BEST EVER AUDIO UPGRADE - might have to sell my UM2s tho :(
Jan 20, 2006 at 12:57 AM Post #16 of 32
Quote:

Originally Posted by b0rk
Heya,

Yeah they were cerumal or cerumax! erm, hydrogen peroxide is the LAST thing I'd ever put down my ear... they are UBER sensitive. If you can't get the drops (over the counter, just ask at your pharmacy) then the nurse said olive oil would do pretty much the same thing.

I would NEVER try and syringe them yourself. My mum is a nurse and she gave me some professional material about it to read... it even said don't let a TRAINED nurse do it by hand, make sure she has a proper pump machine thing...

smily_headphones1.gif



I just got back from my doctor's office, where a nurse cleaned an AMAZING amount of wax out of my ears (particularly my right one--incredible!) My hearing has improved noticeably as a result--really!

But as for the last statement above, this nurse used warm water, a low % hyrogen peroxide solution, and a syringe kind of thing. They said that the pump thing caused some people problems and pain, so they don't use it any more. I think the main thing is to have someone do it who knows what he/she is doing.

But for anyone with a tendency toward "waxy buildup," I recommend having this done at regular intervals (at least every couple of years?) If your ears really need the job done
eek.gif
your health insurance should pay for all but the usual co-pay.
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 1:13 AM Post #18 of 32
I will see if I can dig up my post I made on this because I had a similar story and it was an absolutely liberating experience.

edit: found it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krause
Sorry to revive this thread but I have to. After reading this, and hearing some comments from my wife I decided it would be worth my while to look into this.

I have been cleaning my ears with cue tips since I was about 13 years old. I never new any better until a few years ago, and then I just figured it was some blah blah bull crap mothers told there kids to avoid terrible freak accidents. Well after this week I am a firm believer.

I was reading this thread and I started to remember my father went to the doctor about 2x a year to have his ears cleaned out. I always thought it was kind of weird but he said he had abnormal amount of earwax build up, and that it was necessary for him to do if he wanted to continue scuba diving. Well me and my father are nearly identical our thought processes, looks, mannerisms, nearly everything is very similar.

Then I started to think about how I always have trouble with flying at high altitudes or going over 7 feet or so underwater. My ears always have great pain. My body just does not equalize well for some reason. This brought me back to what my father had said about diving. It was all starting to make sense. The cue tips / the plane rides / my father having similar problems.

And then I was laying in bed with my wife (one of the few nights since I found head fi that I went to bed before 3am) And she was looking over at me as I read a book. She said. Ewwww honey you have a lot of earwax build up... That was the final straw. I was going to have my doctor look into this. I set up the appointment with my family doctor the next morning.

Well today I went to the doctor. And needless to say it was an ear opening experience. They used a hydrogen peroxide solution and a squeeze thingy. I she didn’t show me what was in my first ear she just said that is was coming clean good. After about five full gushes I was all cleared out and she could see my ear drum. Then on to the left side. She flushed it out and after 2 squirts she showed me the crap that had come out. It was about 1 inch in length and about as wide and thick as my ear canal. It was very nasty dark brown and it some what resembled a rabbit turd. I was amazed I could even hear with that in my ear.

Needless to say after I got up and shook the water out of my ears I was liberated. I have a whole new respect for my ears and will not be packing another 20 years worth of crap in them before I go get my next cleaning in a few months :p I cant wait to go swimming / fly in a plane , and most of all hear the glory of my new hd 650s when they arrive Thursday.

My 555s sound so clear now its incredible. I cant believe what I was missing. Go get your ears cleaned ... Its amazing if you haven’t done it before, and your used to using cue tips.


Another good thread on this topic
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 4:36 AM Post #20 of 32
Quote:

Originally Posted by dvallere
Guess I'm a lucky one; when I went for impressions for the UM56, the audiologist said that she didn't need to syringe beforehand.


Hmmm, I'm 17 and my parents already think the audio thing is crazy. Does anyone have advise on how I can get this done? Or should I just call the doctor myself and keep it "hush-hush"?

I don't know what kind of build up I have, if any, but it sounds like something that should be done atleast once. With a 20 dollar copay, it seems like a better invesment than 100+ in new headphones.

