Anyone gone to the doc about getting earwax cleaned out of your ears? I've heard that if it's bad enough, once it's cleaned out, it's recommended you don't drive because you'll be dizzy for about an hour. Basically, my hearing has gone from super awesome to ****... Much like my vision, but I can at least put a reason to my vision. I don't normally wear headphones until now that I've had the hearing problem, and anytime I clean out my ears in the past 2 years, the wax is much much more that it has ever been.
one time I went to get it cleaned out and the difference in my hearing level was amazing. after I was done, it sounded like the doctor was speaking through a bull horn about 1 foot away from my head. Eventually, things sounded much more normal, but I was shocked at how much better I could hear everything.
I am blessed with a non-squeamish wife who cleans out my ears with a sterilized tool if I ever get blocked ears. Otherwise I swear I would be deaf. When I was a kid, I had terrible allergies (there's your booger reference) but somehow at the age of 22 they vanished (about the same time I quit smoking) and my new issue is the ear wax. On my honeymoon I used a q-tip to clean out my ears and I caused the wax to push up against my eardrum. Then I went scuba diving and it got even more impacted. I ended up paying some Jamaican doctor $50 to clean out my ears, preceded by paying some other Jamaican $20 for a couple of valiums bc I was terrified of having some Ocho Rios doc jam a device in my ears. Now I just flood the hell out of my ears when I shower, every day, and I dont touch q-tips. Ever.
The doctors have cleaned out my ear before. That was a neat feeling. They irrigate the ear with water. They shoot jets of water in your ear, and it somehow falls out. When i stood, I got a bit dizzy, but a minute later, you are fine.
looks like a praline morsel. btw... those pralines in the straw baskets at the registers at walgreens are bad arse.
When doctors want induce nystagmus to test for vestibular disorders they run water into your ear till you get very very dizzy, that's probably the connection to cleaning and not driving. You can buy an ear wax cleaning kit at Walgreens that includes a bottle of wax solvent and a bulb to shoot warn water into your ear and flush out the crap. It works if it isn't too compacted and is good maintenance for people with wax problems. Even the bulb water will make you a little dizzy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nystagmus
A .05 hydrogen peroxide solution works just as fine as solvent. I think it's made with 1 part water and one part solvent. Rest your head on one side and put 3 or 4 drops in your ear. The longer you wait (5-10 mins), the more it dissolves. Turn the other side and repeat. Usually, this is good for initial cases, but if you're having hearing problems, you should continue this daily for a couple weaks before spraying it with water. Try administering before you shower. For most people, washing the outer ear with soap in a warm shower is good enough to remove wax buildup. Never clean your inner ear with soap because water can get trapped easily and lead to infection. Ear pickers and Q-tips have a chance of puncturing your eardrum. Use with caution.
You're talking to the king of going to the ENT to get your ears cleaned out. I've been having this done periodically since I was 17. I have big issues with both the wax thing and fluid in my ear canal (it's at it's worst after I've had the flu or a cold). Wax buildup or fluid in your ear will definitely do a number on things like balance and hearing.
My ears are KILLING me right now. I think it's fluid behind the ear drums. Heading to the doctor later today.
I use cotton swabs every day after I shower. Does that minimize the amount of ear wax I have left behind?
actually, that makes it worse and any ear doctor you go to will tell you it's the absolute worst thing you can do for ear wax. While it gets some of it out, it pushes the rest of the wax deeper into your ear and it will eventually just block things up where you can't get it out. I did that for years and when I finally went to see the doctor about not being able to hear, they couldn't even get it out with the method that they normally use (using a jet of water to break it loose and flush it out of the ear). Eventually they had to pull out this high powered vacuum and put it in my ear to get all of the junk out.
