- Hi guys, Cliff Olson,
Doctor of Audiology and founder
of Applied Hearing Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona.
And in this video,
I'm gonna show you my secret weapon
that can instantly pop even the most plugged up ears,
coming up.
(upbeat music)
You know, that feeling you get
when you're flying in airplane
or you're driving through the mountains
where you feel like you just need to pop your ears.
Well, it could be due to your eustachian tubes
that are not functioning properly.
Basically the eustachian tube is a hollow tube
that connects your throat to your middle ear cavity.
The job of the eustachian tube
is to regulate the middle ear air pressure
by letting air into your middle ear
and letting air escape your middle ear.
It is also what allows your ears to pop
anytime that your middle ear air pressure changes
like when you're flying
or when you're driving through the mountains
and it can even occur if you have a cold
or a sinus infection.
And typically you can make your ears pop
by simply just swallowing or yawning.
However, if you are unable to easily pop your ears
due to these middle ear air pressure changes,
it could be due to a condition
called eustachian tube dysfunction.
Eustachian tube dysfunction is when your eustachian tube
has chronic issues with not being able to open
and close properly to equalize this middle ear air pressure.
And it often leads to a lot of pain
anytime that your middle ear air pressure changes
since it can't regulate.
This can ultimately lead
to a negative middle ear air pressure
that ends up pulling in or sucking in on your eardrum,
causing a lot of tension where your eardrum connects
to your ear canal
and it can cause discomfort,
reduce hearing sensitivity,
and even extreme ear pain.
Sometimes a surgical procedure is required
to actually puncture your ear drum
to equalize this pressure.
But one of the easier ways to actually do this
is to be able to force air through your eustachian tube
into your middle ear cavity.
But one of the easier, non-surgical ways
to equalize this middle ear air pressure
is to get air from your throat
through the eustachian tube into your middle ear cavity
by performing what is called the Valsalva maneuver.
The Valsalva maneuver is when you plug your nose
and try to blow air through your nose
and it ultimately forces that air
through the eustachian tube and into the middle ear space
thereby equalizing your middle ear air pressure.
I'm not sure how much it'll help,
but basically I'm gonna perform
the Valsalva maneuver right now
by plugging my nose and blowing.
And I just put a bunch of air
through my eustachian tubes into my middle ear cavities,
equalizing the air pressure.
Since your nose is plugged
while you're trying to blow air through it
the only other place for that air to go
is through the eustachian tubes into your middle ear.
If you're able to do this successfully
you will be able to equalize your middle ear air pressure
and alleviate pain almost instantaneously.
The problem is with the extremely plugged up ears
and possibly eustachian tube dysfunction.
The Valsalva maneuver is not going to work.
It's kind of like the harder you try to blow air
through your eustachian tubes,
the more your eustachian tubes tighten up
and don't allow air to get through.
If this is the case for you, then don't worry
because I have a secret weapon
that will instantly be able to pop your ears
even if you have the most plugged up ears on the planet.
But before I tell you what my secret weapon is,
if you could do me a huge favor
and click the light button,
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And I release several new videos every single week.
That being said, I really appreciate it.
Now it's time for me to reveal my secret weapon
which is the EarPopper from Summit Medical.
Now this video is not sponsored,
but I will put a link to the EarPopper
in the description below
if you wanna get one for yourself.
But basically this device helps you pop your ears instantly
by gently pushing air through your eustachian tube
to equalize your middle ear air pressure.
This EarPopper tool is extremely simple.
It's basically battery powered
and it will push air through this little opening at the top
when you use the little push button
that you have on the front of it.
And essentially how it works
is you actually put it up inside your nostril.
You plug your other nostril while you push on the button.
It gently forces that air into your nasal cavity.
And then when you swallow,
the only place for that air to go
is through the eustachian tube
and into your middle ear space.
Let me show you how it works.
It's as simple as that
since you basically get to stay relaxed
while you're doing it,
you're not bearing down as hard
and actually put more tension on your eustachian tubes.
So it lets that arrogate
through your eustachian station tube much easier.
Once you do it,
the relief is almost instantaneous.
Now, if you happen to have extremely plugged up ears
or a really bad case eustachian tube dysfunction
you might have to do it multiple times
in order to get enough air through your eustachian tube
to truly equalize your middle ear air pressure.
Now, every single time that I fly anywhere
or that I drive anywhere
that's gonna have any kind of elevation changes
or if I have a cold or sinus infection
this thing goes with me wherever I go
because I can't tell you how many times
this thing has basically saved me from extreme ear pain.
So any that I can't use the Valsalva maneuver
to equalize my middle ear air pressure.
This thing is on me and it's being used all the time.
It always blows my mind
when I find out that there's individuals out there
who have chronic eustachian tube dysfunction
or just have difficulty popping their own ears
and they're completely unaware of devices like this.
That being said, if you have chronic issues plugged up ears
and it could be due to an underlying medical condition.
And if that is the case
you should really seek out medical help
from an audiologist or from an otolaryngologist.
But for the vast majority of individuals
who have difficulty popping their own ears
keeping a tool like the EarPopper in your luggage
or in your vehicle is a great way to pop your ears
if you have issues popping them on your own.
The EarPopper is a little pricey
at around a hundred dollars,
but it is extremely effective.
It's reusable and it's small enough
to make it convenient to carry with you
whenever you're on the go.
And if you ask me, of course
it is worth every single penny.
Now, I don't know how much ear pain you experience
with a negative middle ear air pressure.
But if you have extreme amounts of ear pain
due to it then you'd probably spend
any amount of money to get instant relief.
The question that I always get about tools
like the EarPopper is is it safe to use?
And the answer to that is, yes.
It doesn't put out so much air pressure
that you're gonna risk rupturing your eardrum.
It just puts out enough air pressure
to gently work its way through your eustachian tube
to equalize the pressure.
Personally, I have never seen the EarPopper not work.
So if it does not work for you
then you should be going to see a medical professional
because there's probably something
more serious going on
that the EarPopper just can't solve.
Overall, if you have plugged up ears
and you are not successful at popping your ears on your own
then using a tool like the EarPopper could do the trick.
That's it for this video.
If you have any questions
leave them in the comment section below.
If you like the video, please share it.
If you wanna see other videos just like this one,
go ahead, hit that subscribe button.
Also feel free to check out my website,
drcliffaud.com.
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