About 5 weeks ago, I caught a really bad chest and head cold which had lasted about 3 weeks. After about a week, I noticed what felt like fluid buidling up in my ears. For a few days, the fluid would drain out of one ear. I went to see my doc a few days later and he confirmed that I had a buildup of fluid and mucous in both ears. He gave me some antibiotics to take. He also told me that this could take several days to several weeks to clear up and that I should continue taking sudaphed to hopefully help loosen up the mucous. Right now, I'm going on 3 weeks with clogged ears and no end in sight.

A couple of days ago, I was able to finally hear some fluid loosen up and move around in my left ear when I went to blow my nose. Since then, I've been trying to get my ears to pop by holding my nose and gently trying to blow air into my ears. This helps in partially clearing up the left ear, but does absolutely nothing for my right ear.

My question is, does anyone else have experience with clogged ears caused by a cold? How long does this last? Is there something else I can do besides taking sudaphed or drinking a lot of hot liquids?

Thanks for any replies or comments.

I have the same problem as you since Dec 2002. I catched a cold then all the sudden my ear started to feel sharp pain and later it got blocked. Now right ear has pressure while my left ear is having popping sound. I've seen my ENT specialist and he has inserted a ventilation tube in my right ear due to the escalating pressure. Just to let you know that you're not alone.