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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Had Clogged Ears, Breathlessness, Runny Nose. What Is The Cure?

Hello I have had clogged ears for a week now and it seems to be getting worse my primary care doctor said it was just wax buildup and tried irrigating my ears that didn t work so she gave me ear drops and I have been using them 2x a day and irrigating them on my own but only a little bit of wax comes out and it feels like my ears have gotten worse with the fullness feeling. Also within the last 3 days I have experienced shortness of breath like just walking downstairs or to my car. And today I have gotten a runny nose . Please help!
Tue, 19 Mar 2013
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ENT Specialist,  's  Response
Hello

Thanks for writing to H.C.M. for your query.

I have gone through your query regarding clogged ears and running nose. As you said that you had been examined by your family physician who diagnose as wax in both ears and had given you drops to liquify wax for easy lavage.

You have severe cold which is also causing blockade of ears. but there is only one point by which we can differentiate both condition and that is -

(a) If blockade of ears is due to fluid in middle ear as usually found in cases of severe cold, here we get blockade along with echo of self spoken words.

(b) If ears are clogged due to soft and swollen wax than we find only blockade and no history of echo of self spoken words.

In this way one can diagnose the condition and if wax is responsible than it should be removed by lavage / succession / manual removal by cotton swab. On the other hand if cold is creating this problem than you should take antibiotic, decongestant and steam inhalations.

I hope this will help you.

Regards.
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Had Clogged Ears, Breathlessness, Runny Nose. What Is The Cure?

Hello Thanks for writing to H.C.M. for your query. I have gone through your query regarding clogged ears and running nose. As you said that you had been examined by your family physician who diagnose as wax in both ears and had given you drops to liquify wax for easy lavage. You have severe cold which is also causing blockade of ears. but there is only one point by which we can differentiate both condition and that is - (a) If blockade of ears is due to fluid in middle ear as usually found in cases of severe cold, here we get blockade along with echo of self spoken words. (b) If ears are clogged due to soft and swollen wax than we find only blockade and no history of echo of self spoken words. In this way one can diagnose the condition and if wax is responsible than it should be removed by lavage / succession / manual removal by cotton swab. On the other hand if cold is creating this problem than you should take antibiotic, decongestant and steam inhalations. I hope this will help you. Regards.