So I have blocked my ear....

Peeps

I am now deaf in one ear., temporarly I hope.

Was cleaning the wax from my ear yesterday using a baby wipe as I usually do and cleaned one fine and the other I must have pushed a bit wax in and now I am muffled in it.

Tried olive oil to help clear it ( as google to me so ) but now I smell like a chip shop.

Now off to try and wash it in the shower.

I have bad hearing as It is due to djing for years and general loud music, to tinitis in both ears. Does as one good outcome, I cannot hear the wife. Peace and quiet.

Any help anyone. Over the counter remedys maybe?

Hi Mate,

I suffer from an abundance of ear wax and frequently end up with blocked ears, so I syringe my ears after softning them up with those over the counter solutions such otex or boots own brand equivalent. If you dont feel comfortable doing it yourself book an appointment with your health clinic/surgery. If you've not got too much of a blockage then Otex on it's own my clear it, and dont bother with those ear wax candles as they do nothing apart from make a nice noise.

J

perfect.

Will try that. The shower didn't help much. Got rid of the oil smell

Cheers.

All I do when mine block up is lay on my side and drop a few drips of Hydrogen Peroxide into them, leave it on for a few minutes until it stops bubbling and then gently jet them out with warm water using a large syringe

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Originally Posted by Larkspeed

All I do when mine block up is lay on my side and drop a few drips of Hydrogen Peroxide into them, leave it on for a few minutes until it stops bubbling and then gently jet them out with warm water using a large syringe

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Best cleaning method I know is candle.

if that doesnt suck it out of there - nothing will.

m

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Originally Posted by Larkspeed

All I do when mine block up is lay on my side and drop a few drips of Hydrogen Peroxide into them, leave it on for a few minutes until it stops bubbling and then gently jet them out with warm water using a large syringe

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You're joking about the h2O2 right? What concentration? *shudders*

Warm oil/otex/cerumol is recommended. If that doesn't work the nurse at your doctors will sort you out. And stop using cotton tips to clean ears!

@OP: Be warned that the candle method is not without controversy (Google it - make your own decision).

If over the counter solution doesn't work (it did not for me), I'd suggest an appointment with the nurse who will apply the syringing method (took care of it easily).

As I've learnt since then, earwax is there for a reason and in most case you want to avoid cleaning into the ear canal.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

You're joking about the h2O2 right? What concentration? *shudders*

Warm oil/otex/cerumol is recommended. If that doesn't work the nurse at your doctors will sort you out. And stop using cotton tips to clean ears!

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I think thats what Otex is, a mild solution of Hydrogen Peroxide.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

You're joking about the h2O2 right? What concentration? *shudders*

Warm oil/otex/cerumol is recommended. If that doesn't work the nurse at your doctors will sort you out. And stop using cotton tips to clean ears!

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only a very mild concentration, a lot of over the counter products for breaking down ear wax contain it

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Originally Posted by TooNice

@OP: Be warned that the candle method is not without controversy (Google it - make your own decision).

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Well, I tried it - it was an interesting experience for sure .

I quite enjoyed it actually , but each to his own - I dont see what harm it could do if its used just one or twice .

m

olive oil take 2 or 3 days to work, its the best one out the lot.

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Originally Posted by melon

Well, I tried it - it was an interesting experience for sure .

I quite enjoyed it actually , but each to his own - I dont see what harm it could do if its used just one or twice .

m

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It does no harm, other than to your wallet. It doesn't do any good either; the amount of suction from a candle is tiny, way too small to actually do anything to your ear.

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Originally Posted by Butcher

It does no harm, other than to your wallet. It doesn't do any good either; the amount of suction from a candle is tiny, way too small to actually do anything to your ear.

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It sounds a bit odd getting an advice on how to unblock your ears from someone called 'Butcher' :shocked2:

I use earex from tescos, works well for me.

Good few drops in the ear, leave for 5mins then a hot shower on one of the jet/pressure settings to clean it all out.

Ears are delicate things, if in doubt go to the docs!

Well I went to Boots and got a bottle of Audiclean. ( no its not for cleaning cars ) and after several attemps, it has made no difference.

I did take the plunge and got a piece of rolled up toilet roll and twisted it in my ear and a load of was came out. Repeated this and got more and more. The Audiclean must be softening it up well.

Hearing is slightly better but not back to normal.

Will keep trying and see how I get on. If its not better, I will visit the doctor.

Man its wierd having no hearing in one ear. Listening to the new S.P.Y. Album was no good.

Why on earth did you use baby wipes to clean your ears? Heard of cotton bud ????

I have an abundance of wipes at home.

twist the corner and stick in my ear. worked a treat ever other time.

"Real Men" use cocktail sticks to clean their ears.....there is nothing like the uncertainty of ear drum perforation to sort the men from the boys!!:)

Well I went to A&E this morning as my ear was getting sore and low and behold

I have a Perforated Eardrum.

I am sure I did hear the docters laughing at me from behind the curtain.

Oh well several weeks of deafness and pain.

Look up Dumbass in the dictionary and there is a picture of me.


Sure there is a lesson here for everyone.

