Wow, I can hear again.

[mmbt0ne]

So, once a year, I go to the ear specialist and he pulls a chunk of wax about the size of a quarter out of my ear, and it hurts like hell. Well, I had my appointment today, and I just put in my earphones to listen to some music, and it's so cool being able to hear music again. Ahhh, this next couple weeks is going to be aural heaven.

That's all. Thanks.

[Stellastarr]

[ QUOTE ]
So, once a year, I go to the ear specialist and he pulls a chunk of wax about the size of a quarter out of my ear, and it hurts like hell. Well, I had my appointment today, and I just put in my earphones to listen to some music, and it's so cool being able to hear music again. Ahhh, this next couple weeks is going to be aural heaven.

That's all. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

WTF? Cant u clean them yourself? Or is there wax the size of a quarter in my ear right now too?

[jason_t]

What are you going to listening to?

[battschr]

http://www.qtips.com/

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
WTF? Cant u clean them yourself? Or is there wax the size of a quarter in my ear right now too?

[/ QUOTE ]

I doubt it unless you also have a fake eardrum and teflon prothesis in place of your missing ear bones.

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
What are you going to listening to?

[/ QUOTE ]

Right now, The Birthday Massacre (it's like Orgy with a chick singer). Next is Sufjan Stevens, and Circa Survive.

[DarkForceRising]

Totally gross, dude. Nevertheless, every year when the weather starts getting humid my right ear clogs up. Last year it lasted like 6 weeks.

I would go to a doctor but that costs money.

[miajag81]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
WTF? Cant u clean them yourself? Or is there wax the size of a quarter in my ear right now too?

[/ QUOTE ]

I doubt it unless you also have a fake eardrum and teflon prothesis in place of your missing ear bones.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was also wondering about this. So you're some sort of cyborg?

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
WTF? Cant u clean them yourself? Or is there wax the size of a quarter in my ear right now too?

[/ QUOTE ]

I doubt it unless you also have a fake eardrum and teflon prothesis in place of your missing ear bones.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was also wondering about this. So you're some sort of cyborg?

[/ QUOTE ]

They had the technology. They could rebuild me. But I don't think I quite made it to $6 million.

cholesteatoma (http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/ears/cholesteatoma.cfm)

[RacersEdge]

Wow, deja vu.

I just had the same thing done last week. Are you talking about the flushing it with solution then plucking the wax chunk? He said to use one of those ear kits every month or so.


It is good to hear better too. It affects my speaking too.

[Mason Hellmuth]

My doctor has this ear-cleaning instrument that looks like a tube of caulk. It's basically a large reservoir with a tapered nozzle and a way to force water out of the chamber. I guess I get a lot of ear wax back farther than I can reach with a Q-Tip, because every so often he uses this thing to clean out my ears. I have to hold my head over a metal tray while he shoots water into my ear. The water comes back out and goes in the tray, along with huge, disgusting chunks of wax. It hurts, but then it feels good. Really good. And when it's over, I can hear a lot better.

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
Are you talking about the flushing it with solution then plucking the wax chunk? He said to use one of those ear kits every month or so.

[/ QUOTE ]

Plucking sounds a little too delicate for the process I just went through, but more or less it's the same thing. The wax that builds up isn't like nice, normal wax though, this [censored] gets on the skin like a scab as has to be removed as such. Then he vacuums out whatever kind of crap is in there (there's always liquid behind the wax). Finally, he has to remove the skin growing over the prosthesis, which sucks too.

So, mine's a little more hardcore, but you have a general idea. I don't know if the effects are as dramatic or normal people, but if you say it makes a difference, you know how cool it feels right now. Shure E2c's the day of cleaning is the closest I've come to hearing in perfect stereo in as long as I can remember.

[RacersEdge]

Your procedure sounds a little more hardcore. Mine was exactly what MasonHellmuth described here.

[newfant]

I use one of these things to clean my ears about once a week:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/physlabs/049612.html#

It works great. However, I bought mine at my local pharmacy and I thought it cost less than $10, so you might be able to find one cheaper than $40.

Edit: It looks like the pice above is a mistake. Here's the normal price:

http://www.ototekloop.com/where.html

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
Next is Sufjan Stevens

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. It's even better than before.

