Sometimes the pressures on both sides of your eardrums become uneven, causing your ears to pop. It usually happens when you’re flying, driving up or down a mountain, or diving into the pool. A popped ear is nothing serious, though it can cause some discomfort and keep you from hearing properly.
There are so many ways to unpop your ears, fortunately. Check out the following remedies for it and try doing one or some the next time your ears pop:
Drink a Glass of Water
Swallowing is something that can help normalize the pressure in your ears, and that’s why drinking a full glass of water is very good at unpopping your ears. Try to take large gulps for immediate relief. Some people say that this remedy for popped ears works best if you look up each time you swallow.
Look Up and Slide Your Jaw Forward
Here’s another way to regulate pressure in the ears and have them unpopped: look to the sky and open your mouth, and try to slide your jaw forward. Many people swear by the effectiveness of this remedy for popped ears.
Try to Force Yawn
Yawning is one of the best ways to put a popped ear to an end. Most people can induce a yawn simply by slightly opening their mouths, and holding their lips in an “O'” shape for a while. Try mastering this art of bringing about a yawn as it will surely come in handy whenever your ears pop.
Chew a Gum
Reach for a stick of gum in your pocket and chew away to attain much-needed relief from popped ears. The chewing action is usually enough to make your ears unpop. It’s exactly for this reason why having some gum in your bag or pocket is always a wonderful idea if you’re traveling, most especially if you’re taking the air route.
Just Chew Air
To make it clear, it’s not the gum that helps unpop your ears, but the chewing that you do. And this is why you can also have your ears unpopped by pretending to chew on something. Works each time!
Suck on a Hard Candy
If gum is not around, fret not. Perhaps you have some hard candy within your reach. Put one in your mouth and suck on it — don’t just put it in there because the sucking action is the one that can make your ears unpop.
Perform the Valsalva Maneuver
That bearing down you do when you are seated on the toilet during a bowel movement is called the valsalva maneuver, and it’s something that you can employ to attain relief from popped ears. To perform the valsalva maneuver, deep breathing must be done. Close your mouth as you pinch your nose then try to exhale through your nose. Some people find the valsalva maneuver effective against popped ear when it’s performed while bending forward. Do remember that you should not carry out the valsalva maneuver forcefully!
Take a Hot Shower or Warm Bath
Many can attest to the effectiveness of stepping foot in the bathroom and taking a hot shower. Try staying under the hot shower for a few minutes until the pressure in your eardrums returns to normal and your ears become unpopped. Some people prefer drawing a warm bath, and submerging their ears in the warm water for several minutes.
Use Your Finger Like a Plunger
When the root cause of your popped ear is diving in the swimming pool and getting water in your ears, simply place the pad of the tip of your index finger on the opening of your ears, and employ it just like you would a plunger to drive water out of your ears.
