Reasons why your ears get blocked and your head hurts

Headache is no longer a problem, because one tablet can eliminate it in a short time. But if your ears are blocked and your head hurts at the same time, then you should be wary. These can be symptoms of serious diseases not only of the hearing aid, but also of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Do not self-medicate, consult a doctor (ENT, neurologist, cardiologist) so as not to further harm your own health.

What is the reason

The circumstances that lead to a person feeling pressure in the ears and dizziness are usually divided into two types:

1. Natural.
2. Requiring intervention.

Natural causes

Pathologies caused by this type are distinguished by the fact that they themselves disappear in a short period of time without harm to health. Usually it puts pressure on the ears and head as if it’s bursting if:

• there is a jump in atmospheric pressure;
• water entered the ear canal during diving, for example, in a lake or pool;
• Your body experiences hormonal imbalances due to pregnancy or menopause.

In the first case, you do not have to do anything, just wait until the body normalizes its condition on its own. If moisture penetrates, just lie down so that the liquid simply flows out. If you have hormonal imbalances, take a pain reliever and consult your doctor.

Diseases requiring professional intervention

If the discomfort does not go away for a long time, then you should immediately consult a doctor. The main difficulty is that it is impossible to correctly identify the problem on your own. The head and ears can cause discomfort independently of each other, and can also be a consequence of pathology of a third organ.

First aid

Before contacting a doctor, you can try to get rid of the symptoms yourself. To do this, the following measures are taken:

• They make swallowing movements to balance the pressure - chew gum, suck a lollipop, drink water from a straw;
• If your ears are blocked due to a runny nose, use vasoconstrictor medications;
• If the patient knows that he has hypertension, he needs to measure his blood pressure and, if necessary, take the prescribed antihypertensive drug;
• Pain syndrome can be relieved by analgesics or NSAIDs, however, they will erase the brightness of the clinic, which will complicate the diagnosis.

If measures are ineffective, assistance should be provided by a qualified specialist.

Possible diseases

Since pressure on the ears and “humming” in the back of the head can occur independently of each other, it is logical to talk about possible diseases of the auditory analyzer, central nervous system, and heart.

Pathologies of the auditory analyzer

The cause of congestion may lie in an ear injury; the following types are common:

• damage to the outer ear;
• penetration of foreign objects;
• chemical burn;
• frostbite;
• barotrauma (occurs when landing an airplane, during shooting, that is, when there is a sharp deviation in atmospheric pressure from the norm).

According to statistics, sulfur plugs occur in 4 million people of working age and 750 thousand pensioners. A child is less susceptible to the disease than an adult, but recently more and more children and adolescents are faced with this problem (860 thousand). Sulfur is produced by special glands in the organ of hearing, and when leaving it, it carries bacteria and foreign bodies with it. This happens while speaking or chewing. But if water often gets into the ear, its hygiene is not maintained correctly, or natural removal is prevented by vacuum earbuds, wax accumulates in the ear canal and blocks the access of sounds to the eardrum.

Why do my ears get stuffy and my head hurt?

Pain in the head, accompanied by ear congestion, occurs for various reasons. They are divided into:

1. Natural (the condition normalizes over time):
   instability of blood pressure;
2. water getting into the ear canal;
3. disruptions in the functioning of the hormonal system during pregnancy and menopause).
4. Requiring medical intervention (the condition improves with the elimination of the root cause of the disease).

A doctor will help you figure out why there is pressure on your ears and a headache. He will assess the patient's general condition, taking into account additional signs.

High blood pressure

When blood pressure rises above normal, a person feels pain and heaviness in the head. These signs indicate the development of hypertension. The following signs are added to the main symptoms:

• dark spots and spots before the eyes that interfere with normal image perception;
• painful pulsation in the temporal zone;
• compression in the chest area;
• nausea with vomiting.

If there is constant pressure on your head, you need to see a doctor. Chronic hypertension is dangerous because it causes changes in the functioning of the heart. The organ becomes overloaded and the walls of the heart muscle become thinner. A persistent increase in blood pressure is one of the signs of the development of heart failure.

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This condition often occurs in older people. But the disease is diagnosed at a younger age when the body is overloaded.

