There are other symptoms of a cold that are less prevalent than the well known runny nose. One kind of cold you don’t frequently hear about is the one that goes into one or more ears. This form of cold can be more risky than a common cold and shouldn’t ever be neglected.
What does it feel like when you have a cold in your ear?
Your sinuses are directly interconnected to your ears, so it’s common to feel some blockage in your ears during a cold. This blockage is often alleviated when you take a decongestant to relieve sinus symptoms.
But you shouldn’t ever dismiss pain inside of your ear, even during a cold. The eardrum can become infected if the cold goes into the ears. And that will cause inflammation. Inflammation is an immune response that causes fluid to accumulate on the exterior of the eardrum. So somebody who is coping with an inflamed eardrum might also experience a slow leaking of fluid from the ear. This leak is most apparent when you sleep on your side because the leak is so slow.
This is known as conductive hearing loss and impacts how well you hear in the short term. Unfortunately, it can also cause the eardrum to burst, which results in long-term hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss, which is damage to the nerves of the ear, can then take place.
It could cost you if you wait
Come in and see us if you have any pain in your ears. It’s not unusual for a primary care doctor to wait until the cold goes away because they assume the ear pain will go away with it. A patient might not even remember to mention that they are experiencing actual pain in the ear. But the infection has likely gotten to the point where it’s causing damage to the ear if you’re experiencing pain. In order to prevent additional damage, the ear infection has to be promptly addressed.
Many people who experience pain in their ear during a cold, get over their cold only to notice that the ear pain lingers. This is usually when a person finally decides to see a hearing specialist. But by this time, a lot of damage has already been done. This damage often leads to permanent hearing loss, especially if you’re at risk of ear infections.
Every time you get an infection, eardrum lacerations and scar tissue can happen which, over time, can affect hearing clarity. In an average, healthy individual, the eardrum acts as a boundary between the middle ear and inner ear. If the eardrum becomes perforated even once, then the infection that was formerly restricted to the middle ear can now go into the inner ear, where it can damage the irreplaceable tiny nerve cells that you need to hear.
If you waited to get that ear infection addressed, what should you do?
Don’t beat yourself up. Most people just assume ear pain with a cold is normal when it actually signals a much more significant cold infection. You should make an appointment for a hearing exam as soon as you can if you are experiencing hearing loss after a cold.
We can determine whether the hearing loss is short-term (conductive). You might need to have an obstruction professionally extracted if this is the situation. If you’re dealing with sensorineural, or permanent hearing loss, there are treatment options, including new hearing technology, that we can help you with.
Make an appointment as soon as possible if you’re having trouble hearing after a cold.
