Muffled hearing, often accompanied by a stuffy feeling in one or both ears, can be an annoying symptom. Similar to how smudged or dirty glasses can have a detrimental effect on your ability to see the world around you, muffled hearing may leave you missing important verbal information.
Identifying the cause of your muffled hearing and seeking treatment from your medical provider can help set you on the path to clear sound in no time. Let’s take a look at a few common causes of muffled hearing and what you can do to prevent and treat them.
Loud Noise
As sound waves enter your inner ear, they travel inside the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ containing thousands of tiny hair cells responsible for delivering sound to the brain. When you go to a live music show at Vinnie’s Bar & Grill, the loud music can overwork these tiny hair cells, leaving them damaged or dead.
When exposure to loud noise damages the hair cells, you may experience temporary or permanent muffled hearing. Loud noise exposure is one of the most preventable causes of hearing damage. While you don’t necessarily have to skip your favorite concerts or action-packed movies, wearing earplugs or earmuffs can make a significant difference in the impact these events have on your hearing.
Earwax Buildup
Earwax, or cerumen, the waxy yellow or brown substance found in your ear canal, is responsible for keeping your ears moist and trapping dirt and debris. For the most part, earwax is self-regulating, and there is no need for removal. The American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Foundation warns against earwax removal as at-home removal methods, including cotton swabs and ear candling, can lead to perforation, wax impact and a risk of burns.
While you should leave your earwax alone for the most part, there are times when excessive earwax can lead to impaction and muffled hearing. When this is the case, it is always best to seek professional removal.
Airplane Ear
Airplane ear, or ear barotrauma, occurs when there is an imbalance in the pressure between your middle ear and the environment around you. This imbalance occurs most frequently with rapid elevation changes, like during airplane takeoff or landing, trips through the mountains or scuba diving adventures.
Airplane ear may present with muffled hearing, a popping sensation, ear pressure, tinnitus and in severe cases pain or bleeding. Most cases of airplane ear are mild and resolve shortly after landing. If your airplane ear is severe or you wish to prevent mild cases, try chewing gum or yawning during takeoff or landing. These motions help open the Eustachian tube, the middle ear tube responsible for balancing pressure.
While many cases of muffled hearing will resolve themselves, others may signify hearing loss or require provider intervention. If you are experiencing muffled hearing, contact Valley Audiology today for a hearing test and ear exam.