[Stuey]

I had a gf once that candled my ears. (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candling.html)

Use me, I will work, I promise.....

[Luzion]

[ QUOTE ]
Use me, I will work, I promise.....

[/ QUOTE ]

I hear Q-tips just shove the wax deeper into your ear, pun intended

[Niwa]

nh.

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Use me, I will work, I promise.....

[/ QUOTE ]

I hear Q-tips just shove the wax deeper into your ear, pun intended

[/ QUOTE ]

What pun?

[Matty]

maybe "your rear"? I don't get it either.

[Shajen]

When I was little I had tubes put in my ears and they didn't match up properly, so I get a lot of wax buildup and hearing issues in my left ear. Because of this, I've gone to an Ear/Nose/Throat guy quite a few times in my life. He told me the following:

Don't use q-tips, or anything else to remove ear wax from your ear canals. You can clean the outer parts of your ears, but do not stick anything in there. All you'll do is impact the wax further down into your canal. An average person's ear will get rid of the wax on its own, no need to dig it out. If you have a lot of buildup, go see your doctor, they can get it checked out. Also, a lot of sinus issues can be caused by ear infections. If you start to lose hearing (even a little bit) in your ears, go get that looked at.

Life is too short to lose your hearing.

This message brought to you by my left ear. The [censored] bastard.

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Next is Sufjan Stevens

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. It's even better than before.

[/ QUOTE ]


/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
So, once a year, I go to the ear specialist and he pulls a chunk of wax about the size of a quarter out of my ear, and it hurts like hell. Well, I had my appointment today, and I just put in my earphones to listen to some music, and it's so cool being able to hear music again. Ahhh, this next couple weeks is going to be aural heaven.

That's all. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]
It seems to me that if it's this big of a thing, then maybe you might try going in maybe two or three times a year?

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
When I was little I had tubes put in my ears and they didn't match up properly, so I get a lot of wax buildup and hearing issues in my left ear. Because of this, I've gone to an Ear/Nose/Throat guy quite a few times in my life. He told me the following:

Don't use q-tips, or anything else to remove ear wax from your ear canals. You can clean the outer parts of your ears, but do not stick anything in there. All you'll do is impact the wax further down into your canal. An average person's ear will get rid of the wax on its own, no need to dig it out. If you have a lot of buildup, go see your doctor, they can get it checked out. Also, a lot of sinus issues can be caused by ear infections. If you start to lose hearing (even a little bit) in your ears, go get that looked at.

Life is too short to lose your hearing.

This message brought to you by my left ear. The [censored] bastard.

[/ QUOTE ]

Doctor advice is very often geared to saying something they either can't be sued for, can't be mistakenly interpreted to the danger of the patient or the doctor's bank account, or is sufficient to keep a total moron out of trouble.

Doctors often say not to use q-tips, and I'm sure their intentions are usually good. But the clear truth is Q-tips can certainly get wax out rather than just push it in. I've taken some pretty copious amounts of wax out of my ears, from pretty deep in, too. A lot of care is required, so for morons, perhaps Q-tips are out.

Veterinarians routinely use Q-tips on animals, too. It's not because they don't give a damn about animals, or are happy to do something ineffective while the patient's watching just so they'll look competent and industrious; quite the contrary. They do it because, of course, it works.

And, disease conditions or bizarre idiopathic morphology excepted, an ear is an ear, whether dog, cat, or human.

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
Mine was exactly what MasonHellmuth described here.

[/ QUOTE ]

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So, once a year, I go to the ear specialist and he pulls a chunk of wax about the size of a quarter out of my ear, and it hurts like hell. Well, I had my appointment today, and I just put in my earphones to listen to some music, and it's so cool being able to hear music again. Ahhh, this next couple weeks is going to be aural heaven.

That's all. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]
It seems to me that if it's this big of a thing, then maybe you might try going in maybe two or three times a year?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Why be almost deaf for most of the year when you don't have to be?

Also, if you went more often, wouldn't there be less to clean each time, so that each trip wouldn't be quite so painful?

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]
I had a gf once that candled my ears. (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candling.html)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your girlfriend was a moran. These don't work. They're a scam. Once you're done "candling" your ears, the gunk you see at the other end of the tube is wax that melted from the inside of the tube. The wax didn't come from your ear.