Hypertensive patients experience unpleasant sensations of compression of the head, ear, and tingling in the heart area. More often this condition is diagnosed in men after 40 years of age. This is due to bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol).

The risk group includes people who are obese, experience emotional stress and mental stress, and lead a sedentary lifestyle. An important factor is heredity.

Diseases of the ENT organs

Blocked ears and headaches due to diseases of the respiratory and hearing organs. In this case, blood pressure is normal. Diseases of the ENT organs that cause headaches and stuffy ears include:

• Colds and viral diseases.

The patient's condition during a cold is characterized by muscle aches and a runny nose. Due to nasal congestion, the brain does not receive enough oxygen. Headaches and stuffy ears appear.

• Acute sinusitis.

When bacteria enter the maxillary sinus, swelling of the mucous membrane occurs. The infection leads to difficulty breathing and a lack of oxygen in the lungs and brain. The organs of the visual system are damaged. When turning the head, pain occurs.

• Ear inflammation.

Infection from the nasopharynx into the middle ear area causes diseases such as otitis media, mastoiditis, and labyrinthitis. The patient experiences dizziness, tinnitus, and pus is released.

• Neuroma.

A tumor-like area on the auditory nerve causes stuffy ears, headaches, nausea, and disruption of the masticatory muscles.

• Traumatic ear injuries.

Ears become clogged when injured as a result of a fall or blow, or when foreign particles enter the ear. Hearing impairment occurs as a result of exposure to alkaline liquids and acids, and frostbite. In a state of barotrauma (during an airplane landing, a sharp loud short sound), a person briefly experiences problems with the ears.

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Cervical osteochondrosis

Sometimes I have a headache and stuffy ears, but my blood pressure readings are within normal limits. The reason for this condition lies in the disruption of blood supply to the brain due to cervical osteochondrosis.

Metabolism in the body is disrupted. The discs between the vertebrae wear out. The vessels are compressed, which affects the blood supply to the brain. With osteochondrosis, the following symptoms appear:

• constant pain in the head. which gives to the neck. back of the head, shoulders;
• stuffy ears;
• difficulty tilting the head due to weakened muscles;
• crunching sound when moving the head;
• numbness of arms and legs, loss of sensation;
• clouding of consciousness.
• the appearance of a sensation of current in the upper limbs;
• decreased hearing and visual acuity.

The patient's quality of life is impaired. He becomes apathetic, irritable, and his performance decreases.

Young people often complain of migraines, throbbing in the temples, and compression of the skull. Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease of representatives of the younger generation who spend a lot of time at the computer. Due to their profession or lifestyle, they have to stay in an uncomfortable position for a long time.

Sulfur plug

The presence of wax in the ear is normal. It is necessary to protect the ears from pathogenic microorganisms. Sulfur creates an environment of certain humidity for the eardrum.

When it accumulates more than normal, squeezing pain appears in the head and a feeling as if the ears are blocked.

The cause of ear congestion and headaches may be the presence of a foreign object in the ear canal. The clinical picture is similar to the symptoms of a cold or ear inflammation. Complications can affect the throat, making swallowing difficult.

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When the body becomes hypothermic, the condition worsens. A person develops problems with the hearing organs. An ENT doctor can diagnose the presence of sulfur plugs. Its removal is carried out by a specialist in a medical facility.

What to do

Only a doctor can prescribe the correct course of treatment, but first aid options need to be known:

