Why Water Clogs Your Ears Instead of Running Out

• Water builds up due to the adhesion properties of the meniscus effect. This is a big word but its meaning is easy to grasp. If you have ever overfilled a glass of water without spilling it, you have borne witness to the meniscus effect. It is the same effect that holds a drop of water together. Water wants to bond to itself more than it wants to run freely. Given the choice of escaping from your ear canal and bonding in place, it will choose to stay in place until the meniscus is broken. Below are some remedies for breaking the meniscus effect (much like breaking a water balloon) so that the water will run freely from your ear canal so that you can hear more clearly.
  
  

Add Water

• As funny as it sounds, adding water to the problem often results in the solution you need. The reason is simple. When the water won't naturally pour out of your ear it is because the weight of the water creating the clog is not greater than the applied strength of the meniscus effect. When you add water to the problem, the added water bonds to the water causing the clog, making a larger blob, one of which has just been flowing.Often one of these two forces is enough to dislodge the clog.
  
  

Shake It Loose

• The second way to break the meniscus effect is to turn your affected ear toward the ground and to by repeated jumping up and down or light, but firm pounding on opposite side of your skull, add enough jiggling to the meniscus to effect a breakage that will allow the water to run freely.
  
  

Dry It Out

• Last, but not recommended except in the most extreme circumstances, mix one part hydrogen peroxide and one part vinegar and using an ear dropper, fill the ear canal with this mixture. This will speed up the drying process and once dry, the problem will go away.
  
  Clogged ears are annoying but they are treatable. May you find success and relief as the result of using these methods.