Why Does My Ear Clog When I Workout: Best 3 Prevention

One of the most common questions we ask ourselves when we think about exercise is, “Why does my ear clog when I workout?”

The ear is a sensitive place for many people. Or even worse, pulling your hair and scratching your head, asking, “What do I do to prevent an earache?”.

The reason why our ears get blocked when we exercise is simple. When our body becomes tired, it sweats, and the sweat accumulates between the hair follicles in your ear canal.

This makes your ears very sensitive when working out. So, why do my ears clog when I workout?

Vigorous running or lifting weights can worsen this problem because bacteria from your hands, clothing, or mat can enter the ear through sweat.

Suppose your body is really tired after a long workout. In that case, you might have some post-exercise dizziness or lightheadedness, which can also contribute to ear infections.

The symptoms of ear clogging

Earache in one ear (or both)

Earache is a painful sensation or discomfort in the ears. Although earache is normally short-lived, it can lead to permanent hearing loss and other complications if untreated.

Earaches are also called otitis media. This is one of the common symptoms of ear clogging.

Why Does My Ear Clog When I Workout
Why Does My Ear Clog When I Workout

You might have pain or discomfort in one or both of your ears when you have an earache.

You might also have a fever or headache with your earache, and if you’ve had an ear infection, the pain may feel worse when you bend over or lay down.

Muffled Hearing

Muffled Hearing is another symptom of ear clogging. One of the most common problems people report is hearing loss, often described as a “muffled” or “wet” sound.

If you have muffled Hearing after a workout, this may be another sign of an ear infection.

Itchy ears

It may be a symptom of ear clogging if you are feeling itchy ears. When bacteria in sweat enter your ear, they can cause infection.

This type of infection is referred to as otitis externa (or swimmer’s ear). You may notice symptoms such as itching and redness around the opening of one or both ears.

In some people, this itching may occur without any other signs of the infection.

Itchy ears
Itchy ears

All these symptoms are temporary, but you should consider cleaning your ears with an ear wash. Remember that if the problem is not resolved within a few days, it could be a sign of infection.

Why Does My Ear Clog When I Workout?

Why do my ears feel clogged after working out? As I mentioned, if you have a habit of picking your nose or rubbing your ears frequently, this can cause an ear clogging problem.

Sometimes when we run or exercise, our hand’s sweat in addition to the sweat coming from our bodies in hot conditions and during workouts.

It is possible that some bacteria from our hands can enter our ears, making the ear canal very sensitive when working out.

There have a few reasons why do my ears get clogged when I workout:

  1. The most common reason for this problem is the accumulation of dirt in the ear canal.
  2. Like any other part of your body, sweat, dead skin cells, and bacteria accumulate inside your ear canals. Sweating during workouts also contributes to the clogging of your ears.
  3. Suppose you have been sweating heavily or working out in hot and humid weather. In that case, your sweat will accumulate between the hair follicles in your ear canal. This can make your ears very sensitive to pain when you work out.
  4. In addition to these factors, if you have a habit of picking or rubbing your ears frequently, this can cause an ear clogging problem.
  5. Sometimes when we run or exercise, our hand’s sweat in addition to the sweat coming from our bodies in hot conditions and during workouts.
  6. Continued use of cotton swabs can also cause this problem; if you have a habit of pushing cotton swabs into your ears.
  7. Bacteria can also take advantage of the skin inside your ear canal to attach and multiply, eventually leading to infection. When you work out, sweat from your body can gather in your hair and form an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive. Another problem that some people have reported is Ear wax build-up.
  8. If you have been working out for a long time, your ear canal may fill with cotton, which blocks the entrance to your ear and makes it hard to hear sounds from the outside world.
  9. It is often true that when you exercise, sweat gathers inside your ears. This causes the inner part of your ear canal to swell. This makes your skin and inner ear to be very sensitive.

In this section, I have tried to give some information about the symptoms of ear clogging during exercise and how you can avoid this particular problem. These steps will help you keep a healthy hearing system throughout your workout session.

Why Ears Popping After Workout?

After working out, you might feel the effects of pain in your muscles, tiredness, and soreness.

You might also notice that the sound you heard in your ears a few hours after the workout has gotten quieter or even gone away. This is called tinnitus.

Tinnitus is an abnormal noise that forms within or outside one’s ears. It can range from mild to severe, with an extremely loud ringing sound coming from one ear to almost nothing at all coming from another ear.

How to Get Rid of Ear Cloggings?

There are many ways for you to get rid of ear cloggings.

  • One of the most important things is that you must take care of your ears if you get a lot of pressure and pain.
  • You can clean your ears with an ear wash by using a flow from the showerhead, which will be gentle enough for your ears but effective against clogging.
  • Another low-tech way is to use some type of suction device or what’s known as a vacuum cleaner and then suck all the dirt out from your ears. A cloth would also be helpful in this process.

Why do my ears feel clogged after running?

A blocked eustachian tube sensation is caused by fluid build-up behind the eardrum. This can lead to a sensation of fullness and even an inability to hear normally. Learn about how your ears need to be cleared after your run!

Why muffled hearing after workout?

It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle if you have tinnitus or hearing loss. You should stay as active as possible without exerting yourself in excess or going overboard.

When working out, ensure you are not wearing earplugs, headphones with very loud music, or anything else that will cover your ears and prevent sound from reaching them.

If possible, speak to a medical professional about your condition and how exercise might affect it.

The Bottom Line

The pressure change is the main reason your ear clogs up when you work out. When this happens, two things can happen to adjust for the pressure difference.

First, if it’s only a small amount of air trapped behind your eardrum and not much more changes regarding atmospheric pressure.

Then “equalizing” will occur on its own and correct itself over time. However, suppose it becomes necessary or desirable to expedite the equalizing process.

In that case, one should try pinching their nose shut and blowing gently from their mouth as though they were trying to inflate a balloon (if done correctly).

This second option helps alleviate any pain caused by unequalized ears, which might be annoying while working out.

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