[HopeydaFish]

If you dip the end of the Q-tip in warm water, you will melt the wax in your ear when you stick the Q-tip in. Then you can use a dry Q-tip to grab the stuff that has melted.

[IndieMatty]

Have you read this thread? OP has a medical condition; I'm pretty sure his Ear specialist knows whats up.

[gorie]

i've always heard/read about not using q-tips also. it's bad to put stuff in your ears in general.

i have weird ear problems too, i use to have really bad infections when i was younger, they were terrible. and a bad habit of digging in my ears with my fingers to try to suction the gunk out. i still do that even though i shouldn't.

i've been to a specialist a couple times when i was younger for them to be vacuumed out, that was kind of cool. it felt kind of good actually , but he said its bad when it feels good. :P

but other than that they normally just wash them out with some thing that pulsates water into your ear. and for awhile when i was younger water was bad for my ears, so they used alcohol and peroxide.

i need to go get them cleaned out, i haven't been to the doctor in years, but i hear buzzing in my ears now all the time (like a high pitch sound a computer makes) , mostly noticable at night when it's quiet. it drives me nuts, hopefully a ear cleaning will help that but i have a feeling my ears are damaged.

[IndieMatty]

Jesus, girl. Go to a doctor!

[gorie]

[ QUOTE ]
Jesus, girl. Go to a doctor!

[/ QUOTE ]
i know /images/graemlins/frown.gif i will i'm just putting it off because i'm scared.!

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]
Have you read this thread? OP has a medical condition; I'm pretty sure his Ear specialist knows whats up.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Have you read this thread?"...for Christ's sake...

Yes, and I'm curious as to why his ear specialist is only seeing him once a year - causing him to go almost deaf in the interim. Doesn't it make sense that seeing the specialist more often might possibly improve his quality of life? It sounds like what the specialist is doing is removing build-up since the last visit. Wouldn't reducing the time between visits reduce the amount of build-up that needs to be cleaned?

[IndieMatty]

Ok..sorry to sound like an ass. But the procedure sounds like it hurts like hell and is pretty invasive. (Removing the skin from his prosthesis?) I can see why it's a once a year thing.

[lu_hawk]

[ QUOTE ]
i need to go get them cleaned out, i haven't been to the doctor in years, but i hear buzzing in my ears now all the time (like a high pitch sound a computer makes) , mostly noticable at night when it's quiet

[/ QUOTE ]

that is called tinnitus(sp?). i think it's fairly common to varying degrees, but interestingly the suicide rate for people with very bad cases is very high.

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok..sorry to sound like an ass. But the procedure sounds like it hurts like hell and is pretty invasive. (Removing the skin from his prosthesis?) I can see why it's a once a year thing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I suspect that the reason he only has it done once a year is either A) He's paying for it out of pocket and it's expensive, or B) His insurance company will only cover one visit per year.

[gorie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i need to go get them cleaned out, i haven't been to the doctor in years, but i hear buzzing in my ears now all the time (like a high pitch sound a computer makes) , mostly noticable at night when it's quiet

[/ QUOTE ]

that is called tinnitus(sp?). i think it's fairly common to varying degrees, but interestingly the suicide rate for people with very bad cases is very high.

[/ QUOTE ]

i believe it.

[lu_hawk]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i need to go get them cleaned out, i haven't been to the doctor in years, but i hear buzzing in my ears now all the time (like a high pitch sound a computer makes) , mostly noticable at night when it's quiet

[/ QUOTE ]

that is called tinnitus(sp?). i think it's fairly common to varying degrees, but interestingly the suicide rate for people with very bad cases is very high.

[/ QUOTE ]

i believe it.

[/ QUOTE ]

i have the same thing where i will hear it when i am laying bed. but it doesn't bother me otherwise. just saw on the web that 50mm americans have it to some degree.

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
i've always heard/read about not using q-tips also. it's bad to put stuff in your ears in general.

[/ QUOTE ]



i'm going to third this. Q-Tips in your ears are not a good idea. the one time I went to get my ears flushed, the doctor told me "the smallest thing that should go in your ears is your elbow."