1. If the symptoms are caused by a cold or viral disease, the first step is to get your breathing back. When the runny nose disappears, the condition returns to normal.
2. Measure your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is high, you can take vasodilating medications - validol, corvalol; if your blood pressure is low, take a citramon tablet, tea or coffee.
3. To balance the pressure inside the middle ear and eustachian tube with the outside and eliminate noise, it is useful to use chewing gum.
4. To independently remove loose, soft, golden-colored sulfur plugs, hydrogen peroxide . Lay the patient on his side on a towel, pour 5 drops into one ear. After 10 minutes, turn over to the other side if there is no discomfort (hissing or burning usually goes away after a minute). Repeat the same with the second ear. The course of treatment is 3 days. If hydrogen peroxide and folk remedies are not trustworthy, use Stopotit, A-Cerumen, Remo-Vax, Uhonorm drops.
5. is useful for quickly relieving headaches . Mix apple cider vinegar and olive oil in equal proportions, dip a piece of cloth in the resulting mixture and apply to the affected area. Keep the compress for 12-15 minutes. For migraines, it is better to alternate cold and hot lotions every two minutes. Onion juice, lemon juice, and wormwood tincture as part of a lotion are considered no less effective. Pregnant women should not get carried away with this type of treatment.
6. helps with shooting pain , but it is not suitable for purulent otitis media or sinusitis (the procedure will only worsen the condition). Pour salt into a cotton bag and heat to 40 degrees. Keep on the sore spot for about 20 minutes.
7. Head massage helps get rid of unpleasant sensations. Using your fingertips, make gentle circular movements clockwise from the back of your ears to the base of your skull and back of your neck. When self-massaging, you need to move your neck, not your hands, and your fingers should press tightly on both sides of the skull.
8. Therapeutic exercises will help eliminate pain due to cervical osteochondrosis. Isometric exercises do not require turning the head or swinging. You need to apply light pressure on an area of ​​the body, and the patient must resist the pressure with muscle strength. Such a complex must be alternated with a dynamic one, where head movements already play a key role. Repeat the exercises every morning. But it is better to perform them under the supervision of a doctor.

Prevention methods

At home, you should follow simple recommendations from doctors. They will help prevent the development of diseases that cause headaches, ear congestion and general deterioration in well-being. The set of preventive measures includes:

• protection of the head and ears from hypothermia;
• proper nutrition with enough vitamins at any time of the year;
• timely treatment of colds.

The Clinical Brain Institute offers all the conditions for high-quality and comfortable treatment of disorders that cause headaches and ear congestion. There is also timely equipment located here, thanks to which you can quickly and accurately determine the cause of poor health and make an accurate diagnosis.

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Increased blood pressure

One of the most common causes of headaches and stuffy ears is hypertension (high blood pressure). This disease can occur in people of any age, including children of primary school age. High blood pressure is often accompanied by the following symptoms:

• nausea;
• dark spots or “stars” before the eyes;
• throbbing pain in the temples;
• dizziness;
• short-term loss of orientation;
• pressing pain in the heart.

The main danger of this condition is that hypertension significantly increases the risk of stroke. Most often, high blood pressure is chronic in nature and such “attacks” can be repeated regularly. A “one-time” increase is a reason to call an ambulance.

Diagnostics

I have a constant headache and nausea, and my ears are blocked, which means I need to go to an appointment with my local therapist. He will conduct an initial examination and determine the most likely cause of the ailment. When interviewing the patient, the doctor finds out in what specific situation and at what time of day cephalalgia most often occurs, what nature it has, how long it lasts, what precedes it, what symptoms it is accompanied by. Taking an anamnesis includes revealing the patient’s living and working conditions, his hereditary predisposition to certain diseases.

To carry out differentiated diagnostics, you will need to undergo a detailed examination with the involvement of specialized specialists: ENT specialist, neurologist. A number of studies need to be done:

• take a general urine and blood test to determine a possible inflammatory process;
• hormone test to detect elevated levels of substances;
• find out your sugar and cholesterol levels;
• otoscopy: determining the presence of sulfur plugs;
• CT scan of the brain with or without contrast: shows the condition of the cerebral vessels. The results of the procedure provide a spatial image of the main organ of the central nervous system with all, even minor, pathologies and neoplasms;
• tonometry: determining the level of pressure in the eye. Performed by an ophthalmologist. Finger, Maklakov’s method and non-contact methods are possible. Measurements are carried out twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. Under normal conditions, the difference does not exceed 5 mm Hg. Art., however, in the presence of a pathological process, the fluctuations are greater;
• MRI of the brain: shows the lesion of the organ, its size, location. Using the study, neoplasms, inflammation, anatomical features of the arteries, and vascular pathologies are visualized;
• Ultrasound and Dopplerography of the brain, cervical spine: a safe and painless method for checking the condition of the circulatory system.