I'd say that cotton buds is pretty bad unless you are only using it to clean the external parts. There is a risk of pushing the wax further down the ear canal and if it accumulates, it can block your hearing and become harder to get rid. I've learnt my lesson (it's what caused me to have to get my ear syringed). Fortunately in my case there was no real damage, but I've learnt not to do anything that would push earwax into my ears (okay - IEM are a necessary evil when listening to music during commutes).

Sorry to hear that Deejayburnout, but glad you have got a diagnosis - and the eardrum will heal itself.

As for 'candling' - probably best avoided...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling

OH i SHUDDERED ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS THREAD!

I'm glad you've gone medical.. now... let this be a lesson to everyone.

EARS ARE FRAGILE... cotton buds are for the outer visible part of your ear only..... don't stick roll of toilet paper in your ear.. if it comes loose... it stays in.

Cotton buds are like the fibre glass strips for making glassfibre moulds.. and the wax acts like the hardener... IE.. if you use cotton buds you WILL leave a few minor threads in there, every time.. until one day you've made a custom, flexible, water proof ear blocker to ruin your ears. Over several years you can leave enough cotton threads and wax to make a mould of your inner ear.. and it moves about and blocks your ear!

how do I know? Cos I did it for years.. then my ear blocked... then I went to the Doc, got my ears syringed (note... you don't get a suction pin stuck in your ear.. they use a warm water nozzle spray in your ear... only docs should do it not yourself really) and you should see what fell out.

I swear to god I nearly swooned at what came out. I could NOT believe my ear was so BIG inside.

A piece of disgusting brown waxed ball, interthreaded with cotton fibres.. BIGGER that a hazlemut in it's shell

it was MAMMOTH>...it needed gentle pulling through with tweezers.

vast.... looked like my brain ;)

My left ear used to get blocked all the time in my 20's would get it syringed by the nurse ever 8 months or so.

You should never put anything in your ear bigger than your elbow ;)

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Originally Posted by Behemoth

<---snip

You should never put anything in your ear bigger than your elbow ;)

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I think you mean smaller?? :)

Cotton buds.... you need to use them in the right way. Wet them with water and then circle round in your ear well away from the eardrum

Cotton wool buds is not a great idea, you end up pushing the wax in. you also run the risk of damaging your ear drums by sticking anything in there. Doctor is the way to go as stated.

I have a problem and have to have them syringed every eight months or so. They say the more you have them synringed the more you need them syringed. I have narrow ear canals which bascially can't cope. When I was younger and went swimmimg alot it was never a problem but now its a constant hassle.

I had a similar, though milder, experience to Zak and ended up at the doctor, in a lot of pain.

His first advice was never, ever poke things inside your ear. The possibilities of damage were to great, and that most emphatically included cotton buds, as I asked him about that directly.

He heated some kind of oil until it was warm (note, warm, not hot) syringed it in, left it about a minute and washed it out. Pain gone, wax gone, problem gone. Patient (me) left, feeling like an idiot. :D

He advised that this can be done at home with a little care, most notably not to get the oil too hot, but to never poke things in your ear.

deejayburnout, as Zak said, glad you've now gone medical, and hope it's soon sorted and back to normal.

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Originally Posted by Saracen

never poke things in your ear..

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You better belive that i will never do that again.

Don't know whats worse, the pain in my ear or the dent in my pride from the wife saying ' I told you so'

I also tend to get a fair bit of excess wax since I nearly always get a shower rather than a bath so don't really rinse my ear canals. I sometimes use cotton buds but hold them just behind the cotton bit so they don't go more than a cm or so into my ear, just to get the surface stuff, any further than that risks poking it further in.

When you get your ears 'syringed' now, at least where I live, they use something like a tiny vacuum cleaner to suck the crap out of your ears.

Otex is basically 6% urea hydrogen peroxide, basically equivalent to <3% H2O2 just about a million times more expensive. You can buy a big bottle of 3% H2O2 for about a quid from Boots, IMO it's probably best to dilute it 1:1 with water before using.

this is why your finger is bigger than your ear canal!

the problem is the mrs will cause more earache by constantly reminding you long after the real pains gone...

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Originally Posted by GoNz0

this is why your finger is bigger than your ear canal!

the problem is the mrs will cause more earache by constantly reminding you long after the real pains gone...

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Or remind you when you think you've forgotten and go to clean them out again - they never remember what you get right, but they ALWAYS remember what you got wrong :(

women are like elephants.........

Full of crap!

or they never forget?

its one of those two:)

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Originally Posted by deejayburnout

women are like elephants.........

Full of crap!

or they never forget?

its one of those two:)

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Not mine, she's the female version of me :)

My vote goes to Otex but get the pack with the rubber bulb that you can use to blow water in to the ear to help clear it.

It's just overpriced H2O2 really, and I'm not sure I'd recommend forcing water (or anything) down your ear. IMO just use something like that, then soak your ears under water in the bath a few times to rinse them out.

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Originally Posted by OilSheikh

Why on earth did you use baby wipes to clean your ears? Heard of cotton bud ????

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No dont use cotton buds, just use olive oil for times a day for / days and it'll just come out.

I can glady report that my hearing has returned in my ear. :clapping:

Still a bit painfull but i can live with that.

I will no longer be sticking anything in my ears except the proper cleaning stuff. No more cotton buds or baby wipes.