[Mason Hellmuth]

[ QUOTE ]
the one time I went to get my ears flushed, the doctor told me "the smallest thing that should go in your ears is your elbow."

[/ QUOTE ]
But this doesn't make any sense, because your elbow won't fit in your ear. Furthermore, the instrument for flushing ears is smaller than your elbow. I've heard this before too, but I think it is full of [censored].

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Jesus, girl. Go to a doctor!

[/ QUOTE ]
i know /images/graemlins/frown.gif i will i'm just putting it off because i'm scared.!

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll regret not having gone to the doctor when you end up deaf, or when the ringing gets so loud that it makes life unbearable.

Go to the doctor. The initial visit will be just to tell you what's wrong, the doctor won't be doing anything too major. He'll probably give you a partial diagnosis and then refer you to a specialist.

[mmbt0ne]

Oh, don't worry, I'm STILL almost deaf. It's just a lot closer to not deaf than I usually am. Also, it feels really breezy in my ear. Very weird.

Also, trust me, Q-tips won't work.

As for going more than once per year, I used to go every month, then every 3 months, then every 6 months, and now I go every year. That's just how it progresses. He's still doing less now in these yearly visits than he was in the earlier 6 month visits, so hopefully it's just getting better all together.

[Blarg]

I think I read that hearing stuff like that can also be caused by high blood pressure.

[lu_hawk]

[ QUOTE ]
I think I read that hearing stuff like that can also be caused by high blood pressure.

[/ QUOTE ]

very well could be but i know i don't have high blood pressure.

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]

But this doesn't make any sense, because your elbow won't fit in your ear. Furthermore, the instrument for flushing ears is smaller than your elbow. I've heard this before too, but I think it is full of [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]



uh, I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic, but the idea is that since everything larger than your elbow cannot fit into your ear, you just don't put stuff in your ears at all.

the exception can be when they're flushing your ears, as it's only a periodic procedure by people that (presumably) know what they're doing.

[RacersEdge]

Tangent: I remember one time laying in bed and hearing this clicking sound coming from the closet. I got a flashlight, and it turned out it was the sound of a cockroach eating glue from the binding of a book. Kind of weird to hear something like that from that far away.

[Mason Hellmuth]

[ QUOTE ]
uh, I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic, but the idea is that since everything smaller than your elbow cannot fit into your ear, you just don't put stuff in your ears at all.

[/ QUOTE ]
You're right, I was being sarcastic. But if the intent is "never put anything in your ears," why don't they just say that? This business with the elbow is unnecessary and only serves to confuse people.

[Blarg]

What's really weird is realizing, when you're in an apartment close to lots of others apartments, that what seems to you as pretty much just silence or white noise, if you pay attention, actually resolves itself into perfectly clear conversations you thought were much too quiet or far away to hear -- and that you actually thought didn't exist, and were just silence in the first place. It can be kind of spooky, and a cool example of how the brain is not at all just an instrument that takes things in and makes sense of them, but actively shuts them out completely. A whole lot of them, without your ever realizing it's happening or being able to perceive they're even there to shut out in the first place.

You'd probably go nuts if it didn't. There's just way too much to process all at the same time.

[Wetdog]

I do the flushing thing myself. All it takes is a sink of warm soapy water and one of those bulbous douche thingies. Squeeze the air out of the bulb and suck up some water. Hold the tip up and squeeze the rest of the air out. Now suck up some more water. Now lean over the sink, stick the douche bulb in your ear and squeeze hard. No, not your ass cheeks, the bulb. Repeat. If it hurts, you're a pussy. What are you doing at a gambling forum if you're afraid of a little pain?

There, hear that? It's the noises that you couldn't hear when you were deaf. You will be hearing those noises all day and night. It will keep you awake. When you finally do fall asleep, any little noise you hear will awaken you. Your quality of work will suffer because of your lack of sleep. You become irritable. You become easily annoyed. Even this post will annoy you. You will lose your job, your home, your car. All because you wanted to hear better. Happy now?

[Shajen]

I blewout my ear drum doing this. Be careful. Water is fine, but adding soap I don't believe is recommended.

[Wetdog]

Drop a bar of Ivory in the warm water and swish it around a little. It cuts the surface tension of the water so it can run out of the ear. Otherwise you will just have substituted wax for water.