[qboogie]

Licensed family physician here

I agree with Elephant Ear product, however the direct stream of water against the tympanic membrane (TM) can set off a temporary vertigo sensation which can last a few minutes. I would recommend the product called Tridal Wave, which utilizes a different ear tip to shoot the water in 3 different directions against the walls of the external auditory canal (EAC) none of them against the membrane. The tip is a little large to prevent going too far in and perforating the TM. Equal parts 3% hydrogen peroxide and warm water will do the trick, though you can use just warm water too.

Also, my son hates this thing.

Honestly, TM perforation is a risk with q-tips, but the the far more common risk is that you might end up pushing the wax farther in, making it more dense and impacted against the TM.

 

[christianmc]

Licensed family physician here

I agree with Elephant Ear product, however the direct stream of water against the tympanic membrane (TM) can set off a temporary vertigo sensation which can last a few minutes. I would recommend the product called Tridal Wave, which utilizes a different ear tip to shoot the water in 3 different directions against the walls of the external auditory canal (EAC) none of them against the membrane. The tip is a little large to prevent going too far in and perforating the TM. Equal parts 3% hydrogen peroxide and warm water will do the trick, though you can use just warm water too.

Also, my son hates this thing.

Honestly, TM perforation is a risk with q-tips, but the the far more common risk is that you might end up pushing the wax farther in, making it more dense and impacted against the TM.

Thanks for the expert insight. My old man always said "Never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow."

 

[CoryGillmore]

Qtips of course!

I'm sure this has been discussed to death but this is exactly what you DONT do! My ears need to be flushed a few times a year. Other than that I just wash what I can reach with soap and water in the shower. I only do a deep clean a few times a year. Your inner ear is meant to have wax in it, though it is good to "start over" every once in a while.

 

[bigshot]

Ball point pens work good!

 

[Glmoneydawg]

And car keys work even better!

 

[Killcomic]

If you want to clean your ears, use a syringe (minus the needle) to squirt water and flush the ear wax. Be sure to be sitting down as you most probably will lose balance.
As per doctor's instructions, I would strongly recommend against cleaning your ears with anything like a q-tip or any probe-like instrument.

 

[bfreedma]

If you want to clean your ears, use a syringe (minus the needle) to squirt water and flush the ear wax. Be sure to be sitting down as you most probably will lose balance.
As per doctor's instructions, I would strongly recommend against cleaning your ears with anything like a q-tip or any probe-like instrument.

I ended up buying the Tridal Wave to avoid squirting liquid directly at the TM - it works as advertised and avoids the balance problem.

 

[taffy2207]

My Doctor told me to use warm Olive Oil and let the Wax fall out naturally. It worked like a charm when I had lost my hearing in my right Ear due to an infection. My Doctor stated it was that or warm Water and advised not to use any over the counter treatments.

 

[moriez]

My Doctor told me to use warm Olive Oil and let the Wax fall out naturally.

Interested in trying this. Just any lukewarm olive oil from fingertip? Like to know if one could overdo/underdo dosage or going in ear canal too far.

 

[taffy2207]

Interested in trying this. Just any lukewarm olive oil from fingertip? Like to know if one could overdo/underdo dosage or going in ear canal too far.

I filled a squeezy 10ml E-liquid bottle. Placed it with it's cap on in hot water, tilted my head and poured it straight into the drum. I left it for a couple of minutes and then wiped away the excess oil. After 2-3 weeks my hearing was back, I was 100% deaf before, due to infection.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/earwax-build-up/

"Earwax usually falls out on its own. If it does not and blocks your ear, put 2 to 3 drops of olive or almond oil in your ear twice a day for a few days.

Over 2 weeks lumps of earwax should fall out of your ear, especially at night when you're lying down."



This site claims it can actually cause more build up of wax, all I can say is it worked for me

healthline.com/health/olive-oil-in-ear#methods

 

[moriez]

Thanks for the info!

Amazing it worked so well for you. Going to give it a shot one of these days and hoping I can sell off costly cables as a result

 

[qboogie]

The olive oil makes sense, though any oil would do the same. Mineral oil is common. Obeys the chemical law of "like dissolves like" as the sebum/cerumen is essentially oil secreted from glands.

Another tip, pertaining to a different problem. For those with increased middle ear pressures, this may be due to poorly functioning eustachian tube. This tube is meant to equalize pressures in the middle ear relative to the room you are in. When a plane's cabin pressure changes suddenly and your ears feel different and hearing decreases, the eustachian tube is the reason why. Or when sinusitis happens and then leads to ear pain /tinnitus / vertigo. A nasal steroid like Flonase or nasacort can help relieve the pressure in the nasal/sinus system and allow the eustachian tube to relieve the middle ear pressures. Sometimes tobacco smoke causes destruction of the cilia in the tube which causes cellular debris to build up in and obstructs them. To my knowledge I'm not aware of a solution to this. Maybe an ENT would know.

You can test the patency of the tubes by pinching your nose tightly and trying to blow air through your nose, which redirects air into the middle ear. If you can feel the same "puff" bilaterally, then you are generally in good shape. The inability to feel that on one side vs the other suggests a problem

 

[qboogie]

When placing IEM in your ear canals, make sure you pull the ear pinna BACK and UP to straighten the canal (might need to use your opposite hand extending over your head) , similar to what a doctor does when examining the ears with an otoscope. Inserting the ear tip that way allows the EAC to clamp down and gives a MUCH BETTER seal than the normal way of jamming and twisting them in. Works really well with foam tips. I had this problem with my Noble Kaiser Encore universal. The seal was not optimal, so I bought a few different after market tips, but ending up using this technique and realized the stock tips worked just fine.

 

[moriez]

Another tip, pertaining to a different problem. For those with increased middle ear pressures, this may be due to poorly functioning eustachian tube. This tube is meant to equalize pressures in the middle ear relative to the room you are in. When a plane's cabin pressure changes suddenly and your ears feel different and hearing decreases, the eustachian tube is the reason why.

You can test the patency of the tubes by pinching your nose tightly and trying to blow air through your nose, which redirects air into the middle ear. If you can feel the same "puff" bilaterally, then you are generally in good shape. The inability to feel that on one side vs the other suggests a problem

You're describing precisely what has become a bit of a nuisance to me and why I'm interested in trying oil: the need to blow through nose a couple of times a day so I'm tuned-in again so to speak. Rebalancing is never a problem and left always 'deflates' before the right ear. Lasts roughly 4-6 hours before I feel the need again. Because my hearing ability isn't affected I haven't made work of consulting a doctor but now we're on the subject would you say this is concerning?

 

[davidcotton]

I'm currently going through hell at the moment as my ears (right more than left, though both affected) are currently blocked and have been since october when I was meant to get them done at the doctors (sadly had a cold and they wouldn't do it since I had a stinker of a cold that's only just started to clear up). Curious as to what aggravates the build up of wax though. Using iems that irritate the canal or is it something else? Never could get a fit with most iems so went with ciems which were better, but wondering if that would not be helping either?

At the moment I'm using Earol (recommended by my audiologist)twice a day for a week, if my colds cleared totally by the end of the week I hope to get them microsuctioned instead of syringed (even if it does mean paying )