ear Adjustments

If you’ve got that feeling where your ears won’t ‘pop’ (commonly associated with stuffy ears caused by high altitudes), your chiropractor can help relieve the pressure by manipulating the ear by hand.

3. The Cranial Sacral Technique

This technique is mainly used for sinus issues that are causing facial and neck pain, as well as stuffy ears. Using manual therapy, your chiropractor will work across your cheekbones, sinus points, forehead, neck and crown to relieve pressure and promote fluid drainage.

Whether you’ve just started to experience stuffy ears, or it’s something you’ve found yourself living with on and off for years, it doesn’t have to be a part of life.

Chiropractic care can help you get immediate, long-term relief without relying on medications such as antibiotics, which you may build a resistance to with time.

Our team at My Chiropractor Mackay are professional, friendly and experienced to help assess your unique concerns and develop a treatment plan that will support your long-term health goals. Get in touch today.