To be honest I would be excited if they found rabbit turd lumps of wax in my head, it would feel good to get them out. I think I will almost be disappointed if they don't find anything.

I also have trouble in deeper water than most people and with flying (though it has gotten a little better of the years). I still have to pop my ears several times by closing my mouth and nose and blowing really hard, still only one pops usually.
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 4:48 AM Post #21 of 32
Say that since you listen to music alot and that you think it would be a good idea to check your hearing / clean ears in order to make sure nothing's wrong and so that if there are any problems later on, it won't get blamed on, for example, listening to music too loudly, as might be the case if you currently have problems and it only gets revealed later.

It might be possible to keep it hush-hush but that might be dependent on you having possession of your health insurance card, knowing all the required things, being able to get to and back with some good excuse, etc.
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 4:53 AM Post #22 of 32
I have been told by every doctor that using Q-tips/ear swaps to clean your ears is bad. I have never understood this. I always use them and I seem to be able to hear quiet sounds more than anyone else I know. So if it was indeed "pushing all the wax" back into my ear, I would assume I would have bad hearing, but it is the exact opposite. Plus everytime I have gotten a physical/check-up and the doctor looks into my ears, they have never said anything about earwax build up. I think they are all full of it, and make a blanket statement, because they worry about people not using the swabs right.

I'll continue to clean my ears with Q-tips.
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 5:41 AM Post #23 of 32
Recently I got my ears checked out... I'm going to an audiologist on Monday, inquire about custom IEM's...

But the first doc i went to said they were crystal clear... So I guess I have a mild tinnitus...
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 10:35 PM Post #26 of 32
Quote:

Originally Posted by VR6ofpain
I have been told by every doctor that using Q-tips/ear swaps to clean your ears is bad. I have never understood this. I always use them and I seem to be able to hear quiet sounds more than anyone else I know. So if it was indeed "pushing all the wax" back into my ear, I would assume I would have bad hearing, but it is the exact opposite. Plus everytime I have gotten a physical/check-up and the doctor looks into my ears, they have never said anything about earwax build up. I think they are all full of it, and make a blanket statement, because they worry about people not using the swabs right.

I'll continue to clean my ears with Q-tips.



They aren't full of it, you are just lucky that you don't have a tendency to get blocked up with ear wax. My wife NEVER needs to have her ears irrigated for wax, whereas I seem to need it every few years. Maybe there's a genetically-based difference between people in "ear wax production."

A Q-tip is fine for cleaning the entrance to the ear canal, but if wax gets back into the canal the Q-tip will only pack it in there all the more.
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 10:37 PM Post #27 of 32
Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioNoob
you mean one of those scoops?
theyre scary,

hmm I think I should stop using the bath ahndpiece, too much pressure on ears



I found this device online:

http://www.earclear.com/


This resembles closely what the nurse used on me. It probably would work well for most people. On the other hand, now that I've had my own ears "unpacked", I probably will forget about the whole issue for another few years
tongue.gif
 
Jan 20, 2006 at 10:42 PM Post #28 of 32
I am inclined to trust all the audiologists over 1 person on the Internet.

You can't say that since you are using q-tips and have not had earwax problems, that the doctors are all full of it and make blanket statements for people who use q-tips incorrectly. It is like saying that since you are smoking cigarettes and have not contracted cancer, that the doctors are all full of it and make blanket statements because some people smoke 10 packs a day and then obviously they will have problems.

Or it's like another person who posted a review of the Rio Karma about how his Karma hadn't broken yet and everyone who had a broken Karma was a dumbass who didn't know how to take care of electronics. One month later he posted the same thing again, except even more strongly. Then a month later his Karma broke and then he did a complete 180 degree turn and talked about how the Karma was **** and no one in their right mind should buy it (he didn't make apologies for his previous posts btw). The point is, you can't generalize from your specific case to the general case.
 
Jan 30, 2006 at 4:48 AM Post #29 of 32
when I use Q-tips I only clean around the opening to the canal (I guess that's what its called). I never stick them any deeper than that because I'm worried about damaging something and/or hurting myself.
 
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