Why Do My Ears Constantly Feel Clogged Every Few Days?

Is this just a common benign symptom of tinnitus/hearing loss or is it an indication that things are getting worse?

I work from home on a computer and watch TV with a high quality home theater system and never go above 65 dBa... I usually keep it much lower and turn on options to reduce dynamic range.

I play acoustic guitar with earplugs and don't bother plugging in my electric anymore.

When I drive or go to the store I wear earplugs. When I cook, wash dishes, clean I wear earplugs.

I don't wear earplugs in the shower which I know is around 70-72 dBa.

 

Here we go again. I started feeling pressure last night and it continues today. I really hope I'm not messing up my ears. I actually got vertigo for a split second last night too.

 

Sorry that's happening to you. I've been getting more noticeable things going on, like hearing crackling when I move my ears, feeling a little clogged, sometimes some itchiness in the actual ear, which just goes away by itself. To clarify, what is the rationale for wearing the ear plugs?

 

From reading things, I figure I should try and avoid sounds over 70 dBa. Highway road noise in my car is 70-72 dBa and some spots louder. On surface streets I regularly encounter loud motorcycles and emergency vehicles. I also like to put on some music so I'm not just listening to my tinnitus which, even at a low/moderate volume, bumps it up another 2 decibels.

I also moved into a new place with hardwood floors. And even though I've filled it with furniture, put up curtains and rugs, there is still an echo that is really getting to me. Before I moved my tinnitus would be a soft hiss when I would wake up and gradually get louder. Now I just wake up to the loud ringing.

 

Tinnitus, ear fullness and vertigo are the typical symptoms of Meniere's but not always. Sometimes the tinnitus itself is in such a frequency or intensity that it manifests itself as "fullness". That's the case for me. Typically the tinnitus does not interfere with my hearing but sometimes out of nowhere I get this very strange type of tinnitus that makes it seem like ear fullness that typically goes away in a couple of hours. I don't think road noise is the cause of your fullness or vertigo, however.

Continue to monitor the situation closely. Meniere's has a typical sequence that typically begins with an increase in tinnitus followed by vertigo, ear pressure, pain and aural fullness that can last a couple hours to a week or more then symptoms subside but you are left with some hearing damage. This same cycle can continue for years until you completely lose hearing in that ear.

Therefore, it's important to catch it quick if it is in fact Meniere's so the proper treatment can help reduce symptoms and further damage.

 

I guess I'll have to take a trip back to my ENT then. She was concerned I might have Meniere's disease but after she sent me for an Acoustic Reflex Test that made everything 100 times worse, I haven't really trusted her opinion. I also don't really get vertigo, just that one time... and especially not the type of vertigo I have come to know Meniere's sufferers get.

 

If you own an iPhone and the Apple AirPods, there’s this very good hearing test app called Mimi Hearing Test. You need a super quiet room which is quite hard to find or you can do the test early morning when everyone is asleep and there’s no road noise. Get a baseline result when things are normal then when you think your hearing is reduced, do another test to see if in fact your hearing is affected or it’s just tinnitus perception. The app is free and I’ve compared the results to multiple clinical hearing tests and it’s very accurate. Good luck.

 

I don't ever really notice any hearing changes, except for when my tinnitus first got worse. For about a week before, my hearing felt "uneven"... like one ear was worse than the other. When I told the doctor this she thought I might have SSHL and sent me to an ENT the next day, but my hearing test came out fine.

My ears feel more like there is a lot of pressure in the inner ear where I keep feeling the need to try and pop my ears to equalize the pressure. It's been this way for about 2 weeks now... since I moved. I've also been out a lot, looking at new furniture and things, but wearing either custom molded or foam ear plugs.