Plugged Ears During Exercise? Here's Why They Feel Clogged When Working Out

If you tend to get clogged ears during exercise, you might wonder if your workouts are the culprit. Or maybe you think you’re sweating directly into your ear canals.

Can exercise cause muffled hearing? As it turns out, the workout doesn’t actually cause this feeling or make it more likely to happen, says Richard M. Rosenfeld, MD, distinguished professor and past chair of otolaryngology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in New York. Instead, it’s possible that you’re simply more attuned to your body and likely to notice the state of your ears during exercise.

Plugged ears usually mean one thing: Something’s up with your eustachian (pronounced “you-stay-shee-un”) tubes. These little passageways connect your middle ear to the back of your throat. They’re responsible for helping maintain normal air pressure in your ears.

Your ears can feel plugged when the tubes are blocked or aren’t able to keep up with air pressure changes (like when you’re on a plane), says William Roberts, MD, a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Minnesota.

The good news is that if you have plugged ears during exercise, you can try simple remedies to unclog your ears when working out or after your session. Here’s why your ears might feel plugged during or after a workout — and how to find relief.

1. You’ve Got a TMJ Disorder

TMJ is short for the temporomandibular joint — that’s your jaw joint. When you talk and chew, your TMJ jiggles your ear canal, expelling earwax, Rosenfeld says. And that’s a good thing.

But many adults grind their teeth at night or clench their teeth during the day if they’re under a lot of stress, he says. “That's rough on the jaw.”

Also, regularly eating chewy or tough foods (including bagels) can irritate the joint as well and cause your ears to randomly feel clogged, he says.

Over the long term, strenuous exercise during which you clench your teeth might contribute to a TMJ disorder and, later, the feeling of plugged ears during exercise, Rosenfeld says.

“If you’re clenching up and grinding your teeth, maybe during a high-intensity workout, that could potentially make your ears [as a result of a TMJ disorder] worse,” he says.

Fix It

• Rest your jaw.
• Eat soft foods that don't require a lot of chewing.
• Try an over-the-counter pain reliever.
• Consider wearing a mouth guard overnight.

To help prevent grinding, clenching, and plugged ears ‌during‌ exercise, make sure to breathe through movements as you work out, especially when lifting weights. Taking deep breaths will help relax your body, and yes, your tight jaw.

2. You Have Allergies or an Upper-Respiratory Infection

When you talk, swallow, or yawn during your workout, your eustachian tubes will open to let air inside, maintaining the air pressure. But when you have allergies, a cold, or a chronic sinus infection, for example, the entrance to the tubes can become swollen. That can limit the flow of air into your tubes and middle ears, causing a clogged sensation.

You can keep exercising if you have clogged ears due to a cold or allergies, Rosenfeld says, but see a doctor if you start to have pain or your hearing gets worse. Remember, your ears are the issue — not your exercise.

Fix It

An exercise called the Valsalva maneuver can help pop your ears and restore air pressure, Roberts says. It’s actually a common breathing technique used during heavy lifting workouts.

To try the Valsalva maneuver, exhale against a closed airway. If it helps, you can close your mouth and pinch your nose. Then gently blow like you’re blowing your nose.

A lesser-known clogged ear remedy is the modified Valsalva maneuver to unclog just one ear: Hold your nose, close your mouth, tilt the clogged ear upward, and gently blow, Rosenfeld says. (If you try to pop your ears using the Valsalva maneuver and it doesn’t help at all, you likely have something other than an ear problem that’s making you feel clogged, he adds.)

If you don’t get relief from these remedies, you can try a nasal spray to reduce swelling and open the tubes’ entrances, Roberts says. In more-extreme cases, a doctor can force air into your tubes to relieve the pressure in your ears.

3. Your Ear Canal Is Blocked With Wax

If your workout isn’t complete without your trusty earbuds, you might think they’re to blame if your ears feel a little clogged. After all, couldn’t they push wax deeper into your ears? Unlikely, says Rosenfeld.

“Your ear canal is about an inch deep, and wax is produced only in the outer third,” he says. “Earbuds don’t go deep enough to impact the wax.”

That said, you’ll want to think twice before you reach for a cotton swab to clean out that yellow-orange wax, Roberts says.

“Ear wax is Mother Nature’s ear–canal cleaning mechanism,” he says. “The wax is produced by cells in the ear and carries materials out as it drains.”

If you try to clean your ears with a cotton swab, you might end up just pushing the wax back into yours ear, causing a blockage, Roberts says. Impacted wax might also make it harder for you to hear as well as you normally do, Rosenfeld says.

Fix It

If you have clogged ears due to impacted or excessive earwax, see your doctor to get the wax removed as needed, Roberts says.

To prevent wax impaction, avoid sticking a cotton swab, your finger, or other objects into your ear canal. Instead, use a warm cloth to gently wipe away earwax that has made its way to your outer ear.

When to See a Doctor

The Takeaway

• Your ears could feel plugged during exercise because of a problem with your temporomandibular joint, allergies, an upper respiratory infection, or a wax–blocked ear canal.
• Solutions include seeing a doctor and trying the Valsalva maneuver.
• You should definitely see a doctor if you have plugged ears for two weeks and not just during exercise.