Unilateral stuffy ear may be caused by dysfunction of Eustachian tube, blockage of external ear canal and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
1. Eustachian tube dysfunction: If one suffers from Eustachian tube dysfunction, it may cause the Eustachian tube to fail to open regularly, resulting in congestion and edema of the middle ear mucosa, negative pressure in the middle ear, and increase of the permeability of blood vessels, which may lead to middle ear effusion, i.e., secretory otitis media, which usually results in unilateral stuffy ear.
2. Blockage of external auditory canal: Cerumen impaction or presence of foreign matter in the external auditory canal, such as cotton swabs, paper balls, etc., will block the external auditory canal and cause ear stuffiness.
3. Nasopharyngeal cancer: when squamous cell carcinoma of nasopharynx grows to a certain size and presses on the Eustachian tube, it can cause stuffy feeling in one ear.
It is recommended to go to the hospital as soon as possible for examination to clarify the condition when such symptoms appear.