We know that it's common to lose our sense of smell or taste sometimes when we have some kind of cold, infection, or allergies. Humans have 5 basic senses: smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. It is indeed not a good feeling to lose 2 out of these 5 senses due to a minor common disease, but what if we lose another sense- hearing?
Can we actually rupture our eardrums while blowing nose?
People oftentimes have the fear that they will burst their eardrums if they blow their nose too hard. However, according to studies, although this is a possible scenario, it only happens in very rare cases as it takes up to about 20kPa (80 inches of water) to cause a rupture. Having a ruptured eardrum is extremely painful, so don't sweat it too much if there's no sharp pain felt in the ears after a huge blow in your nose. If by chance you do suspect it to be an eardrum rupture, please get it checked out immediately.
Other Possibilities
If you experience hearing loss while having a cold or infection, there is a chance that it's caused by your Eustachian tube being blocked due to the inflammation the disease caused. The Eustachian tube connects the middle ear to the nose; it equalizes the air pressure (ear pop) and can drain mucus from the middle ear by opening the Eustachian tube. Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) happens when the the lining of the nose to the
Eustachian tube swells due to inflammations.
Symptoms for ETD
Some common symptoms for a clogged eustachian tube are: constant pressure in the ears, hearing and sensation loss. ETD should be able to self heal along with some medication, by opening up the eustachian tube. Blowing a balloon can be a possible self-treatment as the air can be pushed in the eustachian tube while blowing the balloon, allowing the fluid to come out. However, make sure to not do this while having nasal discharge as this may cause mucous to end up in the middle ear and causing infections.
Sources
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board